Chapter Seventeen: Ascending the Summit

With a single step, the world seemed to shift and the stars realigned—just as Luo Hao had expected. On the bluestone steps beneath his feet, several veins of stone flickered, and the scene before his eyes transformed once more. Gone was the world of dense fog; now he stood upon an endless arctic tundra, stretching beyond sight. The icefields glistened for miles, and razor-sharp gales, like knives of frozen steel, slashed across his face. Not a blade of grass survived in this northern wasteland; ice and snow were its sole sovereigns. A dreadful silence reigned, as though the land had been plunged into eternal stillness—a primeval forbidden ground.

Suddenly, thunderous booms erupted from the depths of the tundra, shattering the silence like a wrathful tempest. Luo Hao’s gaze instinctively followed the sound, his pupils contracting sharply. Without hesitation, he leapt toward higher ground on the icy plain.

From this vantage, he saw a boundless white tide sweeping toward him, a freezing maelstrom surging across the land like some ancient beast devouring everything in its path. The blizzard's momentum was vast and overwhelming; even the most resilient glaciers were obliterated in its wake, ground to powder in an instant.

“That’s an Ice Puppet.”

Above the relentless tide, a figure of ice-blue hue loomed, as if it were the master of the storm. Its form shimmered with icy liquid coursing within. Luo Hao’s expression grew grave—despite the distance, the frigid aura radiating from the Ice Puppet pierced him to the bone, an ominous warning. For his own Dragon Force was supremely yang, impervious to cold—yet even he felt its chill.

“An Ice Puppet at the seventh level of Qi Spirit, but in this environment, it’s as formidable as an eighth-level, perhaps even stronger.” Luo Hao instantly gauged its power, and his demeanor became even more solemn. His Dragon Force should have been the bane of all things icy, yet clearly, this puppet was an exception; moreover, his own cultivation was too low to unleash Dragon Force’s full might.

Suddenly, on a stone step close to the hundred-thousandth stair, two upright figures appeared at the same height. Within the illusion, the youth named Yan Longyuan fought with grand, sweeping moves, his every gesture already hinting at the presence of a true master. Facing the monstrous Night Fiend before him, he gently extended a finger, causing the void to tremble as boundless spiritual power gathered at his touch.

“Eight Desolations Annihilation Finger!”

As Yan Longyuan’s voice fell, his outstretched finger was swiftly sheathed in earthen-yellow light. The void was pierced as though the surface of water, and from the sky, an ancient earthen-yellow finger descended, mercilessly crushing down upon the black demon.

With a furious roar, the Night Fiend thrust its three-foot black trident at the spectral finger, fighting desperately, but the finger’s power was terrifying, as if the strike of a peerless ancient sage.

“Aliens—all must die!” Yan Longyuan’s voice was cold, as if echoing from the void, and with a low shout, his slender finger fell. In that instant, gray and mysterious runes blazed across the ancient finger, exuding a primordial aura that seemed to drag one back into forgotten ages.

With a thunderous crash, the spectral finger crushed down without mercy, shattering the trident and pinning the Night Fiend beneath its weight. With a final terrified howl, the demon was reduced to nothingness. As it vanished, Yan Longyuan caught his breath, then vaulted onto the hundred-thousandth step. He glanced back and said, “Sikong Xuan, it seems I’ve won this time.”

Elsewhere, at the mouth of a mountain wreathed in flame, an inferno seemed to consume the very heavens. Amid the blazing chaos raged a giant wreathed in fire, roaring like a madman as he charged at a lone youth.

This youth was none other than Sikong Xuan. While most warriors would have already fled before such a frenzied assault, he simply smiled, battle fervor burning in his gaze.

“Kill!” he roared, and in an instant, thunder exploded forth. Purple lightning erupted from his form, scattering the flames around him. He moved with the swiftness of a thunderclap, and as he rushed toward the fire giant, his leg swept out like a steel whip.

With a resounding crack, the giant’s massive frame was sent flying like a punctured balloon, crashing hard into the mountainside. Sikong Xuan pressed the attack, a flash of lightning underfoot propelling him forward as a wicked grin curved his lips.

“Heavenly Thunder Overlord!”

The heavens trembled. Amidst the lightning, a fist wreathed in endless thunder descended like a purple prison, crushing down upon the fire giant with unstoppable force.

The mountainside shattered under the blow, and the giant was torn apart by the raging thunder. The scene shifted back to the bluestone steps. Sikong Xuan glanced at his rival and bit his lip in frustration. “Damn it, he was a step ahead. Yan Longyuan, our rivalry is far from over.” With a leap, he too ascended to the hundred-thousandth step.

Back on the endless tundra, the Ice Puppet’s aura was overwhelming. In such an extreme environment, it was the equal of an eighth-level Qi Spirit warrior—perhaps even a match for the ninth.

With a dull thud, the Ice Puppet stamped the frozen tide and, in a flash, the ice beneath its feet solidified. The puppet moved with uncanny speed; before Luo Hao could react, its massive blue fist crashed into his chest.

The blow sent Luo Hao flying like a ragdoll, smashing him deep into the icy ground. The punch was not only powerful but also sent a chilling force seeping through his body like a burrowing insect.

“What a heavy chill—this puppet is indeed formidable. But if it thinks this is enough to stop me, it’s sorely mistaken!” Blood, frozen into crimson shards, spilled from his lips as Luo Hao gathered himself. In the next instant, golden Dragon Force burst forth; blazing dragon fire ignited across his skin, driving out the invading chill. He was like a war god wreathed in golden flames, moving with such speed he seemed to cross a thousand miles in a heartbeat.

With a roar like a dragon, his flaming golden fist crashed down on the Ice Puppet like the grinding millstone of the apocalypse, raising the temperature so high that even the ancient ice began to melt.

The puppet was no less relentless, unleashing torrents of freezing air and asserting its dominance over the tundra. Its blue fists stirred up waves of icy power.

Blue met gold as fists collided, freezing cold clashing against burning dragon fire. The air sizzled; clouds of white vapor billowed up to shroud the sky.

“Die!” rang the cry of battle. From within the dense mist, a figure wreathed in golden light exploded forth, scattering the vapor with overwhelming might. His fist blazed like a dragon, a tiger’s roar echoing in its wake.

“Tiger Descends the Mountain!”

Luo Hao, like a peerless tiger, leapt from the heavens. His golden fist—like the claw of a celestial beast—struck before the Ice Puppet could react, shattering its head in a spray of blue crystal. The tundra vanished without a trace.

Without hesitation, he pressed onward, ascending step after step. With the vast might of Dragon Force at his command, Luo Hao transformed from a passive defender into an unstoppable force, his attacks growing ever more relentless and wild. He became a frenzy of battle, his innate ferocity fully awakened.

Upon the ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-ninth step, Luo Hao stood bloodied and battered, his eyes wild with bloodlust and madness—soaked not merely by a hundred battles but by countless clashes that had driven him to the brink of delirium. Even his black hair seemed tinged with red.

“Tiger King’s Moon Salute!”

His fist surged like a dragon, and at his strike, ten thousand dragons thundered through his veins. Within the golden arc of his blow, a tiger roared at sun and moon, a golden dragon soaring across the sky. His terrifying fist pierced his foe’s chest, shattering it with a single jolt. The vision shifted; dragging his bloodied body, Luo Hao stepped onto the final stair.