Harder Than Climbing the Heavens

Dense stone steps stretched endlessly before them.

Ji Rong stood in silence for a long time. She suddenly realized she couldn't remember how she had climbed these steps back when she played through the storyline.

What kind of hellish setting was this?

"If you can't even make it past the first level of the Heavenly Stairway, how can you dream of entering the Tianshui Secret Realm?"

Xia Yuqing was an inner disciple of the Kunlun Sect.

With a composed expression and swift steps, she was the first to ascend the Heavenly Stairway. Soon, her figure faded into the distance, disappearing from sight.

The surrounding disciples were well aware of the stairway's formidable reputation, but they were also the elite of their sects. How could they willingly be outshone by others?

Seeing Xia Yuqing ascend with such ease, they too grew eager to try. Without hesitation, they stepped onto the stairway.

Oddly enough, the first steps felt no different from ordinary stone slabs. Several disciples from Silver Feather Pavilion climbed dozens of steps without sensing anything unusual.

The leading disciple scoffed. "So this so-called 'Heavenly Stairway' is nothing special after all. Just an overblown rumor meant to scare off cowards!"

"The so-called disciples of prestigious sects still don't dare to step up. I bet they're paralyzed by the stories they've heard."

"Hah! Those grand sects aren't much after all. None of them compare to Senior Brother's bravery!"

Ji Rong watched these arrogant NPCs. Her expression remained neutral, but inwardly, she felt a deep sense of sympathy.

Poor NPCs.

They had done nothing wrong.

They were merely sacrifices, using their own intelligence, or lack thereof, to highlight the heroine's brilliance.

Sure enough, just as the leading disciple, Fan Qian, reached the thirty-fourth step, the smug smile on his face abruptly vanished.

He lifted his leg to step forward, only to find himself frozen mid-motion, as if an invisible barrier blocked his way.

Fan Qian instinctively tried to retract his foot, but to his shock, his legs refused to move. A sudden, overwhelming force pinned him in place, rendering him completely immobile.

With so many eyes on him, he was stuck, unable to advance or retreat. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his earlier bravado vanished without a trace.

It turned out the Heavenly Stairway was so difficult because it was reinforced with a spiritual restriction.

With each step, the pressure increased. The first few steps were easy, but the higher one climbed, the more it tested a cultivator's mental fortitude and control.

If one recklessly stepped forward without sufficient preparation, they would end up like Fan Qian, caught in an impossible dilemma, trapped by the restriction.

Unless he crushed the "Jade Talisman" issued by the Tianyin Division, he would remain suspended in place, forced to endure this humiliation for three full days before the restriction released him.

"Junior Brother Ye, doesn't he look like one of those street performers balancing bowls on their heads?" Xie Bai chuckled, tapping his palm lightly with his folded fan. "The expression is spot on. He deserves a reward."

Ye Chuyang remained silent, staring at Xie Bai's flamboyant red robes.

Honestly, Senior Brother, you look more like a traveling entertainer than he does.

Fan Qian's face darkened as the mocking laughter reached his ears. Rage and shame twisted his features, but he could do nothing.

After all, if he left the secret realm too soon, he would have trouble explaining himself to his sect.

Thus, he chose to maintain his awkward, floating posture, his face ashen, rather than crush his token and admit defeat.

Ji Rong squinted at Xie Bai, watching the way he twirled his fan.

That stance…

Why did it remind her of Wei Zongqiu?

Though Xie Bai was ostentatious, there was an undeniable air of nobility about him. When he smiled, his brows curved in a way that bore a striking resemblance to Wei Zongqiu.

And their sharp tongues, clearly, these two were cut from the same cloth.

Perhaps they were siblings in a past life.

Sensing Ji Rong's gaze, Xie Bai turned his head and flashed a dazzling smile.

"Senior Sister, why are you staring at me? Do I have a flower on my face?"

With an innocent blink, he even reached up and touched his cheek, looking almost shy.

Ji Rong: "…"

She had clearly misjudged.

At least Wei Zongqiu was a prince.

How could she compare him to this peacock?

