Path of the Ascendant

The third floor was much like the last two, except for the fact that there were a number of other figures on this floor, each of them dressed in almost identical robes and masks, making it all too obvious that they had been to the same small store.

As soon as Yi Wei entered, the stairs vanished behind her, leaving her and the other four in perfect darkness.

“Third floor: endurance test. Endure until three remain. Combat is permitted. Distraction and trickery are permitted. Killing is impossible and is thus permitted. Test will begin in two minutes. Vocal and physical interaction permitted during and after that duration,” the ever-present voice said, maintaining its perfect monotone.

That caused the masked men to look at one another, measuring up their potential opponents.

Eventually, all eyes made it to Yi Wei, who appeared to be the smallest and weakest of the lot, “Before you all gang up on me, why don’t you consider the rules? All you have to do to pass is to survive the increasing pressure. Even if you defeat me, you’ll just tire yourselves out.”

As soon as they heard that, two men seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and clearly lost any intent to fight, but two more, a tall, bulky man with a massive sword on his back and a shorter stout man who was covered from the neck down in an unnecessary quantity of knives, were unconvinced.

“Really? If you’re a weakling, then getting rid of you would make it easier for all of us,” the latter man stated, pulling out two of his knives, “And if you’re strong, then one of us will get your spot. Say, how many hits did it take you to take out the last opponent?”

‘Last? Does he mean the optional one, or the ninth stage one?’ she wondered, trying to determine the man’s cultivation stage purely through his aura, before deciding that it was best to combine the two fights, “Two strikes. It took me two strong strikes.”

That reply caused the man to recoil slightly, “Damn, you’re stronger than you l-… unless you’re lying! Are-”

“If you want, I can beat you up. Don’t complain if that causes your loss,” Yi Wei said promptly, shutting the knife-wielding man up, “Same for the rest of you. If you think you’re tough, just sit down and endure.”

Though the sword-wielding man was still clearly eager to fight, as he was the only one interested in doing so, he also sat down, grumbling under his breath. Like that, they continued to stare at one another, just in case one of them decided to strike while they were distracted. No such thing occurred, and soon after, the two minutes passed.

“Test is beginning. Applying initial modifier on top of existing modifiers: enhanced gravity, 1.5x.”

“Existing modifiers? Does someone already have another modifier?” one of the men who didn’t initially want to fight, with a saber on his belt, asked.

Everyone else shook their heads, which answered Yi Wei’s previous question perfectly. Unless one or more of them were lying to prevent themselves from being targeted first, the only possibility was that they had not met the conditions for gaining the bonus modifiers from the third stage, and didn’t pass the optional stage, if they were even given a chance to do so. Theoretically, that would mean that Yi Wei was the strongest out of them, but the fact that the current stage’s effects were being applied together with her previous modifier meant that she was only capable of using around four tenths of her actual ability. In other words, unless the other men were significantly weaker than her, she was currently at a rather major disadvantage.

Even though the other robed figures were already sitting down, they still wobbled slightly as the pressure on them increased.

Yi Wei felt that more than anyone else, and she would have sworn than she had heard her bones cracking under the pressure. Clenching her teeth to avoid making a sound, she circulated her planar energy as quickly as she could, repairing minor internal injuries and strengthening the bones with the combined power of fire and earth.

“From now on, gravity will increase by an additional 0.5x every minute. As soon as two sustain lethal damage, regardless of the source, the test will finish,” the voice stated.

The slow increase in gravitational pressure was obvious, and rather unpleasant, as if someone was stacking more and more stone slabs on her head with every passing moment. Looking around, however, it was pretty obvious that it wasn’t easy for any of the others, as the knife-carrying figure was trembling with just twice the standard amount of gravity.

‘I guess that’s why he wanted to gang up on someone in the beginning. If he’s powerful, but frail, it would be to his advantage to get rid of someone else,’ Yi Wei understood, straightening her back as to appear undaunted, ‘If I was in his place, I’d probably start the previous line of questioning again, or else he’ll be thrown out before anyone else.’

