When the spiritual roots were being tested at the foot of the mountain, Shen Chaoyue happened to be standing beside Huang Siqi.
She had casually glanced at the testing screen, just in time to see the disciple named Lin Yue undergoing her test.
Shen Chaoyue's heart had suddenly jolted—she had seen this person before.
Yet, no matter how she searched her memory, she could not piece together this face.
This bone-deep sense of familiarity was something she had only ever felt from two people.
One was her once “closest” junior sister, Jiang Yuran.
The other was a disciple of the Grand Primordium Sect, Xue Mingzhao.
The feeling was inexplicable. It was like a reunion with an old acquaintance after an eternity, or as if they were bound by an invisible thread of fate.
After careful consideration, Shen Chaoyue had simply taken the initiative to petition her master, asking to climb the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder alongside the candidates.
Huang Siqi had assumed she merely wanted to temper her Dao Heart and immediately agreed, even instructing Yun Yanchen to escort her down the mountain.
Shen Chaoyue withdrew her probing gaze and continued to climb upward at a leisurely pace.
There was no rush. Once they entered the Heavenly Origin Sect, there would be plenty of time to figure it out.
They had all the time in the world.
By the time they reached the five thousandth step, Mei Ziqing's face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Her steps were incredibly unsteady, and her vision began to blur, making the stairs look double.
Catching sight of Xue Mingzhao panting with her hands on her knees, she used the last of her strength to pat Xue Mingzhao's arm. Her voice was as faint as a whisper. “Sister Lin Yue, k-keep going... We can do this...”
Turning to see Su Ye frowning and rubbing his legs, she forced another smile, wanting to say another word of encouragement. But just as she opened her mouth, her eyes suddenly went blank.
Her entire body seemed to have its soul sucked out, and she froze on the steps, completely motionless.
Xue Mingzhao wiped the step to the right of Mei Ziqing with her sleeve and sat down. “She has fallen into an illusion. Let's wait for her.”
Su Ye sat down next to her and lowered his voice, his tone filled with anticipation. “Junior Sister, do you think the treasury of the Heavenly Origin Sect has any treasures that can directly raise someone by an entire major realm?”
Xue Mingzhao didn't even raise her eyelids. “Senior Brother, it's broad daylight.”
“What about it?”
“Stop daydreaming.”
Su Ye choked on his words. Just as he was about to retort, his peripheral vision caught a familiar face. “Wu Yong? He actually climbed all the way here too?”
Xue Mingzhao glanced down, feeling a bit surprised herself.
Well, look at that. She had really underestimated this guy if he could actually make it to the five thousandth step.
Wu Yong was currently supporting himself with his hands on his knees, panting heavily with every step as he dragged himself upward.
Truth be told, even he didn't know how he had managed to climb this far.
He had been on the verge of giving up long ago, but every time the thought crossed his mind, he would see the siblings take another step forward.
He thought resentfully that he absolutely could not fall behind these two country bumpkins!
Suddenly remembering Lin Yi's supreme-grade spiritual root, he added in his heart: At the very least, I can't do worse than Lin Yue!
Seeing the two of them stop to rest, Wu Yong instantly perked up. He opened his mouth, intending to mock them. “Oh, if it isn't—”
Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes went blank. His mocking expression froze on his face, and he stood completely still, falling into an illusion on the spot.
Xue Mingzhao and Su Ye: “...”
From a certain perspective, he did possess an impressive amount of perseverance.
Su Ye raised his foot, itching to try. His voice was filled with excitement. “I've been annoyed by this bastard for a long time. Today, this young master will send him right back to the starting point.”
Xue Mingzhao quickly reached out to stop him. “Don't be rash. There are countless eyes watching us from above. Initiating an attack counts as intentional harm and will get you disqualified immediately. Let's just sit back and watch the show.”
The two of them sat quietly on the steps and watched.
Lost in his illusion, Wu Yong swayed left and right like a headless fly. His foot slipped, and he went rolling down the steps.
The moment he rolled past the boundary, a flash of green light flared, and the formation teleported him away instantly.
Su Ye clicked his tongue. “What a pity. I didn't get to kick him.”
Xue Mingzhao felt entirely indifferent.
With Wu Yong's mental fortitude, it would be a miracle if he could withstand his inner demons.
Beside them, Mei Ziqing suddenly began to shed tears, murmuring names under her breath. “Father, Mother, Grandmother, Uncle An, Aunt Jing... Wait for me to return...”
She chanted a long string of names, growing more and more emotional with each one, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
Hearing that long list of names, Xue Mingzhao's heart skipped a beat. Her entire family... They couldn't all be gone, could they?
Seeing Mei Ziqing crying with growing intensity, she would likely be disqualified if this continued.
Xue Mingzhao's fingers twitched inside her sleeve. Before climbing up, she had prepared two Heart-Clearing Pills and kept them hidden there.
The rules stated that spiritual energy could not be used, but they never said anything about consuming pills.
Besides, Mei Ziqing had chewed on Heart-Clearing Grass earlier without being teleported, which proved that this was not against the rules.
She looked at Su Ye. Since they were already so eye-catching, they might as well make things a little wilder.
She glanced at Su Ye, then looked up at the steps shrouded in layers of clouds.
Since they were already drawing enough attention, they might as well go all out.
Xue Mingzhao leaned in close to Su Ye's ear and whispered a few instructions.
Su Ye's eyes lit up instantly. He replied, “Junior Sister, what kind of sacrifice is this?” Then, he strode with large steps to the very center of the stone stairs, took a deep breath, and bellowed at the top of his lungs, “Everyone, look at me!”
The surrounding cultivators, who were laboriously climbing the stairs, were startled by his shout and looked up one after another.
Su Ye stood on the steps with his hands on his hips, his tone dripping with overbearing confidence. “Today, I shall show you all what a true genius looks like!”
With that, he immediately dropped into a horse stance and began performing a flurry of punches—some completely unrecognizable routine. The expressions of the surrounding cultivators shifted from shock to confusion, and finally to utter bewilderment.
Once he finished his routine, he raised his arms and roared, “First we test our roots, then we climb the stairs; I swear to enter Heavenly Origin and take first place! Remember this well!”
After yelling his declaration, he dashed upward. Before anyone could react, he ran backward down the steps, looking down on them with his hands on his hips as he let out three boisterous laughs.
“Hahaha! In cultivation, there is no sky-blocking tree; only I, Lin Yi, conquer all!”
Having laughed with his hands on his hips, he turned around and sprinted upward once more, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Everyone: !!!
Xue Mingzhao: ???!!!
Xue Mingzhao sat on the stone step and covered her face. Senior Brother, oh Senior Brother, I asked you to draw their attention, but you overdelivered way too much!
This was incredibly embarrassing. Was it too late for her to announce that they were no longer related?
To her surprise, the surrounding cultivators were deeply shaken by Su Ye's antics.
To be able to run up and down so freely and effortlessly on the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder, where the pressure was suffocating, without even batting an eye—if that wasn't a genius, what was?
And when they carefully pondered that line, “In cultivation, there is no sky-blocking tree; only I, Lin Yi, conquer all,” although it was a bit arrogant, he certainly had the capital to be arrogant!
For a moment, looks of admiration followed Su Ye's silhouette as it disappeared into the clouds, and whispers broke out among the crowd.
“Is that the genius Lin Yi who has a supreme-grade spiritual root?”
“He's too strong. I'm struggling just to take a single step, yet he can actually run back and forth!”
“He's so handsome. That's Lin Yi, right?”
Xue Mingzhao: “...”
She really didn't seem to understand the aesthetic tastes of the cultivation world.
Rate on N.U.