Ji Rong said nothing, keeping the ever-present cold expression of her original character.

Just then, Gu Baiyi took a step forward and stepped onto the stairway.

Her chosen spot was precise, right between Ji Rong and Xie Bai.

The red figure in Ji Rong's sight vanished instantly.

She had to admit, for once, the heroine had done something useful.

Gu Baiyi positioned herself in front of Ji Rong and met Xie Bai's gaze with a gentle smile. "Junior Brother Xie, when do you plan to climb?"

Xie Bai raised a brow, sensing that she had deliberately stepped between him and Ji Rong.

Was she picking a fight with him?

But then, remembering his purpose here, he studied Gu Baiyi for a moment before flashing another grin.

"I've heard there are nine hundred and ninety-nine steps in total, and one must reach at least the three hundred and thirty-third step to pass. I am, alas, not that talented. I think I'll wait a bit longer. Wouldn't want to make a fool of myself like that senior brother over there."

"Is that so?" Gu Baiyi smiled warmly. "Then take your time watching. I'll be going ahead."

She turned to Ji Rong and asked, "I heard these steps are incredibly difficult to climb. Would Senior Sister like to accompany me?"

Accompany her?

Ji Rong hesitated.

Walking the same path as the heroine meant she could at least enjoy some heroin buffs.

Going a different way might drastically increase the difficulty.

Unwilling as she was, she weighed the pros and cons. Between Gu Baiyi's heroine halo and the way her question was more of a statement than an invitation, Ji Rong eventually nodded.

After all, who could refuse a heroine blessed with divine luck?

[Ding! Congratulations, Player. Gu Baiyi's favorability +10.]

Ji Rong: "…"

Heaven knows, she just wanted to leech off her luck.

Why did this increase her favorability too?

Gu Baiyi's smile was unfathomable. Then, without another word, she ascended the Heavenly Stairway.

Ji Rong had no idea what was going on in Gu Baiyi's mind, but she maintained her usual calm expression and followed closely behind.

The Heavenly Stairway was shrouded in mist, stretching endlessly into the sky.

Ji Rong, a firm believer in taking the elevator whenever possible, now found herself cradling a small fox while facing an infinite staircase.

Every step she took was accompanied by heartfelt conversations with the ancestors of the game's developers.

She glanced ahead.

Gu Baiyi's figure was elegant and poised, her steps steady. She even slowed down at times to wait for Ji Rong.

Ji Rong gritted her teeth in silent resentment.

She had once been someone blessed with the protagonist's halo. If she hadn't transmigrated into the villain, then she would be the one walking this path effortlessly now.

So when Gu Baiyi deliberately slowed her pace, Ji Rong saw it as nothing more than charity and pity.

Not exactly harmful, but deeply insulting.

Moments later, Gu Baiyi watched as Ji Rong, who had been moving so sluggishly just a moment ago, suddenly sped up, climbing several stone steps in quick succession, nearly overtaking her.

Slightly surprised, Gu Baiyi raised an eyebrow.

What was this about?

Meanwhile, Ji Rong's expression remained calm. She showed no signs of exertion, not even sparing Gu Baiyi a glance, fully focused on climbing the steps.

Her senior sister…

Was she trying to turn this into a competition?

Gu Baiyi's eyes carried a trace of amusement. She had lived two lives, if it came down to mental fortitude, wouldn't that be a bit unfair?

But as she watched the white figure brush past her, she instinctively picked up her pace to keep up.

—

A few hours later.

Lan Cen reached the 289th step and was already feeling the strain.

Having learned from the mistakes of the Silver Feather Pavilion disciples, she no longer rushed forward blindly. Instead, she lifted the hem of her robe, sat down, and began regulating her breathing, focusing on restoring her energy.

Behind her, Xia Yuqing followed suit.

She was well aware that climbing the Heaven-Piercing Staircase was no easy feat. Even disciples with higher cultivation levels sometimes took an entire day and night to ascend.

Seeing Lan Cen stop, Xia Yuqing also sat down to rest.

