Grinding to Martial Emperor from the Border Army

Chapter 209: Chapter 152: Reaching the Summit

At this moment, Xiao Hua was a little shy.

But she couldn’t help the corners of her lips from turning up.

But by the time Lu Yuan reached the nine-thousandth step, Xiao Hua felt she had completely reached her limit. If she went any further, she feared her body would collapse.

So she said softly, "Yuan, my body’s at its limit. I have to go down. You go on and reach the summit. I’ll be waiting for you."

Lu Yuan turned his head and saw Xiao Hua’s pale face, her body trembling.

He immediately set her down and said softly, "Rest for a while. See if you feel any better."

Xiao Hua nodded.

Lu Yuan then continued his climb.

Even now, he still climbed with ease.

But upon closer inspection, one would see a faint light shimmering all over Lu Yuan’s body. The Divine Essence within him was actually growing denser as he continued his ascent.

A moment later, he finally reached the summit.

Lu Yuan found himself enveloped in a thick mist. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a vast expanse of white.

Then, a heavenly light descended, blanketing him completely.

An unprecedented sensation spread throughout Lu Yuan’s entire body. He could clearly feel his body changing.

In the past, while in the Divine Containment realm, Lu Yuan had always felt he could take one more step forward, but there was a paper-thin barrier he could never break through.

But in that instant, he suddenly broke through.

His Divine Essence retracted inward, fusing completely with his physical body as he stepped into a new realm.

Lu Yuan called this realm Divinity Fusion.

Feeling the changes in his body, he knew his power had grown once more.

He didn’t know by how much, but he felt incredibly strong.

His physical body, in particular, felt like it could tear through anything.

His combat prowess had reached a terrifying level.

Lu Yuan, meanwhile, was bathing in the heavenly light.

At that moment, outside Heaven-Ascending Cliff, everyone clearly saw a brilliant light envelop the entire peak.

It was a dazzling, brilliant gold.

Expressions of disbelief appeared on the faces of many experts from the older generation.

Someone exclaimed, "Someone reached the summit! Who is it? Which house are they from?"

"I don’t know. Over ten thousand people made it past the five-thousandth step. How could anyone possibly know?"

"Could it be that the Path of Immortality is about to open? If that’s true, then there’s hope for us."

...

Many people were discussing it.

Even the Cyan Emperor, standing at the very front, frowned. A hint of surprise appeared on his otherwise placid face. He turned to a Personal Guard beside him and said, "Find out who it was that reached the summit. If they are not from one of the imperial royal families, recruit them at any cost.

"If it is indeed someone from another royal family, do not alert them. Report back to me at once."

"As you command." The Personal Guard quickly withdrew.

In the other Imperial Dynasties, the emperors watching the events unfold through their Profound Light Mirrors issued nearly identical orders.

After all, the last person to reach the summit was Emperor Zhou.

Even now, the records in their royal Library Pavilions described in detail how terrifying such an individual could become.

However, everyone knew full well that if this person belonged to a rival power, they had to be eliminated, no matter the cost.

Allowing such an enemy to mature would be an absolute nightmare.

Dayong’s Crown Prince watched everything unfold and said to Prince Polu, "Father just sent a message. We must find this person, no matter the cost."

"Understood." Prince Polu acknowledged the order and began instructing his subordinates.

At that same moment, back on the summit, Lu Yuan noticed that after receiving the heavenly light, a faint totem mark had appeared on his body.

He didn’t know what it meant, but he didn’t dwell on it.

With a single leap, he was by Xiao Hua’s side.

By now, her complexion had improved significantly, and she had retreated to around the eight-thousandth step.

"Yuan... Yuan, was that you who just reached the summit?" Xiao Hua asked urgently, stepping forward and grabbing Lu Yuan’s arm.

"Yes, I made it to the top. It feels pretty good," he chuckled softly.

Xiao Hua’s face beamed with joy. "I knew you could do it!" she exclaimed. "This will be a huge slap in the face for Dayong!"

"No, we can’t let anyone know about this. Otherwise, I’ll become a public enemy. If Dayong finds out, they might even launch an all-out attack against the Northern Barbarians, and we can’t withstand them right now.

"If we show any weakness, the other Imperial Dynasties will surely take advantage of the situation.

"So, this must be kept absolutely secret," Lu Yuan quickly reminded her.

The implications were enormous, affecting the royal family of every Imperial Dynasty. After all, every court would covet such a person; to obtain them meant a chance to unify the world.

And those who couldn’t obtain him would, conversely, do everything in their power to have him killed.

The realization dawned on Xiao Hua, and she nodded quickly. "Yes, you’re right, Yuan. I won’t tell anyone."

Before he came, Lu Yuan had heard Xiao Gu recount the story of the Great Zhou’s Emperor Zhou. That powerful figure’s success at reaching the summit had become widely known.

Not only was his family dragged into it, but his wife, children, and parents were all used as leverage to threaten him. In the end, he was killed.

Even he himself repeatedly faced calamitous events.

Some pretended to befriend him, making great efforts to win him over, but were secretly plotting against him.

It wasn’t until he ascended the throne and unified the world that his hardships finally gave way to triumph.

Lu Yuan had no desire for such a story to repeat itself with him.

’Some vague promises of friendship are far less valuable than the practical benefit of avoiding a powerful enemy.’

"Come down the mountain with me." As he spoke, Lu Yuan took Xiao Hua’s hand and leaped down from the cliff.

When the two of them appeared, many people couldn’t help but shake their heads.

"Only one person reached the summit. These two were ejected together, so it obviously wasn’t them."