After stepping past the fifty-third tier, Shen Han gradually grasped its profound meaning.
Beyond the fiftieth tier, the trial tested not just strength but temperament.
The fierce battle before him was a test of the intent to kill in those stepping into the Thousand Autumns.
The phantoms before him were relentless enemies; a moment’s hesitation could mean falling into an abyss.
This was the most brutal dark forest, with no respite.
Sword shadows flickered, and Shen Han’s gaze sharpened.
The Celestial Dao Sword Momentum pierced through all enemies with absolute might.
The scene of annihilating enemies was somewhat excessively cruel.
Seeing this, Shen Han frowned slightly; the scent of blood wafting by his nose made the scene even more realistic.
After a while, his consciousness slipped away.
Beyond the fiftieth tier, the enemies in that void realm were still no match for him.
But the excessively cruel fight instilled a trace of brutality in Shen Han.
He passed the fifty-third tier.
Further up, in each tier’s illusionary realm, Shen Han still needed to be ruthless and determined.
Enemies in those realms were growing stronger, still no match for the Celestial Dao Sword Momentum.
Going further up.
And further.
The enemies slowly ceased to be vicious, with some even greeting Shen Han with a smile.
Naturally, Shen Han understood this was just a façade; no matter how friendly, enemies were still enemies.
Sword shadows untouched by blood; yet even outside the void realm, Shen Han still felt he could smell the scent of blood.
He continued stepping upward, and upward.
Shen Han vaguely couldn’t recall how many tiers he had reached.
Only on this tier, for some reason, the enemies seemed endless.
"Divine Sword Breaks Earth Momentum!"
"Flying Sword Sky-Filling Momentum!"
The Heaven-Filling Sword Shadows could not slay the endless enemies.
Before him lay a field of corpses, blood flowing like a river...
The blood shadows obscured Shen Han’s eyes, leaving only slaughter.
Everything around seemed frozen, with only the sound of ticking.
His mind, however, was still entangled with brutality and bewilderment.
If he couldn’t see through, couldn’t break through, he would be consumed by murderous intent, lost in bewilderment.
In an instant, hundreds of sword shadows vanished, and Shen Han’s once fierce expression suddenly cleared.
Raising his eyes, he realized he had already passed the fifty-ninth tier.
In the distance on a tall building, several well-dressed people were watching closely.
"Shen Han of the Shen Family... he has awakened from the bewilderment of murderous intent...
A quarter of an hour, still seems to fall short compared to his cousin Shen Ye.
But it’s still quite impressive.
The Shen Family is indeed fortunate to have another young genius among them..."
The speaker was a young man in luxurious attire.
Beside him, a middle-aged man slightly bowed: "Master, that may not be entirely correct; Shen Han may not be so closely tied to the Shen Family."
The middle-aged man smiled as if privy to some secret.
"Perhaps we can recruit Shen Han for ourselves."
The well-dressed youth wanted to ask more, but the middle-aged man did not elaborate, only asking him to continue watching.
Yun’an City, Shen Mansion Hall.
The voice from the Sound Transmission Magical Artifact echoed again: "Young Master Han has reached the sixtieth tier..."
The people sitting in the hall seemed indifferent upon hearing these words.
They recalled how, four years ago, they were also in the hall, listening to news from Heyang City.
Four years ago, it was Shen Ye who ascended the Thousand-Autumn Steps. With each step he took, Madam Shen, Madam He, Madam Xie, and even the household maids couldn’t contain their joy, clapping and cheering.
On that day, all the servants of Shen Mansion received rewards, and the mansion was filled with festivity.
Four years later today, it was still a descendant of the Shen Family ascending the Thousand-Autumn Steps.
Only the protagonist changed from Shen Ye to Shen Han.
Unlike that day’s jubilance, today, with each announcement of Shen Han’s ascent, the hall grew more somber.
The servants standing around dared not make a sound, fearing the master’s wrath would fall upon them.
Among them, Madam Shen also remained silent, a storm brewing within her heart.
At that moment, she hesitated greatly, pondering whether to discuss with Shen Qingshan again...
After a long hesitation, she ultimately stopped.
Sixty tiers, that should be Shen Han’s limit...
By this moment, over fourteen two-hour periods had passed since the start of the Thousand-Autumn Grand Gathering.
The geniuses once admired by everyone halted at around the fortieth tier.
Out of over two hundred participants, fewer than twenty managed to pass the fiftieth tier.
Standing on the sixtieth step, Shen Han looked up, seeing fewer than ten above him.
However, the Su Family’s pride was close to reaching the seventieth tier.
Taking a deep breath, Shen Han stepped up once more.
His consciousness fell into a realm between heaven and earth; Shen Han remained as vigilant as before, but for a long time, no phantom enemies appeared.
Remaining cautious, Shen Han surveyed his surroundings, witnessing a stone engraving floating before him.
It appeared to record the cultivation technique manuals once practiced by Immortal Heluo.
Focusing intently, within that void realm, a line of gray small text emerged.
[Slightly blurry script on the manual]
He took a few steps forward, nearing the engraving.
Shen Han seemed to understand what the sixtieth tier was testing.
The first fifty tiers of the Thousand-Autumn Steps were fundamental trials, with void realm enemies testing one’s grade and concrete strength.
Beyond the fiftieth tier was a test of temperament, measuring whether one would be lost in daze, swallowed by murderous intent, or fall to the enemy due to conflicted thoughts.
After the sixtieth tier, the test changed again.
Beyond the sixtieth tier, the test seemed to focus on comprehension.
The unclear characters on the stone engraving had to be filled in anew.
With that, Shen Han found some advantage in this sixtieth tier test.
Converging his focus on the moment, his mind buzzed, extracting the content!
[Blurry script on the manual] entries fell into his sea of consciousness.
His consciousness subsequently slipped out, passing the sixtieth tier so simply.
Testing comprehension, he indeed held the advantage.
At the periphery of the Thousand-Autumn Grand Gathering, Uncle Yun from the Yun Family nodded repeatedly seeing Shen Han’s performance.
"The comprehension trial between the sixtieth to seventieth tiers, that child Han, might spend even less time than on the fifties..."
He held utmost confidence in Shen Han’s comprehension.
The Yun Family’s pill formula, which remained unexplained for decades, was comprehended by Shen Han overnight. This insight could only be described as terrifying.
On the Thousand-Autumn Steps, many who realized they couldn’t ascend further opted to give up.
Only seven remained above the sixtieth tier.
At the beginning, no one could have imagined Shen Han reaching beyond sixty tiers.
The most daunting part was that Shen Han’s upward pace was increasing.
In less than a two-hour period, Shen Han had reached the seventieth tier, surpassing four of the seven.
Ahead of him were only three!
And just three tiers ahead stood Su Jinyu.

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