Follow the path of Dao from infancy Chapter 1875 Chapter 501: The Final Step (Part 3)

A single silhouette, dressed in a azure robe adorned with a golden bell around his waist, turned out to be Shi Miao himself.

A trace of unease flickered in his gaze; he was well aware that his true powerful adversaries were precisely these individuals.

Within that group, his junior sister—who had also reincarnated just like him—stood as a formidable competitor!

"She achieved her breakthrough ahead of mine, and from her present aura, it looks like she's attained the pinnacle of the Immortal King Realm. Without a doubt, she's absorbed every bit of strength from her past existence, ready to advance into the Quasi-Emperor Realm whenever she chooses. Should she take on the Heaven Tower at this moment, she'd absolutely hold her own against that heir from the emperor clan…"

"Yet her progress sits at only 110 layers, without pushing her limits. Could she be concealing her true capabilities, biding her time for the ultimate push?"

The Divine Venerable narrowed his eyes, realizing there was no rush to reveal his hand too soon—not even for this Quasi-Emperor Weapon—since he already possessed plenty of such treasures.

Once the moment arrived to unleash it, surprising the heirs of those mighty clans would allow him to effortlessly overtake them all.

Within the Great Emperor Dojo.

Shi Miao settled into a cross-legged position, calmly tuning into the clamor echoing from beyond, but it was as if she dwelled in a hidden dimension, her mind serene and untouched by the chaos.

"All along, Haotian's layer progress has barely shifted; he must be deeply pondering his own path…"

"He discovered the seed of the Emperor Road back at the Immortal King Realm First Level, charging forward on his journey to emperorship. I have to push myself harder as well."

"In this existence... yet another massive disaster looms, perhaps the final one. Even if he avoids the turmoil of the upheaval, given brother Haotian's nature, he'll undoubtedly plunge into this calamity, maybe even giving his life... I need to grow far stronger to stand by his side!"

The Emperor Road left unfinished in my prior life must be forged anew here, my very own Eternal Time Emperor Dao!

Her gaze hardened with resolve, she pulled her eyes away from the Heaven Tower's leaderboard, then shut them once more to resume her isolated cultivation.

As conversations buzzed wildly all around, the Immortal Immortal Emperor perched at the summit of the Heaven Tower began proclaiming the rankings in a measured tone. Next, he detailed the starting trials and enhancement levels for every stage in this round of cultivation.

"...For the Immortal King Realm First Level, the top nine in speed of advancement include…"

The Immortal Immortal Emperor listed out the sects and identities of those nine cultivators, instantly capturing a flood of focused stares.

Included among them were, of course, Luo Ningshuang and Su Wanyi, alongside the Divine Venerable and the Xue Consort with her Ancient Immortal Body.

On top of that, a handful of disciples from the Chaos Ancient Clans, guided by the Original Immortal Emperor, had made stunning strides, now ascending to the ninetieth layer.

Remember, from the day they first stepped in until this point, barely five centuries had ticked by.

Over those five hundred years, they'd risen from the Immortal King Realm First Level to the brink of peak Perfection in battle prowess; it was nothing short of a jaw-dropping accomplishment.

And only those who shattered the hundred-layer barrier carried the weight of long-built foundations.

"Out of everyone here, he's the one who's reached the most layers unexpectedly."

Su Wanyi cast a look toward the Divine Venerable, her expression mixing astonishment and seriousness; he'd been banished from the Heavenly Domain by Haotian long ago, denied any Heavenly Dao Power, but now he'd rocketed to 98 layers—while she and Luo Ningshuang, bolstered by Ancestor Emperor Power, had only managed 95!

As the boost from Ancestor Emperor Power waned further along, they had to build up other foundational elements through cultivation to keep up their edge in battling across realms.

"That fellow, said to be a reincarnated Quasi-Emperor, isn't exactly a rarity."

Luo Ningshuang shot a glance at the Divine Venerable, her eyes showing little emotion, fully aware that this rival was gunning straight for a True King slot. She and Su Wanyi could at best aim for True King deputy positions; after all, beyond the main True King quotas, there were twenty deputy spots, requiring entry into the top thirty for eligibility.

Right now, sitting at thirtieth place, they'd hit 105 layers.

"But that one, still stuck below 70 layers, what's going on there?"

Luo Ningshuang's eyes scanned around, oddly enough spotting no sign of Li Hao in the list of nine, which left her baffled.

"He's likely deep in seclusion, or perhaps…"

Su Wanyi eyed the Heaven Tower, a flicker of concern in her gaze.

"Or maybe hit a wall—could he really just fade into mediocrity?"

Luo Ningshuang creased her brow, a shadow of letdown in her eyes, then shook her head and remarked: "Forget about him; we need to fight for both of us to snag True King deputy roles. Get your Su Family from the Northern Domain to pour in more support, ship over some resources; the other major clans are covertly funneling aid to their kin for breakthroughs, all to close the gap and claim a position."

Su Wanyi offered a helpless smile; her Su Family had already poured everything possible into her—the rest depended on her own gifts.

"In the hundreds of years left, I'll push to raise my Wood Dao to the Tenth Layer. Even if it's just one path, hitting the Tenth Layer will blast me beyond 100 layers!"

Luo Ningshuang declared, her time in cultivation being far too brief to lift every Dao to the eighth or ninth layers like the veterans, so she had to focus on a single specialty.

She possessed an innate talent for perceiving the Wood Dao, already at nine layers. Breaking to the tenth would mark a supreme feat in the Immortal King Realm, letting her dominate other Perfections with ease and vault into the elite ranks.

Su Wanyi nodded softly; she would likewise immerse herself in her Sword Dao. If she grasped the Spring Falling Sword Dao inherited from her forebear, even a hint of an Emperor Sword embryo would propel her past a hundred layers!

The pair dove back into seclusion, plunging wholeheartedly into their training.

Moments slipped away.

Deep within the Heaven Tower.

Sweat beaded on Li Hao's brow; in his inner domain, seven Realm Hearts had come into alignment, but they pulled at one another, twisting the entire space.

For the concluding Chaos Boundary Heart, Li Hao decided to integrate it into the Sword Dao beside the Void Realm Heart. Just as he'd foreseen, his Sword Dao—already infused with Void essence—now gained Chaos might; the two blended seamlessly, dramatically boosting the Sword Dao's potency with a fearsome aura of ruin.

Still, even as the Sword Dao's strength swelled, the seven Realm Hearts clashed in harmony, unleashing a voracious pull that dwarfed anything prior.

"This ultimate phase of the Emperor Road… proves far tougher than I ever dreamed!"

Li Hao sensed the encroaching threat of being swallowed whole; should it claim him, all his painstaking efforts over the years would vanish in an instant.

"Across the ages, endless geniuses have crumbled right here, even those mighty Emperor Venerables. They've surely had their reincarnated forms attempt it, yet in the end, no one has blazed this Emperor Road…"

"So hard, impossibly hard."

Li Hao endured a sharp pang of despair; merely holding back the merging of the seven Realm Hearts took every ounce of his concentration, to say nothing of truly balancing them.

Yet retreat wasn't an option—failure meant settling for a mere King's Domain, while triumph would carve open the Emperor Road.