#115 - Too short
An hour later, chaos reigned within the Qiao residence.
Xiao Feng stood in the courtyard, black sword in hand, a demon corpse lying at his feet.
A large yellow weasel, now disemboweled, was most certainly dead.
The Qiao family members surrounding him were all pale, and a middle-aged man in luxurious clothing had collapsed to the ground, pointing a trembling finger at the demon corpse.
“This… this…”
The newly married young wife was actually a transformed yellow weasel! The man’s stomach churned at the thought of the past few nights spent in passionate embrace with this demonic creature, his face turning an unsightly color.
“Master!”
Several servants cried out and rushed forward to help him up, while another quickly offered him a calming and mind-clearing pill.
Holding the pill in his mouth for a good while, the Qiao family head slowly recovered, pushing away the servants and bowing deeply to Xiao Feng.
“Young master, your kindness is beyond words!”
“If you ever need the Qiao family for anything after helping us slay this demon today, please do not hesitate to ask. Whether we can do it or not, I, Qiao Rongkun, will never even frown!”
“Master Qiao, you need not be so polite.”
“Young master, your demeanor is truly admirable! I, Qiao Rongkun, am ashamed of myself!”
Qiao Rongkun was filled with admiration, while the gazes of several beautiful women in the Qiao family were now filled with affection and longing as they looked at Xiao Feng, their legs involuntarily squeezing together and shifting slightly.
“By the way, may I ask for your name, young master? And your residence?”
Qiao Rongkun didn't notice the reactions of others, and seeing that Xiao Feng seemed about to leave, he quickly asked from behind.
“This…”
Xiao Feng casually flicked his sleeves, not even turning his head, and gave a random alias.
“Mystic Heaven Society, Xiao Yan.”
“What the hell? Xiao Yan???”
Early the next morning, Wei Changtian looked at Wang Daochang opposite him, unable to control his expression, his mouth hanging wide open.
“Yes, young master. According to the spies, a man named Xiao Yan has indeed arrived in the Mystic Heaven Society, and his height is very similar to the Xiao Feng you described.”
Wang Daochang didn't see his expression and was still reporting in a low voice: “This Xiao Yan only showed his face yesterday and then left again. I'm still investigating where he is staying.”
“Mm, I understand.”
Wei Changtian closed his mouth, thinking that the protagonist's aliases were indeed quite casual, not even bothering to change the surname.
Was Xiao Yan's next line going to be “Battle Qi, Rank Three”?
Truly, Battle Qi turns into a horse, terrifying as such.
“Keep an eye on this Xiao Xiao Yan, but don't take any rash actions. Remember to tell me about any emergencies in a timely manner. If nothing happens, come and tell me once every three days.”
“Understood, young master.”
Wang Daochang solemnly accepted the order and quickly took his leave.
This time, he actually parked the carriage outside the alley and came on foot.
Not long after he left, Wei Changtian also boarded the carriage with Zhang San, fully loaded with several boxes of gifts, and headed straight for the Nine Pinnacle Mountain in the north of the city.
The Heavenly Luo Sect, whose main altar is located on Nine Pinnacle Mountain in Shu Prefecture, is called the "Number One Demonic Sect in the World" by the righteous sects.
This "Number One" refers not to scale, but to strength.
The core members of the entire Heavenly Luo Sect are not numerous, with only a thousand or so inner and outer disciples, but each of them is exceptionally talented and possesses considerable strength.
The sect leader, Qin Zhengqiu, has even reached the Second Grade realm, a cultivation level that is among the few in the entire Da Ning Dynasty.
The reason why the people of the Heavenly Luo Sect can have such strength is mainly because the sect has a supreme inner cultivation method—the Heavenly Luo Skill.
Compared to other internal skills, the Heavenly Luo Skill can not only greatly increase the cultivation speed of practitioners, but also its transformed internal force is extremely powerful, giving it a great advantage in combat.
If it were according to the usual martial arts novel tropes, such a divine skill would definitely have some side effects.
Either it would be "must first castrate oneself", or it would be "prone to Qi deviation", or it would be "drink human blood and eat human flesh" or something like that.
But the truth is that the Heavenly Luo Skill is actually the same as other exercises, with no side effects at all.
In this way, other sects would naturally be eager and covet this Heavenly Luo Skill.
But how could the Heavenly Luo Sect be willing to "share the divine skill"? In the end, the two sides started fighting.
Over the centuries, there have been dozens of recorded "Sieges of Nine Pinnacle Mountain" in the martial world, all of which ended in the failure of the "righteous faction".
Of course, the Heavenly Luo Sect was not without losses. Each time, many people had to die, which ultimately led to the number of disciples never increasing, and at the same time, it was burdened with the title of "Demonic Sect".
