Feeling the crowd’s gazes, Elder Hu immediately straightened his back.
A wave of unprecedented satisfaction washed over him.
In all his years as an elder, he had never felt so esteemed.
「On the Heaven-Reaching Ladder.」
Mu Fan took it all in, but he was completely unmoved.
After all the tribulations he had been through, his mind had long been tempered like steel.
He would remain unperturbed, no matter how others saw or treated him.
Therefore, Mu Fan’s gaze remained firmly locked ahead.
He had only ever had one goal: reach the hundredth step and then return to Profound Bright Peak!
“Oh?
So, you’re saying this Mu Fan has wicked intentions?”
Just as the crowd continued to curse Mu Fan, Shen Muyao’s slightly languid voice spoke up again.
“Of course!”
Feng Yuan nodded.
“That’s strange, then.
If Mu Fan truly has wicked intentions as you claim, how could he possibly withstand the Heaven-Reaching Ladder?”
“Don’t tell me you’re unaware that the ladder’s trial is never just about simple gravitational pressure!”
Shen Muyao watched Feng Yuan with a faint, unreadable smile.
From the very beginning, she hadn’t believed a word he said—that whole story about Mu Fan lusting after Ying Weiwei.
‘Mu Fan managed to keep his composure around me, so how could he lose it over someone like Ying Weiwei?’
She had never underestimated her own innate allure, her appeal to men.
“That’s right!”
“The Heaven-Reaching Ladder tests our willpower!
If someone had wicked intentions, how could they withstand fifty times the pressure!”
“Someone might barely endure ten times the pressure, but fifty times…”
The crowd had a sudden realization.
They had been so focused on pitying Ying Weiwei that they’d overlooked the most crucial point.
“Junior Brother Feng, please tell us.
This thing you ‘saw with your own eyes’—what exactly did you see, and what did you hear?”
Faced with Shen Muyao’s challenge and the strange looks from the crowd, a hint of panic appeared on Feng Yuan’s once-arrogant face.
“Well…”
Feng Yuan opened his mouth, his face falling.
He truly couldn’t understand why this Senior Sister Shen would oppose him for Mu Fan’s sake.
“As for you,” Shen Muyao said, no longer pressing Feng Yuan and instead turning her attention to Elder Hu, “I will report everything that happened today to the sect.
As for your future… you’re on your own.”
At her words, Elder Hu trembled.
The thought of the punishment he would likely face drained all the color from his face, leaving it ashen.
“Senior Sister Shen, is there any need to be so merciless!”
Feeling Elder Hu’s pleading gaze, Feng Yuan gritted his teeth. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak up.
“Hah.
Merciless?”
Shen Muyao sneered, casting a cold glance at Feng Yuan.
“Compared to what you’ve done, my methods pale in comparison.”
“Alright, stop making a scene.
Crawl back to wherever you came from.
I don’t have the time for you.”
Before Feng Yuan could argue, Shen Muyao waved him away impatiently.
Feng Yuan’s expression soured further, but he could do nothing against Shen Muyao.
He had no choice but to turn and leave.
“Hand over the jade tablet!
Now!”
Shen Muyao’s aura turned frigid, a cold glint in her eyes as she spoke to Elder Hu.
“I…”
Elder Hu wanted to beg for mercy, but the moment he met Shen Muyao’s gaze, he swallowed his words and obediently handed over the jade tablet.
“Elder Hu, the Feng family will not forget what you’ve done for me today!”
A sound transmission from Feng Yuan, who had already walked away, reached Elder Hu’s ears, and the ugly look on his face eased slightly.
However, he also understood that this was not just a promise; it was also a warning.
Feng Yuan was reminding him that his only recourse now was the Feng family, and he had better not do anything he wasn’t supposed to!
“Tsk, tsk.
I thought they just increased the pressure on Mu Fan.
I didn’t realize they had other tricks up their sleeve!”
When Shen Muyao took the jade tablet and briefly inspected it with her senses, she understood exactly what Elder Hu had been doing.
The jade tablet could not only increase the pressure on Mu Fan, but it could also reduce it for Ying Weiwei and Feng Hao.
Feng Hao’s was only reduced by twenty percent, which was one thing.
But the pressure on Ying Weiwei had been reduced by a full eighty percent!
“Hmph!
No wonder.”
Shen Muyao sneered as she looked at Ying Weiwei on the Heaven-Reaching Ladder.
The next moment, the jade tablet in her hand flashed repeatedly.
BANG!
“AARGH!”
At that very moment on the Heaven-Reaching Ladder, Ying Weiwei, who had been barely hanging on, suddenly felt an irresistible pressure slam into her.
Her body was flung away like a limp doll and crashed heavily onto the ground outside the ladder!
SPURT!
Ying Weiwei spat out a mouthful of blood, her terrified gaze snapping toward Shen Muyao. Get faster updates on g.com.
She knew exactly what had just happened.
“No wonder the normally unremarkable Ying Weiwei was so impressive today.”
“Tsk, tsk.
With someone backing you, everything’s easy, huh?”
“An act like this is a flagrant disregard for the sect’s rules!”
Someone cried out indignantly.
“Get real.
Do you know who Senior Brother Feng is?
Or how powerful the Feng family is?
The so-called ‘sect rules’ only apply to ordinary disciples like us!”
Her body wracked with pain and her ears ringing with the crowd’s jeers, Ying Weiwei didn’t dare linger.
She scrambled to her feet and staggered away toward a distant pavilion.
Watching Ying Weiwei’s pathetic retreat, Shen Muyao felt a wave of satisfaction.
‘He does have some real strength, at least.’
She glanced at Feng Hao.
His face was pale, but he was still holding on against the full pressure.
Shen Muyao thought with a hint of regret.
‘He’s a good prospect, but his character is lacking.’
Mu Fan, in contrast, immediately straightened up the moment the extra pressure was lifted.
He glanced back at Shen Muyao, his expression tinged with gratitude.
Whether it was her unconditional trust in him moments ago or her righteous intervention just now…
…both warmed Mu Fan’s heart, and his attitude toward her began to shift.
The ice around his heart seemed to melt, just a little.
‘Let’s see just how far you can go today!’
Watching Mu Fan’s determined ascent, Shen Muyao murmured to herself, a brilliant light dancing in her beautiful eyes.
“Look!”
“Mu Fan is incredible!”
Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd.
Mu Fan, who had been struggling just moments before, was now ascending with unbelievable speed, leaving the others far behind as if the mountain-like pressure didn’t exist at all!
In the minds of the crowd, Mu Fan’s image suddenly grew much grander.
Ignoring the commotion below, Mu Fan’s eyes were fixed only on the stone steps before him as he ascended, one step at a time.
Below, Luo Xin’Er’s gaze was now filled with adoration as she watched Mu Fan.
Feng Hao, meanwhile, gritted his teeth and followed, wanting to surpass Mu Fan and be the first to reach the top.
But he soon realized with despair that no matter how hard he pushed himself, Mu Fan always remained one step ahead.