Number One Under Heaven

Wang Bao had his livers go green with envy. His fiancee was hugging another man in front of him!

“You! I challenge you at the Stairway to Heaven! Whoever can climb the highest will get to marry her!”

“…. I think you are misunderstanding something here…. She only likes me as a Big Brother, not as a male. And she’s too young for that, so why are you so childish?”

“Y-you! I don’t care! This is about my pride. Do you dare climb or not?!”

“Well… I already planned to climb it when I heard about it, so why not?”

Tian Yi agreed to his little game.

“Good! Don’t think that just because you’re older than me, you’ll beat me! I’ll beat you and show you that I’m a better fiance for her!”

“Like I said, I’m not trying to…..”

“No buts!” Wang Bao interrupted him.

“…”

* * * * *

After another few hours of waiting, the show finally begins.

The sky shines with brightness, and 100 Immortals ranging from Silver Immortals to Golden Immortals were in the sky, standing in a formation with a palm-sized sealed box hovering in the middle of the formation.

Then three more Immortals came down from the sky, but this time they had a different aura to them. Each of them had a different aura that looked domineering in its way.

“Look, it’s the Sect Masters from the Four Ancient Land!”

“That’s Zou Guo, Sect master of Azure Phoenix God Sect!” Someone pointed to a middle-aged man who came down first.

“Look! Xuan Ruogang, Sect Master of Five Sense Illusion Sect!” An incredibly lovely young female in her 20’s came down next.

“Don’t forget about Cao Jian, Sect Master of Water God Sword Sect! He’s the strongest out of them all!” Lastly was a handsome young man with looks in his early 20’s.

“Hey, where’s the Sect Master of Church of the Qilin God, Teng Shi? Shouldn’t he be here too?”

“He’s still trying to look for his disciple’s killer….”

“Oh right, that did happen not too long ago….”

* * * * *

The three of them floated in the sky, waiting for everybody to quiet down.

Everybody noticed it and stopped talking to listen.

Zou Guo stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“Ahem. As you all know, today is the day the Stairway to Heaven will be opened. And when it does, all of you here will have a chance to climb it. If you’re lucky, some Sect might notice you and accept you as their disciple. But keep in mind, if you’re a mortal and tries to climb this, you will die from the pressure crushing you to your death. As for you Cultivators, don’t get arrogant and try to chew more than you can, or else you’ll end up like the mortals. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.” He warned everybody and stepped back.

* * * * *

Next, Cao Jian steps up.

“Now I’ll tell you the rules.

First, the Stairway to Heaven will only be opened for seven days! After that, it will kick everybody out and reseal itself.

Second, there is a total of 10 levels with 10,000 steps in each level. If you decide to quit, break apart the talisman that will be given to you before you start to teleport you back down.

Third, you can not fight or have any intents of harming each other. If I catch you, I’ll personally kill you myself!

Lastly, you can not block someone’s way with intentions to stop them. The Stairway to Heaven is big enough to fit all of you together! So if I catch you, you’ll fail immediately.

That’s all!”

He took a step back.

* * * * *

Next Xuan Ruogang took a step forward and spoke in a clear and soothing voice. Many males even started to drool.

“I will be talking about the rewards lastly. Once you reach level 3, you are eligible to join one of the Four Ancient Land, but you must have at least a Cultivation of Heaven Realm or higher. After that, each floor you pass will grant you the reward of that level. The higher you go, the more you’ll receive obviously.

Level 4, You’ll be granted a pill that can raise your Cultivation from Peak Heaven Realm to Immortal Realm.

Level 5, You’ll be granted an Immortal Treasure corresponding to your Cultivation.

Level 6, You’ll be an Inner Court Disciple instantly.

Level 7, You’ll be a Core Disciple, and you can enjoy the best resources in the Sect.

Level 8, Nobody has been able to step on this level in the past 1,000 years, so if you do, you’ll be a direct disciple of one of the Supreme Elders, who are the former Sect Masters.

Level 9, Nobody has been able to step on this level in this past…. One million years! If you do, all Four Ancient Land will spare nothing in expense to groom you into one of the next Sect Master!

As for the 10th Level… There’s no point to even put a reward since the last time someone who had stepped on this level was that legendary Tian Qiang from ten million years ago! He dominated and stood on top of the Immortal realm at age 20 and ascended to the next realm at age 26! What happens from there on nobody knows, so you can already imagine what it means to reach Level 10! That’s all I have to say! Good Luck!”

* * * * *

After the three had stopped talking, the entire place roared with excitement.

Sect disciples wanted to get more resource and rank up; Loose Cultivators wanted to join the four strongest sects in Immortal Realm, while the rest were for fame and self-tempering! Everybody had their reasons to climb the Stairway to Heaven.

“Good, Start the formation!” Commanded Cao Jian.

The 100 Immortals in the sky started to control the formation, and a moment later, the sealed box broke open.

A small set of staircase flew out and floated in the air.

The 100 Immortals started to channel their Spirit Power into the small staircase, and it began to grow bigger and bigger.

Not even a minute later, the once small staircase turned into a huge staircase raising itself as if it wanted to reach the Heaven.

Almost an hour later, the staircase is now 100 miles wide and the 100,000 steps impaled through the clouds into the sky.

“It’s ready! All of you who wants to challenge the Stairway to Heaven, go grab a talisman and start at your risk!” Zou Gou warned them again.

“Uuuuuuuooooh!” Everybody started to climb the Stairway to Heaven with spirit.

* * * * *

Tian Yi stood there and watched without moving.

Wang Bao didn’t miss this and laughed, “Hahaha, are you scared already before even going? Oh, wait! I forgot you’re a mortal so you can’t even climb a step! Hahaha. It looks like I win this game!”

