Chapter Fourteen: Breakthrough

  "Heh heh, the Thousand Layered Staircase has claimed another soul. I look at this staircase and see that only those who have reached the Bone Forging Seventh Yang Peak can set foot on it! Let's just wait for next year's assessment instead!"

  "Right! We're not in a hurry for this year either. Let's go!"

  Many of the disciples who were still hesitating looked at Qin Long, who had fallen on the stairs, and they all steeled themselves to leave, turning around to head down the mountain. In less than half a minute, nearly a thousand people had left, with only about a hundred remaining, hesitant to move forward, their eyes fixed on Qin Long in front of them, with a hint of expectation in their eyes! Why was this? Perhaps it was because they were instinctively comparing themselves to Qin Long, measuring whether they had a certain chance of stepping onto the stairs.

  Half an hour later!

  A faint vortex appeared around Qin Long's body, which quickly grew larger and eventually formed a massive spiritual vortex with a circumference of over three zhang. Those who were staring at Qin Long all sensed it and stood there in shock.

  "ROAR!!" Qin Long, who had fallen to the ground, suddenly lifted his head and looked forward at the staircase that seemed to connect the sky, with a sharp and determined glint in his eyes! He let out a low growl and forced himself to stand up! If someone were to examine Qin Long's body at this moment, they would be shocked to find that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was pouring into his life force bone, which in turn was releasing powerful energies into his limbs and bones!

  Qin Long stood up once again, his unimposing body seemingly possessing the power to hold up the heavens! The battle armor on his back had already begun to show signs of cracking under this intense pressure, as if it was about to shatter at any moment.

  Staring fixedly at the stairs in front of him, Qin Long mustered all his strength and lifted his right foot with great difficulty! One foot supported this oppressive force, causing Qin Long's body to sway unsteadily as if he was about to collapse! But Qin Long gritted his teeth, his muscles tense, and a surge of pure energy burst forth from the marrow of his bones, filling his entire body!

  "Ah!!" Qin Long let out a mighty roar, and in that instant, the spiritual whirlpool around him continued to expand to ten zhang in diameter. The heavenly and earthly spiritual energy poured into Qin Long's primordial force bone like a sea absorbing all rivers!!!

  "Bang!" A loud explosion sounded, and at the moment Qin Long's right foot stepped on the 39th floor, his battle armor suddenly burst apart, and the weight he carried disappeared, causing Qin Long to take several steps in a row, quickly stepping onto the 40th floor.

  Forty-one stories.

  ……

  Fifty floors...

  When Qin Long took a deep breath and stepped onto the 60th floor, those disciples who had not yet left and were still hesitating were all stunned, with faces full of bewilderment.

  What's going on?

  Has this person broken through the boundaries of the origin? No, he hasn't, but why can he reach the 60th floor?

  At the moment when everyone was stunned, Qin Long stepped onto the 65th step of the staircase, and he had already become a blood man, with fresh blood gushing out from every pore on his body! Perhaps the pressure of the 65th floor was not enough to make other Bone Refining Five Yang cultivators look so miserable. But Qin Long's innate physical ability was too poor, and after being tempered by the heavenly thunder, he still couldn't make up for his physical deficiency in a short period of time. However, this assessment might be able to stimulate Qin Long's limit, allowing his physique to gradually improve.

  Standing on the sixty-fifth floor, Qin Long breathed heavily like an ox, with a hint of bloodthirsty intent. His firm and profound gaze looked forward at the stairs, without saying a word, but his heart was already filled with doubt: "Why can't I still break through? Clearly feeling that I'm about to break through, yet I still can't break through? Could it be that this is still my limit?"

  At this moment, the pressure Qin Long felt was not only the physical force bearing down on his body, but also a sense of fear and crisis emanating from his soul!! Moreover, this crisis was gradually intensifying, causing Qin Long's gaze to fixate on the 66th layer, plunging him into hesitation. He had already sensed the danger of life and death; if he took another step, he couldn't predict the consequences, and blindly stepping forward might cost him his life, or perhaps, it would allow him to break through the Five Yangs of Refining Bones and enter the Six Yangs.

  Qin Long slowly turned around to look at the stairs behind him, then turned back to face the front stairs. He clenched his fists and muttered in a low voice: "In the past, I grew up under my father's wings. Perhaps, as they said, if I didn't have my father, I wouldn't even be qualified to be a member of the Qin family! If I still lived like before, it would be better for me to die." After finishing speaking, Qin Long firmly lifted his right foot and stepped onto the 66th floor!

  Fifteen years of endurance, fifteen years of criticism have made Qin Long understand the importance of strength. Today, he has become a Bone Frame Master. If he doesn't dare to fight, he will remain unknown for his entire life. If he can gain even stronger strength, why wouldn't he be willing to fight?

  "Ah!!" Qin Long let out a miserable cry as he stepped on the 66th step, his skin bursting with blood beads that merged into lines and flowed onto the steps. The muscles in his body were gradually collapsing under the pressure, his bones cracking with a loud "crack". This huge crisis stimulated Qin Long's life force bone, and at this moment, it burst out with a powerful thunderous energy, rushing into his four limbs and hundred joints.

