"Is this kid really trying to reach the seventh floor?"
With Ning Fan's actions, the Taiyi True Ruins erupted in an uproar.
Li Changming was utterly shocked, while Xu Youwei looked on with suspicion.
Yu Rushuang was deep in thought, silent, and the Taiyi Sect Master had a furrowed brow.
The other elders and true inheritor disciples were buzzing with discussion.
This was because the sixth and seventh floors of the Scripture Library marked a watershed.
Or rather, from the seventh floor onwards, each floor was a watershed!
The requirements on one's natural talent were extremely high!
Among the many peak master level elders present, most had the qualifications to reach the sixth floor of the Scripture Library.
But only the Taiyi Sect Master and the head of Hidden Sword Peak, Yu Rushuang, could enter the seventh floor.
This showed how difficult it was!
"Ning Fan is entering the Scripture Library for the first time; he must be trying to test his limits. I bet once he finds himself on the stairs leading to the seventh floor, feeling as heavy as Mount Tai, he'll retreat in defeat."
An elder, having regained his composure, confidently asserted.
Others nodded in agreement.
The gap in talent requirements between the sixth and seventh floors was immense.
If one had a special physique, it would be understandable, like the Taiyi Sect Master's Green Wood Spirit Body or Yu Rushuang's Pure Heart Sword Body.
But they had observed Ning Fan for a long time and saw clearly.
This guy had no special physique whatsoever!
He was just an ordinary mortal physique!
For someone with a mortal physique to reach the sixth floor of the Scripture Library was already a rare feat.
And now, to ambitiously aim for the seventh floor was, in everyone's eyes, impossible.
The head of Tianji Peak even laughed, "Although a mortal physique is like a blank slate with endless potential, its flaw is obvious—low talent.
Ning Fan, relying on a mortal physique, has reached the sixth floor of the Scripture Library, which is already rare in the world, and also his limit."
Hearing these words, everyone couldn't help but agree.
In this mystical Martial Dao world, with its vast population, strange and extraordinary physiques often emerged.
These physiques often had special effects on certain aspects of the cultivation path.
Like the "Pure Heart Sword Body" of the head of Hidden Sword Peak, Yu Rushuang.
As the name suggests, such a variant physique meant that when practicing the sword path, one could achieve twice the result with half the effort.
It could be said that from the moment Yu Rushuang was born, her future cultivation path was set.
The path of the sword cultivator.
Whether she liked practicing the sword or not, she could only advance on this path.
In fact, in her youth, Yu Rushuang wasn't interested in the sword; she wanted to become a "Divine Cultivator."
Cultivators have divine sense.
For ordinary cultivators, divine sense is used for detection and introspection.
But those who specialize in cultivating divine sense techniques can turn it into invisible weapons, killing from a hundred miles away.
Such cultivators are known as Divine Cultivators.
Yu Rushuang wanted to become a Divine Cultivator because, in her youth, she had the chance to obtain a Heaven-Grade Divine Cultivation Technique.
This was an opportunity that countless ordinary cultivators could only dream of.
If it were a mortal physique, practicing various techniques would be unrestricted.
But Yu Rushuang had the Pure Heart Sword Body. If she abandoned the shortcut of sword cultivation to pursue the path of a Divine Cultivator, although possible, her future achievements would certainly not be as high as those of a sword cultivator.
After all, with the strength of the Pure Heart Sword Body, practicing sword cultivation techniques had an inherent advantage, allowing for incredibly fast progress.
Additionally, at lower realms, a cultivator's lifespan is no different from that of ordinary people.
Only by breaking through to higher levels can one live longer.
Therefore, in the early stages of cultivation, every second counts.
If Yu Rushuang ignored her Pure Heart Sword Body and stubbornly pursued divine sense cultivation, she might not even break through to the next realm before her lifespan ran out.
So, despite her dislike for the sword path, after considering everything, she could only walk the path of the sword cultivator.
This is also a downside of awakening a special physique.
Even though there is a strong advantage in cultivation, the future path is fixed, leaving little room for choice.
A mortal physique is different.
Aside from being inherently weak and having low talent, it is all-encompassing.
No matter what opportunity is obtained or what attribute of cultivation technique is acquired, it can be practiced.
Ning Fan, now relying on a mortal physique, has reached the sixth floor of the Scripture Library. This talent is already on par with many variant physiques.
That's why so many elders pay such close attention.
Even Yu Rushuang is considering taking him as a disciple for this reason.
