Dugu Wudi stepped into the air.
*Boom!*
The heavens roared. Ye Qiu felt a seismic shift in Dugu Wudi’s aura, like a divine sword unsheathed, its edge fully bared.
*Boom!*
His second step echoed like a war drum, shaking the air, nearly rupturing eardrums. “Too fierce!” the Long Eyebrow Immortal said enviously. “When will I reach Saint level?”
Ye Qiu’s eyes burned as he watched Dugu Wudi’s steps, sensing they were deliberately shown for him. With the third step, Dugu Wudi’s aura surged, like a dragon emerging. Each step amplified his presence, and by the sixth, the void trembled. The seventh brought swirling winds and shifting skies. The eighth unleashed the sound of the Great Dao—mystical, vast, as if ancient deities sang across time, laden with profound truths.
Ye Qiu and the Long Eyebrow Immortal were flooded with insights. The Long Eyebrow Immortal sat cross-legged, meditating. On the ninth step, Dugu Wudi’s aura pierced the heavens, and a glowing ring of mysterious runes appeared, like a portal.
“Nine Steps, Nine Heavens, Invincible in the World. Kid, I’ll wait for you in the cultivation world!” Dugu Wudi glanced at Ye Qiu, stepped into the portal, and vanished with it.
The world stilled. Ye Qiu glanced at the Long Eyebrow Immortal, deep in meditation, and began mimicking Dugu Wudi’s steps. He’d noticed each step boosted Dugu Wudi’s aura, peaking at the ninth. Though Dugu Wudi restrained his power to avoid leveling Shu Mountain, the technique was profound.
“These steps are mystical. Nine steps maximize aura. Could they also boost combat power?” Ye Qiu, empowered by his Nine Revolutions Dragon Art’s fourth stage, Insight Realm, had enhanced comprehension. Closing his eyes, he replayed Dugu Wudi’s movements and stepped forward.
*Boom!*
His fighting spirit ignited. Two more steps, and it rose by thirty percent. Three more, and it surged again. By the eighth, his spirit peaked. “Strange. Dugu Wudi took nine steps, but my spirit maxed at eight. Why?” He tried for a ninth but felt something was missing. Hovering mid-air, he reflected on Dugu Wudi’s movements.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal opened his eyes, beaming. “Little rascal, that Great Dao sound refined my cultivation. After my tribulation, I’ll hit mid-Venerable Realm. With my Five Thunder Method and other secrets, I could rival peak Venerables. I could crush you now!”
Ye Qiu didn’t respond, focused. “Hey, you listening? Come down, let’s spar!” the Long Eyebrow Immortal urged, rolling up his sleeves.
Ye Qiu’s eyes snapped open, divine light flashing. He took the ninth step.
*Boom!*
A thunderous roar. Golden light erupted from him, his fighting spirit a tidal wave. The Long Eyebrow Immortal, on the ground, felt an invincible will, gazing at Ye Qiu like a war god. “How’s his spirit so terrifying? I wanted to thrash him, but now I’d be lucky not to get thrashed. Damn, it’s infuriating.”
Ye Qiu was equally shocked. On the ninth step, dragon roars echoed in his veins, his strength condensed, potential unleashed, tripling his fighting spirit. “I get it. The ninth step is sublime transcendence. No wonder he said, ‘Nine Steps, Nine Heavens, Invincible.’ This triples combat power. My realm’s low, but with a higher realm, could it amplify tenfold, a hundredfold?”
Eager to advance, a deafening *boom* interrupted him. A massive thunderbolt lit the night sky—his tribulation had arrived. He’d planned to use Shu Mountain’s dragon vein to break through, but with it gone, he faced the tribulation head-on.
Half an hour later, it ended. Ye Qiu reached early Venerable Realm. Sitting mid-air, he healed, then landed before the Long Eyebrow Immortal. “Old thing, didn’t you say you’d crush me?”
“Nonsense! Even with ten guts, I wouldn’t dare!” the Long Eyebrow Immortal backpedaled.
“Coward,” Ye Qiu snorted.
Fearing a fight, the Long Eyebrow Immortal changed the topic. “Dugu Wudi, a Saint, must have treasures, yet he only gave you a stone sword? Stingy!”
Ye Qiu remembered the sword, stored in his Qiankun Cauldron while he focused on the Nine Steps. He retrieved it, but as he gripped it, a *crack* sounded—fissures spread across the stone sword.
