You Can't Be Stuck, Can You

“Hehe, I’m not nervous. In fact, this trip is perfect for sightseeing. Not bad at all!”

Yi Feng said casually, standing on the flying boat, his eyes gazing at the distant scenery, looking thoroughly relaxed.

Yi Feng’s words immediately drew Jiang Zuo’s attention, who had been meditating with a focused mind.

Sightseeing?

Was he naive or just plain stupid?

Didn’t he realize what he was about to face?

The Heavenly Tyrant Sect.

One of the undisputed sacred grounds of the martial world.

Under the rule of the Heavenly Tyrant Sect, there are over a hundred sects as large as the Hundred Refinements Sect.

Each grand competition brings together the elite talents from all sects.

Although they all know they stand no chance against the disciples of the Heavenly Tyrant Sect, these lesser sects still vie for dominance. Very few, like the Hundred Refinements Sect, simply give up like this.

It’s clear that the competition is fierce.

Imagine someone like Yi Feng, with no real strength, being thrown into a contest with these heavenly geniuses. What do you think the outcome will be?

Without a doubt, he’ll be utterly humiliated!

“You’d better not have that mindset.”

Jiang Zuo said coldly.

“Why? Is the scenery at the Heavenly Tyrant Sect not good?” Yi Feng retorted.

Jiang Zuo’s face twitched.

He felt a chill run down his spine. He realized that talking to Yi Feng was like playing the zither to a cow—a complete waste of his breath.

With a flick of his sleeve, Jiang Zuo fell silent, deciding not to waste any more words on Yi Feng.

Jiang You, standing nearby, could only let out a helpless laugh. He, too, kept quiet and sat down to meditate and cultivate.

The flying boat continued its journey.

Yi Feng, accompanied by Su Bai, spent the next three days leisurely admiring the scenery. Eventually, they arrived at the Heavenly Tyrant Sect.

At the foot of the sect, over a hundred flying boats hovered in the sky. Various powerful figures descended from their vessels, each leading their promising disciples.

After disembarking, some exchanged greetings with familiarity, while others eyed each other with hostility, nearly coming to blows.

Even though they were all underlings of the Heavenly Tyrant Sect, the sect never intervened in their grudges. They wouldn’t bat an eye even if one sect wiped out another.

In fact, secretly, they encouraged such behavior.

It was essentially a survival-of-the-fittest model.

Only the strong survive and the weak are eliminated. This ruthless approach was meant to drive these sects to grow and excel.

In this chaotic environment, Jiang Zuo and Jiang You led Yi Feng to an inconspicuous corner, trying to avoid any familiar faces and hiding discreetly.

After all, everyone else had brought their sect’s chief disciples.

Their own choice, well, it was just embarrassing.

If they ran into hostile sects, they’d undoubtedly face a torrent of mockery and humiliation.

Yi Feng, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. He fanned himself lazily while wearing sunglasses, glancing around at the surroundings.

“Silence!”

At that moment, a protector of the Heavenly Tyrant Sect descended from the sky, his voice low but commanding.

As soon as he spoke, the previously chaotic scene instantly quieted down.

A protector from the upper sect was enough to elicit reverence from these lower sect elders.

The protector stood tall, looking down on the crowd with an air of arrogance. After a moment, he spoke: “Collect your flying boats. None of you are permitted to fly near the sect gates. All must ascend via the steps.”

With that, he waved his sleeves and took off.

“Understood, Protector!”

Those below responded quickly, beginning to climb the steps.

The Heavenly Tyrant Steps consisted of nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine layers. Apart from its sheer height, a simple array was also set up along the steps.

Combined, these made the climb quite challenging for ordinary cultivators.

Every year, the Heavenly Tyrant Sect’s recruitment examination was simple: as long as someone within a certain age managed to climb these steps within a set time, they could join the sect as an outer disciple.

Of course, climbing the nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine steps wouldn’t be a problem for those present.

After all, everyone here was no ordinary talent.

“Let’s hurry up and ascend the steps!”

Jiang You said.

“Mhm!”

Jiang Zuo nodded. The two began to move towards the steps, only to notice that Yi Feng hadn’t followed.

The two turned back to look at Yi Feng, asking, “What are you standing there for?”

“Climb all these steps?”

Yi Feng pointed at the sect gates, his eyes wide with astonishment.

“What else? Didn’t you hear what the protector from the upper sect said?” Jiang Zuo snapped, clearly annoyed. He suddenly remembered something and couldn’t help but ask in surprise, “You’re not telling me you can’t even climb these, right?”

“Of course I can’t!”

Yi Feng responded without hesitation. “Look at these steps—thousands, maybe tens of thousands of them. Climbing that would kill me!”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zuo and Jiang You’s faces darkened to the point they could almost drip with frustration.

What the hell?

Could this guy not even climb the sect steps?

What kind of humiliation would he face during the competition?

For a moment, the two almost considered fleeing on the spot. But remembering they had nowhere else to go if they left the Hundred Refinements Sect, they reluctantly swallowed their anger.

“Let’s go first. Climb as far as you can. If you really can’t make it, we’ll help you,” Jiang Zuo said grimly.

With that, Jiang Zuo and Jiang You started to ascend the steps.

“Dammit, I knew I shouldn’t have come,” Yi Feng muttered under his breath, reluctantly dragging himself towards the steps, grumbling all the way.

Su Bai obediently followed behind Yi Feng.

“Remember, climb as far as you can. If you really can’t make it, call us!”

Jiang Zuo reminded Yi Feng again.

“Okay, okay.”

“Stop talking to me. I’m focusing on climbing steps right now,” Yi Feng replied impatiently, gasping for breath after just a few steps.

Jiang Zuo nodded.

Clearly, he wanted to see exactly how far Yi Feng could climb, hoping to gauge his true strength.

The two brothers exchanged a glance and then shot up the steps like gusts of wind.

In one go, they reached the five-thousandth step, stopping only then. Their faces remained calm, not a bead of sweat in sight.

After all, they were protectors of the Hundred Refinements Sect, possessing strength near that of an immortal. Such steps were no challenge to them.

“Even if he’s the weakest, surely he can climb five thousand steps,” Jiang Zuo mused.

He turned back to look below but couldn’t see Yi Feng’s figure.

That was because, from the steps, they were already within an array, which blocked their senses. Visibility was limited to about a hundred meters.

“Hmm, let’s sit here and wait for a while,” Jiang You suggested.

With that, the two brothers sat down and entered a state of meditation.

However, after circulating their Qi for several cycles, nearly half an hour passed, and there was still no sign of Yi Feng.

When they looked down at the foot of the mountain, Yi Feng still wasn’t in sight.

The two brothers were dumbfounded.

Could this guy really be so weak that he couldn’t even climb five thousand steps?