158: Chapter 156 Kneeling

In Zhang Mu's twenty-plus years of life, there had never been a moment where he felt more astonished than at this very moment.

He had rushed to the outskirts of Su City and found Luo Xiling resting against a tree halfway up the mountain, only to hear her shout, "Let's do something big!"

If he had heard this at a bank entrance, Zhang Mu would have immediately understood she was a criminal intending to commit robbery.

But in the middle of nowhere, and with a young girl alone, she naturally couldn't be an opportunist trying to take a shortcut in life.

Driven by curiosity, Zhang Mu followed Luo Xiling down the mountain to the nearest peak.

He tilted his head back, squinting to size it up.

In truth, this straight, pillar-like stone mountain couldn't really be called a peak.

It wasn't high, estimated to be only about 60 meters.

There were no flowers, grass, or trees on the mountain body, so calling it a stone pillar was more appropriate; it was just a rather tall pillar.

Up to this point, Zhang Mu's mind was still as calm as water.

The change happened in the next second.

His gaze fell forward, only to find the grassy patch where Luo Xiling had been standing was empty.

He instinctively looked around, but she was still nowhere to be seen.

What was going on? Could someone on Blue Star actually vanish right under the nose of a Middle-level Mage?

A jolt of alarm struck his heart. Just as he was about to spread his Mental Energy to scan the area, a pebble suddenly fell and hit the ground in front of him.

Looking up in confusion, he saw Luo Xiling had clipped her phone into a head-mounted bracket and was climbing the mountain face—which was nearly ninety degrees to the ground—without any protective gear.

It had to be said, the young girl did indeed have some skill.

Without a safety rope or using climbing bolts to secure her footholds, she relied solely on the narrow cracks scattered across the cliff face to slowly move upward.

How did she have the nerve?

Watching Luo Xiling, who had already climbed three to five meters, Zhang Mu would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised.

Although she had climbed several meters in a short time, this was only the beginning.

As time passed, her physical strength would be consumed at an exponential rate.

Furthermore, having a safety rope versus not having one were two completely different concepts.

It was like a bridge; do people normally hold the handrail when crossing?

Unless they were leaning over to look into the distance or were children playing around, most people wouldn't touch it, let alone hold it; they generally ignored it.

But if there were no handrail, how many would dare walk along the edge of the sidewalk?

The same logic applied to free solo climbing.

For a climber without specialized training, regardless of whether the safety rope was actually used, its presence or absence had a massive impact on one's mindset.

Once she climbed dozens of meters high and looked down, she'd need a powerful psychological state just to keep her legs from going weak.

"Tsk, tsk—"

Zhang Mu shook his head. "Good thing I came, otherwise this girl would definitely have left her life here."

How should he send her away and stop her from acting crazy here?

After pondering for a bit, he decided to wait until Luo Xiling fell off the mountain, then appear in his "Immortal Xu" persona to persuade her to leave.

"Let's do that."

Mumbling to himself, Zhang Mu took a potion to boost Mental Energy from his inventory and gulped it down. Then, he walked over to a nearby rock, sat down, and waited quietly for the "flying person" to fall.

Speaking of which, this girl was quite sincere, he thought, resting his chin on his right hand as his mind wandered.

I'm planning to find one or two non-official personnel for the first batch of handymen for the Cultivation Sect. Should I give her a spot?

Hmm... how many should I give the Special Investigation Bureau...

Too many won't do.

I have to look after both Hogwarts and this side; I can't manage if there are too many people.

About six people on each side should be fine.

But in that case, out of the twenty-three freshmen from Ying Country, excluding Leon and Klaisi who have already completed their assessments, and Toby, Wino, and Misha whom I've personally selected, that's already five people who must enroll.

That means the remaining eighteen people have to fight for a single spot.

Tsk, the competition is fierce.

Although the rules Zhang Mu gave publicly didn't emphasize a limit on the number of freshmen, and he had very unfairly pre-selected five people.

Zhang Mu didn't feel guilty.

