"Okay, big brother!"
Ximen Zhengxiong felt a little strange. His older brother had always been steady and never told him to charge straight in like this before.
Keeping his guard up, he looked toward the spot Ximen Zhenghao had been watching. There, the Divine Maiden of the Shocking Heaven Tower and the Saintess of the Mysterious Moon Society were gathered around a young man who looked even more celestial than his brother.
So that was it!
Big brother, leave it to me! I'll make sure you're the most dazzling guy here.
He had barely taken a few steps when he heard a servant's Spiritual Sense transmission: "Second Young Master, one of that young man's clanswomen is climbing the mountain right now, and she's temporarily in first place."
Ximen Zhengxiong looked up and saw Xiao Xueyu struggling her way up the steps.
He silently committed her to memory, then headed for the entrance to the mountain path.
Three minutes later.
"That young man in the black brocade robe is so fast!"
"He's already reached the 150th step in just three minutes."
"He's Ximen Zhengxiong, the second young master of the Ximen Family. No wonder he's so fast!"
Ten minutes later.
"Wow! Ximen Zhengxiong has overtaken the Divine Son of the Tai Chi Pavilion and is heading toward the 370th step."
"He doesn't even look out of breath. Overtaking Xiao Xueyu, who's currently in first place, should be a piece of cake."
"As expected of the second young master of the Ximen Family. He's seriously powerful!"
Another three minutes passed.
Ximen Zhengxiong looked at Xiao Xueyu, standing on the 421st step with beads of sweat streaming down her face. The corner of his mouth curled up as a fierce gale formed around him.
Seeing that the newcomer was only slightly out of breath, Xiao Xueyu knew she was no match for him. She inched aside to let him pass.
But Ximen Zhengxiong ruthlessly slammed her with the gale and said, "Beautiful, don't blame me. Blame your clansman for stealing my brother's thunder."
Xiao Xueyu's beautiful eyes widened as she was sent flying off the steps, plummeting rapidly downward.
If no one caught Xiao Xueyu, she would almost certainly die.
But under the terrifying pressure of Rainbowlight Peak, cultivators who could fly were few and far between.
"What a pity! The Xiao Clan of Xuanzhou City had a real genius, too!"
"It's despicable of the second young master of the Ximen Family to do that. She'd already moved aside for him!"
"We can only hope Xiao Xueyu survives the fall."
"Look, there's a streak of silvery-white light..."
Everyone turned to look. A beam of light shot toward Xiao Xueyu, moving even faster than she was falling.
The light caught Xiao Xueyu and came to a stop. When everyone looked closely, they saw a young man hovering in midair.
"Holy crap! He's flying in midair? Is he unaffected by that terrifying pressure?"
"He's only at the peak of the sixth level of the Sea Opening Realm. That can't be right!"
"That young man is the God of Slaughter I mentioned earlier. No wonder he could catch her!"
Whoosh!
With Xiao Xueyu in his arms, Xiao Yao quickly returned to where he had been standing.
He gently set her down before asking, "I'll avenge you later."
Daring to bully someone so brazenly—did they really think the Xiao Clan was an easy target?
The Xiao Clan members were all fired up, their loyalty to Xiao Yao growing even stronger.
Xiao Xueyu had regained her composure, though she looked puzzled as she said, "Before he knocked me off, he said someone from the Xiao Clan had stolen his brother's thunder."
"I don't see anyone like that!" Xiao Yao said, scanning the crowd.
Zhuo Dongxuan and Dai Tianwei were speechless. He'd seemed so sharp before, so why was he being so dense now?
Still, this worked out well. It would make it easier for them to avenge Xiao Xueyu in secret.
"Xiao Yao, I'm going to climb the mountain!" Zhuo Dongxuan said.
Dai Tianwei immediately chimed in, "Brother Xiao Yao, I'm ready to climb, too!"
"Then go ahead!"
Xiao Yao didn't try to stop them, though he still didn't understand why they had chosen to climb at this particular moment.
Ten minutes later.
Zhuo Dongxuan and Dai Tianwei, refusing to yield to each other, had climbed to the 450th step.
By then, Ximen Zhengxiong had reached the 520th step, but he was no longer as relaxed as before. He was panting heavily, and sweat kept pouring from him.
"Young Clan Leader, how many steps do you think Ximen Zhengxiong can climb?"
Xiao Xueyu asked because she'd heard Xiao Yao say earlier that she could climb at least to the 450th step.
Without Ximen Zhengxiong's gale knocking her off, she'd felt she could reach at least the 450th step, too.
Xiao Yao was silent for a moment before answering, "Based on what we've seen so far, he should reach at least the 600th step."
Six hundred?
Xiao Xueyu had thought that surpassing the Divine Son of the Tai Chi Pavilion would already bring glory to her clan!
