In Order to Live as an Immortal, I changed a martial artist world to a xianxia world-Chapter 86

Chapter Eighty-Six: The Shocked Crowd! The Strongest Name!

Outside Xuantian Sword Sect

“Shi Feixuan is number one?”

“What kind of joke is that?”

“The person at the highest point of the Xuantian Path of Inquiry isn’t Shi Feixuan—it’s that monster, Bai Chen!”

Sikong Zhaixing’s expression was one of disbelief as he turned to the crowd. As a peak-stage Refining Essence into Qi cultivator, he understood the difficulty of the trial. Though he had recklessly rushed forward and forced his way up over a hundred steps, he knew that had he been more patient, he could have climbed even higher.

However, reaching the ten-thousandth step was utterly impossible. Besides, he had little interest in the Sword Dao. He had already considered giving up. More importantly, when Bai Chen broke through, the sheer pressure that radiated from him shook Sikong Zhaixing’s very soul. His confidence had wavered, and that had been enough to end his climb.

Now, hearing the crowd declare Shi Feixuan as the highest climber, Sikong Zhaixing refused to stay silent. He had his conflicts with Bai Chen in the past, but both of them hailed from the Great Ming Dynasty. Shi Feixuan, on the other hand, belonged to the Great Sui Dynasty.

Letting a Sui cultivator take the spotlight over a Ming cultivator was dishonourable. If the Great Ming was genuinely weaker than the Great Sui, Sikong Zhaixing would have accepted it.

“What?”

“Bai Chen? That monster Bai Chen is still inside?”

“That’s right! None of the people who exited ever mentioned Bai Chen!”

“Of course! Bai Chen was already in the Void Fusion realm! How could we have forgotten him?”

As soon as Sikong Zhaixing spoke, the entire crowd fell silent. Then, all at once, everyone turned toward him, bombarding him with questions. Even the Land Immortals, who typically carried themselves with dignity, were desperate for information about Bai Chen. Only Lin Feng, who had exited moments before Sikong Zhaixing, seemed bewildered.

I only left the sect moments ago—did I somehow miss something monumental?

Then, after a moment of contemplation, everything clicked. Simply put, Bai Chen must have finally revealed himself after Lin Feng was expelled.

Regret welled up in his chest.

If only I had lasted a little longer!

“Shi Feixuan may be the first…”

“But she is only the first that we can see.”

“Bai Chen had already entered the Xuantian Path of Inquiry before any of us reached the inner sanctum.”

“We never saw him because he was simply too high up.”

“If not for his breakthrough, which unleashed such a terrifying pressure, we would never have realized he was even there.”

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“If anything, Bai Chen was always ahead of us.”

Sikong Zhaixing spoke with certainty. He wasn’t lying. Before Bai Chen’s breakthrough, no one on the Xuantian Path of Inquiry had been aware of his presence. It was only after that earth-shattering power erupted that they finally noticed. And by then, the gap was insurmountable.

Even the weakest cultivators had managed to ascend five thousand steps over time. They had firsthand experience with the increasing difficulty of the path. Yet even Shi Feixuan had never glimpsed Bai Chen’s figure.

That meant Bai Chen had outpaced them all by at least five thousand steps. That realization was horrifying. The higher one climbed, the stronger the sword’s energy became.

Ascending from the first to the five-thousandth step had been a challenge, but manageable. However, climbing from the five-thousandth to the ten-thousandth step had pushed most to their absolute limit. And no one had any idea just how far Bai Chen had gone beyond that.

The sheer disparity was soul-crushing.

“Then that means Bai Chen was the first to enter the Xuantian Sword Sect’s inner sanctum?”

“That explains everything!”

“No wonder no one ever saw Bai Chen inside the sect!”

“He must have gone straight for the inner sanctum while the rest of us were still figuring out what to do.”

The surrounding cultivators were utterly stunned. Before the Xuantian Sword Sect’s trials had even begun, Bai Chen had already left an overwhelming impression on them.

It was unavoidable. When Bai Chen appeared before them, his sheer presence alone suppressed Qi Refining into Spirit Transformation cultivators. Then, the Ming Dynasty’s Princess Shaomin openly declared that the immortal inheritance she received was something Bai Chen had discarded.

And finally, Bai Chen himself stated that he was already at the Void Fusion realm. That meant Bai Chen was already the strongest known cultivator in existence. And he was not even thirty years old. That alone had been enough to make Bai Chen a legendary figure before the trials even started.

Yet, three days ago, when the first wave of cultivators had been expelled from the Xuantian Sword Sect, not a single one mentioned Bai Chen’s whereabouts. Many assumed that meant Bai Chen had simply left. Some believed he had no interest in the sect’s inheritance. Others thought he had never even entered the sect to begin with. But now, Sikong Zhaixing had shattered those assumptions.

Not only had Bai Chen entered the sect—he had been the first to do so. The reason no one had seen him was simple: he had climbed too high, too quickly. It wasn’t that Bai Chen had disappeared. It was that no one had been capable of catching up. The realization sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

“So that’s the truth…”

“Lord Bai Chen wasn’t late.”

“He had always been ahead of us!”

Hearing Sikong Zhaixing’s words, Lin Feng shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. There was no need to doubt Sikong Zhaixing. If he had been lying, his story would have fallen apart immediately. If even one more person exited the sect and refuted his claim, his words would be meaningless. But no one did. Which meant the truth was undeniable.

“Wait.”

“You just said Bai Chen… broke through?”

Lin Feng’s pupils contracted. Before entering the Xuantian Sword Sect, Bai Chen had already reached the Void Fusion realm. And now, using the power of the Xuantian Path of Inquiry, he had broken through yet again.

Did he merely refine his existing realm further or had he truly ascended to Harmony of Heaven and Man?

[Harmony of Heaven and Man (天人合一, Tiānrén Héyī) – A legendary cultivation stage where one transcends worldly limits, attaining the pinnacle of martial and spiritual unity.]

“This…”

“This Bai Chen really is a monster.”

“I’ve trained my entire life and only reached Heavenly Phenomenon Grandmaster.”

“Bai Chen isn’t even thirty, and he’s already surpassed Land Immortals.”

“He was already the strongest cultivator alive. If he’s broken through again, what hope is there for anyone else?”

Lin Feng’s exclamation sent another wave of silence through the crowd. No one knew how many steps Bai Chen had climbed. But one thing was clear. Bai Chen had broken through. And Bai Chen was already the strongest cultivator before his breakthrough.

Now, no one in the world could stand against him.