The three continued walking forward, and a staircase appeared ahead.
The staircase was astonishing to behold, because it consisted of nothing but step after step.
The steps hung suspended in the darkness ahead, leading up to a floating platform even higher in the gloom.
White Mist had appeared from who knew where, shrouding the walls on both sides. Through it, imposing statues could be seen, their forms appearing and disappearing.
"We'll leave you here. Just follow the stairs up on your own." Before leaving, Zheng Jiu still seemed a little concerned and reminded him, "Remember, don't get greedy!"
"Got it."
Zheng Jiu and the others disappeared into the White Mist beyond.
Xu Fang stood where he was and cautiously extended a foot, testing one of the steps.
It felt oddly like being in a real-life Super Mario game. He was worried that one wrong step would send him plummeting out of the sky.
Fortunately, the staircase was sturdy. He had no idea how Master Xuanzang from the Tang dynasty had managed it, but even when Xu Fang put his full weight on a step, it didn't budge in the slightest.
One step, two steps.
One step, two steps.
Xu Fang climbed smoothly, one step after another, without encountering any obstacles.
But halfway up the first level, just before he reached the turn, an overwhelming fatigue washed over him. His arms and legs felt as if they were filled with lead, and no matter what he did, he couldn't move.
His mana was being depleted!
He wasn't using any magic or controlling any Star Seeds, yet his mana was still draining at an astonishing rate.
"Is this supposed to target my weak spot?"
"Not good enough!"
He'd finally gotten a chance to come here. If he spent three days on the first level like everyone else and only increased his cultivation speed twentyfold, wouldn't that be a huge waste?
"Small Ghost Fire!"
"High Temperature Core!"
There was only one result when he used High Temperature Core to empower Small Ghost Fire.
Ghost fires filled the sky, like cottonwood fluff blowing down a springtime street or locusts swarming a field in autumn—endless, voracious, and ravenous.
Then every last bit of energy he absorbed went straight into High Temperature Core, further empowering the ghost fires. He'd gotten himself stuck in a feedback loop bug.
——If Zheng Jiu and the others came back down right now and saw this, their eyes would probably bulge out like bull's eggs.
Your Wild Goose Pagoda and my Wild Goose Pagoda don't seem to be the same!
Wasn't he supposed to expend a large amount of energy first, then draw on the tower's pure energy while utterly exhausted?
What are you doing?
I'm asking you, what are you doing?
Xu Fang took another step forward. He could feel that the higher he climbed, the greater the elemental concentration became—and the more tempting it was!
Meanwhile, on the second level.
"Huff... huff... I can't go on," Qian Ranran gasped, drenched in sweat, her damp figure curvaceous. "You go on ahead."
"Hang in there a little longer," Zheng Jiu said.
"No, no. I'm not some freak like you."
Qian Ranran shook her head repeatedly. "The Space Gravity on the second level is already more than enough for me. What if I faint if I go any higher?"
"But..."
Zheng Jiu was about to say more, but Qian Ranran stopped him. "All right, cultivation time in the Wild Goose Pagoda is precious. Hurry up and go higher. The academy competition qualifiers are in two months, so you've got to give it your all!"
As she spoke, she raised a fist in an adorable little cheer.
Zheng Jiu smiled and didn't try to persuade her further. He turned and climbed the stairs one step at a time.
Watching him go, Qian Ranran sighed.
She knew her boyfriend better than anyone. He had average talent, and his current strength at Intermediate Level Two was entirely the result of years of hard work and sweat.
Compared with ordinary students, he was certainly among the best.
But compared with the geniuses who had reached Intermediate Level 3 at a young age, or were even making a push for the Advanced Level, he still had a long way to go.
She shook her head, casting aside those noisy thoughts. Just as she was about to focus on cultivating, she spotted a figure who was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar.
Her beautiful eyes widened.
"You... What...?!"
"Hello, Senior. We meet again." Xu Fang greeted her, then let out a long breath. "The elemental energy here is so incredibly dense..."
When he cultivated normally, Xu Fang relied on his active Golden Star Seeds to cultivate three or four times faster than an ordinary mage.
But on the Wild Goose Pagoda's second level, the elemental energy was a full forty times denser than in the outside world!
And with Small Ghost Fires scattered in all the nooks and crannies, one day of cultivation here was equivalent to a full six months outside!!!
Calling this the ultimate private-server leveling experience didn't even begin to describe it. This was more like one slash for 999 damage—if you're my brother, come and fight me!
Qian Ranran looked at Xu Fang, then at the long staircase, and asked the obvious in disbelief: "Did you climb up here by yourself?"
What kind of question was that? If he hadn't come up by himself, was he supposed to ride up here on her back?
......
Mages couldn't feel the passage of time while cultivating in the Wild Goose Pagoda. They were so absorbed in the rewards that they couldn't tear themselves away.
On a meditation cushion on the second level, Xu Fang sat cross-legged and perfectly still, like a monk deep in meditation. But inside his Spiritual World, waves crashed one after another.
The Golden Star Dust glowed brilliantly, flickering in and out.
Beyond the Star Dust, the barrier that enclosed it had swollen out of shape under the impact of the energy within.
Crack, crack...
Crack after crack appeared. Spiderweb patterns spread outward in irregular directions, growing larger and larger.
It was going to work! He was going to make it!!
Xu Fang grew more and more excited. He gathered all his energy and threw it against the barrier in a frenzy.
A brook was gentle, but a river formed by countless brooks was unstoppable and wild!
Even as waves of pain surged through his Spiritual World, Xu Fang didn't dare slack off for even a moment. If he gave up now, even just a little, all his effort would be wasted!
"Hah... hah..."
Xu Fang gritted his teeth, forcing a pained growl from his throat.
The Golden Star Dust blazed at its brightest. Suddenly, as if suppressed by some force, it dimmed sharply.
It grew darker and darker, like an old star that had burned through all its light.
The next second.
Xu Fang's eyes flew open!
His pupils expanded unnaturally, revealing the dark and mysterious Spiritual Universe within, along with a nebula that had suddenly burst into its hottest brilliance!
At seventeen, his Star Dust had turned into a nebula.
He had broken through to the Intermediate Level!
Slowly clenching his fists, Xu Fang felt as if even his blood were burning. The unprecedented surge of power made him let out a wolfish howl.
Qian Ranran jumped at the sound. What was up with that little Blondie?
Xu Fang felt incredible, especially when he looked inward at his Spiritual World again.
His Star Dust had once been nothing but a tiny speck in the universe. It had existed, but it was so minuscule that the energy it could provide a mage was quite limited.
But now, an enormous nebula revolved in his Spiritual Universe, so clearly visible in its vast expanse, illuminating his once-chaotic Spiritual World!!
What a difference there was between dust and a cloud!
The nebula was still made up of Golden Star Seeds, but their number had increased from seven to forty-nine. They moved at such speed that they dazzled the eye.
I, Xu Fang, am seventeen, and I'm afraid the campus isn't violent enough!
He sprang to his feet and headed for the stairs.
"Not being greedy is a good thing, but finding the right place is more important..." Qian Ranran said kindly. She hadn't even finished speaking before the rest of her words caught in her throat.
——Xu Fang hadn't gone downstairs.
He'd gone upstairs!
Qian Ranran's lips parted slightly. She felt like her brain couldn't keep up.
Was this what it was like to be a genius?
If all geniuses were like this, could her boyfriend really beat them...?
Before you continue