"Where are these people going?" Mary said.
"Maybe we should ask them." Aldred approached a man with a long-sleeve robe. A sword hanged on his waist.
"Hello."
"Hello, how can I help you." The man cusp his hand as a greeting.
"Can I ask where you are going?"
"We're going to that mountain to take the test."
"Oh, so that's where the test is."
"That is true my friend."
"Alright, thank you."
"My pleasure." The man cusp his hand again and walked away.
"So, apparently that's where the next test is," Aldred said.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Mally asked.
They all proceeded to walk towards the mountain. When they arrived at the bottom, they saw a flight of stairs that went up for more than a few kilometers.
"That's a long stairs," Mary said.
"At least we have stairs. Usually, we have to climb the mountain with our hands," Mareona said.
"That's true." Ivette began to climb the stairs with the others.
After half an hour, they arrived in front of the temple where a lot of people gathered.
"So are we waiting again?" Mary asked.
"This treasure hunt has a lot of waiting involved. Why can't we finish one challenge after another immediately?" Mally grunted with annoyance.
"If that was the case then the casualties would be far higher," Stella said as she recalled a lot of treasure hunt in the past.
"Has there been any treasure hunt that has no waiting?" Aldred asked her.
"There are. I think it was a few hundred years ago. The world instantly teleported the participants right after finishing their test. Casualties were very high because a lot of them were very tired."
"Has anyone manage obtain the treasure?"
"No."
"No?" Aldred was shocked. "I thought every time a treasure hunt happen, someone would be able to obtain it."
Stella shook her head. "That was never the rule. In fact, a lot of times, the treasure hunt ended with all the participants died."
That shocked Aldred and everyone else.
Aldred took a step as he processed that information. But he accidentally bumped against a girl.
"Sorry about that." Aldred looked at her and nodded.
Her friends gasped.
"How dare you! Don't you know—"
The woman raised her hand to silence her friend. She looked at Aldred and nodded before walking away.
"What was that about?" Mary asked.
"Typical attitude of an arrogant lady," Mareona said.
"Well, at least the girl I bumped into was polite. Her friends tried too hard licking her shoe." Mally crossed her arms with a smile. "Too bad. Back in my pirate days, I would have tied her to my ship and let the barnacles peeled her skin. Hahaha!"
They all looked at Mally with weird expression.
"What? It's called keelhauling. You guys haven't executed a traitor before?"
"Not like that," Aldred replied.
"Cih. You lack creativity."
"I think you put your creativity in the wrong place, Mally." Aldred shook his head.
For the next few hours, they just stood there and chat. Everyone else did the same. Then, Aldred noticed a man looked around timidly. He got no one to talk to, so Aldred talked to him.
"Yo, wasup."
"Uhh… Hello, fellow daoist."
"Daoist?" Aldred raised an eyebrow. Was this eastern china or something, why was he called a daoist? He shook the thought away thinking it might be some similarities in the culture. As a man who had traveled many region, he understood that people had different culture and long used to them.
"So, do you have anyone else with you?"
"No. I am by myself."
"Ohh. Impressive. Finishing all the test all on your own, and now you are here. You must be very strong."
The man gave an awkward laugh. "Not really."
"My name is Aldred by the way."
"Nice to meet you, daoist Aldred. I am Kang Huan."
"So, any idea what the test might be?" Aldred asked.
"Uhh, I think we will be asked to pass the silver stairs."
"What silver stairs?"
"The silver stairs is able to test your potential. Not just physically, but spiritually, mentally, and of course, your talent as a whole. Each step would feel like an entire mountain is on your shoulder. The higher you climb, the heavier it will be."
"That's very specific. How do you know?"
"They have posters for it everywhere."
"Hmmm, I might have missed it."
Kang Huan blinked a few times but did not say anything.
Aldred and Kang Huan chatted for a few minutes until Aldred saw a handsome, tall man with his chin up. He was also accompanied by a lot of people.
"Who is that?"
"That's Wen Shuren. He's a prodigy among prodigy. Everyone was sure he could go to the 100th stairs."
"He's that great, huh?"
"Not only his talent, but also his background. His family owned a lot of business and has enough money to give him rare treasure for his cultivation."
"A rich brat, I see."
Kang Huan looked at Aldred worringly. "Daoist Aldred, I think you should refrain from making such comments. Wen Shuren is a proud man. He will invite you to a duel if he heard you slander his name."
"So, a rich brat with big ego."
"Daoist Aldred…"
Aldred laughed. "Fine. I will stop stating the truth and keep my mouth shut."
"So what about that Shi Xiulan girl?"
"Daoist Aldred, you know who Shi Xiulan is?"
"I know her name." Aldred knew because that was the girl he bumped against and he got her information through his godly eyes. Overall, her background was the same as Wen Shuren; rich family, talented, and pampered since young.
When Kang Huan explained who she was, Aldred's guess was correct.
"But I heard a rumor about her."
"What rumor?" Aldred asked.
Kang Huan looked left and right and then whispered. "It was said that she was born with a frozen heart. She couldn't feel love, anger, sadness, or anything else. She was as cold as ice."
"An exaggeration."
"That maybe the case." Kang Huan nodded.
Aldred activated his godly eyes and looked at Shi Xiulan. And then he was shocked. What Kang Huan said was real. Her heart… it was covered in ice.
At first, Aldred did not notice because he only x-rayed through her clothes to look at her breast, which wasn't a bad size, but the fact that her heart was covered in ice was so shocking.
"Her parents are very protective and rarely let her leave home, right?"
"That is true daoist Aldred. What else do you know about her?"
Aldred smiled and did not reply. 'Bitch, I even know there's a mole on her left butt."
"Hey, look! Wen Shuren is approaching Shi Xiulan!"
"Wen Shuren has been waiting for this moment a long time. Shi Xiulan had never went out of her home before, but her beauty was always in our mind."
"Can Wen Shuren get the heart of the Ice Lady?"
Wen Shuren approached Shi Xiulan with a bright smile on his face that could melted the heart of every woman that see it.
And sure enough, All the girls fell on their knees when they looked at him.
But Wen Shuren only had Shi Xiulan in his eyes.
"Hel—"
"Please leave." Shi Xiulan glared at him, ice cold.
Wen Shuren was heartbroken. Before he could say anything, he was told to go away.
"Welp, that was anti-climatic." Aldred laughed.
