Senior Sister is Waiting for You Above

Lin Qi and Luo Ci both tilted their heads back, staring at the steep, almost straight line of Zonglei Peak, their mouths agape in astonishment.

How did True Monarch Qingyun think the two of them, mere children of a few years old, could climb such a tall peak?

True Monarch Qingyun, unhurriedly, threw out another instruction: "You two, whoever reaches the summit first will be the elder."

Lin Qi instinctively glanced at Luo Ci, and at the same moment, Luo Ci looked at Lin Qi.

In both their eyes, fierce flames of competition burned.

True Monarch Qingyun patted their heads, smiling gently, "Your master will be waiting for you at the finish line. Begin."

As soon as she finished speaking, True Monarch Qingyun's figure vanished from her spot.

Luo Ci shot forward like a lightning bolt.

He was half a head taller than Lin Qi, making it easier for him to climb the stone steps.

By the time Lin Qi slowly ascended the first step, Luo Ci had already nimbly run to the fourth.

He stood there, arrogantly shouting, "I've been practicing martial arts and swordplay since I was young, I'm strong and healthy, I'll definitely surpass you this time!"

"You just wait and call me Senior Brother!"

Lin Qi watched his short legs hopping and couldn't help but shake her head.

Zonglei Peak was so tall its summit was hidden from view; what was the point of running fast now?

She silently climbed the steps, straddling them and pulling her whole body up.

After much effort, she finally climbed one step.

"Were these stone steps really man-made?"

Lin Qi couldn't help but look up at the Ascension Ladder next to them.

Although it also pierced straight into the clouds, it was at least a ladder for normal people to walk on.

Lin Qi didn't know how her eyesight had gotten so good, she could actually see people on the Ascension Ladder.

Several little sprouts, around five or six years old, were walking with nimble steps on the Ascension Ladder. The ladder seemed to extend automatically, and as they walked, their expressions changed.

Some were crying, some were laughing, and some were hugging others and kissing them intensely.

Lin Qi recalled the tropes from novels and guessed that there were some illusion tests on the Ascension Ladder.

She couldn't help but look up again at the steep stone steps on her side.

Damn it, she would rather climb the Ascension Ladder!

An hour later, Lin Qi, without a single pant or ache, saw Luo Ci.

He was lying on a tier of stone steps, sticking out his tongue and panting, looking completely spent.

When he casually glanced up and saw Lin Qi catching up with her short legs, his small face tightened. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to climb again.

"I absolutely will not let you surpass me!"

His little face turned red, and he forced himself to continue climbing while panting.

Lin Qi generously waved her hand at him, signaling him to go ahead.

Seeing that she hadn't even broken a sweat, Luo Ci was so anxious that he found some hidden strength and quickly climbed upwards.

It was as if he had unleashed all his might, even the strength he used when he was a baby.

However, not long after, he was still surpassed by Lin Qi.

Facing Luo Ci's terrified, shocked, and disbelieving gaze, Lin Qi accepted it with pleasure.

She even smugly patted his shoulder, "Senior Sister is waiting for you up here."

She just loved bickering with children.

The feeling of bullying a child was incredibly satisfying!

After climbing for a long time, Lin Qi herself was puzzled.

Her current body was only four and a half years old. Although she had consumed a lot of rare heavenly treasures, she had never exercised and had always been pampered.

This time, she had climbed so many steps in one go without even a hint of breathlessness.

Was this really a realm achievable by humans?!

Could it be that the Ancient Ice Phoenix bloodline within Lin Qi had already been awakened, causing her to unleash superhuman strength?

She couldn't help but look up, and the summit was still nowhere in sight.

She didn't know when she would reach the finish line...

Lin Qi sighed, a delayed sense of soreness and fatigue washing over her. She didn't know how much further she could go.

True Monarch Qingyun's first trial was simply too monstrous!

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Qi could no longer see Luo Ci's figure.

But with a turn of her head, she could see the Ascension Ladder next to them. As Lin Qi climbed higher and higher, the number of people on the Ascension Ladder decreased, with only a few individuals still persevering.

Judging by their expressions and postures, it seemed as if their shoulders bore a weight of thousands of pounds, and every step they took was incredibly difficult.

Lin Qi was very competitive.

Luo Ci had already been left far behind by her. If she didn't have strong enough rivals, she'd have to motivate herself.

Her gaze fell on the girl at the very front of the Ascension Ladder.

The girl wore a plain robe, and even from a distance, Lin Qi could feel the cold, resolute aura emanating from her.

Everyone else struggled with every step, but this girl climbed with her back straight, her pace steady, completely unfazed by the surrounding environment.

Lin Qi instantly composed herself and focused on climbing the peak.

The stone steps of Zonglei Peak were not only steep but also rough.

Lin Qi climbed for a long time, her hands and feet sustaining considerable scrapes.

Being short, she had to use both hands and feet to climb each step.

When climbing, she glanced down. The depths below were unfathomable, shrouded in clouds and mist, like a bottomless abyss.

Anyone with a weaker mindset would probably have their legs turned to jelly by fear.

Lin Qi took a breath, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and continued climbing with bated breath.

By the end, her hands and feet had started to go numb.

She glanced up at the Immortal Ascension Ladder next to her and realized she had caught up to the leading girl.

That realization instantly gave her a surge of strength!

Lin Qi panted, gritting her teeth and pushing upward. Her mind was numb, focused only on moving forward, the skin around her eyes reddening.

Just as she finally climbed a step and was about to lift her leg, her body suddenly lost all strength, and she slid down.

Lin Qi, terrified, quickly grabbed the steps with her hands, her legs nearly crashing onto the step below.

For a moment, the pain contorted Lin Qi's face.

Her fingers, clenched with excessive force, seemed to be sinking into the stone steps, a blurry crimson tint appearing on them.

She quickly glanced at the abyssal drop behind her before hastily looking away.

Her heart hammered against her ribs, threatening to leap out of her chest.

She really wanted to ask True Monarch Qingyun if she wasn't afraid of destroying her young heart with such a monstrous assessment.

Catching a glimpse of the girl on the Immortal Ascension Ladder kneeling on one knee, Lin Qi gritted her teeth and forced herself to get up.

Continue!

She propped herself up on her bloody, torn hands and continued climbing, gasping for air.

Sweat blurred her vision.

The unyielding spirit in her chest pushed her forward.

Lin Qi tried to comfort herself with dark humor, thinking that this pain was nothing compared to having her Golden Core dug out and being roasted in an alchemy furnace.

She continued to silently count the steps, a faint taste of blood in her throat, her vision blurring.

Suddenly, ethereal music filled her ears, and in her daze, she almost thought she was on the Immortal Ascension Ladder herself.

Lin Qi vaguely guessed that the girl had reached the Immortal Ascension Gate, but she no longer had the strength to look.

A wave of dizziness washed over her, and Lin Qi collapsed onto the stone steps, utterly spent.

In the moment before losing consciousness, she was still thinking that she must have been only a few steps behind that girl in reaching the height of the Immortal Ascension Gate.

By extension, she could consider herself to be among the first to reach the Immortal Ascension Gate.

She had won!