Chapter 1856: The Last Step

The Fifth Generation Sun Bumian smiled slightly upon hearing this:

"You're wrong..."

"What?"

"To complete a Divine Path Self-Verification, you do need some anchors to let heaven and earth recognize your contribution." The Fifth Generation Sun Bumian paused for a moment, his gaze full of confidence as he looked at the figure in the theatrical robe.

"But it's not that you can only be recognized by heaven and earth if you have enough anchors..."

"If what he did is weighty enough, even one anchor is enough."

The Sixth Generation Sun Bumian was thoughtful.

……

Cheng Tian Realm.

Bedchamber.

The scent of medicine swirled in the room. A weak figure sat on the edge of the bed, coughing gently.

"Cough, cough... how is the situation?"

Ying Fu asked slowly.

Below the bed, a figure was constantly staring at the void beside him, as if observing something, and then respectfully relayed: "Your Majesty, he is about to step onto the eighth step."

"What about the past of the Divine Path Self-Verification?"

"It's almost impossible to see clearly... there are only some very fragmented pasts. You can't tell what he's doing, nor can you see what value he has to heaven and earth." The figure couldn't help but add,

"It seems his Divine Path Self-Verification is going to fail."

Ying Fu did not answer.

He just looked calmly out the window at the blooming branches, where a pair of gorgeous and beautiful butterfly wings were struggling to break out of the cocoon bit by bit.

The cracks on the cocoon had spread completely; it seemed that as long as the butterfly shook its wings slightly, it would shatter completely.

"Your Majesty, are you really not going to take back the Imperial Seal?" The figure hesitated for a moment before asking.

"Although that Chen Ling might not be able to verify himself successfully, his past will still mislead the perception of many citizens... Just the previous fragments have already caused a small number of people to change their views on him. If this continues, what if..."

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..."

Violent coughing suddenly erupted, and strands of blood fell through Ying Fu's fingers.

His coughing sounded like a broken bellows, extremely airy. On Ying Fu's aged face, paleness and pain appeared.

Seeing this, the figure hurried forward to wipe the bloodstains for Ying Fu. The latter sat silently on the edge of the bed like a statue, not moving, not knowing what he was thinking.

"...Your Majesty?"

"Forget it." Ying Fu shook his head. "...Let him be."

The figure was stunned and wanted to say something else, but Ying Fu spoke again: "Go, bring me my sword."

Although he didn't understand why His Majesty wanted a sword in the bedchamber, he still responded respectfully:

"Yes."

A moment later, he returned to the bed and knelt down, holding an Imperial Sword with both hands.

Ying Fu supported himself on the edge of the bed with both hands and slowly stood up. The white robe hem, stained with dots of blood, dragged lightly on the steps. He walked step by step to the Imperial Sword.

His hands gently grasped the hilt of the Imperial Sword. The next moment, vast imperial power surged out from it!

The Imperial Sword seemed to have received some kind of decree, humming as it floated into the air, and then, as if it possessed self-awareness, it whistled out of the bedchamber door and flew straight toward a certain direction.

……

At the same time,

In the courtyard of the South Sea Prison.

Pu Xiazhan sat on a chair, her eyes nervously watching the scene of Chen Ling's Divine Path Self-Verification. She forgot to eat the grapes she had brought to her mouth, remaining frozen in place like a statue.

"Miss, why are you still watching him?" The Pu family steward couldn't help but speak up. "His Divine Path Self-Verification is almost finished, and there are still not many anchors... He won't become a Ninth Rank."

"I don't think so." Pu Xiazhan thought for a moment.

"However, I have never seen the scene of ascending to the Ninth Rank with my own eyes... If the Divine Path Self-Verification is completed, what will happen?"

"Before our Pu family, there was a Book Divine Path demigod." The steward recalled carefully.

"Back then, he performed his Divine Path Self-Verification in the South Sea Prison. It is said that after the self-verification was completed, his aura erupted like a rolling volcano, and the entire prison could sense the resonance of the Book Divine Path... Moreover, ten miles of auspicious light descended from the sky, lingering over the South Sea Prison for a full three hours before receding."

"There was also auspicious light?"

"I also heard that after heaven and earth complete the personal witness, they will indeed descend auspicious light based on the Divine Path practitioner's contribution to heaven and earth... However, times have changed. The demigods appearing now, even if they complete the Divine Path Self-Verification, may not necessarily trigger auspicious light. Some even say that the promotion of a Duke will instead attract heavenly thunder or something..."

"It's so complicated... I don't know if I will ever have the day to ascend to a demigod."

Pu Xiazhan let out a long sigh.

"By the way, our South Sea Prison also appeared in his past just now. Although it was only a few seconds of footage, it was still very different from now..."

Pu Xiazhan's eyes gradually brightened. "Do you think he really restarted the world?"

"This... I don't know."

"Restarting the world... If that's the case, then he is truly quite amazing." Pu Xiazhan became more excited the more she thought about it. She looked at the figure in the image fighting to carve out a bloody path and muttered to herself,

"With such a legendary leader, it makes one want to join the Twilight Society a little..."

The steward was shocked: "Miss, be careful with your words!"

"Oh, I'm just saying."

Pu Xiazhan waved her hand and replied casually, continuing to watch the figure in the theatrical robe who had already rushed through most of the steps, a look of longing hard to hide in her eyes.

……

*Bang, bang, bang, bang*—

Countless black shadows smashed onto the surface of the twisted Divine Path.

A figure in red was like lightning going against the current in a black torrent. Wherever he passed, no matter how dense the black shadows were, he could always tear open a gap.

In the process of climbing the Divine Path, even Chen Ling couldn't use any abilities. Every punch he threw, every fight he had, was based on the fighting experience he had gained along the way and his indestructible, tenacious will.

Unlike those spectators who only watched for fun and mocked him, everything he possessed today was fought for step by step, in blood and tears.

Such a person was far stronger than any spectator.

Boom—!!!

The theatrical robe danced wildly in the wind like a scarlet flame.

Chen Ling clenched his blood-stained fists and stepped onto the eighth step. Invisible air waves rolled violently between heaven and earth.

He slowly and firmly lifted his head. The dark red Divine Path Star, once unreachable, was now within reach...

He had only one step left.

The rapid torrent of spectators surged crazily on the eighth step, like an insurmountable ocean. They rushed toward the tiny actor in red, as if to swallow him completely.

Chen Ling had fought his way here, and his body was full of scars, but his momentum instead increased rather than decreased. Clearly, there was no world-ending pressure, but in those scarlet eyes, there was a domineering aura that made people tremble with fear.

His life had been interfered with by the spectators, and until this moment, they still wanted to pin Chen Ling firmly to the stage...

"An actor at your mercy on the stage... I have been that for too long."

"This play, I only perform for myself."

"No one..."

"Can stop me!"