Of course, Lu Li was not going to admit defeat. He was not nervous either. He had been in this situation many times in his life.
The first seven or eight thousand steps were not that important. He believed that the last one thousand would be the most difficult, more difficult than the previous nine thousand steps combined.
Clearly, the difficulty of Empress' Peak would increase with every one thousand steps. They were only at seven thousand. Lu Li believed it would take them at least half a month to reach the next two thousand.
He trusted Blood Fairy very much. Since Blood Fairy said that there was progress, then he would just wait patiently.
He did not sit still. Instead, he cultivated source energy.
Time moved on. The others were still struggling. Tu Ying was injured and had to stop to tend to her wounds.
Compared to the others, Tu Ying's abilities were weaker. It was not surprising that she was at the back.
Hua Tiandao and Wen Xiang were the strongest in all aspects, so they were at the front.
Dong Yeying was in a hurry. The thing was, being impatient was not going to help. If he did not fight hard, he would be injured soon and Tu Ying would catch up with him.
"Third place is okay!"
Dong Yeying comforted himself. If he could get third place, he would be able to fight against the second place and eventually compete with the first place for the championship.
He still had a chance. If he could only get fourth place, he would be eliminated directly.
"First place, I want first place!"
Hua Tiandao was ambitious. Now that he had a chance to regain the glory he had lost, he would not let it go to waste.
What was more, the first place had a great advantage. The second place and the third place would have to fight against the first place.
If there was no time to rest, it would be a great advantage.
Therefore, Hua Tiandao was working hard. Even though his wounds were not healed, he was still as ferocious as before. He was more than two hundred steps ahead of Wen Xiang.
Wen Xiang, on the other hand, was not in a hurry.
Dong Yeying and Tu Ying were not in a hurry either. Tu Ying never thought about fighting for the Top Three.
He knew that even if he could get the third place, he could not win first place. If so, why should he work so hard? He would be satisfied if he could make it to the Top 5.
"Boom, boom, boom ~"
When Hua Tiandao reached eight thousand steps, a thunderbolt fell from the sky along with more than a dozen wind blades.
Hua Tiandao shattered the thunderbolt but could not stand the wind blades. He was hit by the wind blades and rolled down thirty steps.
Hua Tiandao's armor had been torn apart, and his chest was covered in crisscrossed bloody wounds.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, thinking that he had been too impatient. He should have stopped at the 7,999 step. Every 1,000 steps would increase his attack power. This was common sense, but he had still been too impulsive.
Behind him, Wen Xiang and Hua Tian Dao both smiled faintly. Hua Tian Dao was too impatient. How could an impatient person eat hot tofu?
Hua Tian Dao had not fully recovered from his injuries. Now, it was like adding hail to snow.
Hua Tiandao did not dare to continue walking up. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the ground and began to refine the divine medicine to heal his injuries.
Wen Xiang and Dong Yeying quickly walked up. The two of them spent more than an hour to surpass Hua Tiandao.
Although Hua Tiandao was very anxious, he knew that if he did not recover from his injuries, it would be impossible for him to climb the ten thousand steps.
He might as well recuperate first, and when his injuries were healed, he would rush up in one go.
Wen Xiang and Dong Yeying did not wait for him. The two of them easily climbed the 8,000 steps. Because the two of them were more careful, they successfully withstood the attacks from Empress Peak.
However … after reaching the 8,000 step, every ten steps would be abnormally difficult. They would have to endure very powerful attacks.
As long as they could keep going up, everything else was not important. So what if they had to suffer a little?
There were 100,000 people watching outside. Even if they were in pain, they would not show it.
This was a good opportunity to make a name for themselves. It might even become a legend that would spread throughout the Endless Divine Ruins.
The two of them slowed down as they walked up step by step. They would stop to rest after walking for a period of time to recover their stamina and energy. It was not easy for them to reach the 8,000 step. The two of them did not want to be blasted down and start all over again.
Time passed quickly, and three days had passed. The two of them had already climbed the 8,400 steps.
Tu Ying had long surpassed Hua Tiandao, but Hua Tiandao had been very calm these past few days. He was as steady as Mount Tai as he continued to recuperate.
Today, he finally got up. He turned into a rainbow light and rushed up. After three days of recuperation, his injuries were completely healed. He rapidly climbed up the steps and quickly chased after the three of them.
The spectator stands outside were bustling with noise. This was the scene they wanted to see.
The few experts were chasing each other and competing with each other. This was the fun part.
Right now, Wen Xiang was temporarily ranked first. He had already reached the 8,490th step. Dong Yeying was right behind him and was only 70 or 80 steps away. Tu Ying was slightly behind and had only reached the 8,100th step.
After Hua Tiandao recovered from his injuries, he was very ferocious. He chased all the way and was much more stable. After spending a day, he caught up to Tu Ying. After spending three days, he caught up to Dong Yeying.
Dong Yeying was very vexed. His combat strength was still lacking, and he did not have that many treasures on him. There was still a gap between him and Hua Tiandao.
He was also injured, and his movements were naturally affected.
It had been almost five or six days since the finals began. But the spectators were not impatient at all.
Those who could come here were at least at the Fifth Tribulation. For them, 10 days or half a month was just a blink of an eye. They could even watch for a month. The key was that they wanted to enjoy themselves.
Another five days passed. Wen Xiang, who was at the front, had reached the 8,900th step. Hua Tiandao was in second place with more than 8,700 steps.
Dong Yeying was in third place with more than 8,600 steps.
Tu Ying was in last place with more than 8,400 steps.
Lu Li, who had made Xiang Linglong lose hope, was still at the foot of the mountain. He seemed to be sleeping.
Many people had forgotten about Lu Li as well. They thought he had given up. Otherwise, he would have taken action by now. Wen Xiang was about to reach the 9,000th step.
Not to mention the runes and traps along the way, it would take a long time to climb after the 5,000th step. Even if Lu Li could reach the 5,000th step, he might not be able to catch up.
After another four days, Wen Xiang finally set foot on the 9000th step, and he stood firmly on the 9000th step.
The attacks here were many times stronger than at the 8,000th step, but Wen Xiang managed to stand it.
Almost at the same time, Lu Li opened his eyes as well. His eyes glowed. He looked up at those who seemed to be floating in the clouds and put on a gentle smile.
Today, Blood Fairy finally sent a message. She had found a good path for Lu Li, a shortcut, a path to heaven.
Lu Li had cultivated some source energy during this time, and he was at the peak of his condition. He said to Blood Fairy, "Blood Fairy, tell me. How do we go up?"
"It's simple!" Blood Fairy answered, "Just fly up. Fly up 5,000 steps in one go!"
"Fly up?"