Chapter 162 The Nine Stairs

A deep rumble echoed throughout the area once again as the iron pagoda's announcement bellowed, "This is the end of the test for this round. Next, you are going to enter a passage for the succeeding challenge. The one who survives this will be the champion; however, if you all were to die here, it will merely be considered as your fated end.

There will no longer be any room left for regret as you go further along, so do your best to pass this test! I wish all of you good luck on your journey."

At the last word marking the start of another trial, the environment drastically changed around Ricky, his body shaking in time with the tremors of the earth relocating him to another space. Bright light cast on his figure as he arrived. He appraised the space filled with suffocating, scalding flames, and had come to a conclusion that it was the same as the former contest. The only difference spotted within its perimeters was the mentioned huge passage in the middle of the arena.

Ricky gazed deep into the abyss of the crossing. Even with the great distance between him and its entrance, he felt the aggressiveness of the burning fire originating from its inside. "So, this is the last test?" murmured Ricky, looking around in curiosity.

A sudden surge of foreign feelings permeated his heart and made him lose his focus on the task ahead of him. Befuddled, he pondered over the strangeness he sensed in his gut. He had felt that the pagoda behaved weirdly, and sent off signals that intentionally guided them to pass the test deliberately.

He cocked an eyebrow in contemplation; there seemed to be some hidden trick behind its directing.

'Did I become paranoid because of what Andrew had done to me?' The thought sprang up in passing as he analyzed his current circumstances. He had no idea why his instincts rang warning bells in his head, leading him to think that the iron pagoda may be conspiring something with their ploy of letting them clear the obstacle.

It did not help that what Andrew had done before instilled him with fear and alarm. After all, he was also a mortal who was also afraid of facing death. Nonetheless, he overlooked his speculations, knowing that there was nothing he could even possibly do to verify any elaborate traps the pagoda might have set up. "What should I do now... Is there any way out?" he muttered in a low voice, eyes narrowing in regard to the dangers waiting ahead of him.

After a minute of harsh deliberation, he shook his head in frustration. "Well, forget it! I'll just concentrate on passing!" he exclaimed. Gathering his bearings, he closed his eyes to adjust his breathing before taking action. A squinted gaze matched the cautious footsteps he took towards the massive transit. He did not let his worries hinder the bravery and courage he wielded like a weapon, because at the end of the day, he was still a man who refused to remain idle in the face of crisis, no matter what sort of predicament he was forced in. Especially now, when he was left with no choice but to follow through the examination. There was no way he would give up so easily during such a crucial period. He came here to win the Beast Fire, and so he had to have the steel strength of determination to stand victorious at the end, just as what he had only always settled for.

Ricky did not catch any glimpses of what lay beneath the path until he had reached the entryway. He gaped in awe at the marvelous nine stairs in front of him that reached to unforeseeable heights.

Flames licked at each step, casting an eerie, orange glow around the space. Somehow, he felt that the energy of these blazes increased the further one trekked upwards. He would undoubtedly endure great pain brought by the scorching flares as he continued his travel to the top.

"Walk up the step

this far; I refuse to fail here!" he ranted, his voice hoarse from the dryness of his throat.

Starting over, Ricky activated the Nine-degree Body Refining Formula as well as the Devouring Skill and the Chaotic Fire Skill. The former assisted him in resisting the conflagration, while the latter two absorbed the inexorable conditions he was in to ease his suffering. The three abilities empowered him and gradually lessened the graveness of his misery.

Huffing, he could not believe that the ninth stair had almost scorched off all his skin.

"Is this really all its power? Even with a body at the limit of the Fifth Degree, I was unable to stay there for three seconds!" he jeered, his ferociousness not lost from his first defeat. He would not surrender, never!

As he finally restored his energy, he began his voyage to vanquish the last step.

His second try was met with the same result, but he had arguably made some progress compared to his initial bout. He had rolled back down to the eighth stair writhing in agony but he had lasted a few more seconds on this round, at least.

This laborious operation became his strategy. He pressed and overcame his limits with each endeavor, thus effectively extending his stay on the domain in the long run.

In three whole days, all he did was a pattern of jumping and rolling down to fan out the overwhelming pain he was swamped with. He had lost track of the number of periods where he fell to the eighth stair to evade longer exposure from the white-hot pressure the final obstacle emitted.

The only evidence proving his numerous efforts was the thick, dark red bloodstains painted all over his muscles. His image could very well be compared to the insides of half-cooked meat, given the redness marring his hardened body. If his friends saw him as he was now, they would absolutely fail to recognize him if it were not for the familiar blankness of his eyes.

"Three days! Three whole damn days! This will be the last try; I will have to succeed or I might as well die!" He poured his heart out in yelling the vow he had sworn to himself. As he had promised, he stepped on the ninth stair again.

This time, he stayed silent. His stood astoundingly still; bearing the wrath of the flames as he concentrated on performing the cultivation method of the Nine-degree Body Refining Formula.

He activated the Devourer Zone and the Chaotic Fire Zone to support him and in this way, he resolutely urged himself to reach the Sixth Degree of the Nine-degree Body Refining Formula.