# Chapter 1005: Harder Than Ascending to the Blue Sky
Lin Feng saw Qiu Yuexin sent flying backward, his expression suddenly stiffening. He quickly stepped forward and caught Qiu Yuexin's body in his arms.
"Boom, boom, boom!" Lin Feng was forced back violently through the void, feeling an incredibly terrifying force pressing down on him.
"Let me go, you're bearing the oppressive force meant for both of us." Qiu Yuexin reacted and shouted at Lin Feng, but Lin Feng's body continued to hold her tightly. A terrifying bloodline power surged within him, and only then did his body slowly come to a stop. He landed safely on the heavenly staircase, but by now they had been pushed back dozens of steps.
"Are you alright?" Lin Feng wiped the blood from the corner of Qiu Yuexin's mouth. Seeing her injured, he felt a pang of distress in his heart.
"I'll do it myself." Qiu Yuexin pulled herself out of Lin Feng's embrace, stomped hard on the ground to steady herself, and looked at Lin Feng with surprise. She hadn't expected Lin Feng's strength to be so formidable, bearing the oppressive force of two people alone. The pressure pressing down on him should have been more than Lin Feng could withstand, even though she had also used her own power to resist.
"What happened just now?" Lin Feng asked in confusion. When Qiu Yuexin had stepped onto the eighty-first step from the top, she had been sent flying directly.
"That step... the force is terrifying." Qiu Yuexin's eyes flickered as she stared at the final eighty-one steps.
"Let me try." Lin Feng's steps moved rapidly, and soon he reached the spot where Qiu Yuexin had just been—the eighty-second step from the top.
"Lin Feng, be careful. That force is terrifying." Qiu Yuexin walked up and warned Lin Feng. The area around them was empty, with only the two of them here. Even standing on the staircase, they could feel a suffocating pressure bearing down on them, making their entire bodies feel tightly constricted. True essence power flowed unceasingly through Lin Feng and Qiu Yuexin's bodies, and they had also mobilized their bloodline power, allowing them to stand steadily here.
"The Heavenly Terrace is eighteen thousand zhang high, one zhang per heavenly step." At this moment, a voice echoed through the void, causing Lin Feng and Qiu Yuexin's expressions to freeze. Then, they saw a figure standing atop the eighteen thousand steps.
"Someone from the Heavenly Terrace." Lin Feng and Qiu Yuexin stared at this person. Appearing at the eighteen thousandth step, it was clear that this person was from the Heavenly Terrace.
The figure that appeared wore a simple cloth robe—plain, unadorned, without any color, just like his appearance: calm, peaceful, and serene. Around his neck hung a string of prayer beads, and atop his head, there was not a single strand of hair—completely bare.
"A monk?" Lin Feng murmured to himself. This person was dressed like a monk.
However, Qiu Yuexin's way of addressing this person was clearly different from Lin Feng's. She softly called out, "An ascetic monk."
"The Heavenly Terrace is eighteen thousand zhang high, one zhang per heavenly step. These final eighty-one steps—one step, one layer of heaven—harder than ascending to the blue sky. You two should return on the day of the disciple assessment." The ascetic monk spoke in a low voice, but his words were clear and drifted into Lin Feng and Qiu Yuexin's ears.
"One step, one layer of heaven—harder than ascending to the blue sky." Lin Feng's expression stiffened. No wonder—these final eighty-one steps were the true test. And just as the crowd had speculated, these eighteen thousand heavenly steps were indeed the required assessment for becoming a Martial Emperor's disciple.
"Master, may I ask how many steps one must climb to pass the disciple assessment?" Qiu Yuexin asked the young monk. Although this ascetic monk appeared young, she understood in her heart that he must be a formidable expert, otherwise he wouldn't be able to appear on the Heavenly Terrace and guard the staircase.
"These eighty-one steps are divided into nine grades. Every nine steps have equal pressure, also called the Nine Layers of Heaven. Climbing to the Second Layer of Heaven—that is, the tenth step—counts as passing the disciple assessment." The ascetic monk did not hide the information and answered truthfully.
Qiu Yuexin and Lin Feng exchanged a glance. They only needed to climb to the Second Layer of Heaven, the tenth step, to pass the assessment. This showed just how terrifying the Nine Layers of Heaven truly were.
"Master, may I try?" Lin Feng looked at the ascetic monk and asked.
The ascetic monk smiled and said, "Normally, no one can ascend the Nine Layers of Heaven today. However, considering you are an old acquaintance, you may try one step."
"Old acquaintance?" Lin Feng's expression froze as he looked at the ascetic monk. He didn't know this person—why would the other party say they were old acquaintances?
"Master, do you know me?" Lin Feng asked in confusion.
"Lin Feng." The ascetic monk smiled, causing Lin Feng's eyes to freeze once again. He really did know him!