It can be said that there is a bit of a meaning of being guilty of possessing a treasure.
However, even a clay figure has three parts of anger, let alone these masters of the Heavenly Luo Sect.
You call me a "Demonic Sect"?
Okay, then I might as well call myself a Demonic Sect!
In the following hundred years, the completely angered Heavenly Luo Sect began to give up on itself, not only satisfied with "defensive counterattacks", but also taking the initiative to clean up those sects that had feuds with them, and wiping out the entire sect without leaving a single chicken or dog.
The bloody storm in the martial world continued like this for decades, until Ning Yongnian ascended the throne and it was somewhat alleviated.
It is said that Ning Yongnian reached some kind of agreement with the Heavenly Luo Sect, but the specific content is unknown.
“. Young master, that's about it.”
When the carriage stopped in front of the mountain gate of Nine Pinnacle Mountain, Zhang San also generally explained the situation of the Heavenly Luo Sect.
Wei Changtian looked up at the towering mountain in front of him, thinking that it would be great if such a force could be used for his own purposes.
But unfortunately, this is probably impossible.
Qin Caizhen is said to be the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Luo Sect, but her position in the sect is actually quite ordinary.
Because in addition to her daughter, Qin Zhengqiu also has four sons.
That is to say, Wei Changtian also has four uncles...
Compared to the daughter who has already married out and this "grandson" he has only met a few times, these four are the people Qin Zhengqiu truly values, and they are the "future" of the Heavenly Luo Sect.
Shaking his head, accompanied by the Heavenly Luo Sect disciples who came to greet him, Wei Changtian stepped into the mountain gate and began to walk step by step up the mountain along the stone steps.
A quarter of an hour later.
“Big brother, how many steps do you think our nephew can climb on the Sky-Reaching Path?”
In a pavilion halfway up Nine Pinnacle Mountain, two middle-aged men stood side by side, looking together at the winding mountain road in the distance.
At this distance, ordinary people should not be able to see anything, but once a cultivator enters the Fifth Grade realm, they can gain the improvement of "clear ears and sharp eyes", so they can clearly see the few people who are climbing the mountain.
“I heard from little sister that all sixty-four of his meridians are open.”
The person being asked, dressed in a black robe, replied indifferently: “He should be able to reach a hundred steps.”
“I guess he won’t.”
Another man in a purple robe smiled and said: “Although this child's talent is okay, there are not a few people in our sect whose sixty-four meridians are all open, and less than half of them can climb a hundred steps.”
“It doesn't matter.”
The black-robed man said calmly: “Whether he can or not, he is a member of the Wei family.”
“Big brother, what you said is a little too heartless.”
The purple-robed man shook his head helplessly: “Although he is surnamed Wei, he is also little sister's son, and half of his blood is from our Qin family.”
“…”
The black-robed man did not answer again, his eyes still looking at the mountain road.
At this moment, the few black shadows in his vision, as small as ants, also temporarily stopped in front of a section of stone steps with a distinctly different style, seemingly communicating something.
“The Road to Heaven?”
On the mountain path, Wei Changtian looked at the pure black stone steps with about two or three hundred steps in front of him, his expression puzzled: “What is this thing?”
“Young Master Wei, this is another treasure of my sect besides the Tianluo Skill.”
A Tianluo Sect disciple in a cyan short shirt bowed and introduced: “It is used to test the aptitude of cultivators.”
“This thing can test aptitude?”
Wei Changtian immediately thought of countless clichés used in fantasy novels and asked suspiciously: “It can’t be that the farther you walk, the higher your aptitude, right?”
“Young Master is extremely intelligent.”
The cyan-shirted disciple flattered him, affirming this idea.
It really is...
Wei Changtian was speechless for a while, and after a moment of silence, he asked again: “My sixty-four meridians are all open, and I am already of top-notch aptitude. Do I still need to walk this road?”
“Young Master, talent is not the same as aptitude.”
The cyan-shirted disciple lowered his head and said: “You will know when you walk this road. This matter was instructed by the sect leader, please don’t make it difficult for this humble one.”
Talent is not equal to aptitude?
Good heavens, are you giving me a language lesson on synonyms here?
Wei Changtian complained in his heart, but since the other party had already brought up Qin Zhengqiu, he couldn't refuse.
“Alright, then I’ll take a walk.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Young Master.”
The cyan-shirted disciple breathed a sigh of relief and finally explained: “Young Master, the Road to Heaven only allows one person to walk on it at a time. We will go ahead and wait for you. When you are exhausted and stop, we will come back to pick you up.”
“Oh, okay.”
Wei Changtian nodded, and several disciples carried several large boxes of gifts and walked up the side road with Zhang San.