The others weren’t particularly comfortable either, but the three other men had little issue covering up their struggle against gravity, while the knife-wielder did.

Just like she expected, when the gravity increased to three times its initial state, the man spoke out, “He must have been-”

“You’re just worried that you’re going to collapse soon, aren’t you?” she interrupted him, infusing even more energy into her body to maintain her straight posture, “Just ignore that man and wait. He’ll drop soon enough.”

There was a brief period of silence.

“Hm… I get the feeling the two of you are trying to kick the other down,” one of the men that remained silent spoke up, “So, if you want to fight, just do it. I’ll focus on myself.”

He began to turn around on the spot, but quickly thought better of it and stayed in place after he caught the gaze of the knife-covered man. After he made sure that the former didn’t try to run away, the latter turned back to Yi Wei, who was already focusing her attention on him.

“Hey, what’re you calling yourself?” she asked, figuring that she might as well learn his false identity before getting into a fight with him.

“Long Aotian. You?”

“Da Gang. What stage?”

He paused, likely narrowing his eyes behind his mask, “Eighth Stage.”

‘Uh, that makes things a little tougher,’ she thought, “Seventh, but I have one of the strongest techniques in my family. Even if you beat me, I’ll take you down with me.”

“Really? What technique is it? I might have heard of it,” Long Aotian said, one of his hands drifting to a knife again.

“It’s a secret technique. If you’re curious, it is called Elysian Palm. You’re welcome to experience it if you think it to be a good idea, Brother Long, but I warn you – this might breach even the defences of this pagoda’s array, not to mention whatever weak defensive items you possess,” Yi Wei threatened, though inside, she was desperately hoping that he wouldn’t accept her offer.

While they talked, the gravitational pressure increased by another fold, and it undoubtedly affected her more than the others. Thus, while ‘Long Aotian’ was also naturally affected, he would hold a greater advantage over her in a fight. When combined with the decreased quantity of planar energy around her and the somewhat ambiguous 2.5x pressure, it meant that her base physical advantage could be nullified, and she might be unable to perform the Elysian Palm twice in a row, which would grant the other three an opportunity to defeat her while she recovered.

Finally, Long Aotian sighed, dropping his arms to the ground, “Fine, I’ll… Take you down with me!”

They acted simultaneously; Yi Wei had predicted that he would act this way as soon as he started speaking. While he drew two handfuls of knives, she dashed forward. The man moved with surprising speed, and before she was able to cover a third of the distance between them, five knives were flying at her, aimed at her head, chest, arm, leg and… crotch.

‘They actually think I’m a guy! Really, why would you-’ she didn’t finish her words, and instead threw out a weak palm strike to knock the fifth dagger out of the air, ‘Even if I can regenerate, I don’t want any sharp objects near there!’

Her strike also sent the knife aimed at her leg away, and she managed to grab the knife sent at her head by the blade just in time, but the other two impaled into her body, penetrating all the way to the hilt. That did nothing to slow her down, however, and she halved the distance between them before Long Aotian was able to comprehend what just happened. He raised his hand to throw out another set of daggers, but he flinched once he saw light gathering around Yi Wei’s hand.

That was his biggest mistake.

In that instant of hesitation, her palm reached him, and the bright light collided with his body with immense force. He had no chance to scream before he abruptly vanished from the room.

As soon as she could be sure that he was out of the picture, she pulled out the knives from her body. Both came uncomfortably close to seriously injuring her, yet when she pulled them out, there was only a thin layer of dried blood on them. Her wounds healed in a matter of seconds, thanks to the combination of her body technique and her planar energy. She collected the knives, as they were clearly out of the ordinary, and only then did the others react.

“Whoa? You were a Planar Pool expert? What in the heavens?” the man that had intended to focus on himself could no longer do so after he saw the external planar energy dissipating into the air.

‘What Planar Pool expert? That cost me a third of my energy, and it’s not regenerating any time soon,’ Yi Wei exclaimed mentally, but since she knew that it wouldn’t remove any pressure from her, she quickly made something up, “I’m just in the first stage, but I thought that revealing it would just make you more eager to gang up on me.”

