Urban Peerless Expert-Chapter 3748 - 3767: The Final Heavenly Stairway

The burly man and the frail man waved their hands, and the battle axe and Black Blade had already turned into streaks of light, chasing after Lin Chen.

They reacted quickly but were ultimately a step too slow.

Before the battle axe and Black Blade could catch up to Lin Chen, he had already reached the mountaintop Teleportation Gate, swiftly retrieved the now-shrunken Linglong Tower, and stepped into the Teleportation Gate in an instant.

Lin Chen’s vision blurred for a moment, and a small space appeared in front of him. Inside the space was the previous Gatekeeper, in addition to another Teleportation Gate.

Seeing the Gatekeeper, Lin Chen anxiously said, "Hurry up and go, why are you staying here? They’re coming after us."

The Gatekeeper smiled, took out a Token from his chest, and made a gesture in the air, instantly creating another Teleportation Gate in midair.

"Congratulations on breaking through the Eighth Level, please proceed."

Lin Chen’s face lit up with a smile, "Everything just now was part of the assessment content?"

The Gatekeeper smiled and said, "Yes."

Lin Chen relaxed immediately, "If I hadn’t saved you and came directly here, would that mean I failed the assessment?"

The Gatekeeper pointed to the existing Teleportation Gate, "This Teleportation Gate does not lead to the next level; it transports you to an adjacent area, still part of the Eighth Level."

"If you hadn’t saved me earlier, or chose not to save me at the last moment and headed straight for the Teleportation Gate, you would fail the challenge and need to re-enter a different assessment area to take the assessment again."

The Gatekeeper pointed to the Teleportation Gate in front of him, "The key to the Teleportation Gate leading to the Ninth Level has always been with me. If I don’t go through this gate, it won’t open."

Lin Chen understood immediately and laughed, "Looks like I guessed right."

The Gatekeeper smiled, "At the beginning, many people make the same choice, which is to ensure the Gatekeeper’s safety in uncertain situations and go together towards the Teleportation Gate."

"On one hand, they worry that if the Gatekeeper dies, they can’t break through the level. On the other hand, having the Gatekeeper lead the way can help find the Teleportation Gate more quickly, saving time."

"The true test is before the Teleportation Gate because a second interceptor will appear, and the trialist will inevitably face a two-on-one situation. The interceptor will attack me first, which is the trialist’s second choice."

"If you abandon me and head straight for the Teleportation Gate, the only gate available after entering will lead to another area. If you don’t abandon me, you’ll face an attack by two people and need to break through their line of defense to escape into the Teleportation Gate."

"You managed to do it all, so congratulations on successfully passing the challenge."

Lin Chen said with a laugh, "Good thing I chose correctly, otherwise, all this blood would have been wasted."

The Gatekeeper said no more, merely made a gesture for Lin Chen to proceed. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Lin Chen clasped his hands in thanks to the other and stepped through the Teleportation Gate.

In an instant, his surroundings changed, and he found himself behind the Barrier Wall, stepping into the Ninth Level, the final level of the Heavenly God Paradise.

Lin Chen dared not delay and headed directly north. Soon, he reached the end of the path.

He saw a staircase.

A staircase towering amidst a sea of clouds.

He could only see the lower half of the staircase; the upper part was completely hidden in the sea of clouds and could not be seen clearly. He could only faintly see a golden hue above, which turned the clouds golden as well.

The Heavenly Stairway?

Is this the assessment of the Ninth Level?

Ascending the Heavenly Stairway is considered a successful breakthrough, marking the exit from the Heavenly God Paradise?

Lin Chen flew to the foot of the Heavenly Stairway, but he didn’t rush to step onto it. Instead, he sat cross-legged and fed himself a medicinal pill, closing his eyes.

Earlier, he had been besieged by those two and had exhausted a lot of spiritual power, sustaining significant injuries.

He was uncertain if there were other trialists already on the Heavenly Stairway, but regardless, he had to ensure he was in the best condition before attempting the challenge.

This Heavenly Stairway being the Ninth Level, or the final level, indicates that its difficulty is undoubtedly the highest, probably more difficult than being besieged by two sage-level opponents!

Under such circumstances, if one rushes in unprepared, it is basically impossible to pass the level and may even suffer severe damage.

Although the barriers inside are not meant to kill, there’s no saying they won’t harm. After all, this is the final assessment for all gifted individuals, targeting all of them. Without pressure, how can the ultimate victory be determined?

While Lin Chen was recovering, more figures arrived at the foot of the Heavenly Stairway one after another.

Seeing Lin Chen sitting cross-legged, they were all taken aback.

A different race!

This different race managed to arrive here earlier than us!

Despite their shock, none of them questioned Lin Chen, nor did they even engage in conversation.

Everyone knew time was precious, so how could it be wasted on useless conversations?

During that time, it would be better to recover a bit more.

Some of them, like Lin Chen, sat cross-legged, consumed pills, and let themselves recover to their best state, but others hesitated, put a pill in their mouth, and then decisively set foot on the Heavenly Stairway.

By the time Lin Chen had recovered to his best state, half a day had already passed.

When Lin Chen opened his eyes and looked around, there were already more than a dozen people sitting around him, and on the Heavenly Stairway ahead, there were already six or seven people climbing with effort.

These people climbed very slowly, their powerful strength seemingly vanished, and each one seemed like an ordinary person, climbing one step at a time.

From the ground, those standing on the Heavenly Stairway looked very small, with sluggish movements, each resembling a decrepit old man.

Lin Chen stood up and stepped lightly onto the Heavenly Stairway.

The moment Lin Chen moved, it seemed to alarm the group of people beside him. At least half of those ten plus people opened their eyes without hesitation, stood up, and followed Lin Chen onto the Heavenly Stairway.

Lin Chen looked back and saw a dozen pairs of eyes staring at him, feeling a bit speechless.

Not to this extent.

Why are you all staring at me?

I’m not even the first; there are at least six or seven ahead, and the ones in front have almost reached the edge of the cloud sea. Who knows if there are any forerunners above the cloud sea.

If you want to go, go; if you want to recover, recover. Why is it when I move, all of you follow?

These people met Lin Chen’s gaze with eyes full of provocative looks.

Yes, that’s right, we’re staring at you.

A different race like you arriving first indicates your impressive ability.

The ones ahead didn’t recover much and went up; even if they’re fast, they might not reach the end. But you’ve recovered for so long; you must be in top condition by now.

If we don’t follow you or surpass you, wouldn’t that make you the first? Losing to others is more acceptable, but losing to you, a different race, where would that leave our pride?

Even if slightly unprepared and not in the best condition, we must go up.

Let’s see who’s really stronger among us!