Chapter 54: Breaking the Record!

"Crack!"

Jiang Chengkun clearly heard the bones in his arms fracturing.

Only two meters remained until the eight-hundred-meter mark!

Enduring the agonizing pain, he inched his way upward with immense difficulty.

Fresh blood continuously dripped from his wounds.

A faint, metallic scent of blood drifted through the air.

"Push! Cross this step, and you will undergo a transformation!"

At this moment, Jiang Chengkun's pupils turned scarlet.

He summoned his remaining strength to drag himself upward a few more steps.

Finally, he crossed the eight-hundred-meter mark!

"Whoosh!"

Completely drained of all strength, Jiang Chengkun fell plummeting downward.

Yan Lin's gaze sharpened as his figure fluttered up, catching Jiang Chengkun in mid-air and setting him gently on the ground.

Thus far, Jiang Chengkun's score was undisputedly the highest!

There was a substantial gap between him and the second-place contestant.

Jiang Chengkun opened his eyes, a faint trace of gratified a smile flashing across his face.

Although extremely arduous, he had ultimately persevered!

"Well done."

Even Yan Lin, who was usually stern and unsmiling, offered Jiang Chengkun a rare word of praise.

By this time, the scores of all the disciples had more or less been determined, with only one person remaining!

Lin Chen stood beneath the thousand-meter sheer cliff, gazing up into the high sky.

"Is it my turn?"

He spoke calmly, and then, instantly channeling his full bodily strength, he stamped his feet against the ground and soared high into the air!

"Boom!"

A deep depression was left in the ground where he had previously stood.

The power of a single stomp was terrifying to this degree!

The instantly unleashed explosive force shocked all the outer sect disciples.

Just what level must one's physical strength reach to cause such a commotion?

Unbelievable!

Lin Chen effortlessly surged past the one-hundred-meter, two-hundred-meter, and three-hundred-meter marks!

"He... he didn't summon his phantom beast!"

Someone shouted aloud first.

Immediately after, the expressions in the eyes of all the outer sect disciples shifted dramatically.

He truly had not summoned a phantom beast!

Did he intend to challenge this thousand-meter sheer cliff relying solely on his physical strength and body?

Shock flashed through the eyes of several disciples.

In the blink of an eye, he had already crossed into the five-hundred-meter zone?

Jiang Chengkun stared at Lin Chen's retreating back, his fists involuntarily clenching.

Was this the proud talent who had caused the bronze bell to ring five times?

Indeed, he was someone impossible to catch up with!

Yet, he would not lose heart.

One day, he would surpass him!

Lin Chen's single leap carried him straight up six hundred meters into the firmament.

Just as his momentum was about to exhaust itself, he reached out, grabbed a rock, and scrambled rapidly upward!

That was no longer climbing; he was flying!

Moving as swift as flight!

It was as if the oppressive force upon the thousand-meter sheer cliff had no effect on him whatsoever.

The scene that followed stunned every single outer sect disciple.

Lin Chen walked as if on flat ground, his speed not diminishing in the slightest as he climbed seven hundred meters in one breath!

He was still... still moving upward!

Seven hundred and fifty meters!

Eight hundred meters!

He broke through!

He shattered Jiang Chengkun's previous record!

And then...

He actually still hadn't stopped!

Yan Lin's lips twitched, looking somewhat numb.

He had overseen countless outer sect disciples and witnessed many formidable talents, but not a single one of them had ever reached Lin Chen's level!

Eight hundred and fifty meters!

Nine hundred meters!

Lin Chen arrived at the nine-hundred-meter mark in one breath and abruptly halted.

All the outer sect disciples felt as though their hearts had finally dropped back into their chests.

Had this fellow finally exhausted himself?

Nine hundred meters!

A full one hundred meters higher than Jiang Chengkun's previous record!

Simply monstrous!