Most things in the world were inherently helpless; even he had many things he was forced to do.

Moreover, as far as the freshmen were concerned, they hadn't given anything up; at most, they were losing something that didn't belong to them in the first place.

If the freshmen resented him because he eliminated most of them based on the order they finished the exam.

Then Zhang Mu felt he would probably show them some "special care."

Lost in thought like this, he didn't snap out of it until he felt the blowing winter wind grow colder.

Pulling out his phone, he saw it was three in the afternoon.

Holy crap?

Realizing Luo Xiling had reached the foot of the mountain at one in the afternoon, it meant she had been climbing for two hours.

He looked up abruptly; Luo Xiling's figure was hanging halfway up the stone pillar.

Her hands were spread to the sides, each wedged into a crack to stabilize her body. Her left foot was on a protruding rock tip, while her right foot searched upward for a suitable crack to step on.

Impressive.

Zhang Mu felt a bit of admiration.

Compared to his self before obtaining supernatural powers, he couldn't have climbed thirty meters up a sheer cliff with his bare hands.

And yet Luo Xiling was still lifting her feet; one could imagine how hard she trained normally.

With his head tilted back, he watched silently for a few minutes before deciding to change his plan.

Swallowing a Levitation Potion, he flew straight to the platform at the top of the mountain.

...

"Whew..."

With her hands gripping firmly and her feet planted, Luo Xiling panted heavily and glanced down.

So high.

Feeling a bit of panic, she breathed deeply, trying to suppress the instinctive trembling of her limbs.

"No turning back now, let's do this!"

Although she was terrified, it was clearly impossible to retreat the way she came.

Whether she regretted her somewhat reckless behavior, Luo Xiling didn't know and didn't have time to think about.

Her physical exhaustion was severe, to the point where her brain felt slightly dizzy.

Holding her breath, she continued to lift her feet.

She couldn't rest.

Unlike on flat ground, stopping midway through a climb actually consumed more energy than moving.

As she climbed, her eyes scanned the cliff ahead, searching for suitable points of leverage, trying her best not to stop.

Eyes lead, hands and feet follow; she moved upward bit by bit.

But no matter how much technique she used to save energy, climbing a 60-meter cliff without auxiliary tools was still too difficult.

She had to face both her dwindling physical energy and the internal panic that a single slip would mean death.

In the January weather, the cold wind was bleak, even more so at high altitudes.

Yet she looked as if she had been fished out of water; her thermal underwear and jacket were soaked with sweat, clinging to her skin.

When the wind blew, the chill made her whole body shiver involuntarily.

Combined with the heat generated by high-intensity exercise, Luo Xiling felt like she had a high fever.

As the edge of the summit gradually enlarged in her vision, the symptoms of discomfort became more severe. Her consciousness grew hazy, and her movements were almost entirely driven by physical instinct.

Almost there.

The goal was getting closer and closer. With her last bit of coherent thought, she cheered herself on in her heart.

Keep going...

Slap—

Finally, her right hand grabbed the protruding rock at the edge of the summit platform.

Perhaps the imminent success of this feat sparked her will to survive; she felt a fresh surge of power within her. Her left hand reached up and grabbed the rock.

Just one strong pull and she would be on the summit!

Luo Xiling thought happily, her arms exerting force.

This wasn't hard for her—just a simple pull-up.

During her usual training, she could easily do over a hundred.

Perhaps because of this, her tense spirit relaxed slightly. Then, her arms went weak, and the protruding rock rapidly shrank in her eyes.

Am I going to die?

Falling freely, Luo Xiling gritted her teeth so hard they almost broke.

She wasn't willing to accept this; she was just one step away!

"Ah... Huh?"

Her venting roar stopped abruptly. She suddenly noticed that the rock in her vision was getting larger.

Things look smaller when far and larger when near—a phenomenon even primary school students knew.

"I'm rising?" she muttered to herself in a daze, wanting to turn her head to look down at the ground to confirm if she was hallucinating.

But before she could turn her neck, her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle tone coming from beside her ear.

"Kneel down."