Chapter 1033: Listening to Your Breathing

The Sun Family's sword cultivators were stunned, their expressions turning incredibly ugly. At this point, they were caught in a difficult position. They could only grit their teeth and press on.

Grabbing the vine with one hand, Fang Chen pulled out his long sword from his mouth. Then, with a sudden shift, he used his momentum to dart back and forth through the Sun Family's sword cultivators.

With every swing of his sword, a cultivator screamed and fell. In just a few moments, all the Sun Family cultivators sent to stop him had fallen to their deaths.

Fang Chen didn't even mind the blood on his sword as he put it between his teeth and continued to climb again.

By now, Sun Susu's face had turned extremely ugly. Sun Yi and the others didn't dare speak in fear of provoking her further.

In such a short time, the Sun Family had already lost dozens of sword cultivators. If these cultivators had focused solely on climbing, they could have at least reached the sixtieth level of the Heavenly Steps.

The Sun Family cultivators looked at one another.

"Should we continue climbing?" someone asked.

Eventually, someone else suggested they continue to climb, which the others agreed to. They didn't want to throw away their lives here, especially since it didn't seem likely that Fang Chen would reach the top. They figured they could simply ignore him.

On the third floor of the Immortal Boat, the Heaven Calamity Dragoness couldn't help but smile faintly as she watched this unfold.

"Sure enough, he didn't disgrace his ancestor, Li Jingnian."

The Loose Immortals from the third floor laughed awkwardly. Inwardly, they weren't impressed. They placed far more importance on cultivators like Fu Donghai. These were the true pillars of the Long Family's wager.

As Fang Chen reached the first level of the Heavenly Steps, Fu Donghai and the others had already made it to the third level.

The massive ladder appeared desolate, with no one else in sight except Fang Chen.

"Seems like my steps are a little heavier now," murmured Fang Chen as he sensed the changes in his body.

In the void around him, there seemed to be an invisible pressure weighing down on him. However, this pressure was not yet significant enough to hinder him, and Fang Chen continued to ascend toward the second level.

Upon reaching the second level, it remained empty, just as the first level had been. Everyone else had already moved on to the third or fourth levels.

On the fourth level, Fu Donghai glanced down and saw Fang Chen standing alone on the second level. A faint smile appeared on his face.

At that moment, Zhang Gaotian walked up to Fu Donghai's side and quietly said, "Senior Brother, your earlier actions have likely offended Miss Long Ruo."

"No matter," replied Fu Donghai dismissively. "The Long Family has a lot of members. As long as I can reach the top this time, offending her is of little consequence."

Fu Donghai gazed toward the distant void. The peak of the Heavenly Steps seemed to beckon to him.

"As sword cultivators, we are the sharpest blade in the Long Family's hand. As long as this blade is sharp enough, it won't be cast aside," he continued, his tone firm and full of ambition.

With that, Fu Donghai turned and began walking toward the vine leading to the fifth level of the ladder.

His goal was to reach the very top of the stairs and seize a sword scripture. If he could seize a sword scripture that hadn't been brought down before—one that wasn't among the thirty-six sword scriptures that the Long Family already owned—he would be elevated to the same rank as figures like Li Changsheng and Zhu Yunchen, gaining a prestigious position.

Even if he couldn't obtain such a sword scripture, reaching the top would prove his exceptional sword talent. At that point, the Long Family would naturally invest heavily in his future. Who wouldn't want a sword cultivator who could eventually become a Loose Immortal?

As for Long Ruo, she was nothing in comparison.

Several hours passed, and some had already reached the seventeenth level of the Heavenly Steps. These were the favorites from the major betting markets, and their quick ascent had been expected by many. However, a few unexpected dark horses had emerged.

Someone remarked, "The Long Family's son-in-law brought a good sword cultivator, didn't he? What was his name again? Yan Kun, right?"

"His odds are dropping. Should we buy some now before it's too late?" another asked.

"There's another one who's not bad either, already reached the 16th level. I'd buy him; the potential payout is higher," suggested someone else.

"That's too risky. You go ahead, I'll play it safe."

Yan Kun was panting lightly, unwilling to waste any time recovering. He glanced downward and quickly spotted Bai Qingming, and of course, Fang Chen, among others.

Fang Chen aside, Bai Qingming was still resting at the sixteenth level.

A cold smirk crossed Yan Kun's face. He turned his gaze toward the direction of the Long Family's main branch.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Master favors Fang Chen, but little does he know how long I've prepared for this day."

Yan Kun then shifted his attention back to the path leading to the eighteenth level and resumed his climb.

***

As time passed, Fang Chen's progress began to catch up with many of the Long and Sun Family sword cultivators. The sight of him overtaking them made their faces darken. Despite starting later and surviving two assassination attempts, Fang Chen was now at their level, which subtly indicated that they were not as skilled as he was.

"Don't let him keep climbing," one of the Sun Family sword cultivators said, noticing that Fang Chen was resting.

Scanning the area, he stood up and called out loudly, "This person has killed many of us! If we don't eliminate him now, we'll regret it later!"

The resting Long Family sword cultivators exchanged uneasy glances but chose not to intervene. Their main focus was on reaching the top, and they wanted to conserve their energy for the final stretch. At this moment, around seven or eight hundred of the thousand or so sword cultivators present were already ahead of them. They didn't want to fall too far behind.

"We won't get involved in this matter," scoffed one of the Long Family sword cultivators, preparing to continue his ascent.

The others, seeing his resolve, stood up and began to move away, determined to focus on their own climb.

With no further distractions, the Sun Family sword cultivators' faces twisted into cruel smiles. Their eyes, filled with predatory intent, locked onto Fang Chen.

One of them sneered. "He's just like us now, a mere mortal. No, he is even worse off. He's a blind man. His stamina's already been exhausted. There's no way he has much left to fight back."

"Exactly. If we all attack together, there's no way we can lose," added another voice, with confidence rising as they reinforced their belief in their superiority.

With renewed determination, over a hundred Sun Family sword cultivators rose to their feet and began marching toward Fang Chen.

One of the nearby spectators muttered under his breath, "He's finished..."

Looking worried, Dongfang Haojie said, "Brother Fang Chen has become a mortal now. No matter how strong his physical strength is, how much can he really do? Facing an attack from over a hundred people, he probably has no chance of winning."

Long Wu sighed. "This is his fate. However, there is still some chance for the big family. Yan Kun's progress is comparable to that of Fu Donghai and the others."

Dongfang Haojie scoffed, "Yan Kun is a petty person. Even if he reaches the top, it will be nothing but a villainous victory."

Seeing that Fang Chen had already been surrounded, Dongfang Haojie got very nervous. He watched closely as the scene started to unfold.

A sword cultivator from the Sun Family said with a faint smile, "Blind man, have you rested enough? How about you just climb down on your own? We won't touch you then. Anyway, once this is over, the one from Yunlu City will also come for you."

Fang Chen smiled. "I wasn't resting just now."

"You weren't resting? Then, what were you doing?"

"I was listening to your breathing, counting how many of you there are," replied Fang Chen.

The Sun Family sword cultivator was slightly startled. Before they could react, Fang Chen had already raised his sword and started walking toward them.

The sword cultivator closest to him didn't even have time to draw his sword before his head slid off his shoulders.

He actually made the first move!?

The group was shocked and enraged, shouting angrily as they charged toward Fang Chen.

"...