Chapter 732: Four Distinct Groups
Pshew! Pshew! Pshew!
Figures flew towards the Myriad Phenomenon Peak one after another.
There were at least a hundred thousand paragons who partook in the Phenomenon Ranking this time round and they were clumped together in a spectacular sight!
However, many people were sent flying by the power of the Myriad Phenomenon Peak the moment they stepped foot on the 1st stone step!
It was even more spectacular watching the pathetic figures fly off one after another.
Exclamations could be heard everywhere.
The crowd was in an uproar.
Above the clouds, the Nascent Souls shook their heads and chuckled.
During each fight for the Phenomenon Ranking, there would always be cultivators that refused to heed warnings and attempt to ascend the Myriad Phenomenon Peak, only to meet with the same outcome.
Ancient emperors have left their marks and auras on the Myriad Phenomenon Peak – it was not so easy to ascend it!
In less than 15 minutes, more than half of the hundred thousand paragons were eliminated!
That was the elimination battle.
It was most efficient in eliminating weak cultivators.
As for the cultivators that ascended the Myriad Phenomenon Peak, the situation was different for each of them as well.
Some of them were drenched in sweat, clearly under immense pressure.
Some of them swayed as though they could be sent flying at any moment!
Some of them could not withstand it and released their Golden Core phenomenons right away!
Instantly, the power of phenomenons surged one after another on the Myriad Phenomenon Peak – the spirit energy in the surroundings was already boiling!
Some of them were resplendent, some was bedazzling, some moved the flora while some possessed the endless oceans and bright moon…
Countless Golden Core phenomenons appeared at the same time in a breathtaking manner!
Of course, everyone was clear that the cultivators who summoned their Golden Core phenomenons were the weak ones who could not endure the power of the Myriad Phenomenon Peak.
The top paragons of the Golden Core realm would not even need to use their Golden Core phenomenons to reach the lowest stone step on the Myriad Phenomenon Peak.
They could ascend just by relying on their bodies, bloodline and spirit energies!
“Eh?”
A soft exclamation could be heard above the clouds.
Monk Yuan Kong was initially waiting to see Ming Zhen make a fool of himself. Unexpectedly, Ming Zhen made it to the 2nd stone step with ease and he was not slowing down at all!
That alone was proof that Ming Zhen was much stronger than more than half of the cultivators present.
“I’m sorry to have disappointed you,”
Monk Yin Lu smiled gently.
Initially, he thought that Ming Zhen would stop at the 1st stone step as well.
To think that Ming Zhen would provide him a pleasant surprise.
Monk Yuan Kong harrumphed coldly. “That’s nothing much. There’s more than ten thousand cultivators remaining on the Monk Yuan Kong. We’ll see if he can make it to the top 108!”
The Myriad Phenomenon Peak was 108,000 feet tall and had a total of 108 stone steps.
The gap between each stone step was a thousand feet!
It was extremely difficult to get from one stone step to the other.
The closer one was to the peak, the greater the pressure on them!
In less than an hour, there were only slightly more than ten thousand cultivators remaining on the Myriad Phenomenon Peak.
Of the ten thousand cultivators, the gap between them increased as well and they were divided into distinct groups.
Unsurprisingly, the leader was the number one Perfected Being, Di Yin!
The way Di Yin ascended the Myriad Phenomenon Peak brought forth exclamations.
He did not have to step on the stone steps of the Myriad Phenomenon Peak to push himself up. Instead, he soared into the air and sped upwards at an extremely fast speed, leaving all the other cultivators behind!
It seemed as though the power resisting from the peak had no impact on Di Yin at all.
Apart from Di Yin, the actual first group comprised of eight people – Ren Tu of Asura Sect, Xu Cheng of Zephyr Thunder Palace, Monk Jian Kong of Hollow Monastery, Dugu Jian, Hang Qiuyu of Sword Sect, Pang Yue of Overlord Palace, Monk Jue Chen of Diamond Monastery and Ming Zhen!
Many cultivators were shocked at that outcome!
Everyone expected Ren Tu, Xu Cheng, Monk Jian Kong, Hang Qiuyu, Pang Yue and Monk Jue Chen to be in the first team since they were all top-tier peerless paragons.
