In the blink of an eye, the name Tang Rao disappeared from the ninth layer and took over the tenth layer.

The scene completely exploded.

Especially those from the various sects, their eyes, each widened like copper bells.

The tenth layer!

A youth in his twenties, belonging to no sect, directly climbed up to the tenth layer of the Heavenly Ladder.

This was no longer shocking, but a miracle; though not to say there would be none to follow, he was definitely unprecedented.

The person who was originally on the tenth layer was the Sword Sect Master's eldest disciple Liu Bo, thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, already a stream among the talents.

Yet, he was displaced by Tang Rao just like that.

Which is to say, Tang Rao's strength was at least at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Twenty years old, late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Everyone dared not even imagine what Tang Rao's future would be like, how terrifying it would be.

"This youngster is not bad," a middle-aged man in blue said softly in the crowd.

The middle-aged man was around fifty years old, with a simple longsword on his back, hair tied up, with a somewhat pale face, gentle and refined, bearing the air of an ancient scholar.

But that was only in appearance, as the people around did not think Wang Changsheng was anything but gentle.

Futu Mountain Master Wang Changsheng was undoubtedly a mass killer among the various sects.

However, he only killed the wicked and evil, such as those from the Ten Thousand Gu Sect and the members of Huayin Peak; Wang Changsheng would almost always slay them on sight.

"Indeed not bad, very suitable for my Sword Sect," said a somewhat domineering voice near Wang Changsheng—it was deep and powerful, filled with vigor.

Sect Master Yu Ba Wang of the Sword Sect.

Sect Master Yu's appearance was definitely displeasing to the eye, with bulging ox eyes, large mouth, downward-slanted eyebrows, small ears on a horse face, and a towering nose.

People say that if you cannot be stunningly beautiful, then be hauntingly ugly... Sect Master Yu truly achieved that.

Anyhow, with that face, there's no need for special effects in a horror movie.

"Sect Master Yu, may you always be well," Wang Changsheng waved his sleeve, gave a slight bow, the demeanor of a grandmaster with the breeze gently blowing.

"Heh..." As for Sect Master Yu, with his brows raised and eyes glaring, he let out a cold snort.

Many people around felt that Sect Master Yu was too arrogant; the man is after all the Futu Mountain Master, and his strength was no less than yours. He greeted you, so the least you could do is respond.

It truly lacked any grace, wasting the title of Sword Sect Master.

"This No. 199, I, Yu Ba Wang, am taking them. Whoever dares to compete is picking a fight with my Sword Sect," Yu Ba Wang roared, his voice reverberating, captivating the souls of those around.

The scene immediately quieted down, the Sword Sect was very strong, with a deep foundation, ranking among the top-tier sects.

Truly no one dared to touch this bad omen.

Wang Changsheng shook his head and chuckled, not uttering a word.

You wish to take someone in, but first, you have to ask if they are willing. Speaking so boldly, what if they don't care for you at all? Wouldn't that be quite embarrassing?

"I'm going too!" Sect Master Yu leaped forward, heading straight for the Heavenly Ladder.

For powerhouses at their level, whenever they want to ascend the ladder, they can; they don't have to wait for their number to be called.

"Ha-ha, then I shall also join the fun," Wang Changsheng stepped forward, unhurried and light on his feet.

Sect Master Yu and Wang Changsheng, both were hotly tipped to win the competition.

Both of them entered the Heavenly Ladder one after another, and the scene was once again at a fever pitch.

"Do you think Sect Master Yu can reach the fiftieth layer this time?"

"I think it's possible, I heard he has made further progress."

"I still favor Wang Changsheng."

"What if Tang Rao keeps going all the way?" Suddenly someone spoke up.

The scene suddenly quieted down—Tang Rao going all the way?

You must be joking, he's only twenty years old after all, can he really be so fierce to knock down even those at the peak of Foundation Establishment?

"Hahaha, anyway, I'm betting on Tang Rao!"

"Give me two Blood Spirit Pills, just in case..."

"Brother is also getting one."

Many people rushed to the betting station, but the vast majority were only buying one or two Blood Spirit Pills. With such dark horse odds, one has to be cautious.

