The ground was completely silent, and only the sound of breathing caused by the surging emotions in their hearts rose and fell without end.
Most of the humans here felt waves in their hearts when they heard this.
Each of them had their own story, their own experiences.
Whether they were high above or stuck in the mud, in fact, in this cruel world, in this miserable world where people ate each other, there wasn't much of a difference.
They all had their own misfortunes and were in the sea of bitterness.
The Sword Wielder's decree was like a thunderclap. As it exploded, it allowed Xu Qing to truly understand the Sword Wielder.
It didn't matter if the current Sword Wielder could really do what the decree said, at least it existed.
This was also the most important part of the Sword Wielder's ceremony.
The solemn atmosphere, the solemn words, the sacred light, and the deafening decree. All of this was for the sake of continuing the mission of the Sword Bearers.
At this moment, as the hearts of all the humans were fluctuating, the light in the sky shone again and flowed towards the earth. As it spread, it directly reached the feet of Xu Qing and the others.
In front of them, the bright light that represented the Sword Wielder's mission formed a long staircase 100,000 feet wide!
The staircase 100,000 feet wide appeared in front of everyone, in Absolute Beginning's Liyou City. Countless humans looked at it, but there were only 10 people who could truly approach this vast staircase!
This was the path to the heavens that was created for the 10 of them.
It appeared between heaven and earth, and at the end was the Great Emperor's statue.
From afar, it looked like one could walk all the way to the Great Emperor by stepping on the staircase.
The sacred intent became even stronger at this moment.
In particular, the seven-colored light on the staircase was crystal clear. If one carefully counted, the staircase had a total of 9,999 steps, and each step led up into the clouds.
Xu Qing looked at all of this, and his expression became even more solemn. Then, the Sword Wielder's incomparably solemn voice echoed in his ears.
"The Sword Wielder's bloodline established the highest glory of the human race and created eternal peace. Therefore, the staircase is 100,000 feet wide.
"The Emperor has ten thousand, but the Emperor lacks one. Therefore, the 9,999 steps represent the Sword Wielder's bloodline. We can kill anyone below the Emperor Realm!"
The voice echoed through heaven and earth. Xu Qing's eyes shone brightly. If the previous words were the soul of the Sword Wielder's bloodline, then these two sentences were the bones of the Sword Wielder!
The Soul Overlord established his order, and the Bone Overlord was the backbone!
The spine of a sword wielder could cut through anyone under the Emperor Realm!
The captain's eyes gleamed with desire.
It was the same for Qing Qiu. Under the mask, his eyes were shining brightly.
Next, Grand Elder Sword-Bearing looked up at the statue of the Grand Emperor, took a deep breath, and then, with a solemn expression, bowed deeply to the statue.
"Your Majesty, please grant me the sword."
As soon as he spoke, all the swordsmen in the winged formation cupped their fists and bowed towards the sky.
With this bow, the Great Emperor statue shined like a red sun rising out of the sea. It spread out with an aura that could scatter the darkness of the world. As the light swept across the world, three rays of light flew out from the sword on the Great Emperor's back.
It was so fast that it landed directly below the statue of the Great Emperor, at the top of the thirty-thousand-zhang-wide staircase, on the 9999th step.
With a weng sound, the three great swords pierced through. They were separated by a thousand zhang, and they released green radiance that flowed through the swords like flowing water. They released heavy sword sounds, and their auras were extraordinary.
At first glance, one could tell that they were not ordinary items.
These three swords were both swords and orders. They were the symbol of the sword-bearing grand elder, and also the sword order of the sword-bearing grand elder!
"The sword-bearing grand elder is also the one who orders. With the sword as the order, we protect the world."
All the sword-bearing grand elders in the sky spoke at the same time. Their voices were like a bell that shook the world. It was louder than heavenly thunder and could suppress eternity.
As the voices of the sword-bearing grand elder echoed, the ancient voice of the sword-bearing grand elder echoed. "Ten sons, the one with the sword wins. All of you, listen to the order!"
As soon as his voice echoed, everyone's hearts were in their throats.
Xu Qing's eyes were sharp. He was determined to get this sword-bearing grand elder.
The others were the same. Whether it was the captain, Qing Qiu, Zhang Siyun, the young man who had offended Xu Qing, or the others, their eyes were all shining.
Just as the ten of them were completely focused, the solemn voice in the sky echoed across the world.
"Qing Qiu, you have 40 battle seals in your body. Go up to the 400th step!"
Qing Qiu's body trembled and he quickly flew up.
Under countless gazes, he reached the 400th step and stood in the sky.
"Chen Erniu, you have 1270 battle seals in your body. Go up to the 1,270th step!"
The captain was extremely fast. In an instant, he rushed out and continued climbing until he reached the 1,270th step.
"Zhang Siyun, you have 630 battle seals in your body. Go up to the 630th step!"
"Ning Yan …"
As the voice echoed in the air, everyone climbed up different stairs based on the Mark of Battle in their bodies. As the solemn voice spread out, everyone climbed up different stairs.
Until it was Xu Qing's turn.
"Xu Qing, you have 2000 battle seals in your body.
