Looking up, the steps to heaven are long
The camellia flowers on campus are in full bloom, with a little dust on the petals, as if waiting for a heavy rain to wash them away.
"Speaking of the world of cultivation, the five major sects and three major families reign supreme, shrouded in immortal energy and imposing in power. But no matter which immortal they are, upon meeting our destined heroine, they all show their favor..."
Before he could finish his words, the girl, who had been drinking water expressionlessly, widened her eyes and, without warning, spat a mouthful of water onto Ye Luo's face. The air suddenly froze, and Ye Luo was speechless, wiping the embarrassment off his face bit by bit. The girl felt even more ridiculous.
On the left sat a young man, handsome but with a sharp tongue. He said, "The heroine is perfect, the hero is a perfect match, the supporting characters are useless, and the villains are worth crushing to dust."
Ye Luo said in surprise, "You know what, it rhymes quite well."
"...I'd like to see what kind of shit you wrote."
Xu Zhao suddenly stood up and reached out to grab it. Qin Chi's heart was alarmed and a cry of surprise just escaped his throat, but it was too late. Xu Zhao's slender fingers had already touched the title page.
The moment they touched the novel, a blinding golden light flashed, enveloping the three of them. When they opened their eyes again, flowing sleeves brushed against the jade steps. The surroundings felt so unfamiliar that the three realized they had entered a book.
Ye Luo looked back at Xu Zhao and the other two. Qin Chi was still as calm as water, as if he was indifferent to everything. He was dressed simply and his clothes were full of patches, but his facial features and bones were delicate.
Xu Zhaoze wore a brocade hat and a sable fur coat, a sword at his waist, and had a handsome appearance. If you didn't look closely, you would think he was a woman. He looked very handsome standing there.
Before Ye Luo could sneer, a frivolous laugh pierced his eardrums and he turned around.
Three or five monks came wandering over. The man in the lead was wearing a purple and gold brocade robe, with jade pendants jingling on his waist. He opened the folding fan in his hand with a "swish". There were four big words on the fan - handsome and compelling. The ink was exaggerated and the gold powder was shining, as if he was afraid that others would not see his vulgarity.
His eyes fell on Qin Chi, and suddenly an uncomfortable glint flashed in his eyes. The corners of his lips curled up, and his voice was as sticky as honey. "Hey~ Little beauty, are you alone?"
Qin Chi frowned, a cold light flashed in her eyes. Before she could speak, the monk approached her and raised his folding fan to her chin in a frivolous way. "Want to play with us brothers? When I win the first place in the disciple-taking ceremony, I will make sure you have a good life~"
Qin Chi's face was full of black lines. He suppressed his temper and said with a word as cold as an ice cone, "Get out!"
The monk was startled for a moment, then burst into laughter. He folded his fan and even made a move to put it on Qin Chi's shoulder. "You have personality. This young master likes people like you!"
The followers behind him immediately laughed and echoed him.
"It's your blessing to be favored by our eldest brother!"
"That's right! Don't be ungrateful!"
Ye Luo frowned, took a step forward, and stood directly in front of Qin Chi.
Seeing this, the monk was not annoyed, but became even more interested. He looked at Ye Luo's face and smiled even more deeply, "Wow! This is not bad either! Why, you also want to..."
Before he finished speaking, Qin Chi's knuckles cracked. Qin Chi couldn't bear it any longer, and just as he was about to throw a punch,
"The disciple-recruiting ceremony is imminent, and you're making such a commotion here, do you want to be expelled from the mountain gate?"
A clear voice broke through the air, like a cold spring hitting a rock, freezing the entire audience in an instant.
Everyone turned to look and saw a man in a sky-blue robe approaching, his hems fluttering in the breeze. His face was handsome, but a layer of frost settled between his brows. Wherever his gaze passed, the group of monks fell into a state of apprehension. He was the deacon disciple presiding over this grand disciple-recruiting ceremony.
The purple-robed monk's face froze, a sinister look flashed in his eyes, but he didn't dare to act rashly. He could only put away his fan in dismay and grinned at Qin Chi, "My little beauty, we...will meet again later."
After saying that, he led his group of followers away, and before leaving, he did not forget to look back and give them a meaningful look.
Ye Luo's brows were furrowed, and he felt a faint sense of unease. His eyes didn't show that he would give up easily. However, the deacon disciple in the azure robe didn't even glance at them, and just walked away.
Qin Chi came back to his senses and asked expressionlessly, "Since this is the world of cultivation, there must be a sect there, right?"