What nobody expected was for two unknown cultivators to make their way into the group and followed closely without any signs of falling off!
One of them was Dugu Jian from a cultivation gentry clan of the North Region.
Sword cultivators were a special type of cultivator and were known for their frightening killing strength.
Sword Sect was considered as a place of pilgrimage for all sword cultivators.
The fact that a sword cultivator from out of nowhere was able to keep pace with a legacy disciple of Sword Sect was cause for commotion.
On the Myriad Phenomenon Peak, Hang Qiuyu had an extremely sharp gaze and he glanced at Dugu Jian from time to time.
However, Dugu Jian was oblivious to it, merely advancing in silence while looking down at the long sword in his hands.
Ming Zhen was the other one that everyone was surprised to see!
Nobody expected him to be able to keep pace with two of the strongest paragons of the Buddhist monasteries!
Furthermore, Ming Zhen looked energetic and showed no signs of exhaustion!
Monk Yuan Kong looked terrible.
More than obtaining a spot on the Phenomenon Ranking…
This person had a high chance of making it into the top ten!
“Congratulations for taking in a talent, Dapamkara Monastery.”
Perfected Lord Luo Xue smiled gently and congratulated with cupped fists.
Monk Yin Lu smiled. Even with his composure, he could barely contain the joy in his eyes.
“Dapamkara Monastery sure has good fortune, coming all the way to Myriad Phenomenon City to gain a freebie,” The Perfected Lord of Clear Heart Nunnery said with a salty tone.
By then, the disciple of Clear Heart Nunnery had already fallen off to the third group – she was naturally disgruntled.
Monk Wei Fu raised his brow gently. “It does not matter even if he makes it to the first group for the time being. Later on, he’ll have to rely on his Golden Core phenomenon to continue forward against the pressure no matter what!”
“That’s right,”
Monk Yuan Kong added, “Without a strong Golden Core phenomenon to support him, everything that happens now is merely fleeting.”
Monk Yin Lu did not refute.
However, he deeply anticipated deep in his heart what Ming Zhen’s Golden Core phenomenon would look like.
There were clearly more cultivators in the second group.
Demoness Ji of Pure Maiden Sect, Little Fatty of Tomb Sect, Duan Qingping of Clear Wind Temple, Wu Feng of Purple Firmament Sect, Ling Han of Snowdrift Valley, Nie Hao of Chaos Essence Sect and Qin Li of Illusion Fiend Cult – there were around thirty people.
There were even more people in the third group, more than a hundred!
Cultivators of the first two groups had yet to release their Golden Core phenomenons.
However, cultivators in the third group were already getting slower in their ascension speed and showed signs of exhaustion.
Some cultivators could not endure it and already released their Golden Core phenomenons!
Ji Chengtian was in the third group.
The cultivators at the back were considered to be in the fourth group and there were hundreds of them. However, they were scattered and cultivators were repelled away from the Myriad Phenomenon Peak from time to time.
These people were at the bottom of the Myriad Phenomenon Peak and almost had no chance of obtaining a spot on the Phenomenon Ranking.
The cultivators who could leave their names on the Phenomenon Ranking were almost determined by now.
It was between the cultivators in the first three groups!
The eventual ranking would be decided after the ascension of the Myriad Phenomenon Peak was over to see which cultivators managed to ascend the most steps.
The closer they were at the peak, the further front their ranking on the Phenomenon Ranking would be!
“Eh, where is Su Zimo?”
“He has a double phenomenon and even defeated Xu Cheng of Zephyr Thunder Palace. He should be in the first group, but why don’t I see him?”
A series of discussions broke out from the crowd.
“Look, he’s there!”
All the cultivators looked around and before long, they found out that Su Zimo was in the fourth group. He looked unassuming, mixed in with the crowd.
“How could this be?”
“Could he really be suppressed because of his Inner Core?”
“Fufu, he asked for this. It’s his own fault.”
Among the crowd, some people sneered while others were worried.
Lin Xuanji squinted his eyes for a moment before exclaiming softly as he noticed something odd.