Pedestal

A young man, surrounded by many of his foes, each with a weapon pointed at him. A black rod was in his hand, as he prepared to fight. Earlier, he had defeated a young man with a single move, many of them were hesitant in provoking him at this moment.

Since nobody else wanted to fight, Long He Yu lowered his staff and went off in a different direction. Nobody knew where he went, and where he would end up next, or who he would meet. They only knew that an extraordinary figure had emerged within the Flame Marquess' Grotto.

In the distance, around a hundred jin away, a young man was dressed in white. His name was Yan Lenglei, and he was walking around on foot. So far, he didn't find anything interesting and avoided all the people he sensed.

The environment was humid, as the ground was volcanic and the tree leaves were made of flames. It was truly worthy of being a Mini World created by a great user of flames.

Even though the temperature was high, he didn't sweat nor felt the heat at all. A thin layer of his Qi kept him cool at all times. As he kept walking, he spent a few hours heading in a singular direction.

He walked and walked without stopping to rest as if he had endless stamina. As he walked, he eventually stumbled upon a battlefield, where a hundred or so disciples of various sects were slaughtering each other.

Sitting down, he found himself a seat to enjoy the show. This was the point in him coming to the Mini World in the first place. From his spot, he saw various kinds of techniques, as well as many Concepts.

It was a free for all battle, in which anyone could be dead at any moment. Yan Lenglei watched this all take place without batting an eyelid. Such a thing was a common occurrence in the cultivation world, a dog eat dog world where the strong eat the weak.

Eventually, every disciple that was fighting all died. Only a river of blood was left behind, dyeing the ground. Since it was over, Yan Lenglei left to find more interesting things.

After a few hours, he stumbled upon a group of people that were surrounding a black rod. The rod was floating in the air, surrounded by five different colored energies. Fire, Water, Wood, Earth, and Metal.

Such a weapon was a powerful Spiritual Tool, which was most likely one of the best items that remained in the Mini World. The rod was perfect, Yan Lenglei slowly approached to grab this new toy for Long He Yu.

Joining the crowd, nobody was fighting. Instead, they all surrounded the rod which was on a pedestal, observing it. There weren't many people, roughly thirty of them, with many being in the Noble Realm.

Even the weakest amongst them was at the peak of the Awakening Realm. Noticing Yan Lenglei's arrival, nobody paid him any attention when he approached.

Tapping someone's shoulders, Yan Lenglei could guess what was going on but asked anyway. "What's happening here?"

The person who he had tapped turned to face him, "What do you want? Can't you see we are busy?"

"So none of you can take it?" Yan Lenglei replied. The guy who turned around had his face distort as he shook his head and set his gaze back on the rod. The rod was on a pedestal that was a few meters away.

Everyone seemed to be stuck outside this entry point, not moving any further. Looking around, Yan Lenglei's pupils changed color, as he observed and saw a powerful barrier that prevented people from going on ahead.

Obviously, it was to prevent those unworthy to even attempt taking it down. A few minutes later, someone decided to take his chance and cross the bridge. Taking a step forward, he entered the barrier, as his foot slowly planted on the ground at a snail's pace.

It took him an entire thirty seconds just to put his foot on the ground. As he moved his other foot to take a second step, the young man was sent flying out by the barrier. It seemed like a single step was all he could manage to do.

Soon, a second person attempted it. As soon as they touched the barrier, they were ejected without even being able to take half a foot in. Everyone then became cautious, as there was obviously a condition of entry.

A few more people tried, with only a few managing to take one or two steps, before being sent out. Eventually, only two people had yet to try. The person that Yan Lenglei had questioned earlier was amongst those who had been sent out, he only managed two steps, before the third one sent him out.

A young man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties and in the Middle Stage of the Noble Realm tried his luck. Stepping forward, his first step was quite easy, as it didn't take more than five seconds for his foot to be planted.

Soon, a second step was taken, which then took fifteen seconds. A third step was taken, as his body began to feel heavy. It took thirty seconds for this foot to land. As for the fourth step, the man felt as though a mountain was on his back, making it extremely difficult to take the next step.

However, he persisted and managed to make the fourth step. As he did so, he realized that he was almost halfway to the rod already. The bridge was actually very short, only being ten steps at most, while an incredibly difficult test was placed around it.

The man tried taking a fifth step, and only managed to get half his foot in, before being sent out. As he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, he got up and watched Yan Lenglei with the rest of the people there.

Yan Lenglei was the last to have a try in taking the rod. Since quite a few people had tried it already, everyone realized that cultivation level didn't matter. Some who were at a lower stage had managed to get further than some who were at a higher stage.

It seemed like a test of talent, rather than one for strength. Such a barrier was incredibly powerful and could only be performed by using a certain kind of Spiritual Tool to create.

Yan Lenglei had his arms behind his back, as he took his first step with everyone watching him. As his foot was lifted off the ground, he entered the barrier and quickly planted his foot down without any trouble.

His second step was also just as easy and fast as the first step he had taken. Those watching were shocked when they saw this. After all, they had a lot of trouble making it to this step, but only Yan Lenglei was able to get this far so easily.

It was as if the weight didn't hold a candle to him. Very quickly, Yan Lenglei took the third step, then the fourth step in succession. Each step he took was just as fast as the other. Those watching puked blood and cursed the heavens for the unfairness. Such a huge gap was between their talents.

Taking the fourth step, Yan Lenglei felt as light as a feather. Even with the fifth and sixth steps, he easily took them without any problems. By now, those watching were both angry and excited at the same time.

