Chapter 1223: Chapter 263: One Day Ascending the Mountain, One Day Descending

In the Void Immortal Path, a young figure looked around and walked out.

His posture was upright, his Heavenly Institute disciple robe was very clean, without a trace of blood or damage, as if he had wandered here from some garden, with no sign of the palpitations or relief that follow a fight with the Ancestor Dragon. Instead, there was a hint of curiosity in his expression.

“Another one climbed up?”

The eyes of the crowd in front of the thatched hut slightly narrowed, unexpectedly seeing another person climbing up as the end approached.

The little girl who had been teleported here earlier collapsed as soon as she landed and was supported and rescued by Elder Li and others. However, the current newcomer seemed calm, making many present feel a chill in their hearts.

Li Hao had not been apprenticed in the sect for long, and since he was always either in the courtyard or out in Futu City, other disciples of the Heavenly Institute had little impression of him. But when Elder Li, Zhou Qingyun, Wei Hongye, and others beside them saw Li Hao’s appearance clearly, they all widened their eyes, showing expressions of disbelief and shock.

“Little… Seventh Junior Brother?”

Wei Hongye was stunned.

Li Tie Mu, who was holding the unconscious Yue Xi, was also dumbfounded, eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost, staring at Li Hao.

Could this kid also make it?

“Hmm?”

Murong Qingwu also looked at Li Hao with surprise, as if recognizing this junior brother for the first time.

According to their master, Yue Xi and this junior brother had joined the sect not long before Gu Yan. That Yue Xi, with the bloodline of the Calamity Clan, could climb up, was already astonishing enough; yet she ended up severely injured and unconscious. In contrast, this boy looked extremely relaxed as if it were nothing.

Beside them, Ji Qingxuan and Lu Wuchen exchanged glances, both with expressions of surprise. Ji Qingxuan was not familiar with the three new junior disciples, but knew roughly about them, never expecting that besides the Sword Immortal, the other two could also climb up one after the other.

“How did you get up here?”

The old lady standing next to Zhou Qingyun flickered her figure and appeared in front of Li Hao, scrutinizing him with suspicion.

They saw Yue Xi defeated the Ancestor Dragon and thought that near the end, no one would challenge again, sending Yue Xi to the mountaintop. Yet, after leaving for just a moment, someone actually climbed to the top from the Seventh Layer.

The brief time they were gone wasn’t even enough for a match; she even doubted whether Li Hao bypassed the Seventh Layer and flew in from outside the Emperor Sword Mountain on the Sixth Layer. But this possibility was even more improbable, with the Immortal Country of the Abyss Master shrouding everything, such a thing couldn’t happen.

“Walked up.”

Li Hao said.

The old lady was somewhat speechless, looking Li Hao up and down, “Did you defeat the Ancestor Dragon?”

Li Hao thought of the Ancestor Dragon that was split in half, but he hadn’t used his Space Origin Fourth Level power in that slash; the opponent should be able to heal:

“Sort of.”

Seeing the youthful grin on the boy’s face, the old lady’s expression turned somewhat grave, faintly sensing some peculiar feeling from this boy, a certain quality distinct from other young talents; seemingly amiable yet able to erupt with tremendous danger at any moment.

Behind Ji Qingxuan and others, Gu Yan stood a little distance from Old Man Li, his eyes fixed on Li Hao, as if for the first time, seriously assessing this senior brother ranked ahead of him.

The earlier appearance of Yue Xi had already moved him somewhat, and he hadn’t imagined that Li Hao would also reach the top.

As a natural Sword Immortal physique, he had always been far ahead of his peers and those of the same realm, it was usual. Yet now, this cultivation gap wasn’t as wide as he had imagined.

“That boy seems to be a disciple who had just apprenticed under Elder Li not long ago.”

“No wonder he’s unfamiliar.”

“Just apprenticed not long ago and climbed to the top? What’s his cultivation, I can’t even sense it.”

“I heard there was one with a Dao Heart ringing nine times, could it be him?”

“Probably is.”

“So many disciples from Elder Li’s sect climbed to the top this time, almost all of them came!”

In front of the thatched hut, many disciples were whispering, all scrutinizing Li Hao.

Meanwhile, outside Emperor Sword Mountain, there was an uproar and excitement.

With Yue Xi and Li Hao climbing the mountain one after the other, obtaining the qualification to comprehend the Emperor Sword near the end, many disciples felt shock and envy.

However, Yue Xi had already made a name for herself in the Sword Abyss, renowned on the Emperor Sword Cliff, known by many.

But Li Hao, who followed and climbed up, wasn’t recognized by many disciples, leading to much discussion and speculation about who he was.

“It’s him…”

Xu Jianming stood on a hillside, blankly staring at the figure making the last ascent, not expecting it to be the amiable junior brother he hadn’t seen in two years, who had stayed at the First Level.

He stood dumbfounded; moments later, suddenly looking around, he realized that apart from himself, there was not a single person.

Except for him, all the senior brothers and sisters in front, junior brothers and sisters behind had all climbed up the mountain!!

Leaving only himself.

“Damn it…”

Xu Jianming lamented inwardly.

…

At the top of Emperor Sword Mountain.

Not long after Li Hao arrived, the old lady and Zhou Qingyun bid farewell to Old Man Li and returned to the Seventh Layer to continue guarding.

To prevent encountering another odd character like Li Hao, who silently slipped up, they intended to verify things with the Ancestor Dragon.

However, when they reached the Seventh Layer, they saw the Ancestor Dragon healing its body, the process somewhat slow, its aura greatly weakened.

“You…”

The old lady and Zhou Yunqing were both shocked, looking at the massive tear on the Ancestor Dragon’s body, with half of it not yet healed, clearly having been split in half by a sword!

The Ancestor Dragon, upon seeing them, suddenly felt a sense of kinship, for the first time finding these two old beings not so annoying and obnoxious.