16: Climbing mountains and teasing Xiao Chen

"The heaven swallowing seed swallows ten thousand Daos and devours all things; one thought an Immortal, one thought a Demon."

"This boy needs careful guidance to lead him onto the right path," the Head of Dao Peak, who had remained silent until now, mused aloud.

The various Heads all nodded and looked toward the sky.

At this moment, Xiao Chen's heaven swallowing seed displayed Divine Might; the toxins in his body were decomposed, and Han Qing's Sword Qi was completely absorbed.

His aura climbed steadily, and a green halo blossomed on the surface of his body.

Qin Tian's brow furrowed. "This guy is truly a freak!"

He knew that Xiao Chen's Destiny Halo was exerting its power again.

"System, is there any way to weaken that Destiny Halo?"

[As long as the Host completes destiny divergences, the son of destiny's destiny will be continuously weakened. The more important the divergence, the more destiny is weakened.]

[The Destiny Halo requires sufficient destiny to support it. When destiny weakens to a certain point, the halo will be weakened or even disappear.]

[In addition, the Dao Heart also affects destiny to a certain extent. The Host can try to break Xiao Chen's Dao Heart.]

Hearing this, Qin Tian's heart eased.

"At least it's not hopeless."

"Dao Heart, huh..."

"Since I am the Villain, I should act like one."

...In the projection, Xiao Chen had completely recovered.

However, because too much time had been delayed, many young Cultivators had already arrived at the foot of Dao Seeking Mountain.

Xiao Chen's pale blue wings vibrated as he sped forward with all his might, barely managing to catch up with the last few people.

Yu Qianxun indifferently raised her eyes and glanced at Xiao Chen.

Savage Ancient felt something and his gaze also landed on Xiao Chen.

For some reason, the moment he saw Xiao Chen, he felt a deep-seated urge to give him a beating.

Xiao Chen gave a cold sweep of his eyes, dropped the stone shoulder, and stood alone to one side.

The crowd instinctively moved away; the commotion from the heaven swallowing seed just now had been immense, leaving people with lingering fears even now.

"Congratulations to everyone for passing the preliminary trial and qualifying for the Sect Entrance Examination."

Wang Teng's figure suspended in mid-air. "The first test, Mountain Climbing, starts now."

"The first thousand to reach the top of this mountain may enter the next round of testing; the rest will be eliminated."

Everyone was stunned.

Thirty thousand remained at the foot of the mountain, but only a thousand would be kept at the summit?

Isn't the elimination rate too high?

While some were still in shock, others had already sprung into action.

Quite a few people leaped up, wanting to fly to the mountain top.

However.

As soon as they took to the air, they felt a terrifying pulling force beneath their feet.

Thump!

They crashed heavily onto the ground!

"Do not attempt to use clever tricks; this mountain can only be climbed step by step." Wang Teng's voice echoed through the mountains, and his figure vanished.

Yu Qianxun lifted her long, jade-like legs and was the first to begin the climb.

Savage Ancient and those top-ranked Geniuses followed closely behind.

Xiao Chen curled his lip. "Hmph! Next, it's time for Xiao Chen's show!"

"The heaven swallowing seed showed its power just now; surely it was enough to attract Yun Xi's attention."

"Next, I will use an invincible and powerful posture to crush all obstacles and climb the mountain, breaking the records in the history of the Dao Seeking Immortal Sect that are hard to reach!"

"At that time, not only Yun Xi, but the Heads of the other peaks will surely beg me to be their Disciple!"

"Then I will firmly choose Yun Xi, which will surely move her! Hahaha, Divine Firmament Peak, the place of Opportunity, I, Xiao Chen, have arrived!"

Xiao Chen imagined the scene of the various peaks fighting over him, unable to suppress the grin on his face as he stepped onto the stone steps.

His climbing speed was actually significantly faster than Yu Qianxun's.

The crowd was pale with shock.

"As expected of a peerless Genius who can fuse with the heaven swallowing seed; he walks on these array-covered stone steps as if on level ground," the Head of West Profound Peak couldn't help but exclaim.

"In previous Mountain Opening Ceremonies, the fastest climber took one hour. Now, this record is likely to be broken by Xiao Chen..."

Qin Tian smiled slightly.

Break the record?

Not happening!