“Who said my Young Master was a mortal?” Lao Bai had a smug face.

Just wait til you witness my Young Master’s Prowess! You’ll all go limp from shock!

“Hey, are you a Cultivator? How come I can’t feel anything from you?” Min Lian asked with curiosity.

“Secret.” Tian Yi smiled.

“Hmph, don’t even try to act cool and climb it. You’ll just die!” She warned him.

“Thank you for your concern.”

Min Lian ignored him and said, “Mother, Father, I’ll be going now. Watch me reach the 3rd level and be a disciple of the Four Ancient Land!”

“Good! I will wait for you here to make our family ancestors proud!” Shang Guang said.

“Take care Lian’er, don’t push yourself too hard. I don’t want you to get hurt…” Her mother said with a worried face.

“Bye bye Big Sis!” Min Li also said her goodbyes.

Min Lian ran towards the entrance and disappeared into the crowd.

“Heh, it’s my turn now. You should just stay here until I return with victory! I’ll show you who’s more worthy to be her fiance!” Wang Bao followed Min Lian.

“Good luck my boy! Don’t disgrace your ancestors!” Wang Bing watched his son disappear into the crowds.

“……”

“Young Master Shu, aren’t you going to go too?” Lao Bai asked with a curious face.

“Of course I will, but it’s still too early. There’s no point in climbing it now.” He said with a calm face.

“Min Li, let’s watch them climb for a while.” He said while pulling out the small chair again….

This time Min Li didn’t even wait and sat on his lap before he even asked.

Tian Yi giggled at her actions.

* * * * *

There are millions of people climbing the Stairway to Heaven at this moment.

Individuals who were there just to watch for fun kept on seeing stupid mortals trying to climb it despite the warnings and turning into a pile of meat in return.

“Aiyo, another idiot went in…”

“Are they beasts with no brains? What are they thinking?”

“Hey! Look at the top! It’s Fairy Mingzhu and Wang Shui! They’re right next to each other.”

“You’re right! They sure are worthy of being called monsters.”

“Last year they only got up to half way on the 7th Level. Do you think they can reach the 8th Level this time?”

“Of Course! I wonder which one of them will reach it first? This is such an interesting battle.”

* * * * *

“Old man, you see any good seeds?” Cao Jian asked.

“Who are you calling old? You’re older than me by a thousand years.” Zou Guo’s eyes twitched.

“Sigh, nobody good this year either huh?” Xuan Ruogang sighed.

* * * * *

Six days later.

Lao Bai was watching his Young Master Shu nervously…

He thought that his Young Master had said he would climb the Stairway to Heaven, yet today’s the last day, and he’s still sitting there playing with that little girl….

“Ahem, Young Master, today’s the last day of the Challenge… If you don’t go now, you might miss the chance to…”

“Ah? Oh, don’t worry, there’s still time.” Tian Yi said and went back to playing with Min Li.

Lao Bai almost cried. “Ahh, my little ancestor, what do you mean there’s still time? It has already been six days, and the one at the highest is that girl called Mingzhu being at the 7th Level. Don’t tell me you’re going to fly up there right before it ends?”

* * * * *

“Your Five Sense Illusion Sect sure is lucky enough to have a disciple like that.” Zou Guo sighed.

His sect mostly cultivates pill masters, so they lacked in strength, but they were the riches with the most resource.

“Cao Jian’s young boy isn’t half bad either; he is only a few steps behind her. Look, they’re just a few steps away from the 8th Level. They will reach it before the time limit.” Xuan Ruogang praised Wang Shui.

“…..”

* * * * *

Only half a day left until the Stairway to Heaven closes.

“Big Brother Shu, didn’t you say that you will climb the Stairway to Heaven? There’s only very little time left… I wanted to watch you climb it too…”

Lao Bai’s face finally brightens and said, “She’s right Young Master! There’s only half a day left. If you don’t climb now, there will be no more chances!”

Tian Yi looked at their pleading faces.

“Okay, okay. I’ll go now. Min Li, watch your Big Brother get first place!” He boasted.

“Un! I believe you!”

“Little Shu, are you sure? You don’t have to worry about that game with Wang Bao… You’re just a mortal, didn’t you see what happened to these who went earlier?” Min Qiu started to persuade him not to commit suicide.

“Hahaha, you don’t have to worry about Young Master, if he’s a mortal, then what am I?” Lao Bai laughed.

Him, a mortal? What kind of joke was that?

“You? Aren’t you just cub?” Min Qiu was confused.

“…………….” Lao Bai turned speechless….

“Don’t worry Senior Qiu; I’ll be alright.”

Tian Yi got up from his chair and started walking towards the entrance.

“I’ll be back in a bit, so don’t cause any trouble while I’m away okay?” He said to Min Li.

“Un!” She nodded her head.

“Her cause trouble? It’ll be you who’ll be causing trouble!” Thought Lao Bai.

They all watched him leave until his back disappears into the crowd….

“I hope he’ll be fine” Min Qiu prayed.

* * * * *

Right in front of the entrance to Stairway to Heaven.

The one in charge of giving out talismans saw an ordinary-looking boy walk towards him.

“Aiya, another stupid mortal… He’s so young too…”

“Young man, I suggest you turn around. You’re still too young to die…” He tried to warn him.

But the young boy in front of him smiled and said calmly.

“Many thanks, your thoughts are enough. But I still wish to climb this staircase.”

“Haaaaa, fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you…” He gave up trying to persuade people after the 2nd day and handed him a talisman.

“Thank you!”

He watched the young boy walk towards the entrance and right when he was about to take a step onto the staircase, he closed his eyes and sighed.

But right when he opened his eyes, he was so shocked he can only stare blankly.

He didn’t see a pile of meat like he thought he would. Hell, not even a shadow was there. Where the fuck did he go?!