"Th-That’s the twentieth floor? Jiang Chen wasn’t eliminated, he entered the twentieth floor!"

Nalan Qiantian’s face flushed red as he shouted.

His shout was like a huge boulder crashing into a calm lake.

It immediately sent shockwaves through the crowd!

"Holy shit, he really made it to the twentieth floor?"

"He only took three breaths of time? H-How is that possible? Li Ke spent a full half-incense stick’s worth of time on the nineteenth floor just now, but Jiang Chen only used three breaths?"

"This is heaven-defying!"

Outside the Earth Martial Hall, the more than ten thousand experts were all stunned.

Lin Feifei’s beautiful eyes widened, her soft, rosy lips parted slightly to reveal a set of neat, pearly white teeth. A look of shock appeared on her delicate face. After confirming again and again that Jiang Chen had indeed reached the twentieth floor, Lin Feifei gently shook her head, a bitter smile on her lips. "It seems we’ve all misjudged him. This Jiang Chen is the strongest among this batch of disciples!"

"He’s a real dark horse!"

"As black as carbon. Before this, who could have imagined that the strongest person wasn’t one of those famous disciples from prominent families, but this unassuming Jiang Chen?" Du Haoyu shrugged, a hint of jealousy and helplessness in his eyes.

Back in the day...

When he had first entered the Saint Martial Sword Sect, his first attempt at the Earth Martial Hall had only gotten him to the nineteenth floor.

Tang Ning looked at Lin Feifei, blinked, and said with a smile, "Senior Sister Lin, do you think he’ll surpass your record from back then?"

"Uh..."

Lin Feifei froze.

On her first attempt at the Earth Martial Hall, she had reached the twenty-fourth floor, shocking the Outer Sect Elders and being accepted as a Direct Disciple.

Lin Feifei’s gaze grew distant and profound as she looked toward the Earth Martial Hall.

She remained silent for a long time.

In the crowd...

Li Ke’s face was a mask of shock and bewilderment, burning hot and completely red. He felt that every gaze directed at him was now filled with mockery. Just moments ago, he had confidently asserted that Jiang Chen would be eliminated in just three breaths.

And it did indeed take three breaths.

Except, he wasn’t eliminated. Instead, Jiang Chen had broken through the nineteenth floor in just three breaths!

Thinking back to how he himself had spent a full half-incense stick’s worth of time passing the nineteenth floor, the difference between them was like heaven and earth.

’How is this guy so strong? Three breaths! He killed an Ancient Dragon Elephant equivalent to having a Tier Two Martial Dao True Intent in just three breaths?’

Li Ke clenched his fists, roaring internally. His eyes, nearly splitting with rage, were filled with venom and hatred as he uttered the most malicious curses. ’No, he’s only reached the twentieth floor. He hasn’t surpassed me. I haven’t necessarily lost yet. That’s right, Jiang Chen will definitely not get past it! He’ll stop at the twentieth floor. Jiang Chen can’t pass it...’

...

「Earth Martial Hall, Twentieth Floor.」

Jiang Chen was calm and composed, muttering to himself, "An Ancient Dragon Elephant at the True Martial Realm Second Stage? I should aim to clear this twentieth floor within ten breaths."

Ten breaths later.

Jiang Chen slayed the Ancient Dragon Elephant with one strike and stepped onto the twenty-first floor.

Fifteen breaths, passed the twenty-second floor.

Thirty breaths, passed the twenty-third floor.

Crushing everything step by step, advancing with irresistible force, unstoppable!

The crowd outside the Earth Martial Hall was already dumbfounded.

Li Ke was drenched in a cold sweat, rendered speechless.

Nalan Qiantian clenched his fists, remaining silent.

Chen Huan and the others cheered joyfully.

After a full two incense sticks’ worth of time had passed, the Earth Martial Hall flashed with light. Jiang Chen had reached the peak—he had arrived at the twenty-seventh floor!

The space on the twenty-seventh floor was immense.

The sky was high, the sea was vast, and the land was boundless.

Upon the flat plains, an Ancient Dragon Elephant as massive as a hill lay prostrate on the ground.

It was motionless, but the fluctuations of aura it unintentionally emitted were enough to make many True Martial Realm Ninth Stage masters’ legs go weak.

This Ancient Dragon Elephant’s strength was heaven-defying, equivalent to a True Martial Realm Ninth Stage master who had comprehended Tier Two Martial Dao True Intent.

"Little fellow, with your cultivation at the True Martial Realm Eighth Stage, reaching this place is already a remarkable achievement. However, it’s impossible for you to pass my trial!" The Ancient Dragon Elephant’s massive body slowly rose, its eyes, as large as small houses, staring at Jiang Chen. Its voice was low and muffled, like rumbling thunder.

The two streams of air blasting from its nostrils kicked up a great wind, stirring a dust storm of flying sand and stones.

The fierce wind was biting, stinging his face.

Jiang Chen stood against the wind, sword in hand, and grinned. "The last twenty-six guys said the same thing to me, and yet here I am!"

