Li Xunxian could naturally tell that the person before her was not lying.
However, this only made her even more curious.
The Celestial Ladder beneath their feet was a method used by the Immortal Sect to select disciples. Generally speaking, the further one walked, the better their talent.
As the Sixth Princess of the Longyuan Empire, she had possessed extraordinary talent since childhood. At her current age of 15, she was already on the verge of breaking through to Qi Refining Level 5.
In the vast Longyuan Empire, only a handful of people could match such talent!
During the time she had been waiting below, she had already met every genius capable of reaching this point alongside her.
So, where did this man, who was only at Qi Refining Level 3, come from?
“Do you really come from the mountains?” Li Xunxian asked, curiously sizing up Xiao Nanchu.
“Yeah, that’s right. I ended up here in a daze.”
After Xiao Nanchu analyzed his current situation from Li Xunxian’s words, he decided to play along.
“You’re lying.” Li Xunxian saw through Xiao Nanchu’s lie, but she immediately waved her hand. “But I don’t care, as long as you weren’t sent by my foolish siblings.”
“Aren’t you going to keep going up?”
Seeing Xiao Nanchu standing there motionless, Li Xunxian spoke again.
“Didn’t you tell me to stand here?”
Xiao Nanchu was somewhat speechless.
To be honest, if this NPC’s level hadn’t been Level 10, he would have attacked her long ago. She was the one who told him not to move, yet she was also the one asking why he wasn’t moving.
“Oh, right. My apologies.” Li Xunxian paused, flashed a smile at Xiao Nanchu, and then reached out her hand. “Let’s walk up together. Consider it my apology for earlier. Further up, it won’t just be people anymore.”
She was a bit curious about the man in front of her. He was clearly older than her, yet he had reached this point with only a Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation.
She wanted to see how much further this guy could go with that Level 3 cultivation.
“Alright,” Xiao Nanchu readily agreed.
It was always better to have company, especially when that company was an NPC who clearly wasn’t simple. He might even get some exclusive quest rewards or something from her.
The two continued to walk up the nearly endless Celestial Ladder, one after the other, chatting idly.
“Is there really an end to this Celestial Ladder?”
“Of course there is. This Celestial Ladder has a total of 20,000 steps. Every 1,000 steps, a layer of pressure will be applied to your body. The better your talent, the less pressure you’ll feel, and the further you can walk.”
“So we’ve walked about 7,000 or 8,000 steps now?”
“Yes, exactly. After passing the 8,000th step, a Demonic Beast used to test disciples will appear every 1,000 steps.”
“A Demonic Beast?”
“Yes. Since there’s no time limit for this trial, it’s a competition to see who can go the furthest. If there weren’t Demonic Beasts blocking the way, wouldn’t everyone be able to reach the 20,000th step?”
“What level are those Demonic Beasts?”
“Starting from the 9,000th step, we will encounter one Qi Refining Level 1 Demonic Beast. At 10,000 steps, there will be two Qi Refining Level 1 beasts. At 11,000 steps, there will be one Qi Refining Level 2 beast…”
“Then isn’t it basically impossible to reach the top? At 17,000 steps, there would be a Qi Refining Level 5 beast, and to reach the top, you’d even have to defeat two Qi Refining Level 6 beasts?”
“You can’t really say that. Some geniuses can’t be measured by their level. They can cross several minor stages without any pressure at all. For example, even with the pressure, I can’t say for sure I’ll reach the top, but 18,000 steps is definitely no problem!”
“Then what is your cultivation level?”
“I’m at Qi Refining Level 5!”
***
Xiao Nanchu asked many questions along the way. From Li Xunxian’s system level and her cultivation, he deduced that during the Qi Refining stage, every two system levels equaled one Qi Refining level.
In other words, since Li Xunxian was Level 10 and at Qi Refining Level 5, then his Level 6 status meant he was at Qi Refining Level 3.
Similarly, if he converted the levels of the Demonic Beasts they were about to face, they were just facing a Level 2 common mob.
By the time they reached 15,000 steps, they would face Level 8 mobs, and the final boss at the end would only be two Level 12 mobs?
Looking at it this way, given his attributes, he might not necessarily fail to clear this.
‘There’s no way these small mobs have Boss templates like the Wild Wolf King, right?’
Soon, he and Li Xunxian reached the first Level 2 mob. A wolf with fiery red fur stood in the middle of the stairs, blocking their path.
“Your turn or mine?” Xiao Nanchu asked, looking at Li Xunxian ahead of him.
“We each fight our own. The Demonic Beast’s level is low, so I won’t help you.”
Li Xunxian stepped forward first. With a flash of sword light, the wolf collapsed to the ground, transforming into specks of starlight and vanishing.
When Li Xunxian stepped past the 9,000th step with her long legs, an identical Demonic Beast appeared in front of Xiao Nanchu.
Before Xiao Nanchu could look confused, Li Xunxian spoke.
“This is a technique of the Immortal Sect. This Demonic Beast is just a Projection. Everyone has to experience it once. Although it can’t be avoided, others can indeed step in to help.”
Li Xunxian’s beautiful phoenix eyes curved slightly as she smiled at Xiao Nanchu.
“Don’t worry. When we get further up and you can’t pass, I’ll step in to help you. Like I said, this is my apology.”
“Alright.”
Xiao Nanchu was momentarily stunned as he looked at Li Xunxian.
‘Is this NPC’s setting a bit too good? Is she a safety mechanism provided by the system in case players can’t get through?’
He had seen the damage Li Xunxian dealt when she slashed the mob earlier.
-200
The damage had reached the cap.
‘Was the damage for a Level 1 even 200?’
Xiao Nanchu looked at the red-furred wolf, then at his empty hands.
After a moment of silence, he raised his fist and swung.
-200
It was also a one-hit kill.
“Are you a Body Cultivator?”
Li Xunxian asked in surprise after seeing Xiao Nanchu strike.
“Uh… yeah, I’m a Body Cultivator.”
Another lie.
Li Xunxian could tell Xiao Nanchu was lying.
‘He’s clearly not a Body Cultivator. Why would he say he is?’
“I have a spare sword. Do you want it?”
“Really?! That would be great.”
“Here, take it.”
Li Xunxian casually pulled a longsword from her Storage Bag and tossed it to Xiao Nanchu.
“Use it for now. I don’t know what kind of weapon you use, but I only have longswords on me.”
“It’s fine. I just happen to use swords.”
Xiao Nanchu caught the longsword she tossed and instinctively checked its attributes. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
**[Longyuan Empire Imperial Standard Longsword (Purple)]**
**Qi Attack: +200**
**Qi Defense: +100**
**Mana Points: +500**
**Description: Longyuan Empire Imperial Standard Longsword, the basic equipment of the Longyuan Empire’s imperial family.**
!!!
‘Are these attributes for real?!’
Xiao Nanchu was utterly stunned.
A Purple-grade piece of equipment with no level requirement? The system gave him something like this in the early game?
This gear was simply invincible.