Few people could persist under such immense pressure.
Xia Wuque and the three others lived up to their status as young prodigies. Although they hadn't formed their fifth Mountain and River, nor reached the height of a 10-star genius, they could completely be viewed as king tier cultivators who possessed the demeanor and confidence of rulers.
They gritted their teeth as they continued to advance. Not a single one of them gave up.
Seventh stage!
The speed of Xia Wuque and the three others fell drastically. In fact, they almost ground to a halt.
The stone statue formation wasn't as exaggerated as Ling Han had thought it was. The first stage genuinely did correspond to the early stage of the consummate level. Then, the battle prowess of each following stage would increase by one star. Thus, the battle prowess of the stone statues in the seventh stage was equivalent to three stars above the peak stage of the consummate level.
If any one of the stone statues were singled out, Xia Wuque and the others would all be able to defeat it easily. In fact, they wouldn't be afraid even if they had to battle against several dozen of them.
The problem was, the number of stone statues here far exceeded a few dozen. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands… They were endless, and when their numbers reached a certain threshold, their overwhelming quantity would lead to a qualitative change.
Generally speaking, a difference of one star could be mitigated if the weaker side had 10 times the number of people. Thus, 1000 stone statues would be enough to bury either of Xia Wuque or the three others, even if they were six-star geniuses.
It was already extremely difficult for them to advance. Moreover, what made them despair was the fact that this was only the seventh stage. Even if they could pass it, there were still three even more difficult stages ahead.
If the stone statues became stronger according to the same pattern, those at the 10th stage would possess a battle prowess of six stars above the peak stage of the consummate level.
Just one of them would be enough to match it against Xia Wuque or the others, let alone hundreds upon thousands of them. Passing the 10th stage seemed like an impossible task.
Ling Han nodded in his mind. His previous estimation had been wrong, but this formation could indeed only be passed by 10-star geniuses.
Could his freakish defenses and recovery ability help him pass this formation?
Ling Han wasn't sure. After all, his cultivation level was still too low. If his physique could advance another level, to that of Level Five Godly metal, then that would be truly impressive. If he reached that level, he would be able to casually stroll through this place.
However, his achievement right now was already enough to scare everyone to death. He was a whopping six sub-minor levels weaker, yet he was somehow able to advance alongside Xia Wuque and the other super-geniuses. Didn't this mean that Ling Han would be able to easily suppress Xia Wuque and the others as long as he reached the same cultivation level as them?
'What an astonishing physique!' Xia Wuque and the others exclaimed in their minds.
Against such defenses, would their battle prowess of five or six stars really be effective?
Ling Han's situation was much better than that of Xia Wuque and the others. Although the stone statues possessed a terrifying destructive ability, their power still remained at the early stage of the consummate level, which was much weaker than him.
He charged forward at full speed, prioritizing defense over offense. He would take the stone statues' attacks head on if he genuinely wasn't able to dodge them. Although his body was riddled with wounds, he had activated the Indestructible Heaven's Scroll, which healed his wounds in almost an instant.
After taking another few steps, Ling Han overtook Du An, who had been in fourth place.
There was a look of displeasure on Du An's face as he was overtaken by Ling Han. However, after a moment's thought, he forcefully suppressed his urge to use his trump card.
He also had a trump card similar to Xia Wuque's, and it granted him a burst of explosive power. However, he understood that unless he had a battle prowess of 10 stars, it would be impossible for him to pass this stone statue formation.
That being the case, why should he reveal his trump card before so many pairs of watchful eyes?
It wasn't worth it.
He immediately walked out the side, giving up on continuing through the formation.
The spectators all sighed and exclaimed. At this point, Ling Han had already "defeated" a supreme prodigy. By the looks of it, he was clearly going to defeat more.
After another while, Ling Han overtook Su Jing, replacing him as third. However, this third place quickly became last place again as Su Jing also chose to give up.
Impressive, unbelievably impressive!
Everyone watched on in anticipation. Could Ling Han become first? Or perhaps even pass through the stone statue formation? It would have been an absolute joke if they had thought this in the beginning. Now, however, it had become a very real possibility.
Who would've imagined that someone at the high extreme could be this strong?
Ling Han caught up to Shao Sisi.
This woman gazed at Ling Han with a smile as she battled, and she said, "I'm Shao Sisi. This brother is?"
She was a beauty, and her smile was especially enchanting and radiant. It would make one's heart thump with excitement.
Ling Han remained calm, and said, "I'm Ling Han."
"Brother Ling, do you mind if we catch up later?" Shao Sisi said with a smile.
Ling Han nodded, and said, "No problem."
He strode past Shao Sisi, who exited the stone statue formation like the other two.
Right now, there were only two people remaining.
In fact, Xia Wuque also wanted to give up. This was a battle with no hope or purpose. Thus, giving up earlier or later wouldn't make any difference at all. However, it was Ling Han who was catching up to him, and he definitely couldn't give up before Ling Han.
His pride kept him going, and it gave him the strength to grit his teeth and continue battling against the stone statues. He continued to fight this lost battle.
Eighth stage!
The stone statues became even more powerful, with seven divine patterns glowing on their fists. Their destructive ability was astonishing, and although it was impossible for all of them to attack in unison, it was entirely possible for tens or hundreds of them to attack together. Each of their attacks was terrifying, and there was absolutely no space for them to dodge. They could only face the stone statues' attacks head on.
"Wah!" Xia Wuque instantly vomited blood after facing just one attack. So what if he was a prodigy? The stone statues all possessed a battle prowess that was no weaker than his. Moreover, dozens of them had attacked together, causing him to almost crumble under their strikes.
At this moment, he saw Ling Han overtake him.
"Pu!" He spat another mouthful of blood. This time, he had been angered to the point of spitting blood.
The trash in his eyes had overtaken him; how could he accept this?
"Humph!" There was killing intent in his eyes, and he was just about to attack Ling Han. However, there were so many stone statues here, so how could he find an opportunity to strike? Darkness instantly enveloped him as countless stone statues rushed over to attack him.
He obviously couldn't counterattack, and the only thing he could do was defend while charging toward the side.
Ling Han glanced back for a second. Although Xia Wuque hadn't managed to attack him, Ling Han had sensed his killing intent. Ling Han couldn't help but look down on him. 'Such a petty prodigy. His success will definitely be limited.'
He immediately retracted his gaze and placed his full focus on the battle before him.
He had already this stage, so he didn't want to give up.
Ling Han activated his divine patterns of gravity to disrupt the stone statues, reducing the number of attacks that he had to face as much as possible. Then, he sprinted forward at full speed.
This was extremely effective. After all, these stone statues possessed a powerful offensive ability, but merely possessed power at the early stage of the consummate level. This was their biggest weak point, and Ling Han had managed to grab onto it and ferociously exploit it.
"Oi, oi, oi. If this continues, it's genuinely possible that he'll be able to pass the stone statue formation."
"There are only two stages left."
Everyone was stunned. Even super-geniuses like Xia Wuque had been unable to manage this great feat. Yet, a cultivator at the high extreme was closing in on success. This sight was truly hard to believe.
However, Ling Han's speed became quicker and quicker. He had an advantage in power, and thus the stone statues were unable to stop him. They were merely able to riddle his body with wounds and send his blood flying through the air. However, Ling Han's footsteps didn't even stop for a second.
He was like an arrow, and his speed only continued to increase!