"Nine hundred meters, ranking second among the outer sect disciples. If I remember correctly... Zhao Peng held that exact score previously!"

Yan Lin's gaze was profound.

Why would Lin Chen stop at this height?

Could he truly have exerted his full strength?

That shouldn't be the case.

Judging by his leisurely stroll earlier, nine hundred meters shouldn't have exhausted his stamina at all.

"Zhao Peng?"

Above the nine-hundred-meter mark, Lin Chen's gaze swept toward a patch of rock face.

Carved into the stone were the two characters: "Zhao Peng"!

Ranking first in the history of the thousand-meter sheer cliff, a supreme glory.

Back then, in his euphoria, Zhao Peng had carved his own name directly onto the gigantic boulder!

As a proud genius, he naturally desired to leave his name for eternity!

From then on, successive latecomers continually challenged the thousand-meter sheer cliff.

As they struggled upward and strained with all their might, there would always be a name standing high above their heads.

No matter how desperately they tried, they were destined never to reach the height where that name rested!

This was the gap!

This was the glory!

This was... talent!

Lin Chen could even vividly imagine the arrogant expression on Zhao Peng's face when he carved his name.

"Leaving a name for eternity..."

Lin Chen sneered, raising his hand and swiping across the stone. "You? Worthy?"

The two characters "Zhao Peng" were directly erased from the giant boulder by Lin Chen.

From this point on, it was completely blank!

Down below, Yan Lin witnessed this scene and could not help his lips twitching slightly.

This brat really held grudges!

Zhao Peng was already dead, yet he wouldn't even spare his past record.

After erasing the two characters "Zhao Peng," Lin Chen exerted his strength once more, surging upward another hundred meters.

When he gracefully stepped onto the summit of the thousand-meter cliff, less than twenty breaths of time had passed since the very beginning!

Not only the highest, but also the fastest.

Lin Chen stood loftily at the peak, overlooking all creation, a grand and heroic sentiment spontaneously welling up in his chest.

Indeed, only by being strong enough could one stand above everyone else!

"He... he broke the record!"

"Zhao Peng broke the record not long ago, only for Lin Chen to shatter it right after!"

"One thousand meters... He climbed straight to the top of the thousand-meter cliff!"

"Unprecedented, and... likely never to be surpassed."

Down below, many outer sect disciples marveled in awe.

Precisely because they had experienced it firsthand, they knew just how difficult it was!

For every hundred meters ascended, gravity multiplied exponentially.

Even someone as formidable as Jiang Chengkun had been crushed to defeat the moment he tried to break past eight hundred meters.

The most crucial part was that Lin Chen hadn't relied on a phantom beast at all!

He had conquered this trial purely through his own physical body.

"Too... too formidable!"

If Jiang Chengkun had still harbored any thoughts of competing with Lin Chen prior to this, with the appearance of this scene, he was completely and utterly convinced.

A proud talent was indeed a proud talent!

Towering high above!

He couldn't even see the other's retreating back.

"Whoosh!"

Lin Chen leaped down from the thousand-meter cliff, landing heavily with a resounding thud.

The ground beneath his feet cracked open, fissures radiating outward in all directions.

"Now, we enter the second trial."

Yan Lin took a deep breath, revealing a bitter smile.

He knew there was no point in continuing the sect grand competition, but rules still had to be followed!

The sect grand competition consisted of two trials.

The first trial was the thousand-meter cliff, selecting the top eight.

The second trial involved the top eight engaging in one-on-one duels until the final victor was decided.

As for the comprehensive score, it was evaluated based on the disciples' performances across both trials!

In the plaza, the drawing of lots concluded.

"I forfeit..."

When one disciple discovered his opponent was Lin Chen, he chose to withdraw without the slightest hesitation.

Damn it!

I witnessed him utterly crush Zhao Peng in the inner sect with my own eyes that day!

Even an inner sect disciple was no match for him; what was the point of me going up there, to seek abuse?