Mythical Cultivation

It turned out that since Huang Hao embarked on this arduous path of cultivation, every ounce of effort and every struggle he endured had been silently witnessed by Elder Ding. Over time, Elder Ding had already fully recognized this disciple, whom he had only accepted after thousands of years. It was for this reason that, upon seeing Huang Hao's distraught state, he offered soothing words.

"Huang Hao! I never thought you could reach such a high position! You're so much more powerful than me! I tried my best, but I could only climb a little over 300 steps on the third stage before I had to give up. Sigh, this path of refining the mind is simply a torturous torture!" Zhao Xiaohai stood aside, muttering with a face full of resentment. In fact, as early as the second stage, he had already been unable to resist using his own true energy, so when he stepped onto the third stage of stone steps, he didn't last long before he could withstand the tremendous pressure.

"That's right! Brother Huang Hao, just be content. You know, I have seen with my own eyes that many cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining are not even half as good as you. Their performance on the road of refining the mind is far worse than yours!" Hou Tiancheng hurriedly came over to comfort him.

At this point, Wu Ming couldn't help but interject, "Brother Huang Hao, honestly, I'm truly impressed by your strength. Look at me, I'm still hundreds of steps away from successfully reaching the summit. It seems I need to redouble my efforts in cultivation, otherwise I'll be left far behind by you." Wu Ming had originally thought that Huang Hao's ability would surely allow him to reach the summit, but who could have imagined that he would fail in the end? This clearly shows that this path of spiritual cultivation is truly extraordinary, not something that ordinary people can easily traverse.

Mei Lingshuang, usually taciturn, didn't say much at this moment, but she nodded slightly, echoing the others' words. Her bright eyes fixed on Huang Hao, as if she could see through his deepest disappointment and frustration. So, in a rare gesture of comfort, she said, "Huang Hao, don't be discouraged. We are all far behind you."

"Look, they all said this. You don't have to be too disappointed. Life is never smooth sailing. If you don't succeed this time, just try again next time." Old Ding also said in Huang Hao's heart.

Huang Hao's eyes slowly swept over the few friends in front of him, and he saw that each of their faces was filled with concern and comfort. His heart warmed, but he still shook his head vigorously, as if to completely throw away the depressed mood like shaking off the water droplets on his head.

Then, he took a deep breath, smiled, and said to them, "Thank you for your concern. We must work harder together in the future. I firmly believe that as long as we work together and forge ahead courageously, one day we will be able to stand higher, see further, and appreciate even more magnificent scenery."

At this moment, Wu Ming, as if remembering something, suddenly asked, "Who will be lucky enough to obtain that invaluable inheritance this time?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Xiaohai and the other three came over, their eyes gleaming with intense curiosity. Obviously, they were also full of interest in this question and wanted to know the answer.

"You can guess, he is someone we all know." Huang Hao raised the corners of his mouth slightly, deliberately keeping the audience in suspense. He did not directly say the man's name, but instead gave a confusing riddle.

This was great. Their curiosity instantly ignited like a bonfire, and they began to speculate wildly. Some said it was a hidden outer disciple, while others said it was a direct disciple of an elder... However, unfortunately, no matter how hard they racked their brains, they still couldn't guess correctly.

After all, most of the cultivators they knew were from the same group of brothers and sisters. Within this sect, there were nearly a thousand outer disciples, nearly half of whom were from the previous batch. Over a hundred of them had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining alone. Faced with so many possibilities, accurately guessing the identity of the one who had received the inheritance was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Seeing that no one could guess correctly, Huang Hao finally couldn't help laughing. He stopped teasing them and revealed the answer directly: "Haha, let me tell you, this person is actually Zhang Tianming. I didn't expect that he would successfully reach the summit and win the inheritance."

When Huang Hao uttered the words "Zhang Tianming," the others' eyes widened in disbelief. In their minds, while Zhang Tianming was quite capable, he wasn't one of the most outstanding disciples. Therefore, no one had expected him to be the ultimate winner.

"How could it be him? This is simply unbelievable!" Zhao Xiaohai widened his eyes, his face full of shock and confusion, and his voice unconsciously rose octaves.

Hou Tiancheng on the side also had a look of astonishment on his face, and echoed: "Yes, why? This is totally unreasonable!" The two looked at each other, and saw deep confusion and suspicion in each other's eyes.

At this time, Wu Ming also came over and said with a frown: "I really didn't expect it to be him. Although I admit that he does have impressive strength, there are many people in our sect who are more famous and stronger than him." He shook his head as he spoke, obviously very surprised by this result.

"Although this matter seems a bit unbelievable, the facts are before us, and it is undoubtedly him. Perhaps there are some circumstances that we don't understand!" Huang Hao spoke slowly, with a hint of uncertainty in his tone. After all, even he himself found this result too shocking.

You have to know that ever since Zhang Tianming failed in his foundation-building attempt, he's been focused on remedying his body's weaknesses and stabilizing his realm. For so many years, he's kept a low profile, rarely taking action, and even avoiding participating in the sect's internal conflicts. Consequently, he hasn't achieved any notable success. Therefore, disciples like Wu Ming, who recently joined the sect, are unaware of the underlying reasons.

"Could it be that you saw it wrong?" Zhao Xiaohai asked with some doubt.

"I'm absolutely not mistaken. I'm 100% certain it's him!" Huang Hao declared decisively, his gaze firm and persistent. Yet, even with this certainty, a feeling of disbelief still lingered deep within him. Who could have imagined that their former enemy would ultimately reach the summit? This truly defied everyone's expectations.