“Well…”

“You’re not wrong…”

“Expert!” the strong man who initially wanted to fight her now dropped to the ground in an exaggerated kowtow, “If you help me, my family will get you whatever you want!”

Hearing such a thing from such a strong looking man was slightly surprising, but in the world of cultivation, it was often the slimmer, softer and gentler looking people that had the most strength, as body cultivation was a rare practise, but the reaching of higher realms would always cleanse the body of impurities, with the exact effect varying based on the quality of one’s cultivation and cultivation technique.

What was more interesting was the fact that, despite hiding his identity with everything imaginable, he was now promising his family’s wealth to the first strong-looking person he found.

“Why are you so quick to surrender? Do you have anything I want?”

“I’m only in the sixth stage, and the sword on my back is just a fake!” he revealed instantly, clearly putting all of his hopes on her, “However, if I don’t pass, my family… my family will have my head!”

“That answered my first question, but not my second one.”

“I’m the son of the richest family in this entire district, the Chen family. Even the Yi family doesn’t have as much as we do. Whether you want techniques, materials, artefacts or just money, I can give them all to you.”

“Hm…” Yi Wei sunk into thought. On one hand, it seemed immensely helpful to receive any of the items offered by him, and any small gift from such a rich family would push her forward by an immense degree. She was aware of the Chen family, and this man was truly not lying regarding their wealth. However, she knew first-hand that large families weren’t fond of stupid rich children that offered to trade away their items at a moment’s notice. If she did receive a reward from him, the Chen family would likely send an assassin to kill her or to steal their things back, even if she disguised herself perfectly at all times.

‘My best chance would be with a consumable item, whether it be a technique or a pill, since I can dispose of the former once I finish. Otherwise, if I receive something that can easily be tracked down, like armour or a weapon, that would just make things easier for them,’ she concluded, and turned to the Chen family’s son, “Very well. However, I want techniques, pills and elixirs, and as quickly as possible.”

She omitted the fact that they were likely being observed at that very moment.

“Alright, I can do that… Ehm, I… I can’t get up…” he said, prompting the others to burst into laughter.

“Hey, expert, I’m related to the Ding family. If you sit down on him and cause him to lose, I’ll pay you with everything I own, including my businesses!” one laughed, flashing a small token with the Ding character.

“Brother Chen, do you mind if I kick that man out?” Yi Wei asked, silently thanking the man for providing her with a reason to target him first.

“S-sure… ugh…”

As soon as he made a noise, she went into action.

‘Scarlet Metal Strike!’

Her palm struck his mask, a slight crimson glow transferring from it to the black ceramic. It cracked instantly, a few small shards dropping out to reveal a surprised blue eye. She hit him twice more, targeting the upper and lower body, leaving behind two more red spots, before he was able to react.

‘Huh? Is he…’ Yi Wei shook the thought out of her head – whoever it was, he wouldn’t recognise her.

He attempted to leap away and take out his weapon, but he felt as if all of his strength had been drained away, and the mighty leap he was originally intending turned into a weak, insignificant hop.

The next second, before he had a chance to understand what happened, a fist crashed into his face, creating a powerful shockwave upon impact. He staggered, and then fell on his back, a stream of blood flowing from his nose. As he was unable to maintain his defence against gravity, he vanished from the illusory world, with the immense pressure going with him.

“Third floor complete: Three participants remaining,” the voice said, the other two figures in the pagoda vanishing completely before it continued, “Due to success, applying additional modifiers: constant abnormal state, extreme temperatures, delayed reaction time by 0.2 seconds, special.”

‘Special?’

“The next floors are optional, but will increase your potential income and position. It is recommended to proceed to the next floor.”

“Not going to explain what special means, are you?” the silent response was rather clear, so she shook her head and found the stairs, “I’m not noticing the delayed reaction time, either.”

“Cumbersome modifiers are disabled during transit.”