Not only Lin Feng, but Qiu Yuexin beside him also froze. This ascetic monk knew Lin Feng—how astonishing! Someone from the Heavenly Terrace, a personal disciple of the Martial Emperor, knew Lin Feng!
But then a brilliant smile spread across Qiu Yuexin's face. She said to Lin Feng, "It seems there are many things you've been hiding from me."
"Uh..." Lin Feng was speechless. He looked at Qiu Yuexin and said, "It doesn't seem like you've asked me about anything either, but..."
Lin Feng turned back to the ascetic monk and said, "But I don't believe I've ever met you, Master. How do you know me?"
"I learned of you from Second Senior Brother." The ascetic monk smiled and then said no more. "Alright, Lin Feng. Strive to become a Martial Emperor's disciple, and you will understand then."
"Second Senior Brother!"
Lin Feng's expression stiffened. Second Senior Brother!
Suddenly, a figure flashed through his mind—that extraordinary, outstanding figure whom Qiongqi had called a heaven-defying genius. The personal disciple of Stone Emperor and Yu Emperor, ranked second, Azure Forest Reincarnation Sword—Hou Qinglin!
That was it. It had to be him. Hou Qinglin had visited the Qian Domain and seen Lin Feng several times. Moreover, Hou Qinglin seemed to have helped him once. But even now, Lin Feng still didn't understand why.
What kind of person was Hou Qinglin? He dared to scold and humiliate even Xuanyuan Potian. One could say that Lin Feng was nothing in front of Hou Qinglin now. So why had Hou Qinglin taken notice of him? And why had he helped him before?
Lin Feng's heart was full of doubts, but the smile on Qiu Yuexin's face beside him grew even brighter. This guy... he actually knew people from the Heavenly Terrace, and even knew the Second Senior Brother the ascetic monk mentioned. If this got out, Lin Feng's status and position would immediately rise by countless levels. Back then, Qiu Mei and the others wouldn't have dared to look down on Lin Feng like that. And the Yang family—if they knew, they wouldn't have treated Lin Feng with such humiliation when he sent Yang Ziye to the Yang family.
Qiu Yuexin began to look forward to it. When Lin Feng became a Martial Emperor's disciple, and those people discovered that Lin Feng was acquainted with people from the Heavenly Terrace, it would certainly be interesting.
Lin Feng pushed aside the flood of questions in his mind and looked at the first step of the First Layer of Heaven. A terrifying surge of blood energy roiled within him, and his entire body seemed filled with inexhaustible power.
The oppressive force of the heavenly steps was proportional to one's cultivation level. The stronger one's cultivation, the stronger the oppressive force. However, the power Lin Feng could unleash far exceeded his cultivation level. That was why he had been able to ascend the steps with ease all the way to the Nine Layers of Heaven. Qiu Yuexin had more difficulty than him because although her strength was greater than his, the ratio of her latent power to her actual cultivation level wasn't as wide as Lin Feng's.
Qiu Yuexin stepped aside slightly, her gaze fixed on Lin Feng's figure. She wondered if Lin Feng could climb this First Layer of Heaven.
Lin Feng slowly lifted his foot and suddenly stepped toward the first step of the First Layer of Heaven.
"Boom! Boom!" An incomparably terrifying force crashed down from above. Although it was only one step higher than below, the power was countless times more terrifying. Lin Feng's clothes wildly fluttered, his long hair flew, and his entire body even emitted cracking sounds, as if it was about to be crushed.
Qiu Yuexin felt her heart tighten as she stared at Lin Feng without moving. Fortunately, Lin Feng's one foot stood firmly.
Bloodline power flowed unceasingly. True essence power and Buddha-Demon power frantically circulated through Lin Feng's body. At this moment, the power within Lin Feng was enough to easily obliterate a Fifth Layer of Heavenly Martial Realm expert, and even an ordinary Sixth Layer of Heavenly Martial Realm cultivator probably couldn't withstand the power he could unleash right now.
His other foot slowly lifted, then suddenly stepped forward. A loud booming sound rang out as Lin Feng's legs rooted themselves firmly on the First Layer of Heaven, steady and unshakable.
The terrifying momentum of heaven and earth rolled down. Lin Feng raised his head, looking at the eighty steps above him, his eyes gleaming with sharpness. This terrifying momentum pressing down on him made his blood boil with excitement!
Qiu Yuexin's tense expression softened into a gentle smile. He made it. This guy was impressive. So this was how strong he really was. She had been sent flying in an instant earlier, but of course, that was because she hadn't been prepared and hadn't expected the momentum of heaven and earth to suddenly increase to such a terrifying degree!
PS: Still can't access the homepage, but I can access the backend. Frustrating. I heard the flower count has already exceeded one thousand—impressive. Just over one hundred more, and there will be another burst of updates. Young ones, keep working hard!