Su Ye clutched his face, howling in pain.
In the illusion, he had already cultivated to the Tribulation Transcendence realm. He had marched back to the Mist Concealment Sect in grand style and sat right on his father's throne as the sect master.
He had watched his father bow and scrape to serve him tea, while Su Sheng eagerly massaged his legs.
A circle of elders had gathered around him, showering him with endless flattery and calling him the “Son of the Heavenly Dao.” Even his mother had stood to the side, looking at him with a face full of pride.
Then, right in front of everyone, he had stepped onto auspicious clouds and ascended!
Halfway through his ascension, a massive fist had suddenly descended from the heavens!
It had pummeled him while roaring, “You think you're worthy of being the Son of the Heavenly Dao?!”
With a loud bang, it had knocked him straight out of the sky.
Once wasn't enough; another blow followed.
Su Ye felt like he was about to be beaten into a meat patty.
The moment he opened his eyes—
Well, he was still on the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder.
His junior sister's fists were flying, raining heavy blows right onto his face.
“Stop hitting me, stop hitting me! I'm awake! I'm really awake!”
Only then did Xue Mingzhao stop, dusting off her hands as she stood up.
Clutching his bruised and swollen face, Su Ye scrambled to his feet. Supporting each other, the two of them continued to shuffle upward, step by step.
In front of the Floating Light Mirror, the group of elders fell into a collective silence.
Just a few punches... and she could beat someone awake from an inner demon illusion?
This was unheard of!
Never before seen!
After a long while, Nan Mingzi let out a dry laugh. “It must have been... a coincidence, right?”
The other elders quickly nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, a coincidence. A pure coincidence.”
None of them were willing to believe that an ordinary little girl on the Heaven-Inquiring Ladder could dispel the ladder's inner demon with a couple of random punches.
...
8,997.
8,998.
8,999.
9,000!
Xue Mingzhao collapsed onto the ground, panting like a dog.
The higher they went, the heavier Su Ye became.
By the end, she could barely drag him. It felt as if a mountain were pressing down on the guy, making him dead weight.
Su Ye's forehead was drenched in sweat, his face pale. “I... I really can't go on... Junior Sister, why don't you climb up on your own? Don't worry about me...”
Xue Mingzhao didn't answer. She stared at the sky and slowly closed her eyes.
Su Ye jolted in fright and lunged over to shake her. “Sister! No way! You've fallen into an illusion now of all times?!”
Xue Mingzhao opened her eyes, expressionless. “Stop wailing. I'm just closing my eyes to rest for a moment.”
Su Ye let out a sigh of relief and flopped flat onto the ground like a dead fish.
The crushing pressure at the nine thousandth step made it difficult for him to even breathe.
After a brief moment, Xue Mingzhao sprang to her feet.
“For the treasures in the treasury, even if I have to drag you today, I will drag you to the top!”
Panting heavily, Su Ye also gritted his teeth and scrambled up. “Right! Even if we have to crawl, we must get up there! We can't let this trip go to waste!”
Stumbling and faltering, the two of them actually managed to reach the summit.
Huang Siqi stepped forward with a chuckle, a look of gratification on his face.
“Congratulations, congratulations! Both of you performed exceptionally well! This old man has decided to directly accept the two of you as my personal disciples!”
Xue Mingzhao's heart skipped a beat. If I become the Sect Master's personal disciple, how am I supposed to run away later?
Her mind raced, but her expression remained thoroughly respectful.
“Thank you for your favor, Sect Master. However, your disciple is of dull aptitude and fears she cannot shoulder the heavy responsibility of being a personal disciple. Being able to join the Heavenly Origin Sect is already a blessing from heaven. Your disciple only wishes to start as an ordinary disciple and cultivate step by step. I hope the Sect Master can grant this request.”
Huang Siqi was taken aback, seemingly not expecting anyone to reject the position of a personal disciple.
“Then... very well.”
