Inside the Earth Martial Hall.

The 1st through 9th Floors corresponded to Demon Beasts from the True Martial Realm First Stage to the True Martial Realm Ninth Stage.

These Demon Beasts were all incredibly powerful and extremely rare, with combat prowess that ranked among the top-tier of their respective stages.

ROAR!

A massive Demon Beast charged violently toward Jiang Chen.

The beast’s body was covered in barbs, and its jet-black scale armor enveloped it like a suit of metal-forged plate mail.

Its defense alone was enough to make many True Martial Realm First Stage experts shrink back in fear!

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. After a moment of thought, he understood why so many disciples had been defeated on the earlier floors.

After all...

These Demon Beasts had astonishing defense and possessed Innate Divine Strength, making them difficult to deal with!

But before Jiang Chen, the beast’s tough defense was as fragile as tofu.

"Get lost!"

He threw a punch. Golden ripples flowed across its surface as his True Essence surged, forming a phantom fist in mid-air.

It descended like a crushing mountain.

The blow landed squarely on the Demon Beast’s head.

"ROAR..."

The massive Demon Beast let out a wretched cry. Its entire body convulsed, its scale armor shattering as blood sprayed everywhere, and it was instantly reduced to a pile of mangled flesh.

SHIIING—

The Demon Beast’s corpse was absorbed directly into the ground, vanishing without a trace. Not even a Demon Core was left behind. Jiang Chen couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. ’A Demon Core from a True Martial Realm First Stage beast... I could have sold that for a good sum. The Saint Martial Sword Sect is too stingy! They make us kill these Demon Beasts but don’t even let us keep the Demon Cores!’

Shaking his head helplessly, Jiang Chen stepped onto the path to the 2nd Floor.

3rd Floor...

4th Floor...

5th Floor...

...

He was nearly invincible within the True Martial Realm. As strong as these Demon Beasts were, they were still no match for Jiang Chen.

He obliterated them all with a single punch!

He had already reached the 10th Floor.

「Meanwhile...」

Of the other ninety-nine experts who had entered the Earth Martial Hall with Jiang Chen, even the strongest—a cultivator at the True Martial Realm Ninth Stage—had only just reached the 7th Floor.

Jiang Chen was a full three floors ahead of him!

A strange light flickered in Lin Feifei’s phoenix eyes as she murmured, "This guy’s pace is ridiculously fast. But the first nine floors aren’t that difficult. With his cultivation at the True Martial Realm Eighth Stage, his speed probably won’t slow down until he reaches the 13th Floor!"

Tangg Ning, who was standing to the side, overheard Lin Feifei muttering to herself and asked, "Senior Sister Lin, how far do you think this Jiang Chen can get?"

"Is it possible for him to surpass Nalan Qiantian and Li Ke?" Du Haoyu asked as well.

Lin Feifei narrowed her phoenix eyes, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. She pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "Jiang Chen and Nalan Qiantian are both at the True Martial Realm Eighth Stage, so their combat strength should be comparable. As for Li Ke, he’s a genius of the Li Family and has already comprehended Tier One Junior Level Sword Intent. It would be very, very difficult for Jiang Chen to surpass him. I estimate Jiang Chen can reach the 18th or 19th floor!"

"The 18th or 19th floor? That’s still pretty good!"

Tangg Ning and Du Haoyu glanced at each other and sighed with emotion. "Ah, if only a peerless prodigy who could pass the 27th floor on their very first attempt appeared while we were supervising the assessment."

Lin Feifei glanced at them but said nothing.

The Saint Martial Sword Sect recruited disciples every year, and every disciple who entered had to attempt the Earth Martial Hall trial.

This tradition was already over a thousand years old!

In that thousand-year history, only eight prodigies had ever managed to pass the 27th floor on their first attempt.

Even the great Lan Haichen had merely reached the 27th floor on his first try—he hadn’t passed it!

「Meanwhile...」

Inside the 10th Floor of the Earth Martial Hall, Jiang Chen met his next opponent. It was another Demon Beast.

However, this time it wasn’t a Black-armored Exotic Beast, but an Ancient Wild Elephant.

The Ancient Wild Elephant was a descendant of the Ancient Exotic Beast, the Ancient Dragon Elephant. Possessing the bloodline of the Ancient Dragon Elephant, it had boundless strength and was exceptionally battle-hungry. Any single Ancient Wild Elephant was incredibly powerful, equivalent to a Martial Artist who had comprehended Tier One Sword Intent.