At this moment, within the Heavenly Ladder, Tang Rao had already reached the tenth level.

The tenth level hosted a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, who was just mediocre in strength to Tang Rao, easily cleared out by him.

"This place... seems a bit different..." Tang Rao did not leave the tenth level immediately, but instead carefully sensed everything around him.

The spirit fluctuations on the tenth level were undoubtedly stronger than all the nine levels below combined, plus the area was greater and wider, the dense Spiritual Energy delighting the mind and spirit.

Cultivation here would be dozens of times faster than the outside.

"What is this?" Soon, Tang Rao noticed at the very top of this level, there was a recess, similar to a pond.

"A Spirit Gathering Array?" Approaching the pond, Tang Rao could feel the power of an Array.

However, this Spirit Gathering Array seemed to have collapsed somewhat, with no Spiritual Energy left in the pond. There were only endless bones, piled upon each other.

"So, they are all here." Tang Rao slightly startled, these bones were mostly human, but there were also bones of Spiritual Beasts.

Clearly, these were the cultivators devoured by the Despair Nightmare before its death.

The Despair Nightmare had no means of attack, and many were curious as to how it trapped people to death and where it trapped them.

Tang Rao found the answer.

The tail.

"This Spirit Gathering Array must have disintegrated over time. Perhaps..." Tang Rao's eyes suddenly lit up, and with a leap, he jumped directly into the pile of bones.

Minutes later, Tang Rao leaped out from the pile of bones, his face full of excitement.

In his hand, he was holding a bone that looked very ordinary, no different from average bones.

But Tang Rao was clear, this was a spirit bone.

As the Spirit Gathering Array disintegrated, the gathered Spiritual Energy would disperse. But this was the space at the tail end of the Despair Nightmare, the Spiritual Energy wouldn't disappear for no reason.

Most likely, it was absorbed by the focal point of the Array.

Tang Rao's conjecture was obviously correct, the bone in his hand was the focal point of the Spirit Gathering Array.

It seemed unremarkable, but anyone who studied Array carving could discover the difference.

In Tang Rao's eyes, this was a bone filled with Spiritual Energy.

Only after absorbing it would he know just how much Spiritual Energy there was.

"Absorb!" Tang Rao pressed his right hand onto the bone, vigorously running his Spirit Gathering Technique.

A torrent of Spiritual Energy was drawn out from the bone, entering Tang Rao's body.

One hundred thousand… Two hundred thousand… A full three hundred thousand units of Spiritual Energy were absorbed by Tang Rao in a matter of minutes.

"It's still a bit short; perhaps it has disintegrated too much over the ages." Tang Rao shook his head, stored the bone carefully, and prepared to continue upwards.

If there was such a place on the tenth level, what about the twentieth level? The thirtieth level?

If they all had one, he could effortlessly increase a significant amount of Spiritual Energy.

The key was, this Spiritual Energy was different from consuming Blood Spirit Pills, completely without the feeling of being bloated in the stomach.

Even if there were one hundred million units of Spiritual Energy, Tang Rao could still absorb them all.

For him, there was no bottleneck in his breakthroughs; all he lacked was Spiritual Energy, endless Spiritual Energy.

...

"Dammit, where is he?" Sect Master Yu charged at his fastest speed, reaching each level and without wasting words, immediately began to fight.

He even killed a myopic fool.

Within the Heavenly Ladder, nobody cares if you die.

On the tenth level, he did not encounter Tang Rao, but instead an old cultivator in his seventies or eighties at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

"So it's Sect Master Yu." The old man saluted Sect Master Yu with cupped fists.

"Where's Tang Rao?" Sect Master Yu asked loudly.

"Tang Rao?" The old man looked puzzled.

"Dammit, get lost!" Sect Master Yu struck out in rage, his Spiritual Energy ferocious and wild.

The old cultivator in the late stage of Foundation Establishment couldn't withstand the onslaught; in just a couple of moves, he was blasted out of the competition. He could choose to leave or to occupy the next level.

"Tang Rao, you are destined to be my Sword Sect's man!" Sect Master Yu bellowed, charging headlong into the eleventh level.

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