Shi Huayun sneered, glancing at Gu Tong, and said, "Is your confidence just because you’re Senior Brother Gu’s son?"
Neither Shi Hao nor Gu Tong were surprised to hear her call Gu Tong this way.
Long ago, Shi Huayun had already mentioned that she came from the Immortal Realm and was a disciple of Master Qian Ji, so naturally, she and Gu Shiyun were senior brother and sister, and Gu Tong had to call her Master Aunt!
"This is the Mortal Realm. Even if an Immortal descends, they will be suppressed by the Mortal Realm’s world and cannot exert combat power beyond the Immortal Level," Shi Hao said, while spreading his hands, "Therefore, Brother Gu shouldn’t be weaker than you, right?"
Shi Huayun showed disdain and immediately reached out to grab Gu Tong.
Their battle erupted immediately, but Gu Tong didn’t want to destroy the Imperial Capital, guiding the fight airborne.
Shi Hao looked up and frowned involuntarily.
Shi Huayun’s confidence was not without reason; her combat power was actually stronger than Gu Tong’s!
The so-called Heaven Building Ladder is constructing a long ladder on Soul Island that connects to the Immortal Realm. Generally, reaching the ninetieth step can link the two realms, successfully transitioning from mortal to immortal.
And starting from the ninetieth step, each further step becomes incredibly difficult, but with each step, the increase in power is quite significant.
Therefore, starting from the ninetieth step, building the Heaven Ladder can be called the Absolute Summit, but even among the Absolute Summit, there are vast differences in strength.
Take Sword Emperor, for instance; he built around ninety-four or five steps. He is top-tier, not just on Yunding Star but also in the entire Universe.
However, this doesn’t take into account Gu Tong and Han Xiuyue.
These two have returned from the Immortal Realm, where the rules are richer. Even if they also built ninety-four or five steps, their combat power would undoubtedly be stronger; it’s an undeniable advantage.
In fact, Gu Tong has built a full ninety-seven steps, and coupled with the rules of the Immortal Realm, that’s why his combat power is so strong.
Yet, Shi Huayun is even stronger.
She also hails from the Immortal Realm, so Gu Tong loses the advantage of the rules, and in the race up the Heaven Building Ladder, Shi Huayun has climbed even further than Gu Tong.
Ninety-eight steps, or even ninety-nine steps!
Impossible, ninety-nine steps is the limit. No one has been heard of reaching over a hundred steps, not even someone as strong as Gu Lao, who also only walked ninety-nine steps. He once tried to breach a hundred steps but sensed that taking that step would mean his own destruction.
Shi Huayun was overpowering Gu Tong. Although they differed by only one or two steps, the disparity in combat power was enormous.
Seeing that Gu Tong was about to lose, a figure suddenly appeared from the sky, joining the battle.
Her target of attack was... Shi Huayun.
Why did she suddenly help Shi Hao?
No, she wasn’t helping Shi Hao; she was simply targeting Master Qian Ji.
——Shi Huayun is Master Qian Ji’s disciple, so she must fight her; there is no other reason.
With Han Xiuyue joining, together they finally turned the tide.
This was truly exaggerated that even Gu Tong and Han Xiuyue combined could only match Shi Huayun.
This woman is indeed strong, with talent not inferior to Shi Zhong.
Shi Hao thought about it and decided to hold Shi Zhong in higher regard, as he believed both he and Shi Zhong had the chance to break the Heaven Building Ladder’s limit.
A hundred steps is not unattainable, but lacking enough power, crossing that step would be met with worldly suppression, leading to obliteration; that is the unsolvable dilemma.
But Shi Hao believed he could withstand the backlash of the heavens and earth.
After fighting for a while, all three of Shi Huayun stopped.
Their combat power was comparable, and they wouldn’t necessarily decide a winner even in ten days or half a month.
"Shi Hao, if I wanted to kill you, even if they joined forces, they couldn’t stop me!" Shi Huayun said coldly, "And besides, they can’t always be by your side."
"That’s right." Shi Hao nodded, acknowledging the truth.
"So, stop everything you’re doing immediately," Shi Huayun demanded again.
Shi Hao smiled and said, "Do you know what I’m doing?"
Shi Huayun looked at him, only to say after a while, "This is the Emperor’s Road, very common in the Immortal Realm."
Indeed, she knew about the Emperor’s Road and realized what Shi Hao intended by walking this path, which is why she was so vehemently opposed.
She didn’t appear immediately, probably hoping the Anti-Stone Alliance would lead. If they succeeded, she wouldn’t need to act, as she had always posed as a good person in front of Shi Hao, at least in her opinion, she was trying to be a good person.
However, the Anti-Stone Alliance failed, or rather could only sustain a stalemate and couldn’t completely defeat the Stone Country, naturally making her unable to sit still.
She had to step forward; otherwise, if Shi Hao succeeded, Master Qian Ji’s plans spanning tens of thousands of years would be ruined.
Shi Hao also stared at her and said, "Sorry, but I find it difficult to comply."
Shi Huayun took a deep breath, seeming to weigh something, and only after a while did she say, "Back then when I said my surname was Shi, you asked me if I was from the Stone Country."
"Indeed." Shi Hao nodded, "Back then, your answer was it was just a coincidence that your surname was Shi. So, is there another coincidence now?"
Shi Huayun shook her head, "Let me tell you another thing. My master also has the surname Shi and ascended to the Immortal Realm from Yunding Star nearly a hundred thousand years ago."
This news was explosive, with Master Qian Ji being surname Shi and coming from Yunding Star, does it mean——
"Exactly, my master can also be considered a Stone Clan member, and what’s more, he is the ancestor of the Stone Clan!" Shi Huayun said.
Gu Tong and Han Xiuyue were also shocked, their scalps tingling. So, Shi Hao is Master Qian Ji’s descendant? Although not necessarily direct, there indeed existed some kind of connection in the bloodline.
Moreover, Shi Huayun’s reason for preventing the lethal conflict between Shi Hao and Shi Zhong explained. To Master Qian Ji, they were both his descendants across generations, each excellent, and if they ascend to the Immortal Realm in the future, each could play a significant role.
——Shi Hao didn’t believe Master Qian Ji truly cared about his descendants. Otherwise, he wouldn’t consider refining Yunding Star without regard for the Stone Clan.
It’s all about interests, where’s the familial connection!
Shi Hao shook his head, "Master Qian Ji left for a hundred thousand years, and the gift he sent back to the Stone Clan was being refined into the Five-Element Primal Orb?"
That one sentence exposed Master Qian Ji’s hypocrisy.
Shi Huayun’s expression changed, glaring at Shi Hao with murderous intent rising.
Master Qian Ji didn’t want to kill Shi Hao, was because Shi Hao was very special, making him want to study him. But the gap between the Immortal and Mortal realms meant that if an Immortal forcibly attacked a mortal, they would be targeted by the heavens and earth.
The Jade Immortal is powerful, but not to the extent of ignoring the Mortal Realm’s world.
Thus, Master Qian Ji wished Shi Hao would ascend, and by then, with Shi Hao’s strength even greater, it would be more convenient for his research, and he could travel to the Immortal Realm without being targeted by the heavens and earth.
But now the situation was entirely different.