’The first nine floors were just Demon Beasts with ordinary bloodlines. The tenth to eighteenth floors must be descendants of Ancient Exotic Beasts, equivalent to those who have comprehended Tier One Sword Intent. In that case, could the last nine floors feature true Ancient Exotic Beasts?’ Jiang Chen’s gaze was calm as he sized up the Ancient Wild Elephant before him, his eyes narrowing to slits.

"ROAR—Human, die!"

The Ancient Wild Elephant roared, its trunk coiling high before lashing out like a long whip. "Elephant Trunk Shaking Heaven!"

BOOM—

The thick trunk suddenly swelled, growing even more massive.

It was like a True Dragon, crashing down from the sky.

Its power was absolutely terrifying. The air in front of Jiang Chen warped violently, and furious gusts swirled up with a deafening, thunderous sonic boom.

BANG!

Jiang Chen crossed his arms in front of him to block, and the trunk slammed viciously against them.

The force sent him flying backward.

A sharp pain shot through his arms. The Ancient Wild Elephant’s strength was far greater than that of the Demon Beasts on the previous nine floors.

Jiang Chen shook his arms. He licked his lips with his scarlet tongue, and two cold glints of light shot from his narrowed eyes. He suddenly let out a low roar, "One Finger Shatters the Earth!"

WHOOSH—

A finger glowing with brilliant golden light shot out, skimming just above the ground as it rushed forward.

Everywhere the golden finger passed, the ground trembled and massive cracks appeared. Stone fragments flew as terrifying power erupted in all directions. The finger slammed heavily into the Ancient Wild Elephant’s body.

"ROAR..."

The Ancient Wild Elephant let out a wretched cry, collapsed, and died on the spot!

The next opponent was just as Jiang Chen had predicted: another Ancient Wild Elephant, only its cultivation had reached the True Martial Realm Second Stage.

Jiang Chen wasted no more words, pointing his finger and obliterating them all!

12th Floor...

13th Floor...

14th Floor...

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Chen had slain a True Martial Realm Ninth Stage Ancient Wild Elephant and charged onto the 19th Floor!

"Human, you’ve done well to make it this far on your first attempt at the Earth Martial Hall. But it’s a pity your progress ends here!" On the 19th Floor, a colossal figure, a hundred meters tall and exuding an ancient, profound aura, looked down on Jiang Chen, its voice like rumbling thunder.

This was an Ancient Dragon Elephant, an Ancient Exotic Beast with power comparable to a Martial Artist of the same stage who had mastered Tier Two Martial Dao True Intent!

’Just as I thought. Starting from the 19th Floor, they really are Ancient Exotic Beasts.’

Jiang Chen licked his lips, a battle-hungry look on his face. The Qingfeng Sword appeared in his hand. With a sharp cry, he took a step forward, his longsword a blur of motion. "Kill!"

A monstrous wave of Sword Intent tore through the air to kill.

Jiang Chen and the Ancient Dragon Elephant clashed in a chaotic battle...

Outside the Earth Martial Hall, the crowd watching the floors light up one after another was going wild.

"Holy shit, the 19th Floor? Isn’t that guy only at the True Martial Realm Eighth Stage? How can he be so strong?"

"What’s more important is his speed. It’s just off the charts. Look, the second-place person in this group is only on the 11th Floor, but he’s already entered the 19th!"

"Still, passing the 19th Floor should be difficult!"

Everyone couldn’t help but look toward Li Ke.

He was the only expert among the disciples this time who had ever reached the 19th Floor.

Li Ke cleared his throat and said lightly, "The opponent on the 19th Floor is an Ancient Dragon Elephant. Even I had to give it my all just to barely slay it and enter the 20th Floor. To pass the 19th Floor, one must have mastered Tier Two Martial Dao True Intent. But do you think it’s possible for Jiang Chen to have mastered that? Obviously not. Therefore, I estimate Jiang Chen can only last for three breaths on the 19th Floor. After three breaths, he will undoubtedly be defeated!"

"That makes sense!"

"Jiang Chen’s cultivation is too low, after all!"

Li Ke’s analysis was logical and well-founded, making everyone nod in agreement.

Time ticked by, second by second...

One breath!

Two breaths!

Three breaths!

Suddenly, the light of the 19th Floor dimmed. An excited, smug look appeared on Li Ke’s face. "See? He failed, just as I said! HAHAHA, I’ve won this bet!"

In the crowd, Nalan Qiantian watched the Earth Martial Hall with a complex expression and let out a long sigh. ’Has he finally failed? So you can be defeated after all... Wait...’

Nalan Qiantian’s expression changed drastically, and he gasped in shock...

"That... That is..."