Chapter 870: Did She Fail?

　　The remaining five royal family elders kneeled down together and said in unison, “Third Princess, please hold the staff!”

　　Shangguan Wan looked at the Tianling Power Staff floating above the black crystal, took a deep breath in, and gradually walked forward. Finally, she stopped about one step in front of the Tianling Power Staff.

　　Everyone fell silent and watched this scene.

　　As long as Shangguan Wan successfully held up the Tianling Power Staff, she could successfully ascend the throne and become the Empress! From then on, she would hold the Tianling Dynasty’s power!

　　Bang bang!

　　Bang bang!

　　Shangguan Wan’s heart beat wildly, and it almost burst her eardrums. All the blood in her body seemed to course through her limbs.

　　As she was nervous, her palms were sweating. Both her hands were sticky due to the wetness.

　　The Tianling Power Staff was as heavy as one ton, and the suppression it contained was even more tremendous! After all, this was left behind by Shangguan Jing personally!

　　Let alone raising it, Shangguan Wan almost kneeled on the ground and felt that her chest was stuffy just by standing there.

　　And if she wanted to raise it up, it wasn’t enough to have only strength. She must also have the Tianling royal family’s bloodline.

　　The most important thing was that she had to obtain the Tianling Power Staff’s recognition! This was a requirement that every person ascending the Tianling Dynasty’s throne had to meet!

　　If one succeeded, they would become the most distinguished existence among millions of people from then on. If one failed… They would become a joke to everyone and would never make a comeback in their entire life!

　　Shangguan Wan kept convincing herself in her heart. I can… I must do it! I’ve made so many preparations for today. I mustn’t fail!

　　It was already in the middle of the afternoon now, and the sky was clear. There wasn’t a single cloud in the skies as the scorching sun shone down.

　　And at this moment, Shangguan Wan was in the spotlight of everyone’s gazes!

　　Finally, she slowly stretched out her hand toward the Tianling Power Staff—

　　Whir!

　　When she was about half an arm’s length away from the Tianling Power Staff, a whirring sound was suddenly heard.

　　The faint glow surrounding the Tianling Power Staff suddenly exerted its suppression.

　　Shangguan Wan was right in front of it and immediately moved a step back due to the rushing impact.

　　She was greatly alarmed and hurriedly stabilized her body as her feet stayed tightly glued to the ground. Luckily, she reacted in time, so this impact didn’t affect her greatly.

　　However, she still moved a step back under everyone’s stares.

　　At that moment, the vast square became increasingly silent! One had to know that Shangguan Wan’s every move and action was seen by countless people at this point!

　　The announcement elder, Elder Chen Ke, also knitted his brows undetectably. He was the most experienced one out of all the royal family elders, and he was a true elder that had witnessed three eras.

　　He had seen such a scene three times, and this was already the fourth. In his impression, the first three ascension ceremonies were all conducted very smoothly.

　　As the symbol of royal power, the Tianling Power Staff was a holy object in the entire Tianling Dynasty, and it had spiritual power.

　　When rulers-to-be held up the Tianling Power Staff, it would naturally exert its suppression. However, this was usually so when the descendant tried to pick it up from the black crystal.

　　Just now, Shangguan Wan’s hand didn’t even touch the Tianling Power Staff, but she had already incurred such a commotion.

　　Elder Chen Ke felt slightly uneasy and thought that it was abnormal.

　　Shangguan Wan felt that it was close as she almost directly fell down!

　　This Tianling Power Staff is even harder to control than I imagined. It’s already so hard for me to get close to it. I wonder what it’ll be like if I try to lift it… She pressed her lips against each other and moved the force within her body, which rushed toward her right hand. Then, she moved forward again.

　　This time, she was even more meticulous than before as she used her force to wrap her hand before reaching toward the Tianling Power Staff.

　　Buzz… buzz!

　　The Tianling Power Staff trembled slightly, and it caused an even bigger commotion!

　　The good thing was that Shangguan Wan had suffered earlier, so she clenched her teeth and planned to make it through this time.

　　The closer she got, the heavier the suppression.

　　Her entire right hand felt like it was about to be crushed!

　　Shangguan Wan’s face turned pale, and her palm trembled slightly, but she still went forward with determination. Today, I must succeed no matter what!

　　Elder Chen Ke looked on from the side, and the feeling of something being amiss became even stronger. That’s weird… Why does the Tianling Power Staff seem so resistant toward Shangguan Wan? I’ve never seen such a scene before.

　　He anxiously knitted his brows. It’s bad if things continue like this. It’ll be an uphill task if Shangguan Wan wants to raise it up!

　　The other royal family elders standing nearby also detected something as they looked at each other in unison and exchanged glances. Shangguan Wan was part of the royal family, and her talent and capabilities were decent. So logically speaking, she should be able to succeed smoothly… But from the current situation, it seems like…

　　Jiang Yucheng stood about ten steps behind Shangguan Wan. Even though he couldn’t see the latter’s expression, he could discern a lot of things from her reaction.

　　His heart hung high.

　　…

　　The crowd beneath the stage was watching the scene nervously.

　　Chu Liuyue looked up. From here, she could perfectly see half of Shangguan Wan’s face. Her expression can’t be considered to be good. It seems like it’s not easy for her to lift the Tianling Power Staff.

　　…

　　Finally, after experiencing a painful and long torture, Shangguan Wan’s hand finally reached into that layer of light as she grasped the Tianling Power Staff in one go.

　　At that moment, a bone-chilling aura surged out from within!

　　Shangguan Wan clearly saw that her entire right hand was instantly covered in frost, and that layer of frost seemed to be spreading toward the outside!

　　She was frightened as she hurriedly circulated her force and blocked the ice-cold aura outside! But at this moment, her right hand was so frozen that it swelled up and turned completely numb!

　　The Tianling Power Staff was made from the thousand-year icy wood that Shangguan Jing had retrieved from the coldest place in Bei Jiang.

　　This thousand-year icy wood wasn’t actual wood. It formed by gathering the Heaven and Earth Force and condensing it into a wood-shaped stalactite.

　　Rumors had it that it would only grow an inch in a hundred years, and one could just imagine how much force it contained.

　　Shangguan Wan felt that the cold intent seemed to spread silently from her palm to her entire body. She almost thought that she was becoming an ice statue for a moment!

　　Shangguan Wan knew that she had to raise it up quickly! If I continue to be tortured like this, my entire body is going to become useless!

　　Thinking of this, Shangguan Wan clenched her teeth, gathered all the force in her body, held the Tianling Power Staff tightly, and suddenly used her force!

　　“Rise!” Shangguan Wan hollered! However, she shockingly discovered that the Tianling Power Staff didn’t move at all!

　　It still quietly floated above the black crystal, allowing her to control the rich force that kept attacking, but it didn’t move a single bit.

　　The crowd watching from in front of Lang Kun Hall was stunned.

　　Someone quietly asked, “D-did she fail?”