The Little Girl Who Stole Food, Challenging the Tenth Step Again

Beneath the waterfall, the children had all entered their training state.

Yin Fang was still stuck at the first step, though he could at least stand up now.

Tang Chi had reached the fifth step, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Pikachu had stopped at the sixth step and surprisingly learned the Yi Jin Jing as well, striving to enter a meditative state while the electric pouches on its cheeks crackled with thunderous sounds.

Zhu Zhuqing, under the crushing weight of the waterfall at the seventh step, had miraculously entered a state of no-self, her soul power intertwining with the waterfall—sometimes lingering, sometimes fierce.

At the very front, Su Yan stood on the ninth step, his gaze sharp and forward. He had come to challenge the tenth step.

The Tenth Step was the first watershed; its intensity was the sum of the previous nine steps combined.

"Teacher, can Brother Su Yan jump onto the Tenth Step?" Xue Ke clenched her hands nervously, her fingertips turning red from the pressure, her palms slick with sweat.

Bibi Dong stood in the sunlight, her armored skirt gleaming white, arms crossed over her chest. "With his current condition, it's very difficult."

Her beautiful eyes locked on intently. "Xiao Yan's physical quality is among the best I've seen in his age group. Being able to stop at the ninth step has already exceeded my expectations."

Xue Ke nodded, watching as Su Yan across from her gathered his focus and leaped up.

"Brother Su Yan, go for it!" Xue Ke's childish face strained with all her might, her features more concentrated than ever before.

Bibi Dong's expression remained calm, but the hand gripping her armored skirt showed a hint of white.

Su Yan landed on the rock at the Tenth Step and immediately felt as if a mountain were pressing down on his back. A weight far beyond his body's capacity crashed onto him, directly slapping him into the river.

He had failed the challenge.

Bibi Dong smoothly pulled her beloved disciple out of the water and tossed him near the fire to dry off.

"Xiao Yan, you were too impatient." Bibi Dong raised a hand and poked his head. "You couldn't even stand steady on the ninth step, yet you wanted to try the tenth."

"Master, I know I was wrong," Su Yan replied. He rested by the fire for a while, then stood back at the starting point.

This time, he stopped at the ninth step, sat down cross-legged, and gradually relaxed under the impact of the waterfall.

Several days passed in a row.

One evening, the group gathered around the table, enjoying the delicacies from the Little Magic Table.

"Su Yan, can you make it to the Tenth Step now?" Tang Chi asked, a roast suckling pig dangling from his mouth, which he finished in three bites.

"Not yet." Su Yan shook his head.

Yin Fang paused his eating and exclaimed in awe, "Even Yan Shen can't get past the Tenth Step? This is way too hard!"

"It is pretty hard. After all, you're still on the first step," Zhu Zhuqing said, picking up some fish and placing it in her bowl. She turned to look at Su Yan. "Yan Ge, what level are you now?"

"Still level 17, but I feel like I'm about to hit level 18." Su Yan grabbed a lamb chop and bit into it.

"Hehe, I'm level 19!" Tang Chi leaned back in his chair, letting out a satisfied breath.

Xue Ke was busy with the dishes on her plate when she suddenly heard "level 19." She looked up in amazement. "Brother Tang Chi, you leveled up again!"

She had witnessed the daily training with her own eyes and felt not a shred of envy for that hardship.

"Announcing something." Bibi Dong swept her gaze across everyone's faces. "Starting tomorrow, the Little Magic Table will only be used when you level up or break through the Tenth Step. At other times, you'll eat dry rations."

"Ah—"

Wails rose and fell in waves.

"Master, your heart is too cruel!" Su Yan's chopstick speed increased a few notches.

Zhu Zhuqing's speed also picked up, as she practically monopolized all the fish on the table.

Pikachu even swept some sweet fruits over to itself with its lightning-tipped tail.

"Eat up, the last supper," Yin Fang said, quickly grabbing two servings of fried chicken and placing them in front of himself.

Tang Chi wore a mournful expression, his burning gaze fixed on Yin Fang. "Yin Fang, you've got the most room for improvement. Whether we get extra meals depends on you!"