"If that’s the case, then let’s fight!"

The Ancient Dragon Elephant snorted coldly. Its long trunk coiled in the air and suddenly shot out colossal pillars of water that rolled forward like a surging river.

The pillars of water were incredibly dense, rumbling with enough power to pierce through a mountain peak.

Jiang Chen’s expression was impassive. He slashed through the air with his Qingfeng Sword. "Divine Wind Extreme!"

WHOOSH!

A cyan pillar of wind swept out from the edge of his sword, violently crashing against the blue pillar of water.

BOOOOM—

The massive roar was deafening.

"Barbaric Elephant Incarnation!"

The Ancient Dragon Elephant let out a great roar. With a sudden swing of its enormous head, the water pillar veered in mid-air. The blue pillar of water carved a graceful arc through the sky, circling around Jiang Chen.

Immediately after, more pillars of water split off from it.

They transformed into nine ferocious, blue Ancient Dragon Elephants that charged viciously at Jiang Chen.

These nine blue Ancient Dragon Elephants were formed from pure power, possessing unparalleled destructive force, comparable to the strongest attack condensed from a Tier Two Martial Dao True Intent. Even a master at the Heavenly Destiny Realm Second Stage would be severely injured, if not killed, by such a blow.

Facing the siege of the nine blue Ancient Dragon Elephants, Jiang Chen had no room to retreat!

The Ancient Dragon Elephant snorted smugly, "Little fellow, it’s not too late to surrender. Otherwise, I won’t be holding back!"

Bathed in the blue light, Jiang Chen’s face took on a blueish hue. The corner of his mouth lifted as he grinned. "Surrender? In my, Jiang Chen’s, book, there’s no such word! Big guy, you think you’ve got me cornered? Sorry, but you’re about to be disappointed!"

"Hmm?"

The Ancient Dragon Elephant paused, a human-like expression of astonishment appearing on its face that resembled dried tree bark.

With a flick of his wrist, Jiang Chen suddenly dropped all his defenses and attacks.

Unimpeded, the nine blue Ancient Dragon Elephants rushed toward Jiang Chen at their most ferocious speed.

In the nick of time...

Two beams of sharp light suddenly erupted from Jiang Chen’s eyes. His True Essence surged around him as he raised his sword horizontally and let out a heaven-shaking cry, "Infinite Sword Technique—Blood Rain Without Limits!"

DRIP... DRIP...

The silent sky suddenly became overcast with dark clouds, and a torrential downpour began.

"Why is it raining? No, wait, this isn’t rain... this is Sword Qi..." The Ancient Dragon Elephant’s eyes widened, revealing shock and bewilderment.

RUSH!

Countless streams of Sword Qi filled the entire world. Each stream was like a raindrop, linking together to form a curtain of rain connecting heaven and earth.

Unstoppable and omnipresent!

Dripping water can pierce through stone!

What’s more, this was razor-sharp Sword Qi.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

One after another, the blue Barbaric Elephant Incarnations were riddled with holes like sieves. No matter how the Ancient Dragon Elephant struggled, it was useless. Its body was covered in wounds.

BOOM!

Shattering the nine incarnations with a single sword move, Jiang Chen transformed into a streak of golden light and shot toward the Ancient Dragon Elephant’s true body.

His longsword slashed through the air—Great Sun Without Limits!

HUMMM!

Boundless Sword Qi condensed into a blinding, radiant sun, pulsing with the sharp edge of the Sword Dao. A massive ball of light a hundred zhang wide descended from the sky. The pressure made the Ancient Dragon Elephant tremble all over. Its four hooves went soft, and with a THUD, it collapsed to the ground, the icy Sword Qi hovering over its head.

The Ancient Dragon Elephant looked at Jiang Chen with a face full of despair. It swallowed hard and said with a bitter smile, "I... I have lost. Your talent is even greater than that brat Lan Haichen’s. Congratulations, you are the ninth person in the thousand-year history of the Saint Martial Sword Sect to successfully clear the Earth Martial Hall on their first attempt!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

As it spoke, the Ancient Dragon Elephant prepared to disperse its Dharma Body and let Jiang Chen pass the twenty-seventh floor.

However...

But Jiang Chen retracted his Sword Qi, landed in front of the Ancient Dragon Elephant, and grinned. "Who said I wanted to clear it right now? I forfeit!"

"What? You’re forfeiting?" The Ancient Dragon Elephant was stunned.

Clearing it would mean setting a new record.

One that would go down in history!

And Jiang Chen was just giving up?

Jiang Chen nodded, sheathed his sword, and turned to leave. His faint voice echoed on the twenty-seventh floor, "I still have things to do in the Outer Sect. The only reason I challenged this floor was to crush Lan Haichen’s record under my heel. As it turns out, he wasn’t all that much after all..."

As his voice lingered, Jiang Chen had already left the twenty-seventh floor.

A gust of wind blew past, swirling a few fallen leaves.

On the twenty-seventh floor, a completely baffled Ancient Dragon Elephant was left behind...