It seemed like a talented figure had emerged in the Flame Marquess' Grotto. Even though he was young, his future attainments would be great when he grew up.

Yan Lenglei ignored them, as he took the seventh step. Still, he had no problems and didn't feel anything when he took this step. Seeing that there was no problem even until this point, he simply took the next three steps quickly in succession and arrived in front of the pedestal as if he was taking a stroll in his backyard.

At this point, nobody had anything to say. They were only filled with envy, while one or two of them had different thoughts. Yan Lenglei stood by the pedestal and lifted his arm.

He moved his arm forward and grabbed onto the rod without hesitation. Instead of having a powerful reaction like everyone thought there would be, nothing happened. Yan Lenglei removed the rod from the pedestal and held it in his hand as he turned around and walked out.

As he walked, the disciples created a pathway for him. Such a romantic figure was worthy of their respect. Only, two individuals stood out to block his path. One was a sinister-looking man in red, and the other was an average youth in brown.

The sinister man was a Second Stage Noble, while the youth was a Fourth stage Noble. They both stood out to prevent Yan Lenglei from leaving. "If you don't want to get hurt, leave the rod behind. It would be a pity to destroy a genius such as yourself, but I think I'll become famous if I did so." the sinister-looking man said.

The youth in brown didn't say anything, but it seemed like he had similar thoughts. Since the words he thought of were already said, there was no need for him to speak.

Yan Lenglei didn't reply. He took a step forward, as a lightning-fast Sword Qi burst out from behind him. The Sword Qi took the form of a sword that floated in the air behind him. It rotated and turned to face the two opponents, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Before anyone could even tell what would happen, the two men that blocked Yan Lenglei's path had blown dripping from their necks. In the blink of an eye, Yan Lenglei had attacked without anyone noticing.

As he walked forward, the two bodies fell to the ground with a lifeless look in their eyes. Obviously, Yan Lenglei had killed them. Nobody knew how he had done so, but they knew that he was incredibly powerful.

To be able to slaughter two people in the Noble Realm in an instant, he must be a Late Stage Noble Realm powerhouse. Only with such a difference in stage could he overpower them so easily without anyone noticing.

Unfortunately, their thoughts were wrong. Yan Lenglei's true cultivation was only at the Seventh stage of the Awakening Realm. He wasn't even at the Noble Realm, let alone being able to reach the late Noble Realm.

As he passed through, Yan Lenglei's figure slowly disappeared from their eyesight. Those who remained were dazzled, as they only reacted and came back to reality, thirty minutes after Yan Lenglei had left.

Soon, they all quietly left without bothering each other. After all, they knew of the cruel competition inside the Mini World and wanted to keep their own lives. Nobody dared to start a fight with another person, less everyone became involved and things would get messy.

******

In the distance, Yan Lenglei was walking on his own. The rod he had taken earlier was sent into his Spatial Ring. Even though he could use the rod for himself, he didn't need it since he didn't like to use weapons.

Soon, three days had passed within the grotto. During these three days, Yan Lenglei had stayed low-key and watched the battles that took place at various locations. He also searched for Mo Jidong and Long He Yu but didn't find either of them.

He wasn't worried though. Only those at the late stage of the Noble Realm would be a threat to them, anyone else without great combat prowess that surpassed stages wouldn't stand a chance.

From the surrounding Spiritual Qi he felt around him, he could tell that the grotto would soon close. Only a few days were left before everyone would be forced out of the Mini World.

Continuing his search, Yan Lenglei sensed a strange source of energy coming from a single direction. He headed for the direction of the source of that energy, which took him a few hours on foot.

After a few hours had gone by, he arrived outside a large cave. The energy was coming from inside the cave and nobody else was around. Yan Lenglei could sense not only the strange energy but also sensed some human presence inside the cave.

He sensed two familiar auras inside already, as he made his way through the cave. Inside the cave, it was quite dark, but he could see with no problems as if it were day time. The cave was just a long corridor with a single path, leading to the location in which dozens of figures were at.

Soon enough, Yan Lenglei saw light and stepped foot out the exit. He found himself in a brightly lit room without anything else, but a huge rainbow staircase. The staircase gave off a majestic aura like no other, while different colored lights were radiating from it.

Counting the steps with a single glance, he saw exactly one hundred steps. At the end of the staircase, was a platform that could fit roughly ten people standing on it. Looking around, he saw a dozen or so men and women from the sects, as well as one or two rogue cultivators.

Each of them was strong in their own right, being at least the Fourth stage of the Noble Realm. A few of them were even at the Seventh and Eight stage, and one person was at the Ninth stage.

Looking across, Mo Jidong and Long He Yu who had met up earlier noticed him. The group of three reunited, as the staircase suddenly swelled in size and expanded. It was as if the staircase was waiting for all the players to arrive before it would reveal its true purpose.

With Yan Lenglei's arrival, the staircase expanded and became twice as large as before. Now, it was over fifty meters in height, being quite large. Yan Lenglei's group of three got together and discussed their findings.

"From the whispering, I heard that this staircase is a kind of natural treasure that is used to measure talent. The more steps one took, the more talented they were. Basically, everyone is here to pit themselves against the other disciples who survived until this point."

"Since you were the last to enter, we will be the last ones to climb the staircase. It will begin in order for those who arrived first." Long He Yu explained. Yan Lenglei nodded, as he could already guess the situation without an explanation.

Soon, the first person would climb the staircase, as they got up and stood beneath the first step.