Staircase

Everyone looked back at the staircase.

A thin screen of light on the border of the staircase shimmered in the sunlight.

"Of course there had to be a catch." Li Feng sighed.

"Move aside." A quiet voice resounded and everyone looked at who just spoke.

"Isn't this the first time she said something?" Li Feng looked at the veiled woman who had just spoke.

She walked toward the staircase calmly, and stopped right in front of the screen of light.

Her hand rose, grazing the surface of the screen, before she took a second step and passed through the barrier with shocking ease.

Meanwhile, right behind her, a yellow flash appeared.

The young boy with yellow robes quickly passed through the screen, and he glared at the veiled woman, as if taunting her.

The woman didn't even glance at the young boy and both of them started climbing the stairs at a rapid pace.

"What else can we expect from Saint talents." A unanimous sigh arose.

But as they said this, everyone looked back at Li Feng. He was the third anomaly after all. The one with the King level Spirit.

Li Feng smiled bitterly as he walked forward, standing in front of the screen.

"Now would be the perfect time for the world of white and blue to appear." He thought to himself.

But of course, it was not going to appear when he wanted it to.

Hesitating for a second, he reached forward to try and touch the barrier itself.

As his hands touched the shimmering screen, he could feel a repulsive force trying to push him back.

"This was what sent that big guy flying." Li Feng reminded himself.

But this was not the time to hesitate. If he did, then he would be labeled a coward for the rest of his time here.

There was only one favorable outcome for him, and that was to pass through the screen on the first try.

Li Feng made up his mind and tried taking a step forward.

He felt the repulsive force, but didn't resist it too much. If he did, then perhaps he would be sent flying like Sima Xun.

Instead, as he felt the force that was pushing him back, he stopped in the middle of the barrier that was stopping him.

He was half way in, and the force that was going against him was stronger than before.

"You can do it. Just embrace it." Li Feng told himself as he tried going further in.

The force started pushing even harder, but a warm force started spreading across Li Feng's body.

The strength that he was expending to keep standing was getting replenished through the warm force.

"What is this? Is this Qi? The Qi that all the others were able to use?" Li Feng wondered.

As the warm feeling coursed through his body, he took another step up.

The force that was stopping him didn't just disappear with the barrier behind him.

Instead, it felt like the barrier there was keeping the force from spilling out. Every step that he took to go up felt even harder.

The mountain above him felt unsurmountable.

Li Feng could hear a few muted voices behind him, but he ignored them, continuing forward.

With every step that he took to go higher up the staircase, he could feel the mysterious force pushing his body, battering it.

He felt his muscles strain as he took another step up.

"Ouch! This is putting too much of a load on my body, just climbing up this place." Li Feng cursed.

But every second that he stood there, the warm feeling about his body coarsed through, easing the pain.

It was like the muscles were tearing apart, and yet were being healed almost instantly by the two opposing forces.

"What is this warm feeling? Is it the force that is pushing me back? Or some derivative of it?" Li Feng wondered.

But he could not spend any more time on this. He could see above that the two Saint level talents had already reached the peak, and were gone from his eye line.

Li Feng looked behind him.

All this effort and he was just ten steps off the ground.

Meanwhile, there were a few that had already entered the staircase and were actually coming up surprisingly fast.

Sima Xun was standing at the border, hesitating to enter the staircase after what had just happened to him.

"I need to stop looking back. I should only look at myself." Li Feng told himself as he looked back up at the lonely peak.

He pursed his lips, struggling to take another step.

The force that was pushing him back got even stronger with this step, and he felt like any misstep would lead to him getting pushed back and off the staircase.

Unable to make a move, Li Feng sat down cross legged, closing his eyes.

The force that was trying to push him back suddenly decreased as he concentrated on the warm feeling that was running through his body.

"How do I control this feeling. How do I direct it?" Li Feng wondered as he tried to flex through his muscles.

"Look inward for the truth lies within."

All of a sudden, seven words echoed in Li Feng's mind, and all of a sudden, he felt the world around him slow down.

Even though his eyes were closed, what he saw was no longer darkness, but a bright white light.

And in this white landscape, he could see blue lines dancing around, like streaks of lightning.

"The blue… it represents Qi flow doesn't it. Is this within me? Is this the Qi that flows within me?' Li Feng thought to himself.

"Then to control it…"

He tried moving around, and tried to control the lines, but nothing happened. Even with his eyes closed, he could envision an avatar for himself in this mind space.

And as the avatar moved around, though, he could touch the lines, and as he touched the lines, a sharp pain pierced his brows.

But when the pain ceased, his eyes suddenly opened.

"So that's how we go forward!" He suddenly exclaimed with surprise.

….

Above the peak,

"Looks like we have an interesting batch. Two kids who went up the mountain in under a minute, and a king level talent that learnt how to use Qi without any help in just five." an old man chuckled.

"That kid is mine. You better not take him away from me." A sharp voice said.

"You wish. You already had your share of disciples. Now, it's time for me to take this one. You can try your luck with those two young monsters."

"God knows they are going to say no."

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