Ch-23: Spirit Stairs(3)

"Hey, am I dreaming or did I see right?" Elder Lei asked as she pinched herself.

"Gulp, you are not dreaming. Disciple Chenyu indeed reached the 99th Stair," said Elder Zhu in a trembling voice, and the surroundings fell silent.

"Heavens, he reached the same height as the founder of the sect!" exclaimed Elder Lei, nervously swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

"It shows that he has the same potential as the sect's founder," Elder Huang added with excitement in his voice.

"Sect Master, even you didn't reach the 99th floor. Wouldn't it be awkward for you to be his master while he has higher potential than you? I am willing to take him off your hands, and I wouldn't care if someone belittled me," declared Elder Zhu in a serious tone, causing others' lips to twitch at his shamelessness.

"Hmph, I would also be willing to do the same. It would be better for a young boy like him to be in the hands of a beautiful, mature woman like me instead of an old man like you," retorted Elder Lei with a snort.

"Elder Lei, who are you calling old? I am still very young, okay?" Elder Zhu replied defensively. Elder Huang almost wanted to say he would do the same as them, but Mo Xiao's voice made him stop.

"Stop bickering like children. He has already accepted me as his master, and even all the previous sect masters before me failed to reach the 99th stair, so there's nothing shameful for me," Mo Xiao declared, rolling his eyes at them while the three sighed in defeat.

"Look, Disciple Bai Chenyu is attempting to take the last step," Elder Huang hurriedly said as he saw Bai Chenyu raising his feet to step on the next and final stair, making everyone refocus their attention on the orb.

"Do you think he will do it? What if he fails?" asked Elder Zhu with nervousness.

"Elder Zhu, please do not say negative things," Elder Huang said, giving him a stern look.

"Damn, Elder Zhu, you and your dirty mouth! Look what happened," Elder Lei exclaimed, pointing at the orb that showed Bai Chenyu suddenly falling onto his knees.

'Hey, it's not my fault,' Elder Zhu thought in his mind, feeling Elder Lei glaring at him, which made his eyebrows twitch.

"Quiet, look, he has stood up again," Mo Xiao said when he saw Bai Chenyu getting up. He felt his heart leap when he thought Bai Chenyu had failed but sighed in relief, though his palms were still sweating from nervousness.

"No one, not even the founder, has reached the last stair," Elder Huang said seriously, watching with bated breath as Bai Chenyu raised his feet again.

Gulp

Everyone watching swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and they could feel their hearts beating fast as they saw Bai Chenyu about to step on the last stair.

"H-He actually d-did it," Elder Lei said with a trembling voice.

"Hi-His talent surpasses the founder," Elder Huang said, his face flushed with excitement.

"Haha, as expected of my disciple," Mo Xiao laughed happily.

BOOM

"What the heck was that?" Elder Zhu shouted when he felt the whole sect tremble. They watched as all the disciples on the stairs were teleported to the ground from the staircase.

"I don't know. Let's go and check," Mo Xiao said, and all four of them vanished through a teleportation array.

A few minutes earlier

"Just one more step, and I'll reach the last stair," Bai Chenyu mumbled as he raised his right leg to take the final step, while the audience watched with bated breath. Everyone had stopped what they were doing, focusing intently on him.

"Hmm, why don't I feel any spiritual pressure? Is there any, or is my Celestial Qi really that formidable?" Bai Chenyu's footsteps halted, and a bold idea popped into his head. He removed the Qi that was covering him to check, but he regretted his actions the very next moment. A huge pressure suddenly descended on him, bringing him to his knees.

"Hey, what the hell just happened? Why did he get on his knees all of a sudden?" asked one of the disciples in the crowd nervously.

"Gulp...The spiritual pressure must be really high on the last floor, and that's why he fell to his knees all of a sudden," said an Elder with a serious expression.

"Sigh, looks like he failed. I would have questioned my existence if he really did accomplish it," said a disciple as he patted his chest in relief.

"Hmph, you are really shameless, taking relief in someone's failure. So what if he failed? He has still reached the 99th floor, which means his potential is no less than the founder," said a beautiful female disciple as she eyed the disciple with utter disgust.

" Look he is getting back up" said another disciple as he pointed toward Bai Chenyu 

Bai Chenyu felt as if his body would turn into meat paste any second and hurriedly covered himself with Celestial Qi again.

"Me and my reckless thoughts," Bai Chenyu grumbled. He had never felt death so close in this life; his entire back was drenched in cold sweat.

"Looks like my Celestial Qi is really too formidable," Bai Chenyu mumbled and took a deep breath. He stepped onto the last stair, and as soon as he did, the whole staircase trembled violently. He looked back and saw everyone, except for himself, instantly teleported from the staircase to the ground.

"What the heck is happening?" Bai Chenyu mumbled as he felt some kind of invisible force lifting him up in the air. Surprisingly, there was no fear or panic in his eyes.

"Hey, why is Disciple Bai Chenyu suddenly floating in the air?" asked Elder Ping nervously. Although flying was not uncommon in the cultivation world, he was still a bit anxious, considering Bai Chenyu was the personal disciple of the sect master.

"Halt, Elder Ping!" Just as he was about to take action, he was stopped in his tracks by a commanding voice. He turned back to see Mo Xiao and the Silver Peak Master appearing from a teleportation array.

"Every disciple and elder, except Elder Ping, immediately leave the technique hall. If someone does not agree, I will personally deal with you," Mo Xiao declared authoritatively, threatening the elders and disciples. Upon hearing this, they quickly scurried away from the technique hall, even though they were curious. Even Fen Bing Huang reluctantly left the place

Bang!

Suddenly, another loud sound echoed, leaving their eyes wide open when they saw the stairs glow