The Treasure from Dad

“Hmm…”

33rd Step.

Li Luo looked around with an expression of helplessness, observing the constant flow of people passing by.

These people had naturally noticed Li Luo, who was tightly bound like a twisted bundle of rope.

But alas.

Ninety percent of them couldn’t be bothered to meddle in other people’s affairs and continued their ascent.

The remaining ten percent, after seeing the cloth banner, turned away, unwilling to provoke the Liu family.

Tens of thousands of people passed by Li Luo, and only one kind-hearted older sister tried to save her.

It wasn't that the eldest sister wasn't afraid of the Liu family.

She simply couldn’t read and had no idea what the banner said.

However, due to the extreme toughness of the Mu Niu jing rope and the fact that Ye Wangchuan had tied it in tight, unyielding knots, the eldest sister struggled for five minutes without untying a single one.

Worried that her own talent might fall behind, the eldest sister eventually gave up on saving Li Luo and continued her climb up the Heaven Rank.

“Hnnn—!”

Li Luo twisted her body forcefully.

It didn’t help.

Her heart was filled with frustration.

What kind of villain was this?!

Tying her up and then just leaving her there like a discarded toy.

What’s wrong with him!

Isn't the typical trope where the villain would be arrogant, mocking her for daring to climb the Heaven Rank without any support, only for her to surpass them and utterly humiliate them?

“Mmm, mmm. (System, do you have any escape tools?)”

【Nine Levels of Cultivation Experience Card】

“Mmm… (I can’t afford that…)”

Li Luo wanted to sigh.

But her mouth was gagged.

Forget it…

Might as well give up.

That’s it.

Li Luo twisted her body, finding a comfortable position, and began to ponder what she should do after the Heaven Rank opening ceremony ended—whether to become a farmer or a wandering cultivator.

Just as Li Luo was deep in thought,

Whoosh!!!

A splash of ink suddenly flew in front of her.

Then, the ink formed a whirlpool.

The whirlpool grew larger and larger, gradually taking the shape of a human figure.

In the next second, a short, one-meter-four old man leaped out of it.

As soon as he appeared, the old man began to circle around Li Luo, looking her up and down.

“Oh ho ho, so short, even shorter than me.”

Upon seeing that Li Luo was only 139 cm tall, the old man couldn’t help but chuckle with glee.

Hearing the old man mock her height, Li Luo’s forehead twitched, and she glared at him with fiery eyes.

What was this old man even doing here?

In the next moment,

The old man walked up to the cloth banner Ye Wangchuan had hung.

After reading its contents, he let out a cold snort.

“The Liu family? They’ve become more and more brazen, interfering with others during the Heaven Rank opening ceremony. Luckily, I noticed in time.”

“I remember you’re called… Li Luo, right? I see that you have exceptional talent. How about this—we make a deal.”

“I’ll help you get out of this mess, but in return, you must join the Li family in Chang'an City.”

With that, the old man looked down at Li Luo, waiting for her response.

Li Luo nodded vigorously.

Of course, this was a great deal!

Being freed so she could continue climbing the Heaven Rank and joining the Li family for protection.

Even if the Li family was just using her as a tool, she could still take advantage of the protection to develop rapidly with the help of her system.

Because Li Luo had already figured out the true use of her system.

It was to chase after Ye Wangchuan and curse him out!

Seeing her agreement, the old man nodded in satisfaction and casually pulled out a brush.

With a flick of the brush, ink splashed onto Li Luo.

The ink acted like a sharp blade, slicing through the Mu Niu jing rope.

“Pfft! Cough! Cough, cough!”

Once freed, Li Luo spat out the gag.

She looked up, puzzled.

“Who are you?”

“Hmm… I’m just an ordinary person from the Li family.”

The old man chuckled, then dissolved into a swirl of ink and disappeared.

“…”

“Riddler, get out of here!”

Li Luo muttered a few complaints, then rubbed her body covered in rope marks.

That damn Ye Wangchuan, so ruthless!

Forget it, time to climb the Heaven Rank.

…

…

Meanwhile,

Ye Wangchuan continued his ascent.

Thanks to his relatively good talent, he managed to climb from the 33rd step to the 67th step in just four hours.

Before reaching the 67th step, Ye Wangchuan barely felt any pressure.

Each step felt as soft as wet mud.

Arriving at the 67th step,

Ye Wangchuan looked up.

At this point, including himself, there were only five people above him.

Apart from him and Liu Han, the others were surnamed Zhang, Jiang, and Wang.

The one surnamed Jiang was a woman, while the other two were men.

However, these three seemed to be nearing their limits and would likely only be able to stay at the eighty-something steps in a few days.

But Liu Han had already reached the 80th step.

“Hmm… These three probably aren’t the chosen ones. It seems there’s a limit to the number of chosen ones per city.”

“With Liu Han and Li Luo appearing in Chang'an City, it’s almost at its limit.”

“And that’s with the dragon vein supporting the city’s luck. Other cities might only have one chosen one.”

Ye Wangchuan analyzed, quickly surpassing Zhang, Jiang, and Wang.

Sixty hours later,

Ye Wangchuan successfully climbed from the 67th step to the 89th step.

Meanwhile, Liu Han was sweating profusely as he climbed the 95th step.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ye Wangchuan repeatedly punched the wall of the 89th step.

After thousands of punches, he finally created a small dent in the wall.

He quickly grabbed the dent to pull himself up a bit.

As Ye Wangchuan ascended, the dent he had made began to heal, preventing others from using it to reach a level beyond their capabilities.

But this also meant that if Ye Wangchuan fell, he’d have to start all over again.

After two hours of grinding, Ye Wangchuan finally reached the 90th step.

“Phew.”

“My talent probably stops here.”

“The limit is the 90th step.”

Ye Wangchuan muttered to himself.

Reaching the 90th step was already considered top-tier talent.

Over the years, fewer than a hundred people had managed to surpass the 90th step.

But—

He wasn’t satisfied.

Not reaching the 99th step meant he’d be mercilessly ridiculed by the old geezers back home!

Even that kid Liu Han had reached the 95th step!

Ye Wangchuan looked at his spatial ring, ready to take out the treasure his father had given him.

This treasure would definitely help him charge straight to the 99th step.

Ye Wangchuan hadn’t used it earlier because he was afraid that if Liu Han saw it, he’d go berserk and charge to the 99th step.

After all, it wasn’t uncommon for chosen ones to go into a frenzy.

Chosen ones were just that unreasonable.

But now, with the Heaven Rank opening ceremony nearing its end,

Using the treasure wouldn’t give Liu Han enough time to reach the 99th step.

And if he dared to try, Ye Wangchuan would just kick him down.

With that thought, Ye Wangchuan willed the treasure out of his ring.

It was a large sack.

Inside the sack were countless Marrow Cleansing Fruit.

The effect of the Marrow Cleansing Fruit was simple.

It increased one’s talent after consumption.

As for why other rich kids didn’t eat these…

Maybe it was because the Marrow Cleansing Fruit trees were monopolized by his father.