Chapter Eighteen: Is This Even Possible?

Illusory Realm

Su Yi continued on his way and soon arrived at a small mountain.

Calling it a mountain was something of an exaggeration. It was really no more than a hill, barely a hundred feet high. Its surface was barren, without even a single tree.

At the summit stood a towering stone gatehouse, upon which three words had been carved:

Dao-Knocking Mountain.

At the foot of the hill was a staircase whose end could be seen at a glance. It contained exactly one hundred steps.

Looking at the staircase before him, Su Yi understood at once.

Reach the summit.

That was the third trial.

As the third stage, these steps clearly concealed something extraordinary. They would certainly not be simple.

Yet Su Yi stepped onto them without the slightest hesitation.

The first step brought no unusual sensation, no different from any ordinary stairway.

On the second step, however, he suddenly felt his body grow considerably heavier. Even lifting his foot required far more strength.

Then came the third step, the fourth, the fifth...

He did not stop until he reached the tenth.

After climbing ten steps, he had already discerned the pattern. With every step upward, the pressure weighing upon him doubled.

If this continued, how terrifying would the pressure be by the hundredth step?

Even the hardest material in the world would surely be crushed to pieces beneath it!

Su Yi calculated silently. If he revealed his true strength, he could probably reach the seventieth step. At his absolute limit, perhaps he could manage another four or five.

But his current goal was merely to pass the test and become a menial disciple. There was no need to push himself or prove anything...

Gazing at the ancient Dao-Knocking Gate, Su Yi decided to study it carefully and see whether there was some way to conceal his strength, loaf in comfort, and still pass the trial securely.

With that thought, he turned around, glanced at the stairs behind him, pondered for a moment, and then simply walked back down.

...

Outside the Illusory Realm.

“Why has Zhang Yi stopped? He’s only reached the tenth step! Could that already be his limit?”

Su Yi had become someone of particular interest. At the sight of his performance, the crowd could not help but erupt in astonishment.

“He performed so brilliantly in the first two trials, so why has he fallen apart in the third? He can’t even cross a mere ten steps?”

“That young fellow has no stamina. Why are young people so frail these days...”

Soon, however, someone noticed something strange and cried out in alarm.

“Wait! What is he doing? He’s throwing stones at the steps!”

“I understand now. He’s testing the pressure of the staircase, trying to find a flaw in the formation!”

The moment those words were spoken, the crowd burst into an uproar.

“How is that possible? This formation has been passed down for a thousand years, and the formation spirit has already developed its own intelligence. He’s only just arrived—how could he possibly discover a weakness in it?”

Seeing the crowd’s agitation, Qi Yongnian, who was presiding over the trial, cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“Everyone, rest assured. Dao-Knocking Mountain was personally established by the founding patriarch of our Immortal Rosy Cloud Sect, specifically to test one’s Dao-heart and perseverance. Any living being outside the formation will be affected by it!”

“Within the Illusory Realm, magical artifacts and treasures cannot be used, nor can one fly through the air. Even if someone attempts to rely on external objects to ascend—or tries to damage the stairs—it will have no effect whatsoever!”

“In short, even if he suddenly learned to fly, he still could not reach the top.”

“The third trial of the Illusory Realm is a genuine test. There is absolutely no opportunity to exploit a loophole. Everyone must climb honestly, one step at a time. Reaching the thirtieth step counts as a pass. Reaching the fiftieth earns the rating of ‘Perfect’...”

Hearing this, everyone relaxed.

“So the third trial was created by the founding patriarch himself. Now I’m reassured.”

The crowd turned their attention back to the screen. But when they saw what was happening within it, every one of them wore an expression as though they had seen a ghost. Terror spread through the entire assembly...

Within the Illusory Realm.

“Old man, long time no see!”

Su Yi turned around and found the old man from earlier by the roadside. He greeted him warmly.

The moment the old man heard Su Yi’s voice, his anger flared.

“Why have you come looking for me again? You refused to give me the package!”

Su Yi narrowed his eyes as he looked at the old man, resembling nothing so much as a sly fox.

“Ah, that isn’t quite right. The package doesn’t belong to you, so naturally I couldn’t give it to you. But I do have a business proposition. In less than half a day, you could earn a hundred spirit stones from me—far better than that package!”

The old man was taken aback, then eyed him suspiciously.

“Is that really true? I’m already halfway into the grave. Don’t deceive an old man like me!”

Seeing that he was tempted, Su Yi immediately smiled.

“Of course it’s true! And it’s nothing difficult. There’s a small hill over there with a hundred steps. If you carry me to the top, I’ll give you a hundred spirit stones. What do you say?”

...

“You can do that?”

Everyone was stunned by Su Yi’s maneuver. What kind of person was he? He had taken shamelessness to an entirely new level!

The old man was not only blind but ancient as well, and he needed a cane even to walk. Yet Su Yi was asking him to carry him up a staircase?

Could he show even a little dignity?

“That old man is something else too. He needs a cane just to walk, yet for a hundred spirit stones he’s actually carrying that boy. And the key is, the boy really let him carry him! I’ll give him eight and a half points for this one—because I have one and a half points’ worth of words left to say.”

“Shameless, sure, but you can’t deny that it works. Good grief, twenty steps... thirty... thirty-nine...”

“Damn, doesn’t that count as cheating?”

...

Everyone was utterly dumbfounded by both Su Yi’s method and the sheer extent of his shamelessness. When they saw him about to reach the fiftieth step with such ease, their jaws nearly dropped to the ground.

Upon Dao-Knocking Mountain, the old man tottered upward with Su Yi on his back, leaning heavily on his cane. He was almost out of breath. Su Yi, meanwhile, sat comfortably atop him, chewing on some wild fruit he had casually picked by the roadside. As he ate, he continued issuing commands.

“Come on, old brother. Is this all you’ve got? You’ve spent half an hour covering only this much ground. At this rate, I’ll have no choice but to deduct some of your spirit stones.”

“Don’t focus on how tired you are. Think of it this way: there are one hundred steps, and each step is worth one spirit stone. Once you finish climbing, all the spirit stones will be yours. Doesn’t that make things feel much better?”

The old man had been too exhausted even to speak, but Su Yi’s words instantly lifted his spirits.

That was right—one spirit stone per step! Once he reached the top, they would all belong to him!

With that thought, he was suddenly filled with energy. His legs stopped trembling, his back stopped aching, and his speed increased dramatically.

As Su Yi was about to reach the summit, the disciples finally recovered from their shock and turned their gazes toward Qi Yongnian.

After all, Qi Yongnian had just declared that there was absolutely no way to exploit a loophole in the formation. Yet now Su Yi was nearly at the top, carried there on someone else’s back...

Qi Yongnian’s face had long since turned the color of liver, his expression hideous. He had never imagined that the formation he had just boasted about would be disproven so quickly.

“The figures within the formation’s trials are all manifestations of the formation spirit’s power. They form a core part of the grand formation and share the same origin. That is why the restrictions on Dao-Knocking Mountain had no effect on the old man.”

“Zhang Yi took advantage of this point. He had one of the Illusory Realm’s figures carry him up the mountain, preventing the formation’s pressure from acting upon him. If the pressure affected him, it would naturally affect the old man as well. The old man’s carrying him therefore served to pass off one thing as another.”