Chapter 275

Chapter 275: No Hope of Clearing?

Li Shuang endured one day.

Then she endured another.

Under everyone’s gaze, she reached the last day.

Before, people sneered. Some spread rumors. Some questioned her to her face.

But as she held on day after day and drew closer to success, those voices faded away.

Only one question remained everywhere: “Can Li clear it?”

“Can she become the second person in history to clear seven floors?”

Ember joined the fun and opened a betting pool on whether Li Shuang would clear all floors.

When the betting closed, most people still wagered that she would not.

One person said with a sigh: “The Five Element Tribulation gets harder with each step. Li is at the end of her strength. She may not last through the final stretch.”

Another agreed, counting on fingers: “Right. Ten Merit Points are still Merit Points. Better be safe.”

A third added, trying to sound wise: “There is still the seventh floor after the sixth. We are betting on clearing everything. No one knows what the seventh floor is like, but it should be harder than the sixth.”

A chorus answered with flattery: “Exactly. Daoist Brother’s analysis is spot on.”

Hearing it all, Yan Fan felt no pressure. He bet on Li without hesitation.

After all, his last bet on Li had won him a fortune. For that alone, he wanted to back her again. Ten Merit Points was nothing. He would treat it as thanks.

Curious, he watched the Water Screen. He had recorded her entire challenge with a Memory Stone. The tricks she used later on were already beyond his understanding. [When my cultivation rises, maybe I will gradually understand.]

Li has an Ice Spiritual Root, so her methods would be even more useful to Li Shuang. Yan Fan had earned so many Merit Points that he felt he was about to take off in Nanlan Continent, where he had no rivals at all. That felt a bit lonely.

He decided to give one copy of the Memory Stone to Li Shuang.

He dared not show it to the other Disciples of Cangyuan Sect. He was not afraid of anything else, only that after watching, their Dao hearts would shatter.

Before he came to Myriad Arts City, he had not realized how vast the gap could be between geniuses.

But he was not worried about Li Shuang. Her realm was lower, but her Dao heart was firm. Li’s image would only push her to work harder. In that sense, he respected Li Shuang as a rival.

High in the void, Xing Tian Gang rubbed his chin and said with real admiration: “This girl is remarkable.”

He had cleared the sixth floor too, but he had been nearly one hundred years old, far older than Li.

Ye Hong Yao smiled and said: “Even if she fails this time, in seven years she will surely succeed. Our Human Race is about to gain a seed worth special training.”

Wu Xiang stroked his beard and told City Lord Yu with care: “Where is your Disciple now? A talent like this must be protected.”

The Human Race did not lack geniuses. It lacked peerless ones. Li had the makings of a peerless talent, someone who might reach the very top.

Ember’s expression turned a bit strange. Where was Li now? She was in Nanlan Continent.

Only the Central Continent held the terminal Formation for the Cross-Continent Teleport Talisman. The talisman always sent people to the Central Continent. For Ember to reach Nanlan Continent, she would have to fly across the Endless Sea herself, which would take one or two months at least.

Worse, her true body was in the Heaven Severing Lands and could not leave.

Before, when Li refused to come to the Central Continent, Ember had not felt much. Now she was a little frustrated.

[Are all young people this stubborn now? If a peerless genius has an accident in a remote continent, it is a loss for the entire Human Race.]

Wu Xiang noticed her look and asked with curiosity: “City Lord, is there something special about Li’s location?”

A flicker of guilt crossed Ember’s eyes. She coughed lightly and said: “After I finish teaching the people you sent me, I will tell you in detail where Li is.”

She was not afraid of much. She mainly feared that if they learned Li was in Nanlan Continent, they would take back the rich gifts they had offered earlier. That would expose the fact that she had never taught Li at all.

The others traded odd looks with Ember. She quickly pointed at the Water Screen and said: “Look, the Final Tribulation is here.”

They turned back to watch.

For the final calamity, one of the five elements is chosen at random and descends with even greater power.

Xing Tian Gang sighed: “Last time I challenged the altar, my Final Tribulation happened to be restrained by my root, so I barely made it through. On the path of cultivation, luck matters too.”

Ye Hong Yao nodded and said softly: “Let us see what luck Li has.”

On the Golden Soul Altar, Li Shuang lifted her eyes to the sky, her heart tightening.

She could feel the difference now. The earlier waves of the Five Element Tribulation had vanished. A huge vortex opened in the air.

What would come out of that vortex? No one could say yet.

She forced herself to stand straight. Her fingers were pale from gripping the sword hilt too hard.

It felt like her senses were being stripped away, until only the pounding of her own heart remained in her ears.

[The last step, is it?]

She had worked to her limit. The spiritual power in her meridians was nearly gone. If the Supreme Unfeeling Art had not churned at full speed to squeeze out a thread more, she would not even be able to stand.

The vortex spun faster and faster. A terrible pressure poured down.

Even before the Final Tribulation fully arrived, sweat beaded across her brow.

Then, without warning, the vortex shattered.

Sword rain fell from the sky.

In the void, someone breathed out in pity. Xing Tian Gang said with regret: “It is an upgraded Metal Tribulation. Li’s luck is not great.”

For Li, a water or fire calamity would have been easier to handle.

Ember kept watching with a trace of hidden hope: “Let us see.”

Under the rain of swords, Li Shuang gathered her last spiritual power and formed an ice shield, holding on with all she had.

But she truly was at her limit. Cracks webbed across the ice. If this continued, she would lose for sure.

She had come this far. Would it still end in failure?

A deep unwillingness flashed in her eyes. Then she let it go. [Forget it. I have done my best. Then next time.]

Knowing she could not clear it, her heart relaxed.

She lifted her head and looked at the sky.

It was the moment when night and day met.

For a second, she saw the sun star slowly rise.

She felt a little dazed.

[I have seen this before.]

She had once watched the sunrise alone over the Sword Sect.

She had watched Elder Ling stitch a blazing sun with needle and thread.

Now she saw the round sun again.

Before this, she always longed for night. Only at night could her Origin Star and Lunar Star show their full power. The sun rose every day, but she wished only for it to fall quickly.

But now, knowing she would not pass, she finally had the mood to admire it.