More than 700 battle seals in your body. Go up to the 2,790th step. "
Even in this incomparably solemn moment, the crowd below could not help but burst into an uproar. The captain's steps had already shocked them, but they could still hold it in. But now, Xu Qing's battle seals … exceeded everyone's imagination. They had reached an unprecedented level.
Instantly, gazes filled with disbelief gathered on Xu Qing from all directions.
Whether it was the cultivators in Absolute Beginning City or Qing Qiu and the others who were standing at different heights, everyone was shocked.
Xu Qing raised his head. His expression was calm as he took a step forward.
Under the gazes of tens of thousands of people, he walked step by step like a young king towards the sky, towards the Great Emperor.
He surpassed the others. He surpassed the young human Ning Yan. He surpassed Qing Qiu, who had a complicated look in his eyes. He surpassed Zhang Siyun, who had a gloomy expression. He surpassed the captain, who had a look of disbelief on his face.
After he surpassed everyone, he continued walking for a long time until he reached the top of the crowd. He walked between the heavens and the earth.
He was far ahead!
At that moment, he was still 7,209 steps away from the Great Emperor!
Behind him were the other nine people, and even further behind were the countless human cultivators on the ground.
As he stood in this position, Xu Qing completely understood that after he came to the Absolute Beginning Void Pillar, all the points added were meaningful.
Their significance might not be the same every time, but this time, it was here.
The test had actually been going on since the beginning.
Because after he stood at this height, the ancient voice of the great sword-wielding elder in the sky once again rang out with a solemn tone.
"Xu Qing, Chen Erniu, Zhang Siyun. The three of you are in first place on the Absolute Beginning Void Pillar. You are three thousand feet tall and have reached 3,000th step."
As the names were called out one by one, Xu Qing and the other nine people continued to move forward. Xu Qing was still in first place. There was no change, and he could not be shaken in the slightest.
At an even higher position, he looked at the statue of the Great Emperor at the top. He looked at the three dazzling command swords below him. At that moment, he was still … 4,209 steps away from the statue!
Immediately after, a voice resounded through the clouds, like the sound of metal striking stone.
"Zhang Siyun, in the secret of the ghost cave, obtained 48 Soldier Essences. Reached 480 steps!"
"Qing Qiu, obtained 213 Soldier Essences. Reached 2,130 steps!"
"Chen Erniu, obtained 301 Weapon Essences. Advance to 3,001 stair!"
"Xu Qing, obtained 421 Soldier Essences. Reached 4,210 steps!"
Amidst the shocking voices, the ten people on the stairs began to move forward. Other than the captain, the others looked at Xu Qing with complicated expressions.
That was especially true of Zhang Siyun. His expression was grim, and his desire to kill Xu Qing grew even stronger. If it weren't for Xu Qing, he would not have been in ninth place.
In order to flee for his life, he had been forced to use a secret magic, sacrificing his fleshly body to escape like a cicada shedding its carapace. However, he had also lost his bag of holding and the shards inside.
Furthermore, he realized that in addition to Xu Qing and Chen Erniu, there was also Qing Qiu, and they were separated by some distance.
Xu Qing had no interest in paying attention to Zhang Siyun's hatred. He continued to move forward, one step at a time, toward the top of the stairs.
There was no one else to his left or right.
As he moved forward, all of the human cultivators on the ground went into an uproar. Xu Qing was the only one in their eyes.
That was because … Xu Qing had reached 4,209 steps, which was less than the number of steps he had reached!
By now, Xu Qing had reached the 8,000th stair. Then the 9,000th stair. Then the 9,900th stair. Finally … the 9,999th stair!
After stepping on it, he walked to the center of the order sword.
Behind him, the captain was the closest to him, at around 7,000 steps. Next was Qing Qiu, at around 5,000 steps. Finally, Zhang Siyun, at around 3,000 steps.
At this moment, he had reached the top, but he still had one step left.
At this moment, not only did the countless gazes on the ground gather on him, but even the sword-wielding elders in the sky lowered their heads and looked at Xu Qing.
It was not that such a thing had never happened before, but the earliest was thousands of years ago, and it was not at the Welcoming Emperor State.
This was the first time it had happened at the Welcoming Emperor State!
Everyone, including the nine sword-wielding elders, looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing's expression was calm. He stood at the top, and there were no more steps in front of him. There was only the statue of the Great Emperor.
Therefore, he turned the last step into a bow.
Under the gazes of all the cultivators and sword-wielding elders, he clasped his fists and bowed deeply to the Great Emperor of the Human Race.
"Good!" In the sky, the sword-wielding elder in the middle nodded slightly, then opened his mouth and issued a decree.
"Children, hold your swords!"
As soon as he said that, everyone on the stairs exploded with speed, pushing themselves to their limits.
All kinds of secret techniques were used as they charged toward the 9,999 steps.
They were charging.
Xu Qing stood at the top, raised his hand, and pulled out the order sword in front of him. He turned around and looked down at the crowd.
He stood there, the order sword in his hand shining brightly. At the same time, the statue of the Great Emperor behind him was shrouded in a colorful glow.
At this moment, in the eyes of everyone below, Xu Qing seemed to have overlapped with the statue of the Great Emperor at this moment.
His outstanding temperament, his face like a crown …
His jade-like face, in the colorful glow, was like the return of the Great Emperor.