Ye Luo glanced at the crowds around him, recalling the draft outline, "The five major sects—Li Yue, Qiu Shui, Fei Xue, Tong Jian, and Han Qing! That person just mentioned the disciple-recruiting ceremony, so we're stuck at this point."
As the three of them were talking, the deacon disciple presiding over the disciple-recruiting ceremony walked to the center of the stage. The amplified note held between his fingertips transformed into a golden butterfly. "Welcome everyone to the disciple-recruiting ceremony! The ceremony begins—those who pass the three tests will become the sect master's disciples. The first test..." He pointed behind him, "Heavenly Stairs!"
As soon as the trial was announced, a sea of cultivators headed towards the Heavenly Stairs. Ye Luo and the other two looked up and saw stone steps reaching straight into the sky. There were 999 levels in total, and there was no end in sight.
"Wow~ What a great saying, 'When you look at a mountain from the side, it looks like a mountain peak; it looks different from different distances and heights.'" Ye Luo complained.
Xu Zhao's mouth twitched, and he said coldly: "Haha, it feels like this thing can lead to heaven, and why do we have to get involved in this cultivation of immortals?"
Qin Chi's jaw was tense, his knuckles clenched until they turned white, and he squeezed out a desperate voice from between his teeth, "Because I want to become stronger! In this world where the strong prey on the weak, only becoming stronger is the truth!"
"Yes! And we are cannon fodder villains! Although... I only wrote an outline for this novel!" Ye Luo felt more and more guilty as he spoke.
"...Forget it! Let's go!"
"Okay," Xu Zhao brushed off the non-existent dust and took the first step onto the cold and hard first stone step that seemed to lead to an unknown abyss.
The three of them set out together, and time passed quietly. When they climbed to the 50th floor, the crowd had mostly sparsely populated, and many monks were slumped on the steps, their faces pale and sweating profusely.
Ye Luo wiped the sweat off his face and said, "Let's go!"
Ye Luo suddenly grabbed Qin Chi and Xu Zhao's wrists, and with a tap of his toes, the three of them flew as light as birds. The monks behind him looked up, dumbfounded.
"Is this... is this still a human?"
"Cheating! He must have used a talisman!"
The purple-robed monk who had just teased Qin Chi turned pale, and he crushed his folding fan with a snap, hissing, "Impossible! They... they must have used some evil magic!" Unfortunately, no one paid attention to his shouting.
Xu Zhao turned to Ye Luo and asked, "Aren't you weaker than me?"
"Is it possible that this heavenly stage trains the physical strength?" Qin Chi let go of Ye Luo's hand and jumped several feet alone.
“…”
"Dish." Ye Luo said with a smile.
“…”
When they reached the 100th floor, the pressure suddenly increased. Qin Chi and the others' expressions changed. They took a breath, but did not stop. After that, the pressure would increase with each 100th floor. Ye Luo and the others were a little tired, and only Qin Chi continued to move forward.
"Ah~ 'Chi' shouldn't be so complicated, right? I'm so tired, let me take a break!" Ye Luo collapsed on the stairs.
Xu Zhao was panting so hard that he couldn't speak. He just raised his middle finger tremblingly.
Qin Chi rolled his eyes, stopped, and stood aside with his arms folded. A cool breeze blew over them, and Ye Luo and the others finally felt a little better.
"Da, da, da."
Light footsteps echoed from behind them. The three turned to see a slender figure slowly approaching. The young woman wore a pale blue brocade dress, and a jade pendant with the Chinese characters "Nangong" hung from her waist. Her face was as white as fresh snow, her lips a touch of vermilion. Though her hair was damp with sweat and her steps were heavy, she remained straight, striving to maintain the elegance of a woman from an aristocratic family.
"She is the heroine, Nangong Wanqing, the second daughter of the Nangong family, and the darling of heaven!"
Qin Chi glanced at Nangong Wan, then suddenly turned around and continued walking.
Ye Luo: “…Fuck!”
Xu Zhao: "She ran away as soon as she saw the heroine. Is there a grudge?"
Ye Luo gritted his teeth and said, "Don't ask! If you ask, it's this damn desire to win!"
Nangong Wanqing looked up, wiped the sweat off her face, gritted her teeth, and continued to move forward with her already sore and swollen legs, silently saying in her heart: "I can't... lose."
When Qin Chi and his companions reached the 500th floor, the pressure suddenly doubled, like the heavens collapsing and the earth collapsing. Qin Chi and his companions paused, bending slightly. The various sect masters, observing everything through the Jade Water Mirror, smiled. They had endured considerable hardship here, some even having to grit their teeth to climb up.
