Chapter 296
That’s right.
It wasn’t climbing, it was rushing.
Like a gust of wind, Chen An, holding Mu Sanniang, rushed wildly up the stone steps.
The stir they created was not small. The thudding footsteps immediately attracted the gaze of everyone climbing with their heads down.
They looked up and saw the little boy rushing towards them from behind. They were stunned for a moment, and then their pupils suddenly widened.
No, are you serious, man?
Where did this pervert come from?
Especially when they noticed that the boy was holding a girl’s hand behind him, the shock on their faces was impossible to hide.
This little boy looked no older than ten years old, right?
This child is terrifying!
For a moment, everyone couldn’t help but sigh in their hearts.
But Chen An didn’t spare them a glance.
He was just focused, leading Mu Sanniang forward with all his might.
As they climbed higher and higher, the invisible resistance grew stronger and stronger, almost crushing them until they couldn’t breathe.
Chen An was fine; his breathing was relatively smooth.
But the girl holding his hand behind him was already close to unconsciousness. Her mind was clearly becoming muddled, and her head was spinning.
If not for Chen An supporting her, she would have collapsed long ago under the immense pressure.
Seeing Mu Sanniang’s dire condition, Chen An had no choice but to stop.
He turned to the girl, his expression worried, “Sister, can you hold on?”
Mu Sanniang pursed her lips and glanced back.
She saw that after being pulled by Chen An for a while longer, they had already left the figures behind them far behind, and only small dots could be seen.
It was the first time she had truly recognized how great the potential of this ‘brother’ she had picked up was.
No wonder an Immortal had specifically sought him out to be his disciple just from a chance encounter by the roadside.
The girl turned her head, wanting to nod firmly and say she was fine.
But as she was about to speak, she found that she could only move her lips and couldn’t make a sound.
Immense pressure from all directions assailed every nerve in her body.
She suddenly thought, was she being too selfish?
If she hadn’t been a burden to him, he would have already reached the peak.
In Mu Sanniang’s eyes, the brewing determination gradually dissipated, leaving only bewildered confusion.
Seeing that she remained silent, Chen An frowned.
“What’s wrong, sister?”
Mu Sanniang heard him, bit her lip, and shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Although she didn’t speak, her meaning was clear.
She made up her mind not to continue to delay her brother any further.
The two hands that had been tightly clasped began to slowly separate.
It was the girl who actively wanted to let go, just as she had at the thousandth step.
Sensing her movement, Chen An’s expression changed, and his face darkened.
He grabbed Mu Sanniang’s hand and pulled her back.
This time, he pulled her very close, their noses almost touching.
The girl turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze.
She just kept struggling to break free.
But how could Chen An let her have her way?
He was too lazy to argue with her and directly grabbed Mu Sanniang’s hand, lifting her entire body.
This was also one of the rare times he had acted so forcefully since spending so much time with Sanniang.
Suddenly falling into a warm embrace, the girl seemed stunned and stopped struggling. She just stared at him with wide eyes, dazed.
Then, Chen An took a deep breath, finally took a step forward again, and continued onward.
In this posture, the resistance he encountered naturally grew even more immense.
Moreover, Chen An’s own strength was not great. Carrying Sanniang, even walking on flat ground would be exhausting.
Let alone on these stone steps.
But to abandon Sanniang here was something he could never accept.
At this moment, the boy displayed astonishing willpower.
He tightly held the girl in his embrace and forced his way onto the stone steps.
Compared to when he was walking alone, every step he took now was like moving through a swamp, extremely strenuous.
Unknowingly, the scenery around them changed again.
The clouds were vast, and faint immortal music could be heard from within.
To conserve as much energy as possible, Chen An walked forward silently, holding Mu Sanniang alone.
Beside him, the figures of others had long since disappeared. Only his own heavy breathing could be heard from time to time.
He no longer remembered how many steps he had taken, only fueled by his last breath, stubbornly and slowly.
On his chest, he felt a wet sensation.
He didn’t know if it was sweat or something else.
The girl in his embrace also closed her eyes tightly, with only a slight mist at the corners of her eyes.
Chen An had responded to her with his actions.
He had never thought of giving up.
Not giving up on seeking immortality, but not giving up on her.
Large drops of sweat gathered on the boy’s forehead and trickled down to his chin, then slowly rolled down to the girl’s lips.
She subconsciously stuck out her tongue and licked it.