‘Oh. In that case, couldn’t it remove the increased gravity as well?’ Yi Wei thought, ascending the steps to the next floor. It was much easier now that the floor’s modifier was removed but having to use two and a half times the energy to walk up each step was unpleasant. It almost felt as if she was thrown back in time, to a week or two ago when she was still weak, and incapable.

‘Damn, that sort of thinking won’t get me anywhere. I’m done with the past – the heavens, or whatever else, have granted me an opportunity, and so far, it seems that its exactly the one I needed,’ she willed the memory out of her mind, and took the last step to the fourth floor.

 

“What even is that creature? Regeneration, strength, endurance… He’s an earth cultivator, right? How is he doing this?” Great Light questioned, unable to shut their mouth since they noticed the insane cultivation speed displayed by her on the second floor.

“The techniques, too… They are uninitiated, yet… Crushing Boulder Palm, Drying Sands Strike, Scarlet Metal Palm… and the Elysian Palm… that one is an entirely different story,” Great Dark muttered in response, “The first three are available in a number of libraries, though the Yi have all three… I am unaware of Elysian Palm, on the other hand…”

“Such a strange name, too. I suppose those who are struck by it might return to an Elysium in the heavens, but I’m not sure which expert would have called their best attack that. To my knowledge, none of the Great Fa-”

“Do not mention their names, lest they intrude and destroy us,” Great Dark raised their head, speaking sternly, “We’ve been fortunate enough to avoid their attention so far.”

“Right.”

 

“Fourth floor: attrition test. Defeat as many foes of equivalent cultivation level as possible. Defeating more than three will allow progress onto the next floor. Defeating twenty will be considering a perfect victory and will allow progress onto the next floor.”

Fortunately, the list of cumbersome modifiers included the slowed planar energy regeneration. By the time she heard the entire message, her dantian was almost full. To deal with people of the same cultivation stage, she would only need to use her raw strength and a few basic techniques, so that much energy was more than enough.

“In one minutes, an enemy of the s-o-ve-rt-th stage will be-…”

‘What?’

“Failure to determine participant’s cultivation detected. Requiring input from participant for the purpose of confirmation,” the illusory world’s voice said, somehow sounding even more mechanical than before.

“I am- hm,” she caught herself just before she revealed her actual stage. If she selected her true level, it would make it really simple for anyone watching her to identify her, as all they’d have to do is find the only person who seems to possess twice as much cultivation as they should. Additionally, taking down twenty foes of that level would only be difficult if they all came at once, using complex techniques. Hence, she decided to stick to her false persona, “I am on the seventh stage.”

 

Meanwhile, Great Dark re-examined her dantian with their spiritual will, “How strange… His cultivation truly is… it seems to have the structure of the fourth stage, even though it isn’t…”

“What do you think that means? He clearly isn’t relying solely on pills, meaning that his cultivation can’t be a temporary state, nor permanently impaired as a result…”

“It could be… perfected stages…”

“Those? That can’t be, since even the Great- eh, the Yi family only has a single expert that had managed to achieve a perfected stage forcefully, and that was at great cost to himself. For someone to have successfully perfected three stages… You don’t actually think that can be true, do you?”

“Is that really so unthinkable? The Master of Yi City… I’d imagine he had done it…”

“You’re talking about the most powerful figure in history. I can imagine him doing such a thing, but not a random young master.”

“…” Great Dark frowned, cupping their chin in thought, “Were they wrong after all? Did he leave behind an inheritance? And if so… what allowed that child to claim it?”

 

‘Four Tortures Palm!’

Her attack shattered illusory bone and threw the twelfth enemy back, setting it alight at the same time. That particular technique was able to strike four times in rapid succession – each individual hit was weaker than a standard slap, but together, they could pierce tough armour and any defences that specialised in resisting a single powerful strike.

Despite the strengthened gravity, it was still too easy.

‘Perhaps I should acquire some weights to wear on a regular basis. It would assist the progress of my Condensed Formation Body, and it should ensure that I always have more strength than I initially reveal,’ Yi Wei thought, watching patiently as the thirteenth enemy arose from the ground.

She was not exhausted yet.