  Perhaps it was the crisis of life and death that triggered the power of thunder contained in his bones, as the power of thunder poured into his limbs, Qin Long's body had already appeared with a dense purple lightning net, forming a lightning defense shield, making the disciples below stare in amazement, and even many people frantically rubbed their eyes, staring at Qin Long on the 66th floor.

  "What kind of power is this? A purple web-like thing? Why have I never heard of it before?"

  "This person has actually broken through on the stairs!! If... if I also stepped onto the stairs, would..."

  Many disciples who saw Qin Long's transformation fell into deep thought. They were already hesitant and didn't want to become a soul on the ladder of death. At this moment, Qin Long's breakthrough touched their minds and dispelled their hesitation.

  "Is... this the power of Refining Bones and Six Yangs?" Qin Long, standing motionless on the stairs, slowly lowered his head, gazing at the lightning web that had appeared on his body, murmuring softly.

  Refine the six yang bones, unleash the power of the innate bone! At this moment, Qin Long was unleashing the power of his innate bone, causing his actual strength to rapidly increase. This power gathered throughout his body, causing those fractured muscles to recover, and his entire skeletal system was also gradually strengthened under the envelopment of this power.

  Slowly raising his head to look at the stairs in front of him, Qin Long's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he actually started sprinting up the stairs again. After entering the Six Yangs Bone Refining stage, his strength had increased by several times! This pressure was no longer as difficult for him to move forward.

  The disciples below saw Qin Long rushing down again, and they all fell into deep thought. Not long after, several disciples took the lead and walked up the stairs. They were inspired by Qin Long, and they also hoped to break through their current realm. They too wanted to become a disciple of the Wan Long Sect through their own hard work!!

  Just as Qin Long stepped on the stairs, at the highest few layers of the thousand-layered staircase, Zen Qingfeng walked forward with slow steps. If Qin Long saw it, he would definitely be shocked. At this time, Zen Qingfeng's walking speed was consistent with when he first came up, neither fast nor slow, as if strolling in a leisurely courtyard, as if the pressure on these stairs didn't exist for him!

  When Zen Qingfeng reached the last step, he didn't rush to step up. Although, as long as he stepped on this last step, he could become a disciple of the Wàn Lóng Zōng that countless people dreamed of!

  In front of him, an old man with a head full of white hair and wearing a white robe sat cross-legged on the ground like an ancient mountain, while beside the old man, a cold and ruthless young man panted heavily as he sat on the ground. Obviously, he had already passed the test, but when he saw Zhen Qingfeng's calm face, not even sweating, the young man's pupils constricted and his expression became somewhat unnatural. He was proud of being a genius and, with the identity of the first person to pass the Wanlong Sect assessment, he explained that he was a dragon among men. However, at this moment, facing this man who was like a gentle breeze, he didn't have any sense of superiority.

  Chan Qingfeng glanced at the old man and the cold youth, then slowly turned around, looking at the stairs that led directly to the mountain waist. A moment later, to the surprise of the cold youth, Chan Qingfeng sat down slowly and did not rush to pass the assessment.

  Three days later!

  Qin Long stood on the 356th step, this was his limit! The limit of refining his bones with six yangs! Although it was only a short period of three days, during the process of climbing the stairs, Qin Long's strength had rapidly increased! At this moment, his strength had once again reached an extremely high point! Moreover, he had gained some control over the power of his innate force bone.

  "Three hundred and fifty-six, plus six hundred and forty-four levels!" Qin Long panted, gazing at the stairs ahead of him, muttering to himself.

  Suddenly, Qin Long's gaze froze on a figure around the 400th floor! Qin Long recognized this person at a glance as that beast-skin youth, Bai Shan!! At this time, Bai Shan's condition was not much better than Qin Long's. His originally robust and straight body was now bent into an arc, and the beast skin he wore had been dyed red with blood! What made Qin Long slightly stunned was that on the mountain waist, Bai Shan's cultivation was at the fifth yang of bone refinement, but now, he could actually step onto such a staircase. He probably broke through to the sixth yang of bone refinement as well, and at this time, he had also reached his limit!

  After struggling, Bai Shan seemed to know that he couldn't continue advancing. He let out a few low growls and sat down weakly, starting to cultivate!

  It's clear that breaking through to the sixth stage of Bone Forging is impossible to pass the assessment, only by entering the seventh stage of Bone Forging is there a possibility! Fortunately, the Wan Long Sect did not set a time limit for passing the assessment, but only established the conditions below the Earth Boundary, otherwise, those who can pass are only people like Chan Qingfeng!

  His gaze withdrew from Bai Shan, and Qin Long looked towards the stairs in front of him! After a brief silence, Qin Long took out the dried meat that had been prepared long ago from his storage ring, tore off a few pieces, and directly threw them into his mouth. He chewed quickly and then slowly sat down cross-legged. Three hundred and fifty-six was also his limit; he could only cultivate for a period of time before making another push to reach an even higher level.

  P.S: Collect it~