Almost everyone turned their eyes to Yin Fang, making his cheeks flush slightly.

"I'll definitely work hard!" As soon as Yin Fang finished speaking, a sudden surge of energy erupted around him.

In his excitement, he had actually risen from level 13 to level 14!

He stared blankly at Bibi Dong. "Instructor, does this count as my next meal?"

Bibi Dong smiled. "It counts."

"Yay!"

Watching the children's ecstatic expressions, Bibi Dong shook her head helplessly.

The Little Magic Table wasn't something that could be used casually. It also needed recharging.

And that energy source was soul power.

She could only trouble herself to recharge the Little Magic Table one more time.

--

Equally hard at work was the little girl walking along the mountain path.

Though perhaps she herself didn't see it that way.

"The forest really is more comfortable!" the little girl said, breathing in the fresh air as she skipped along the mountain path.

It had been many days since she'd hit someone and fled. Along the way, she'd avoided crowds, not running into a single person—she'd even followed a big yellow dog through a dog hole to get out of the city.

She followed the red ribbon in her sight step by step up the mountain: "Ran pretty far."

As the sky darkened, she spotted a towering blaze and trotted toward it. The noise around her gradually grew louder.

She hid behind a tree, watching a group of people sitting around a table, lively and boisterous. Fear flickered in her eyes, and her face showed hesitation: "So many people."

The red ribbon guiding her could only lead her this far. Her gaze swept over each face: "Which one is the target?"

But soon, the fragrant aroma wafting from the table hooked her soul. Her eyes stared straight ahead, fixated: "So good!"

She took a deep breath, terror still plain in her eyes, but in her hand, she already held an octagonal stone painted with a green snake.

--

"Hey, who took my fried chicken!" Yin Fang suddenly exclaimed, turning his head to look at Tang Chi, whose mouth had some crumbs at the corner. "Tang Chi, was it you!"

"Who has time to eat your stuff!" Tang Chi held a lamb chop in his left hand and a steak in his right. He looked down. "Where's my fried shrimp!"

He twisted around and glared at Su Yan: "Su Yan, don't underestimate my grudge over food!"

"Who's eating your stuff!" Su Yan was gnawing on a huge roasted leg of beef. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his empty plate. "Where's my fried cream bun!"

He looked left at Tang Chi, who happened to be glaring back at him with fury.

He looked right at Zhu Zhuqing, who was locked in battle with a fish, and silently shook his head.

The next instant, Zhu Zhuqing's cold eyes went wide: "The fried yellow croaker is gone."

Xue Ke had a big mouthful of boiled cabbage in her mouth and shook her head frantically: "Not me."

Even Bibi Dong noticed that the fried sesame balls in her bowl had vanished. Her beautiful eyes swept the surroundings, and the corner of her mouth curled up slightly.

Only Pikachu was munching on a fruit, perfectly at ease.

A few more days passed.

Under the immense temptation of the Little Magic Table's delicacies, the children's enthusiasm only grew.

As long as their bodies could hold out, they all dove under the waterfall.

Fortunately, Bibi Dong had prepared well—the dried rations were packed with ample nutrients, enough to sustain their antics without draining their bodies.

Su Yan stood at the starting point once more, took a deep breath, and stared ahead with firm, resolute eyes.

"Yan-ge, go for it!" Zhu Zhuqing said, pressing her lips together.

Tang Chi grabbed Su Yan's hand and said solemnly, "Su Yan, our extra meal depends on you!"

Yin Fang punched the air: "Yan-shen, charge!"

Xue Ke clasped her hands together at her chest, muttering nonstop under her breath.

"Pika!" Pikachu ran up to Su Yan, rubbed against his feet, then immediately jumped back and buried its head in Zhu Zhuqing's arms.

Su Yan was startled, then a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Xiao Yan." Bibi Dong walked up to him, reached out, and poked his forehead. "Relax your body. Don't force it. Understand the water."

"Understand the water?" Su Yan murmured.

His eyes refocused on what lay ahead, his gaze unshakably determined. With a sharp shout, he charged forward.