New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live-Chapter 1093: Strange Energy

Elder Bai had already reached the plateau through the alternate path, which stopped at each plateau in case people needed to be carted off to the infirmary from there. When he got there, he found his master relaxing on a stone bench, contemplating the sun above them.

Looking down at the steps, he could see the group of ’guests’ walking steadily up the stairs, one step at a time, taking a few seconds to adjust on each step and sighed.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Master?" he asked, turning back toward the fox.

"Why wouldn’t it be? What do I have to lose of weakening them here and now, Elder Bai?" the master asked, only sparing a glance.

"Surely, the stairs will drain their strength, Master. But... What if they also make them stronger? The Heavenly Ascent is a tool to strengthen Qi. What if that makes their power grow?" he asked, afraid of the possibility.

The master turned to face Bai Feng and shook his head slowly in disappointment.

"You still fail to grasp the function of Qi, Feng nán tóng. Qi is the energy of the universe, which we cultivators use to elevate our state of mind and body. These mortals do not use Qi. What they use is completely different and goes directly against the principles of Qi.

"What they wield is similar to the Merlinean’s mana. It’s the energy of the world that they use to push the boundaries of their own strength, not to elevate it. Qi nourishes the body and mind. Mana only grants temporary power.

"The Heavenly Ascent would never make them stronger, even if they ascended all three hundred steps daily. It would be a futile endeavour. Worry not."

Bai Feng felt reassured by this lesson, but something in the back of his mind still pulled at his worry. What if one of them had already been predisposed to Qi?

Time trickled down slowly for everyone, as the guests slowed down with each step taken, the pressure of the staircase increasing twofold each time.

But even then, the disciples at the foot of the Heavenly Ascent started multiplying. Lessons from the elders were ending, and the commotion of someone climbing the steps caught the attention of many.

It wasn’t every day that a fellow disciple tried ascending the steps, and most only ever made it halfway up, before giving up.

The disciples that could make it to the first plateau were already considered inner disciples, and often received lessons in private from the elders, making them grow by leaps and bounds.

Aside from core disciples and elders, they were also the only ones to leave the sect on missions. Core disciples had the added benefit that they could leave for any reason, just like the elders, but there were only two of those in the sect currently.

Reaching that level meant they could walk up to the second plateau of the Heavenly Ascent, which was a feat in its own right.

But, when the disciples reached the foot of the Stairs, they noticed the group of eleven people climbing, and frowned.

"Who are these strangers? They aren’t wearing the Zhong Kui uniform. Are they guests from another sect?" a teenage girl asked, her uniform sporting a golden ring around the Zhong Kui symbol.

This was the mark of an inner disciple.

This girl was called Li Yue, and she was easily recognizable, with her hazelnut eyes being so rare among her peers. Plus, she was the only girl in the sect who tied her hair in a waterfall braid, leaving most of her hair to flow naturally.

"Sister Li!" one of the younger boys saluted her, bowing his head to her.

"They are outsiders. The master invited them in as guests, and they chose to take the Heavenly Ascent to reach the top of the mountain. But they have been struggling. We wonder how disciples from another sect can have such trouble."

Li Yue looked at the boy and nodded in thanks to his explanation.

She became curious instantly since the age range of the guests seemed to vary wildly, even from a distance.

She could see at least three children, much too young to be inner or core disciples from another sect. And that was without even mentioning the men and women in their group, who were obviously past their twenties, even though they looked in great shape.

She focused on them intently, trying to sense their presence, but only got strange feedback in return.

She could tell they held some form of power, given they had made it to the middle point of the Heavenly Ascent, and no normal human could do that. But their Qi signature was intangible.

’There is no way they don’t have Qi. Climbing even the first step of the Heavenly ascent requires the start of a cultivation. Otherwise, they would have immediately fainted. But why am I not sensing their Qi? Are they using masking talismans?’ she wondered, keeping her eyes on them.

Everyone kept looking at the strangers climb, even though, by now, it was more of a trudge than an actual climb, as the guests had slowed down to over a minute of rest per step.

And from the plateau, Elder Bai kept watching them with a hawk’s gaze, his mind telling him something was wrong about this picture.

Alexander Leduc, their leader, had started emitting energy akin to Qi, and Bai Feng was getting nervous. He wasn’t alone, either, as the others soon echoed the same energy.

In truth, Alex had just started rotating condensed mana inside himself, making it more of a hassle to do since he had to focus on condensing it before rotating it but making the pain passable.

Ever since they had reached the fiftieth step, the pressure on him felt like someone was planting nails into his shoulders and pressing them with a multi-ton press.

And he knew the same was felt by the ones who had decided to climb on their own strength.

Their faces were scrunched up in pain, and even though they followed suit to his method, it barely seemed to help.

The master could feel the change, and even though he dismissed it as the intruders using a purer form of mana, which couldn’t compare to Qi, he was still curious about how far that could take them.

’This is the most action this sect has seen in the last two centuries. Maybe seeing strangers do this, without Qi, will stimulate the desire for growth from the disciples. It wouldn’t be bad. This batch is sub-par compared to the last one. There are fewer and fewer Qi-touched kids these days. It’s disappointing.’