Although the others looked surprised, they had no time to consider why the National Master would single out this Foundation Establishment cultivator.
In the secret realm, the sooner you entered, the better.
Thus, everyone hurried to be the first, fearing they would fall behind.
Though Lu An was puzzled, he nodded and remained where he was, watching as the other participants entered the secret realm.
"Lu An, we…"
The people from Yongning County hesitated, unsure whether they should enter.
Lu An smiled slightly and said:
"Go ahead. I wish you all the best in achieving good results."
Hearing this, they relaxed and quickly moved to the entrance of the secret realm, disappearing in a flash.
Meanwhile, figures of participating cultivators also appeared on the water screens on both sides.
In front of these cultivators was a massive green mountain with a stone staircase winding up.
The rules of the competition were already known to everyone, and with the official start, many began to ascend the stone stairs.
Lu An didn't understand why his shibo wanted him to enter last, but it was clear that his shibo recognized his identity.
Yet, he still had doubts. Since Senior Brother Ji hadn't mentioned anything about him to his shibo, how did his shibo know?
He turned to Ji Xidong, who was also participating in the Water Sky Conference. Seeing Lu An was left behind, Ji Xidong did not hurry to enter.
"Junior Brother, I didn't tell Master anything. I don't know how he recognized you."
Ji Xidong looked awkward and quickly explained.
"It's fine. Senior Brother, go ahead. I'll catch up later."
Ji Xidong, seeing Lu An wasn't upset, smiled and said:
"Alright, but if you want to catch up with me, you'll need to put in some effort. I'm not like those inferior cultivators you've seen before."
His words revealed the style of a National Master's disciple.
With that, he stopped hesitating and shot into the secret realm.
Lu An smiled faintly and calmly observed the scene on the water screens.
Since his shibo had left him behind, there must be a deeper meaning. Instead of speculating, it was better to carefully observe the competitors and the mysteries of the green mountain.
The green mountain had a total of nine hundred ninety-nine steps. The leading person had already reached the thirty-fifth step.
This person, dressed in brocade and fine garments with a silk belt, appeared to be in his twenties and exuded an extraordinary aura.
Someone in the crowd immediately recognized him and exclaimed:
"It's the Seventh Prince!"
"Truly a royal of Great Qi, taking the lead from the start."
"Don't be careless. Look at the competitors from Han and Zhao. They've been trailing behind the Seventh Prince, clearly not exerting their full strength."
…
Lu An frowned slightly. He wasn't worried about Han and Zhao countries claiming the top spot; after all, there were over nine hundred steps, and the competition had just begun.
What concerned him was that the early Foundation Establishment cultivators seemed to be under immense pressure with each step, moving very slowly.
Having climbed only ten steps, they were already sweating profusely and struggling to continue.
In contrast, the later Foundation Establishment cultivators seemed much more at ease, making it look like they were walking on flat ground.
This made him alert. It seemed the pressure of the steps was even greater than he had imagined.
When all participants had entered the secret realm and started climbing the green mountain, Lu An glanced at Chong Wen and saw that he still had no intention of letting him enter.
He was not anxious. Instead, he sat cross-legged and began to observe, as if the competition had nothing to do with him.
Chong Wen noticed and gave a barely perceptible nod.
An hour later, among the green mountain, the leading figure was still the Seventh Prince, who had reached the ninety-ninth step.
As his left foot crossed the hundredth step, the pressure suddenly doubled. Caught off guard, he staggered and almost fell.
Fortunately, he managed to stabilize himself, drawing upon his true qi, and with a loud shout, he forcefully moved his right leg onto the hundredth step.
"Bang"
A dull sound echoed, and his figure bent slightly under the pressure, but he soon showed a look of great joy.
Lu An was puzzled and observed closely, suddenly realizing that the Seventh Prince's aura was rapidly rising.
His true qi, already at the later stage of Foundation Establishment, had surged sharply, seemingly appearing out of nowhere and perfectly integrating into his body.
Such an enhancement would likely push him to the peak of Foundation Establishment if he continued like this.
Lu An pondered thoughtfully. He had heard that climbing the Green Mountain could enhance one's cultivation, but was it the case that every hundred steps offered such an opportunity?
From the Seventh Prince's performance, it was evident that the pressure increased exponentially after reaching the hundredth step. This was just the first hundred layers; the difficulty behind would surely be greater.
As the Seventh Prince stepped onto the hundredth layer, a giant light screen suddenly appeared in the sky on one side of the Qitian Platform, displaying the words "Qing Shan List" in large characters.
The Qing Shan List recorded the names of participants from various counties.
First place: Gui Changqing, one hundred layers.
Second place: Wu Zisi, eighty-nine layers.
Third place: Ji Daoquan, eighty-five layers.
…
Twenty-third place: Ji Xidong, fifty-two layers.
…
The ranking only recorded the top hundred. Although Ji Xidong had entered later, he had climbed to twenty-third place. Moreover, his speed was notably faster than others on the same layer, so it was likely that he would soon be among the top five.
As expected of the National Master's disciple, he indeed had remarkable skills.
The second and third places were still occupied by people from Zhao and Han countries.
The Han royal family bears the surname Ji, so Ji Daoquan was presumably a prince from their side. This was not surprising, as participating in the Water Sky Conference was an opportunity to showcase their princes, avoiding the loss of resources to outsiders.
However, the Zhao royal family bears the surname Ying, yet this participant was named Wu, which was somewhat puzzling.
The Ying prince was currently sitting among the Zhao delegation, excitedly watching the competition. If anyone were the happiest about this conference, it was certainly him. The thought of marrying the beautiful Great Qi princess made him extremely thrilled.
Whether or not he participated in the Water Sky Conference and the opportunities it presented was of no concern to him.
Lu An naturally noticed this person and speculated that this might be Xiaoqian's target. However, with so many experts present, Lingxiao Pavilion would likely wait until the conference ended before taking action.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but worry.
Since the day Xiaoqian had sent him a message, he had lost contact with her.
He had tried several times to send messages, even using paper cranes, but was unable to reach Xiaoqian.
Lu An attributed this to Lingxiao Pavilion's imminent mission, which might be preventing participants from contacting the outside world. This was reasonable, as Lingxiao Pavilion was an assassin organization, and secrecy was crucial.
However, these were just his guesses, and he couldn't help but feel anxious.
As he was lost in thought, a voice from the stage suddenly interrupted his contemplation.
National Master Chong Wen finally spoke.
"You are Xiao Wu's disciple? I sense the aura of that item."
Lu An's heart stirred, and he took out the five-colored disk he had dug from the Dao Stele.
Seeing this item, Chong Wen's eyes showed a hint of nostalgia.
After a while, he sighed slightly, looked at Lu An, and asked:
"Do you know why I had you enter last?"