The plasticity of a mortal physique is too strong!
Among the true inheritor disciples, many can reach the sixth floor, but they all have variant physiques.
Their cultivation paths are mostly fixed, and few are suited for sword practice.
A presence like Ning Fan is truly hard to find.
However, despite all these discussions, everyone still doesn't believe Ning Fan can reach the seventh floor.
It's not that they underestimate him, but countless precedents prove it.
Since the Taiyi True Sect's inheritance from the Ancient Era, through countless generations, there has never been a record of a mortal physique reaching the seventh floor!
This ironclad fact seems to silently tell the world that the limit of a mortal physique ends here.
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "p𝑎wread.com".
Therefore, after confirming that Ning Fan indeed has a mortal physique, these discussions arose.
Even now, they just think Ning Fan is unwilling to give up and wants to test his limits.
"Ning Fan has already reached the middle of the stairs. If I'm not mistaken, he should feel as heavy as Mount Tai now, struggling to support himself, with even taking the next step being a challenge."
The head of Tianji Peak, Zhuge Ming, unfolded his folding fan.
His words were full of certainty.
"Junior Brother Zhuge's words make sense."
"After all, our Taiyi True Sect's Tianji Peak Wondrous Method has never been wrong. Junior Brother Zhuge is known as the Central State Junior Diviner, famous throughout the land. How could he be wrong?"
"Indeed, indeed!"
Others echoed in agreement.
***
Meanwhile, inside the Scripture Library below.
Ning Fan, who had reached the middle of the stairs, took a breath and cursed inwardly.
Who designed these stairs?
There are twenty steps on each floor!
The stair platforms are designed with three, meaning he has to climb a total of eighty steps from the sixth to the seventh floor!
Ning Fan was speechless.
He finally understood why, although the Scripture Library only had nine floors, it looked so grand and imposing from the outside.
With a building height of two hundred meters divided into nine floors, the stairs in between were not few.
Poor Ning Fan, an ordinary mortal, was exhausted from climbing.
He could only keep cursing the builder's brain for being addled.
If the long-dead sect founder, Taiyi Daoist Venerable, knew Ning Fan's thoughts, he would probably be quite frustrated.
After all, who could enter the Scripture Library to choose a cultivation technique if not a Body Tempering Realm cultivator?
Who would have thought that one day, a mortal would reach such heights in the Scripture Library?
So, it really wasn't Taiyi Daoist Venerable's fault.
He might have been a bit whimsical during construction, but any cultivator, even with just Body Tempering Realm cultivation, wouldn't complain about being tired from climbing stairs.
After a brief rest, Ning Fan finally continued his ascent.
He took a step forward without any resistance.
This time, he reached the stair platform in one go.
Now, there were only twenty steps left to the seventh floor.
He didn't know that his actions had caused the elders above to widen their eyes in disbelief!
Zhuge Ming, the head of Tianji Peak, after a few moments of silence, coughed with a red face:
"It seems Ning Fan is more resilient than we imagined, but reaching the seventh floor is still impossible. There has never been such a precedent in the sect from ancient times to now.
I predict that Ning Fan's body is already under immense pressure. You can see he's panting heavily; not only are his muscles and bones under strain, but even his internal organs are enduring great pain.
He probably can't take another step."
Hearing Zhuge Ming's judgment again.
And seeing the panting Ning Fan below.
The elders regained their composure from the earlier embarrassment, each thinking Ning Fan must have truly reached his limit this time.
So, after exchanging a few glances, they once again rushed to agree:
"Junior Brother Zhuge has sharp eyes!"
"I also think this kid has reached his limit."
"Although Ning Fan can't reach the seventh floor, with his mortal physique talent, he's already one of the top geniuses in our sect."
"Junior Brother is indeed the most intelligent head of Tianji Peak in history. The Central State Junior Diviner is not a false reputation!"
"Indeed, indeed!"
"……"
The surrounding elders were engrossed in their discussions, speaking with fervor.
Suddenly—
A true inheritor disciple exclaimed, "Ning Fan moved!"
Everyone was stunned and quickly looked down.
And then, coincidentally, they saw Ning Fan swiftly climbing two steps at a time, his figure reaching the top of the stairs and stepping onto the seventh floor of the Scripture Library.
Zhuge Ming: "……"
The elders: "……"
The Taiyi Sect Master: "……"
The entire scene seemed to be paused, utterly silent.
Only a crisp "snap" echoed, as the folding fan in Zhuge Ming's hand fell to the ground.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan