Chi Miao had just returned to her guest room when Jin Shengfei dragged her off to the square for the second round of assessment.
Jin Shengfei proceeded to explain it to her:
“The second round tests the Heavenly Ladder, which examines one’s soul strength. The stronger the soul force, the more steps one can climb. The highest record for the Qi Refining stage was set by the Holy Son of Nine Swords Mountain. That Holy Son was born with a Sword Soul and is extremely powerful—he actually climbed two hundred steps! That’s a level only achievable at the Foundation Establishment stage! Tomorrow, I’m going to try to reach two hundred steps too!”
Of course, this was beyond Chi Miao’s knowledge, as it wasn’t written in any books.
However, she did know about this Holy Son of Nine Swords Mountain.
If contemporary prodigies were to be ranked in tiers, Jin Shengfei, having been delayed for a long time, would barely make it into the second tier.
As for the first tier, that would be the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters of the major sects, with the Holy Son of Nine Swords Mountain at the very top of the first tier.
He possessed a Heavenly God Sword Soul and a mutated ice spiritual root. Last year, at just seventeen, he reached Mid-Foundation Establishment and had even slain a half-step Golden Core expert while surpassing his own level.
Not only was his strength extraordinary, but his appearance was also ranked among the Hundred Handsome Men of the Cultivation World.
He was ranked ninth, with the evaluation: “His aura is like a winter plum, cold and proud as snow.”
But what Chi Miao was more curious about was:
“Why not climb three hundred steps and surpass him to take first place? This is a great opportunity to build reputation.”
Reputation was a wonderful thing. With a good reputation, even your farts would be treated as fragrant truths, and people would want to take an extra whiff.
Jin Shengfei: “It’s not that easy! If it were just about cultivation level, I might manage, but this tests soul force. If you want to try, go ahead. I can’t do it.”
Soul force was the hardest to cultivate; otherwise, professions like artifact refining masters and alchemy masters wouldn’t be so rare.
Climbing the Heavenly Ladder felt like having one’s soul defiled by an additional person with each step. The more steps you climbed, the more your soul felt violated.
Crude as the analogy was, it held truth.
But Chi Miao wasn’t afraid.
Though she wasn’t sure what level her soul force was at, her intuition told her it wasn’t low.
Not only had she lived two lives, but just yesterday, during the Soul Probe, she felt nothing.
When her soul was probed, she could sense that her soul force was exceptionally robust—ordinary people simply couldn’t launch a soul attack against her.
Chi Miao: “If you say so, I’ll really climb three hundred steps tomorrow.”
Jin Shengfei: “Are you serious?”
Chi Miao: “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Pfft—hahahaha!” Jin Shengfei slapped Chi Miao’s back and laughed heartily. “Oh my heavens, little sister Chi Miao, you’re just too funny! Youthful ignorance… truly youthful ignorance!”
“Wait until you step onto the Heavenly Ladder later, and you’ll understand. Three hundred steps! If you can actually climb three hundred steps, I’ll give you one high-grade spirit stone! If you exceed three hundred steps, for every additional step, I’ll give you one more high-grade spirit stone!”
“Don’t let me have spirit stones with nowhere to give them!”
Chi Miao was stunned.
Was she being mocked by Jin Shengfei?
Jin Shengfei, using money to mock her?!
This was a good thing—she was the poorest!
Chi Miao suddenly curled her lips into a smile.
“Jin Shengfei, you really are my lucky star, my little god!”
Jin Shengfei, like a golden retriever, suddenly brightened up: “You really think I’m a god? Which kind?”
Chi Miao: “The wealth distributing immortal kind.”
Jin Shengfei: “…”
I@#$%&**!
Soon, a large crowd gathered in the square, and disciples of Nine Swords Mountain also appeared.
“Today’s second round of testing will assess the Heavenly Ladder!”
“The rules are simple. All you need to do is climb the Heavenly Ladder step by step. Reaching the fiftieth step will allow you to pass this round and enter the final test.”
Only fifty steps to pass?
“This is a piece of cake! How hard can climbing stairs be?”
“You’re just young and reckless! That Heavenly Ladder isn’t something ordinary people can climb. Every step is torture for the soul. Don’t speak nonsense if you don’t understand!”
“But where is the Heavenly Ladder? Where is it!”
Just as everyone was confused, hundreds of birds suddenly appeared in the sky, escorting a auspicious golden light that tore through the clouds, slowly spilling into the mortal world.
Where the golden light reached, a transparent flowing light immortal ladder formed.
Majestic, reaching straight into the clouds.
Vast, as if boundless.
Hundreds of birds gazed at it, while people stared in stunned silence.
“So impressive…”
Then, with the sound of a bell, several Immortals appeared in the clouds above.
“The second test: Climbing the Heavenly Ladder!”
“Begin the test!”
Only after these words fell did people snap out of their daze and begin moving toward the Heavenly Ladder.
Chi Miao and Jin Shengfei looked up at the sky.
“These guys are just here for decoration again.”
The several figures in the sky: “…”
You two talk too much! Hurry up and climb the ladder!
Suddenly, both of them felt someone kick them in the butt from behind. Stumbling for a moment, they each stepped onto the first step of the Heavenly Ladder.
The moment Chi Miao stepped on it, she felt something different.
This…
This!
Why does this feel kind of amazing?!
It was like going to a high-end foot massage parlor, where a highly skilled massage boy gave her a full-body massage, as if her spirit had ascended to a whole new level!
She looked around.
Everyone else wore pained expressions, as if being oppressed, with some even making painful monkey-like noises.
Was it because she was only on the first step?
What would happen if she went higher?
Eager to try, Chi Miao directly jumped! Reaching the fourth step.
“Oh… oh~”
So good, even better!
It felt so amazing she seemed to be in heaven! She accidentally made some strange noises.
No one told her climbing the Heavenly Ladder would feel this good!
Gou Shi System: “Could you tone it down a bit?!”
Others describe it as being tortured, but you’re making an irresistible expression – people will misunderstand you!
The strange noises plus her blissful expression left everyone else dumbfounded.
Jin Shengfei: “Little sister Chi Miao, you… what’s going on with you? Don’t scare me!”
Chi Miao said: “I don’t know either, it just feels like my whole body is being massaged, even my skin is stretching out, it’s especially amazing! Ah~”
Jin Shengfei: “???”
Everyone: “Huh?”
Amazing?
Wait, are we climbing a fake Heavenly Ladder?
We haven’t even reached ten steps yet, and we already feel our souls being oppressed and our whole bodies in pain!
Could it be… that this little sister Chi Miao is actually a masochist?
Please don’t engage in S&M with the Heavenly Ladder!
Even the figures in the sky were dumbfounded when they saw this.
Amazing?
How is that possible?
They had all climbed the Heavenly Ladder before and knew exactly how it felt.
There were only four words to describe it: excruciating pain.
Compared to climbing the Heavenly Ladder, they’d rather be whipped!
Had the Heavenly Ladder malfunctioned again?
Elder Yan’s eyes shifted, and he secretly went down to step on it.
It hurt a bit.
Quietly retracting his big foot, he returned to the sky.
“This… what exactly is going on here?”
As Chi Miao slowly climbed to the thirtieth or fortieth step, this height… given her early Qi Refining stage, even if her soul force was more abundant than an ordinary person’s, she should have been sweating profusely from the pain.
Yet she wore an expression of utter ecstasy.
Could she really be into S&M?
That’s just too perverted!
Aren’t you afraid that while you’re playing S&M with the celestial staircase, it’s only pretending to play along, and the next second it might actually slap you to death?!
At that moment, He Wanban suddenly thought of a possibility.
“Could it be…”