It tasted a bit salty, much like the kisses before bedtime every night.
Mu Sanniang’s slender, cicada-wing-like eyelashes trembled, but she ultimately did not open her eyes.
She feared that if she opened her eyes, she would no longer be able to control her surging emotions.
The boy’s figure continued to ascend.
At some point, a fierce wind began to blow from mid-air.
The strong winds assailed Chen An, scattering his hair.
It also stung his cheeks.
He quickly reacted and immediately adjusted the position of the girl in his arms.
He thought that this way, Mu Sanniang would not be blown by the strong winds.
…
…
About a hundred steps away from Chen An, a pavilion stood on the majestic mountain peak.
In the pavilion, the sect deacon in charge of the recruitment was craning his neck, looking down.
Beside him, the sword-wielding man had lost all semblance of immortal demeanor. He was constantly stroking his long beard, his actions not much different from the deacon’s.
Their gazes were fixed on the little boy.
The sword-wielding man couldn’t help but sigh, “Such aptitude, such character, truly the fortune of our Tai Xuan Sect for a millennium!”
Just then, the lone, small figure seemed to finally falter, on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.
The deacon’s eyes widened, and he prepared to go down to rescue him.
But before he could act, a streak of sword light had already shot out.
The Sect Master’s carefree laughter echoed in the wind.
“Little child, don’t panic, old man is here!”
In the next moment, the deacon’s vision flashed, and before he could see clearly, he found that the Sect Master had already placed them both on the ground, holding one in each hand.
The boy was merely exhausted, not unconscious. He blinked in confusion for a moment before reacting, scratching his head and saying, “Thank you, Immortal Master.”
Coupled with his handsome appearance, it was truly delightful.
Sect Master Dao Xuan Zhenren smiled, clearly in a good mood.
He said, “Little child, are you willing to join my Tai Xuan Sect, seek immortality, and pursue the Great Dao?”
Chen An heard this and found it strangely familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
Yes, these sects all use the same rhetoric when accepting disciples…
He nodded readily, but then quickly remembered something and walked forward to pick up the girl who had been placed on the ground.
He looked at the girl’s tightly closed eyes, gently flicked her nose, and then turned to say, “Thank you, Immortal Master, for your kindness. However, I have a request, please fulfill it.”
Dao Xuan Zhenren was taken aback, but he wasn’t angry. His smile remained unwavering.
His gaze fell on the girl in the boy’s arms. His mind stirred, but he didn’t reveal it, only asking, “What is your request? Have you thought it through?”
Chen An blurted out without hesitation.
“If Immortal Master wishes to accept me as a disciple, you must also accept my sister into the sect.”
As soon as he finished speaking, before Dao Xuan Zhenren could reply, the deacon beside him frowned.
“Nonsense!”
“You already violated the assessment rules by bringing her up the mountain. How can you now use this to extort us?”
These words were spoken very sternly.
Chen An’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly looked to see that the sword-wielding man’s smile remained unchanged, his expression showing no particular reaction.
However, he didn’t rush to speak, likely waiting for his response.
So Chen An calmed himself. This was indeed the scenario he had anticipated.
But he could not think of any good solution and could only say through gritted teeth, “If Immortal Master refuses, I will descend the mountain now.”
At this, the deacon was stunned, seemingly not expecting the little boy to be so insistent.
At this moment, Dao Xuan Zhenren spoke. He clasped his hands behind his back and smiled, “It’s not that I don’t want to accept your sister as a disciple, but her talent and aptitude are simply too poor, and she cannot enter our Inner Sect. Otherwise, it would be unfair to our other three thousand disciples of the Tai Xuan Sect.”
Dao Xuan Zhenren’s words were not as harsh as the deacon’s. He appealed to reason and logic, and continuing to insist would seem like Chen An was in the wrong.
Chen An gritted his teeth.
He thought, if you don’t accept me, fine. I’ll just go join the Great Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Harmony Sect!
He raised his head, about to speak.
Suddenly, a hoarse female voice came from his embrace.
“I am not his sister.”
Chen An froze and looked down.
He saw that Mu Sanniang had opened her eyes at some unknown time.
She pursed her lips, and what came out of her mouth were words Chen An found incredibly foreign.
“Who is your sister?”
Mu Sanniang turned her head away, her voice cold. Her body trembled slightly.
“Stop flattering yourself.”
