“L-Look at that! There’s more than one person climbing the stairway right now!”
“What?! Is that even possible?! I thought only one person could go at a time!”
“It’s only allowed because one of them is assisting them through the Stairway to Heaven— most likely that young man in the front.”
“Wait… That’s actually a thing? Since when? I have spectated this place for many years but I have never seen such a thing before.”
“That’s because nobody does it. One can help 9 other individuals climb the Stairway to Heaven, but the person doing the climbing will have the burden of the other nine, increasing the difficulty of their climb significantly.”
“Heavens… Climbing alone is already hard enough, yet that person is willing to take 4 other people with him.”
“I don’t blame him. Look at the people he’s helping. All of them are breathtaking beauties that can topple kingdoms with a mere smile! I wouldn’t leave them behind either.”
“If you had to choose between those beauties or ascending, and you can only pick one, which would you pick?”
“The beauties, of course! I’d be willing to stay down here forever just for one of them, much less four!”
While the spectators focused on Meixiu and the others, Yuan reached the second step with barely any effort made.
However, the moment he stepped onto the second step, he felt the pressure bearing down his body suddenly double in strength.
Even though it still wasn’t enough to make him sweat, he was worried about the later steps.
About a minute later, he reached the third step, and once again, the pressure on him doubled in strength.
“It’s still endurable…” Yuan mumbled to himself as he quickly made his way towards the fourth step.
However, the moment he stepped on the fourth step, Yuan felt the pressure on him triple in strength.
Yuan lost control over his Qi Manipulation for a moment and nearly lost his ability to fly.
“Are you okay, Yuan?” Lan Yingying asked him.
“Yes, I am fine. I was just a little surprised by how much the pressure increased.” He nodded.
A few more moments later, Yuan arrived at the fifth step.
Once again, the pressure tripled in strength.
The pressure on the fifth step was so intense that even ordinary Spirit Grandmasters would have trouble walking, yet Yuan still somehow manages to remain in the air even with all this pressure bearing down on him.
Unfortunately, after reaching the seventh floor, the intensity of the pressure had gotten so powerful that even Yuan was forced to walk the staircase with his legs.
Once he’d reached the end of the seventh step, he used some of his spiritual energy to boost his legs, allowing him to jump onto the eighth floor.
The pressure’s strength on the eighth floor increased by another 3 fold.
Yuan could feel his legs shaking slightly from the pressure that made it felt like he was carrying a large block of metal on his back. However, even with such pressure, it’d only managed to make Yuan break a couple droplets of sweat.
A few minutes later, Yuan conquered the eighth step and stepped foot on the ninth and final step, where the golden door was located at the end.
“You got this, Yuan!” Min Li cheered him from only a few steps behind him, feeling a little guilty for making Yuan take her burden.
Yuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Once his eyes opened again, he began running for the golden door, shockling the spectators.
“He still has this much strength left?!”
“Is it that surprising? The real trials are behind that golden door. These nine steps cannot even be considered the real Stairway to Heaven.”
“Even though the staircase isn’t the real challenge, you cannot underestimate it, as it still eliminates about ninety percent of challengers that wish to enter the Stairway to Heaven.”
A few moments later, Yuan arrived before the golden door, and he could feel the pressure on his body suddenly disappear like smoke.
“Phew, that was a little challenging.” He wiped the sweat off his forehead and took a moment to breathe.
“Young Master, the real challenges are behind the door.” Feng Yuxiang’s voice resounded in his mind.
“Is everyone here?” Yuan turned around to see Meixiu and the others standing right behind him.
Seeing them nod, Yuan returned to looking at the massive golden doors that didn’t seem like it would budge even if he used all of his strength.
“How do I open this door?” Yuan asked.
“There should be a slot for the medallion.” Xiao Hua said.
Yuan looked around, and sure enough, there was a hole in the middle of the door that seemed to fit his medallion perfectly.
Furthermore, there were 9 other holes that circled around it.
“These are probably for your medallions.” Yuan looked at Meixiu and the others after inserting his medallion into the hole.
Once everyone there had inserted their medallion into a slot, the golden doors suddenly began to open.
Although it didn’t move by much, it had more than enough room for a single person to enter.
However, it was pitch black inside the doors.
“Let’s go! To Spirit Heaven!” Yuan was the first to move, entering the golden doors a moment later.
Lan Yingying immediately followed behind Yuan and became the second person to enter the Stairway to Heaven followed by Min Li, Chu Liuxiang, and last but not least, Meixiu.
Once everyone was inside, the golden doors closed behind them.
After entering the Stairway to Heaven, Yuan looked around with his divine sense since he couldn’t see anything in the dark with his eyes, but that also turned out to be useless.
“I cannot see anything. What about you guys?” Yuan asked the others behind him.
However, nobody responded to him.
“Meixiu? Lulu? Yingying? Hello?” Yuan turned around, but there was nobody there.
“Guys? Feng Feng? Xiao Hua?”
He tried calling them again since he was certain that they’d entered the Stairway to Heaven with him, but there was still no response, almost as though they’d disappeared and he was completely alone.
It was at this moment a voice suddenly resounded in this void.
It was a clear and childish voice that he’d never heard before, yet it sounded oddly nostalgic for some reason.
“Who’s there?” He called back.
“Master? Is that really you?”
The voice responded, and Yuan could see a faint light suddenly appear in the distance.