Chapter 1000: Testing the Heavenly Stairs
At this moment, on the Heavenly Stairs, some people were tentatively stepping upward. Scattered crowds were everywhere, their movements very slow, as if it were extremely difficult.
"These Heavenly Stairs possess a powerful resistance. Only those who ascend the stairs can step onto the Heavenly Terrace. Want to give it a try?" Qiu Yuexin smiled lightly at Lin Feng, looking eager to try.
"Alright." Lin Feng nodded slightly, then took a step, instantly crossing onto the first stair. In an instant, an invisible force acted upon him, making him feel as if he were carrying something on his back.
Qiu Yuexin stood shoulder to shoulder with Lin Feng, and almost simultaneously, she also stepped onto the first stair. Looking at Lin Feng, she smiled and said, "These stairs can sense our aura, thereby determining the strength of the momentum acting upon us. This application of the world's momentum is terrifying; it can no longer even be called application, but rather control."
Control, controlling the momentum of heaven and earth—what a formidable power that was.
"Let's try going up!" Qiu Yuexin said with a gentle smile, then took another step, ascending to the second stair. Immediately, her figure began to flicker rapidly, continuously leaping forward along the Heavenly Stairs, her speed astonishingly fast.
Lin Feng's figure also moved upward, crossing stair after stair. Sure enough, the momentum acting upon him grew stronger and stronger, pressing down on his body, making him feel as if he were bearing a powerful resistance.
"Lin Feng, you're too slow. The Heavenly Terrace is eighteen thousand zhang high, with one stair per zhang, totaling eighteen thousand stairs. I'm afraid these stairs will be a major test for us to become disciples of the Martial Emperor. At your speed, who knows how long it would take to climb eighteen thousand stairs?" Qiu Yuexin glanced back with a smile, appearing unusually cheerful, completely unlike the coldness she had shown when Lin Feng first met her.
"Alright." Seeing her glance back with a smile, Lin Feng's face also lit up with a brilliant smile. He seemed to see Xinye's pure and clean smile, the noble figure under the moonlight in the imperial palace, still lingering in his heart.
"Whoosh!" A gust of wind brushed past, swirling around Lin Feng. Then, his body soared upward, stepping across the Heavenly Stairs one by one, extremely fast—one stair per step. In just a few moments, Lin Feng had climbed three hundred stairs.
However, three hundred stairs were insignificant compared to eighteen thousand. The oppressive force of heaven and earth gradually grew stronger, increasing bit by bit. Crossing three hundred stairs meant three hundred accumulations. Lin Feng could hardly imagine how terrifying a number eighteen thousand stairs would be, and how powerful the pressure there would be.
If becoming a disciple of the Martial Emperor required climbing eighteen thousand stairs as a test, it would be absolutely disastrous for those who came seeking to become disciples—far too difficult.
"Lin Feng, hurry up!" Qiu Yuexin would occasionally glance back, a faint light falling on her face. Her smile seemed exceptionally bright, as if she were an innocent young girl.
Lin Feng's speed increased. His Wind Will bloomed; now at the sixth level of Will, even those with higher cultivation than him couldn't match his speed, especially when using the Carefree Step Art combined with Wind Will. At the Third Layer of Heavenly Martial Realm, he was definitely faster than an ordinary cultivator at the Fifth Layer of Heavenly Martial Realm.
In an instant, one thousand stairs were trampled beneath his feet.
"A thousand stairs. I'm so tired." Qiu Yuexin wiped a strand of hair from her temple and smiled lightly at Lin Feng, who had caught up to walk beside her. "Not bad. Your Wind Will is actually at the sixth level."
"Still want to keep playing?" Qiu Yuexin smiled at Lin Feng.
"If you play, I'll accompany you," Lin Feng replied with a light smile, causing Qiu Yuexin's expression to stiffen. Her brow furrowed slightly, and then the smile on her face disappeared, turning a few degrees colder, just like when Lin Feng had first met her.
"Let's try going up a bit more. I wonder how many stairs the Martial Emperor will have us climb during the test," Qiu Yuexin said softly, no longer looking at Lin Feng. Then, her body leaped upward again, not pausing for a moment, and she didn't look back at Lin Feng with a smile again.
Lin Feng's brow furrowed slightly. He didn't understand what was wrong with Qiu Yuexin. Her change was far too drastic.
