Chapter 8

When Su Mianmian woke, she found herself surrounded by many of the men and women who had climbed the stairs with her. Some had gathered to talk, some stared blankly with unhappy expressions, as though recalling something, and others were still unconscious.

Su Mianmian saw Su Bo beside her, looking as though he had been awake for quite some time, and asked, "What happened?"

Only after seeing that Su Mianmian was awake did Su Bo explain, "I just heard from the first batch of people to wake up that all of us here passed. Those who failed will be sent straight back to their Lineages. We didn't actually have to finish climbing the Heavenly Stairway. Passing the first illusion was enough."

Su Mianmian pondered this. No wonder she had been brought up despite failing the second illusion. Still, her face darkened at the thought of what had happened in it.

"Has Su Jiu not come up yet?"

Su Bo shook his head. "I don't know whether she was eliminated or is still climbing. But by now, almost everyone who passed has already been brought up."

Su Mianmian shook her head instead. "Jiu wouldn't be eliminated. If only one person could finish climbing this Heavenly Stairway, I believe it would have to be her."

Su Bo smiled. "You really do have faith in her."

Su Mianmian did not answer him. She looked toward the mountain gate and asked after the others from the Su Lineage. "Where are the others?"

"They're all up here. Su Jian is still unconscious. Su Yi and Su Chen went to find out what's going on."

Su Mianmian nodded. "Did everyone from Peace City make it up?"

Su Bo shook his head. "Most were eliminated. Our Lineage already has quite a few who passed. What surprised me, though, was that the Bai Lineage's concubine-born daughter made it up too."

Su Mianmian lowered her head and thought for a good while before remembering that girl's name. Was it Bai Su?

At that moment, Rising Sun Hall was very quiet. The Sun-Shielding Mirror was still working, but only one small figure remained visible in it. The little girl in the mirror wore her hair in buns, and her exceptionally lovely peach-blossom eyes showed clear signs of fatigue. No one knew how many illusions she had passed through, yet none had trapped her.

This time, she stood still for only a quarter of an hour before stepping forward again.

Even the sect leader wondered how this girl had grown up. Had she never encountered anyone or anything she liked? Desire gave rise to attachment, and the Heavenly Stairway's illusions had been designed around this principle. Very few people could complete the entire stairway, and those who did were generally people with truly clear minds, free of distracting thoughts.

"A pure ice spiritual root?" Even Luo Cang, who had been idly waving his fan and deigned to notice nothing, closed it and fixed his gaze on the little girl in the mirror. "Interesting."

Luo Cang was the fan-bearing man who had spoken to Xie Ying earlier, and the peak master of Water Shadow Peak.

Just then, another man entered the hall. He was even more striking in appearance than Xia Jue, with black-and-gold embroidery at his collar and cuffs, an Amethyst Crown on his head, and a treasured sword gleaming with golden light in his hand.

The newcomer was a jade-faced youth with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, his expression as cold and stern as it had been for ten thousand years. His eyes held autumn waters, his sword flashed like a shooting star; poetry shaped his bones, and jade formed his spirit.

When Xia Jue saw the youth, he respectfully cupped his hands.

Hong Ling's cheeks flushed rosy. She could not help swallowing discreetly, but dared make no other move.

Everyone in the hall shifted their gaze from the mirror to the man.

Even the sect leader's expression grew somewhat deferential. "Would you like-"

The man seemed to know what the sect leader was about to say and refused outright. "No."

He merely looked at the little girl in the mirror. Seeing that she had finished the Heavenly Stairway, he said, "Throw her into the outer sect."

The grand elder startled. "Surely that's inappropriate?"

This was the disciple he had been yearning for. Although he now felt he had little chance of taking her, a genius ought to receive the treatment a genius deserved.

"Besides, your senior brother has already met her."

The man seemed not to have expected that Chu Mojin had already met her, but he still insisted, "Never mind him. Put her in the outer sect."

The grand elder seemed about to argue further, but the sect leader stopped him.

"Understood." The sect leader agreed to the man's terms without hesitation.

The man left, and everyone in the hall immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The second elder looked at the grand elder in bewilderment. "I haven't seen you for a while, and your courage has certainly grown."

The sect leader let out a quiet sigh. Looking at the little girl in the mirror, he could not help showing regret as well.

By then, Su Jiu had spotted the mountain gate. The disciple guarding it was startled to see that someone had actually completed the climb and immediately sent word to his superiors.

Su Jiu stood in the bustling square, looking at the elders, peak masters, and sect leader seated on the platform, and felt a joy she had not known in a long time. These people had all been her family in her previous life. Although they had not always gotten along particularly well, whenever the Azure Tide Sect faced hardship, they could all set aside their past grievances and fight together.

In her previous life, she had been the sect leader's youngest personal disciple. That was why Bai Su had been so frightened after Gong Hao killed her.

Yet she kept feeling that something might change in this life.

"Next, anyone whose name is called, step forward!" The person speaking at the front was an inner sect disciple.

"Su Mianmian!"

Just as in her previous life, Su Mianmian was the first to be called.

A beauty dressed in red and an old man rose from their seats at the same time and approached Su Mianmian. "Little girl, would you like to become my personal disciple?"

"Shoo, shoo! What could you possibly teach her?" Then the speaker turned to Su Mianmian with a smile. "Little girl, I have the best fire cultivation techniques in all of Azure Tide."

An uproar broke out among the crowd below. This was their first time seeing people fight over a disciple.

Su Mianmian rolled her large eyes, utterly unafraid even before such highly cultivated seniors. "You can practice many cultivation techniques, but you can only practice one cultivation method. I'd like to know which of you has the best fire cultivation method to teach me."

Su Mianmian was already adorable, and now, smiling like a little fox, she quickly won the affection of a whole group of seniors.

Hong Ling smiled, while the second elder wept.

Everyone knew that Hong Ling's high-grade fire cultivation method had been inherited from the previous peak master of Blazing Flame Peak. It was taught only to the peak's personal disciples; she would not teach it even to True Disciples.

The second elder, meanwhile, was the sort whose long accumulation bore fruit late. He had started cultivating early, when he had no particularly outstanding cultivation method available, so he practiced a middle-grade method. Naturally, it could not compare to the Fire Meridian Cultivation Method Hong Ling had inherited directly from the previous peak master.

"You little girl, you're clever indeed. You know to start choosing your master by their cultivation method." Hong Ling patted Su Mianmian's head, then took her by the hand and prepared to leave.

The second elder seemed unwilling to give up. "Won't you reconsider?"

Hong Ling grew a little angry. "Listen, old man, you already have seven personal disciples. Can you even manage to teach them all?"

The second elder was left speechless.

Su Mianmian, however, smiled as she bowed to the second elder with cupped hands. "Thank you for your generous regard, Second Elder. Please accept Mianmian's thanks."

Seeing that he had no chance, the second elder could only huff indignantly. "Don't regret this, little girl."

Su Mianmian could tell that the second elder was merely pretending to be angry, so she took no offense.

Before leaving with Hong Ling, Su Mianmian could not resist looking back at the crowd below. She waved vigorously toward someone beneath the platform.

Su Jiu smiled and waved back.

Hong Ling followed Su Mianmian's gaze and could not help being startled.

"Is that your friend, Mianmian?"

Su Mianmian shook her head. "She's my younger sister."

Hong Ling drew in a sharp breath and could not help thinking that, with a younger sister like that, Su Mianmian would probably do quite well in the future even without her.

Um... our important supporting male character isn't right in the head at the moment (though he might never be), so please don't stoop to his level, my little fairies. QAQ