She hadn't expected there to be even more geniuses stronger than her.
At this rate, she'd never be able to keep up with the Young Clan Leader.
I have to get stronger!
Another ten minutes passed.
Ximen Zhengxiong was standing on the 553rd step. He could barely breathe, but he kept pushing himself upward.
Zhuo Dongxuan and Dai Tianwei had reached the 550th step. To avenge Xiao Xueyu, they exchanged a glance.
Dai Tianwei stepped toward the 551st step first, a fierce gale forming around her just as it had around Ximen Zhengxiong.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, she passed right by Ximen Zhengxiong.
The force of the gale made Ximen Zhengxiong, already struggling to move, lurch sideways toward the mountain.
Just then, Zhuo Dongxuan came up behind him, her whole body wreathed in fierce energy. She happened to collide with Ximen Zhengxiong.
Ximen Zhengxiong tumbled right off the steps, falling just as Xiao Xueyu had—but much faster, with no time to steady himself or use his Mana.
Seeing this, Ximen Zhenghao knew the two women had done it on purpose, but he had no proof.
So he could only go save his younger brother first. Otherwise, his brother would surely die here.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Evil deeds really do come back to haunt you!"
"Serves him right if he falls to his death!"
"No..."
The cultivators didn't dare say another word. They scarcely dared to breathe.
Ximen Zhenghao was staring at them, and his murderous aura was already seething.
After saving Ximen Zhengxiong, Ximen Zhenghao didn't immediately start climbing. Instead, he took his younger brother back to the servants.
Looking at Ximen Zhengxiong, whose face had grown much paler, he said, "You didn't have to do that for me."
"Big brother! You're clearly the strongest man here. Why should he get all the attention?" Ximen Zhengxiong said indignantly. Then he looked toward Zhuo Dongxuan and Dai Tianwei, who were still climbing, and added, "Why would the Divine Maiden of the Shocking Heaven Tower and the Saintess of the Mysterious Moon Society team up against me?"
"Of course, it was for that Xiao Clan woman you knocked off earlier," Ximen Zhenghao replied, exposing the truth at once.
He knew even better that it was all for Xiao Yao, the Young Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan, but he didn't say so.
Because next, he would personally make the Divine Maiden of the Shocking Heaven Tower and the Saintess of the Mysterious Moon Society pay in blood.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xueyu asked curiously, "Young Clan Leader, how many steps do you think the Saintess of the Mysterious Moon Society can climb?"
Xiao Yao fell silent again. After calculating, he replied, "At least to the 700th step."
"What about the Divine Maiden of the Shocking Heaven Tower?" Xiao Xueyu continued.
Xiao Yao knew she would ask that, so he answered directly. "Same. They're about evenly matched."
"If they can only reach the 700th step, then any cultivator who makes it to the 800th must be extremely impressive! I wonder if anyone can reach the summit?" Xiao Xueyu said with a heartfelt sigh.
She'd thought reaching the 450th step would already be quite an accomplishment!
But now that she looked at it again, she was nothing—nowhere near a true prodigy.
Suddenly, Xiao Xueyu's gaze fell on Xiao Yao. She was now extremely curious how many steps the Young Clan Leader could climb.
Xiao Yao seemed to see right through her thoughts. "I've never climbed it, so I don't know exactly how many steps I can reach. But getting to the 700th step should be easy."
Though the cultivators nearby had witnessed Xiao Yao's strength earlier, calling it easy to reach the 700th step was still a wild exaggeration!
"Xiao Clan Young Clan Leader, if you reach the 700th step without taking a single breath, I'll eat a pound of shit."
"I think you're just here to scam people out of a meal!"
"Go to hell! I just don't believe he can reach the 700th step without taking a single breath!"
[Ping! Sensing that the people around the host doubt his strength, a mission has been issued: Reach the 700th step without taking a single breath. Upon completion, you will receive a generous reward.]
[Ping! Host, make sure you rub their faces in it—and make that guy eat a pound of shit.]
Xiao Yao was speechless, but he was still rather intrigued. He narrowed his eyes and said, "The guy who said he'd eat shit—I've got my eye on you! When I reach the 700th step without taking a single breath, don't you dare back out of eating that pound of shit."
"Hmph! A pound of shit is nothing. If you can do it, I'll eat it," the man replied, still unconvinced.
Just then, the constant swishing of clothes in the strong wind filled the air.
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Ximen Zhenghao standing on the first step.
"Wow! Ximen Zhenghao is about to climb!"
"I declare this the most exciting moment of the day!"
"As if we need you to declare it. Ximen Zhenghao is the strongest prodigy in the Southern Wilderness Domain!"
"I'm sure everyone is just as eager as I am to see what he does next."
Before you continue