Following that, Huang Siqi led the two of them to the entrance of the Heavenly Origin Sect's treasury and smiled. “This is your reward for reaching the summit. Go inside and choose any treasure you like.”
Xue Mingzhao walked in and took a look—
Good heavens!
Spirit stones, spiritual tools, and medicinal pills were piled higher than mountains!
The sight was absolutely dazzling.
After looking around, she finally chose a spirit stone card.
Written on it was that it could be used anywhere on the Tianyan Continent with no spending limit.
She happily tucked the card into her pocket.
Before leaving, she looked at the room full of treasures. Her eyes darted around, and with a grand sweep of her hand—
She swept everything into her storage bag.
Not a single item was left.
Outside the door, Huang Siqi saw her emerge and said with a smile:
“As long as you cultivate diligently here, you will be rewarded with a treasure for every breakthrough in your cultivation realm.”
Xue Mingzhao's eyes instantly lit up. “Then I must truly thank you!”
Before her voice even faded, she suddenly drew the Moon Trace Sword and slashed at Huang Siqi.
Before Huang Siqi could even react, he exploded into a cloud of ash with a bang.
A voice echoed eerily in her ear:
“How did you find out?”
Xue Mingzhao was speechless. “Your illusion is too fake. Only a blind person wouldn't notice.”
“Impossible! You must have some illusion-breaking magic treasure on you!”
Xue Mingzhao grinned. “Hehe, you caught me.”
“You... you are despicable!”
Xue Mingzhao rolled her eyes internally. The Heaven-Inquiring Ladder restricts spiritual energy, so I can't even open my storage bag. Where would I get a magic treasure from? Honestly, though, the illusion had been quite realistic.
From climbing the ladder to being accepted as a disciple, and then entering the treasury to pick a treasure—everything had flowed perfectly and logically.
She really hadn't noticed at first.
Until she saw the spirit stone card in the treasury, which had seven words clearly written on it: Tianyan Spirit Stone Credit Card.
And in simplified Chinese characters, no less!
It was a complete insult to her intelligence!
If you're going to create an illusion, at least do a proper job. What was the point of leaving such a massive loophole!
Too lazy to waste words on it, Xue Mingzhao turned and saw the “Su Ye” who had just walked out of the treasury, and casually slashed him as well.
The moment “Su Ye” was struck, he dissolved into a wisp of smoke with a soft puff.
The voice rang out again, accompanied by a villain's signature sinister laugh:
“Hehehe, do you think you can escape just because you saw through the illusion? I am the strongest inner demon!”
Xue Mingzhao: “...Has anyone ever told you that your laugh is really unpleasant?”
The inner demon froze. “What?”
Xue Mingzhao enunciated each word clearly. “I said, your laugh is. Extremely. Unpleasant!”
The inner demon instantly blew its top. “How can you resort to personal attacks?!”
Xue Mingzhao was amused. “Oh, not bad. You even know the term 'personal attack'.”
The inner demon boasted proudly, “Of course! I can read everyone's memories, find their weaknesses, and tailor illusions specifically for them—this is nothing!”
Xue Mingzhao's eyes narrowed. “You can read my memories?”
No wonder that spirit stone card had been so fake. She had thought it was a flaw in the illusion, but it turned out to be custom-made based on her memories.
This inner demon was far more advanced than she had anticipated.
The inner demon replied as if it were obvious, “Otherwise, how else would I create a personalized illusion for everyone?”
Xue Mingzhao's gaze sharpened. “What did you see in my memories?”
The inner demon sneered. “Why should I tell you what I saw?”
Xue Mingzhao raised an eyebrow, deliberately drawing out her words. “I think you didn't see anything at all and are just bluffing.”
The inner demon sneered, “Save your reverse psychology on me. But there's no harm in telling you. Aren't you just someone transported here from another world? What's so special about that?”
Xue Mingzhao: !!!
Wait, what?
You can actually see it?!
Rate on N.U.