Qin Chi and the other two were stunned for a few seconds before chuckling. The next moment, with a "swish," they moved even faster than before, their figures moving like lightning, leaving fine cracks on the stone steps beneath their feet.
In front of the green water mirror, the teacups in the hands of the sect leaders all trembled.
"Are these...are these little kids still human?"
"This physique is quite good."
The finish line was just around the corner. Qin Chi and Nangong Wanqing accelerated almost at the same time. When there were only a dozen steps left, both of them used 60% of their strength to jump to the finish line. The air waves exploded, and slight cracks appeared on the stone steps.
In front of the Green Water Mirror, the leaders of various sects also stared at this scene with bated breath, fearing that they would miss this critical moment if they blinked.
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, the dust cleared, and the first place winner was revealed, breaking the record of a previous sect leader. Ye Luo and the others followed closely behind. Shangguan Yi and the other two collapsed to the ground just as they reached the top.
Then, the host disciple, Zihe, began to announce the results, "First place: ... uh... what is this girl's name?"
Qin Chi thought for a moment and said calmly, "My surname is Chi, and my name is An! Chi means the snow has dried up in China, and An means peace every year."
Zihe nodded, "First place, Chi An; second place: Nangong Wanqing; third place: Linghu Luoxi, Shangguan Yi; fourth place... please invite the top 50 cultivators to participate in the second trial tomorrow!"
Nangong Wanqing staggered half a step, his fingertips trembling, but he finally slowed down for a moment.
Chi An glanced at Nangong Wanqing and thought to himself, "This heroine is quite strong. I must surpass her!"
Everyone was stunned when they heard the list, and then they were in an uproar. After all, everyone had agreed that Miss Nangong from the second family would definitely take the top spot, but it turned out to be an unknown youngster.
"How could this be a mistake?"
"Miss Nangong was actually suppressed?!"
"Chi An has never heard of this person!"
Nangong Wanqing's fingertips were slightly curled, and her lips were pale, but she still kept her back straight, with dark currents surging in her eyes: I actually lost, lost to an unknown person.
"Oh!"
A light sneer suddenly sounded.
Everyone turned around and saw the purple-robed monk waving his folding fan, his face full of sneer. His eyes swept over Qin Chi with a sticky look. He turned around and grinned at his followers: "What are you panicking about? She's just a wild girl who got lucky!"
The follower immediately flattered and echoed: "Big brother is right! No matter how powerful a woman is, she will be obedient in your hands..."
“Bang!”
A crisp sound cut off the obscenities, and the entire place fell into a dead silence. Qin Chi had unknowingly stood before the purple-robed monk, and with a swirling slap in the face, he slapped him hard!
The monk staggered backward, half of his face instantly became red and swollen, blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, and his folding fan snapped into two pieces.
"You...you dare to hit me?!" His eyes were bloodshot and his voice was as sharp as a chicken with its neck strangled.
Qin Chi lowered his eyes, glaring down at him condescendingly, a cold smile curling up at the corner of his lips, "Hit you? And you think you're dirtying your hands?"
Xu Zhao folded his arms and sneered, "We should have done this a long time ago."
Ye Luo was proud of Chi An, but when he looked at Chi An, he accidentally caught a glimpse of a young man not far away.
The boy's messy hair covered his purple eyes that were like poisoned daggers. He was dirty and his clothes were covered with pudding, but through his vague purple eyes, he seemed a little... mysterious.
Xu Zhao, who was standing by, saw Linghu Luoxi in a daze and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ye Luo suddenly remembered the description he had written, "Is it sugar or blood? What does it taste like?"
"That young man... is the abandoned male protagonist in the original novel! This male protagonist had a miserable childhood, and because it was so miserable, his blackening value directly reached 100%! When I wrote the male protagonist before, I didn’t understand why the male protagonist had to have a miserable childhood. Now I still don’t understand it, maybe one day in the future I may understand it!" Ye Luo said with deep emotion.
"Oh~ So you gave up on him?" Xu Zhao asked with his head tilted.
"I guess, rather than saying that 'Luo' abandoned him, it's better to say that God abandoned him! After all, it's hard to control him once he turns evil!" Chi An replied calmly.
"How do you know? You peeked at the script, right?" Xu Zhao covered his mouth with his hands and asked in surprise.
At this moment, four Jindan cultivators approached them from a short distance. The onlookers, who had never seen such a grand spectacle before, were all chattering. Ye Luo and Xu Zhao stopped arguing when they saw them approaching, swallowing nervously. Chi An also stopped and looked over.
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