Looking at the few people standing at the end of the black stone steps, Wei Changtian's mind began to recall the online novel plots he had read in his previous life.
Like feeling a thousand pounds of weight pressing on your body with every step, or the protagonist gritting his teeth and climbing up even though he can't hold on, showing a tenacious will, or taking this opportunity to break through the bottleneck of cultivation...
Speaking of which, why can these stone steps test a person's aptitude?
There must be other wonderful uses, right? I wonder if there is a chance to get a few pieces back...
Just like that Immortal-Locking Stone, Liang Zhen said that the first set of inner armor will be made soon...
Wei Changtian walked upwards while thinking wildly, and soon walked up dozens of steps.
It wasn't until this time that he realized something was wrong.
Huh?
Why don't I feel anything unusual?
Could it be that I haven't walked far enough? After all, this road has three hundred steps.
Wei Changtian pondered for a while and continued to take almost a hundred steps upwards before slowly slowing down.
It wasn't because he felt any pressure, but because he finally realized one thing—
It seems that this Road to Heaven has no effect on him at all!
I've already walked halfway, and other than being a little dizzy from these pure black stone steps, I don't feel any discomfort!
Could it be because I transmigrated? Or is it because I have a system?
But no matter what the reason, I am now facing a problem...
Damn it, should I continue walking or not!
Wei Changtian originally wanted to try his best to test his limits.
But looking at it now, as long as I want to, I can probably walk all the way to the top without even panting.
So the question is, how much should I walk to conform to my “normal” level and not be seen through?
Walking too much at once would undoubtedly be difficult to explain where I got this aptitude from.
But walking too little would easily be looked down upon by Qin Zhengqiu...
Damn, I should have asked how many steps others can walk!
Wei Changtian walked slower and slower, while constantly looking up at the few people waiting in front.
He couldn't really ask, “What level am I at walking here?”, so he could only try to make a rough judgment based on the reactions of the Tianluo Sect disciples.
But I can't see clearly!
The two sides are now separated by a hundred or so stone steps, almost two hundred meters away.
Wei Changtian could only see that the few people were still standing in place, but he couldn't see their expressions.
Calm down! Analyze the situation!
The disciple said before—as long as I can't hold on, he will have a way to pick me up.
But now I'm obviously walking very slowly, but that person is still not moving. Doesn't that mean that this distance is still within the “normal” range?
Otherwise, he should have been ready to come and pick me up at any time.
That's right!
The more Wei Changtian thought about it, the more he felt it made sense, so he didn't stop, but instead slightly sped up and stepped up dozens of steps.
In total, there are three hundred steps on the Road to Heaven, and he has now walked two-thirds of it, which is more than two hundred steps.
As the distance to the end gets closer and closer, the expressions of the few people above finally begin to become clear.
Except for Zhang San's blank face, the others...
Their faces are red, their eyes are wide open, their mouths are wide open, and their bodies are still motionless.
But at this moment, Wei Changtian finally understood why they were not moving.
It's not because I'm too close, but because I'm too far!
“Thump!”
His feet stopped instantly, and he thought to himself, 'This is bad!'
Judging from the reactions of these disciples, I should have completed some amazing “feat”, and the distance I have walked is probably far beyond the normal level.
Although this move is undoubtedly very pretentious... but I really don't want to pretend!
Last time, I accidentally split the Immortal-Locking Stone two inches with a single knife, and I could use the “Returning Dust Blade” to fool people.
But this time, what reason can I find?
Wei Changtian wailed in his heart, while hesitating whether he should show a look of exhaustion and inability to continue.
But before he could take any action, he saw the surrounding leaves suddenly shaking rapidly, and then two middle-aged men who didn't know where they came from stood at the end of the Road to Heaven with shocked faces.
“Two hundred and eighteen steps, two hundred and eighteen…”
The one in the black robe trembled all over, repeating this number incessantly.
The one in the purple robe was slightly better. Although he was equally surprised, he at least noticed Wei Changtian's situation at this time.
He looked at Wei Changtian in disbelief and suddenly shouted loudly:
“Can you still walk?!”
“This…”
Wei Changtian hesitated slightly after hearing this sentence, and suddenly gritted his teeth and made a decision.
Since things have come to this, then simply stop pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger!
Let's just pretend to be a tiger!
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated, and directly stepped forward again in the shocked eyes of everyone, continuing to walk upwards step by step, not fast or slow.
Two hundred and twenty steps, two hundred and fifty steps, two hundred and eighty steps, two hundred and ninety-nine steps...
Three hundred steps...
Crossing the last stone step and standing in front of the purple-robed man who was dumbfounded and speechless, Wei Changtian spat out five words with a calm expression.
“Three hundred steps, too short.”
Continuous plot, 2-in-1 chapter~