"Revered Master, your Disciple wishes to go and see the Junior Sisters."

Yun Xi raised her eyes and gave Qin Tian a brief look with an imperceptible meaning. "Mhm, go ahead."

Qin Tian quietly left and arrived at a mountain peak.

From here, he could just see the winding stone steps.

"System, cover me up."

[Understood, Host.]

Instantly, Qin Tian nearly vanished.

Yun Xi was taken aback.

"How did Tian'er's aura disappear?"

"Did he use the Magic Treasure she gave him?"

Thinking of this, Yun Xi shook her head slightly. "Oh well, let him be..."

"Tian'er, no matter what you do, even if you flip this mountain over, your Revered Master will cover for you..."

Qin Tian stood at the mountain peak, looking at those stone steps.

Xiao Chen's figure finally appeared in his eyes.

He was in the lead; the array patterns on the stone steps flickered incessantly, but they couldn't hinder him in the slightest.

In the blink of an eye, he had already pulled ahead of the second-placed Yu Qianxun by dozens of steps.

Yu Qianxun looked incredulous; the spiritual energy in her body was circulating frantically, but the stone steps under her feet seemed to grip her firmly.

Every step was incredibly difficult.

Yet Xiao Chen ahead seemed to face no obstacles at all.

She highly suspected Xiao Chen was cheating... Seeing this, the corners of Qin Tian's lips curled up, and the golden Great Virtue Scripture appeared in his hand.

Holding the scripture, his whole body emitted a golden aura, and a booming sound resonated from his mouth.

"Humble and virtuous conduct; where you walk shall be Untainted by a Single Speck of Dust."

As the words fell.

Xiao Chen, who was in mid-stride, suddenly felt the soles of his feet slip. He stumbled and fell onto the stone steps, his forehead catching the edge of a step, instantly swelling into a large bump.

Yu Qianxun: "?"

Everyone: "?"

Xiao Chen: "?"

"What... is he doing?"

"Kowtowing...?"

The Head of South Profound Peak spoke up, somewhat confused.

Xiao Chen was dazed.

"What's going on?"

"Why did these stone steps suddenly become so slippery that I can't even stand steadily?"

Refusing to believe it, he stood up again.

Then.

Thump—he fell to the ground!

This time he knocked his front teeth... "No... it seems to be the soles of my feet...!"

Yu Qianxun: "??"

"Are the stone steps ahead this dangerous?"

The people behind were equally startled.

"Damn it!"

"What on earth happened!?"

Xiao Chen wouldn't accept it; he got up and pushed off hard.

Then, he completely lost his balance and rolled straight down the stone steps, not stopping until he reached the foot of the mountain... Yu Qianxun: "..."

The various Heads: "..."

"What is he doing?"

"Performing acrobatics?"

On the other side, Qin Tian's brow relaxed, his face showing joy.

[Congratulations Host, for making the son of destiny look like a fool in public, fate reversal points +100.]

"Senior Great Virtue's scripture truly lives up to its reputation!"

(Untainted by a Single Speck of Dust — makes the ground beneath the enemy's feet incredibly smooth, so much so that even dust cannot stick.)

"Now that the ground is as smooth as a mirror and you can't get any friction, let's see how you climb!"

At the foot of the mountain, Xiao Chen roared in his heart:

"Who is it!"

"Damn it!"

"Don't let me find you, or I, Xiao Chen, will not let you off!"

Everyone else was fine, only he had rolled down; Xiao Chen guessed someone was targeting him.

"Do not worry, this seat has a way." A voice that put Xiao Chen at ease came from within the heaven swallowing seed.

"Revered Master, what should I do?"

"I will teach you a method; listen carefully."

A short while later, Xiao Chen stood up and stepped heavily onto the stone stairs!

This time he didn't slip.

Qin Tian looked closely and saw that Xiao Chen had actually used force to embed half his foot into the stone steps!

This way, no matter how slippery it was, the indentation in the steps could maintain his body's balance.

Xiao Chen had a smug look on his face.

"Hmph! Mere trivial tricks, I, Xiao Chen, can break them with one hand!"

Step by step, Xiao Chen began to climb the stone steps again.

Qin Tian smiled slightly, and the Great Virtue Scripture in his hand flipped once more:

"Humble and virtuous conduct; what I do is Open and Aboveboard!"

...