Yet, every smile Qiu Yuexin had shown him earlier wasn't feigned. Lin Feng could almost see the joy from the depths of her heart, and that radiant smile couldn't be faked.
At three thousand stairs, Qiu Yuexin's steps finally stopped again. She took two deep breaths. The momentum pressing on her had already made her feel exhausted, and the oppressive force would only grow stronger from here.
A figure silently landed beside her. She tilted her head slightly and saw Lin Feng's figure once more. He was looking upward, a faint smile on his face, silent. Having climbed three thousand stairs, he wasn't even panting, as if it were even easier for him than for her.
"Whoosh!" A gust of wind blew, lifting Lin Feng's clothes, and then he saw Qiu Yuexin's body continue leaping upward along the Heavenly Stairs, without a moment's pause, at an extremely fast speed.
"Who exactly is she?" Lin Feng murmured to himself, looking at Qiu Yuexin's back. His eyes were filled with intense doubt. Two people could resemble each other, but not to the point of being identical—not even twins. Moreover, why did Qiu Yuexin feel so close to him? They had only known each other for a few days, yet her smiles earlier had been so relaxed. It was all very abnormal.
Pushing aside his thoughts, Lin Feng's body also turned into a gust of wind, continuing to surge upward. His Wind Will was fully unleashed, and soon, he caught up with Qiu Yuexin's pace, just a few dozen stairs behind her.
"Qiu Yuexin!" At that moment, a voice came from above, causing both Qiu Yuexin and Lin Feng to pause slightly.
"Is there something?" Qiu Yuexin looked up at the figure on the stairs above and asked coldly. Then, several others came to stand beside that figure, looking at Qiu Yuexin.
"I didn't expect to have the fortune to meet Miss Qiu here. I'm truly delighted," the young man above said with a slight smile, nodding at Qiu Yuexin. Then, his gaze slowly shifted and landed on Lin Feng.
"What a coincidence. Brother Lin, you're here too!"
"The world is truly small," Lin Feng said coldly, staring at the figure above. It was none other than Yang Zilan.
A chill emanated from Lin Feng. His eyes slowly turned to the figures beside Yang Zilan: Yang Ziye, Qiu Junluo, Jiang Ning—all of them were there.
The coldest gaze of all belonged to Qiu Junluo. His eyes were fixed on Lin Feng, as if he wished he could kill him.
That day, in front of everyone, Lin Feng had humiliated him so miserably, causing him to lose all face.
Then, Yang Zilan and the others had come to Tianjing City together, to the Heavenly Terrace to try climbing the stairs. On their way back, they spotted Qiu Yuexin, the eldest daughter of the Qiu family, and came over. But unexpectedly, even more coincidentally, behind Qiu Yuexin, they saw Lin Feng's figure again.
"Brother Lin is absolutely right. The world is indeed very small." Yang Zilan still wore a smile, but that smile felt very uncomfortable to Lin Feng.
No longer looking at Lin Feng, Yang Zilan turned his gaze to Qiu Yuexin and said, "I didn't expect to coincidentally meet Miss Qiu testing the Heavenly Stairs. How about joining us? That way, we'll have someone to talk to."
"Not interested," Qiu Yuexin said coldly, still aloof.
Yang Zilan didn't mind. Qiu Yuexin was a well-known ice beauty in the Northern Wasteland, always serious and unsmiling with everyone. Her attitude toward him was perfectly normal.
"In that case, I won't disturb Miss Qiu. Please go ahead. I have some matters to attend to as well." Yang Zilan stepped aside slightly, letting Qiu Yuexin pass.
Qiu Yuexin turned back and called out to Lin Feng, "Lin Feng, let's keep going up."
"Hmm?" Yang Zilan's expression stiffened. What? Qiu Yuexin knew Lin Feng?
Moreover, the two of them seemed to have come together. Qiu Yuexin was actually traveling with a man?
Yang Ziye, Qiu Junluo, and the others were also frozen in place. Qiu Yuexin was beautiful and of noble status, the daughter of the Qiu family, but she was as cold as ice and never smiled. Rumors said that some had seen Qiu Yuexin smile, and it was incredibly beautiful, captivating, but it was just a rumor—very few had actually seen it. Moreover, Qiu Yuexin always preferred to be alone, especially not traveling with men. And now, she was with Lin Feng?
PS: Eight chapters updated, lads. Wuhen is working hard. Let's work hard together!