With time to spare, she let her gaze drift downward, toward the clouds beneath the staircase.

After the time it took to finish a cup of tea, the warm sunlight pierced through the mist, revealing two figures approaching from a bend in the staircase.

One was clad in crimson robes with ink-black hair, the other in flowing white as pure as snow.

They walked at an unhurried pace, one following the other.

Xia Yuqing frowned.

She recalled the list of secret realm participants that her master had mentioned. The woman in white likely came from Xuanji City.

But the other one… seemed completely unremarkable, an unfamiliar name barely worth mentioning.

Yet what shocked Xia Yuqing even more was the young boy emerging from the shade of the trees.

Dressed in a black robe and white undergarments, he had a youthful face, barely of age to tie his hair.

Curious, she used her spiritual sense to probe his cultivation level.

What she discovered left her stunned—

He was only at the initial stage of Spiritual Communication.

A mere beginner, carrying a peachwood sword on his back, had managed to climb over two hundred steps?

Xia Yuqing fell silent for a long time, suddenly feeling as if she had entered a fake secret realm.

—

Ji Rong was still climbing.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned and saw Ye Chuyang following closely.

Her expression remained unchanged, not the least bit surprised.

After all, Ye Chuyang was the male lead. A heroine's halo had to count for something.

Not to mention, in the game, the Heaven-Piercing Staircase was practically designed to be exploited by him.

The restrictions placed on the staircase suppressed the spiritual energy of cultivators. But for someone like Ye Chuyang, who was naturally incapable of drawing spiritual energy into his body, the limitation barely affected him.

If a person's spiritual energy was already negligible, what was there to suppress?

So Ye Chuyang encountered almost no obstacles along the way.

Instead of feeling pressure from the surrounding energy, he felt it surging through his meridians, invigorating his entire body.

He even gained some insight upon reaching the hundredth step, sitting down to meditate for an hour.

Ji Rong recalled the game's plot and thought, if the male lead hadn't stopped to meditate midway, when would the female lead ever get a chance to show off?

But as she continued climbing, she found herself struggling.

Each step felt like it carried the weight of a thousand pounds, making it harder and harder to move forward.

The Heaven-Piercing Staircase tested not only a cultivator's spiritual energy and control but also their perseverance.

In her past life, Ji Rong had drifted through life without ambition, always taking things as they came. She had never needed much determination.

Thus, while the original Ji Rong had abundant spiritual energy and excellent control, the stone steps seemed to be deliberately making things difficult for her.

By the time she reached the 321st step, she found herself unable to move any further.

Just two steps away. That didn't make sense.

Ji Rong frowned. Even if she had a laid-back personality, her body's original talent shouldn't have failed her at this point.

In the game, the original Ji Rong was incredibly gifted. She was the second person to climb the Heaven-Piercing Staircase, faster than both Lan Cen and Ye Chuyang, only Gu Baiyi, with her heroine's aura, had surpassed her.

Not to mention, the female lead's current cultivation level was already beyond what the game originally set for this moment. Even if she had reached the Heart-Seeking stage, climbing this far without any difficulty still felt off.

After all, even with a heroine's halo, shouldn't she at least struggle a little by the time she hit the 300s? That was how Sword God worked, wasn't it?

Ji Rong stared as Gu Baiyi strolled ahead effortlessly, passing the stalled Lan Cen at the 331st step without breaking a sweat.

This was just ridiculous.

Before she could finish her thought, Gu Baiyi took another step forward.

Then another.

With an unhurried pace, she reached the 333rd step with ease.

In an instant, the wind shifted.

A beam of golden light shone down in front of Gu Baiyi, and beside her, a teleportation array emerged.

From within the pine forest, an ancient voice echoed—

"Young friend, you have passed the 333rd step of the Heaven-Piercing Staircase. Would you like to continue forward, or be directly transported to the first level of the secret realm?"

But Gu Baiyi didn't even glance at the array.

Instead, she turned back, standing in the radiant golden light, looking at Ji Rong.

She said, "Senior Sister, the road ahead is long. I'll wait for you."