Qi Yuan: I Am the Moral High Ground!

Thinking this, Qi Yuan looked toward the divine general. [Divine General of the Daylight Ascension Gate. Slay him upon the Ascension Platform to obtain control over Tianjue.] It seemed this NPC had not lied. "Fine, I accept the challenge!" Qi Yuan said, tightly holding Xiao Jia's hand. He had to bring Xiao Jia along; otherwise, she would bump into things again. Last time, he had not taken Xiao Jia when fighting Zanghua. By the time he saw her again, she had likely tripped and bumped around several times, covered in dust and dirt, looking so pitiful it made his heart ache. The golden-armored divine general looked toward Qi Yuan, his voice booming. "The battle begins; death knows no rest!" Following his voice, Qi Yuan saw a flight of stairs appear upon the Ascension Platform. Boom! Boom! Boom! As if the heavy footsteps of a behemoth thudded against the earth, the stairway stretched endlessly outward, descending from the firmament to the ground. After about a quarter of an hour, the stairs extended step by step right to Qi Yuan's feet. From the heavens down to the earth, a stairway reaching the sky appeared. Judging by the count, it matched precisely one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred. "Step onto the stairs and the battle begins. The victor ascends one step," the golden-armored man spoke, explaining the rules. Qi Yuan did not step up immediately, asking instead, "Can I rest halfway through?" "With each victory, you may step down from the stairs, but you cannot remain in the outside world for more than one day, or you will be forcibly summoned! Take note: one year on the stairs is one day in the outside world." "Oh, that works then." Qi Yuan felt completely relieved. He looked at Xiao Jia with a smile. "This time, I'll fight side by side with you." In his heart, he added another line: *Side by side with everyone from the Five Elements Forbidden Ground and the Yin Yang Forbidden Ground.* These 129,600 battles would be the perfect opportunity to temper his combat experience, honing the battle experience and insights of those eighty-four people. Qi Yuan had gained plenty of insight from his battle with Zanghua. Ascending the Daylight Ascension Platform was an excellent opportunity. The combat experience he lacked should get thoroughly tempered, should it not? Besides, after going through so many battles and slaying so many monsters, he should also gain a ton of EXP, right? Carrying these thoughts, Qi Yuan stepped onto the first stair. The scene before his eyes shifted instantly. He seemed to stand upon the Ascension Platform itself. Qi Yuan scanned his surroundings. He discovered that where he now stood was like a gladiatorial colosseum. Tens of thousands of seats surrounded the colosseum. The seats were tiered, some high-class, some ordinary. It seemed that in the past, spectators had sat here watching duels in the arena! Now, however, it was completely empty, without a single spectator. This made Qi Yuan, with his social anxiety, feel quite a bit better. "Good thing nobody's watching, or it'd be awkward." Right then, the sound of a massive heartbeat thudded. Qi Yuan saw a burly, towering man with a bare upper body, looking like a sumo wrestler from that island nation living the good life, charging toward him. That was not a living being, but an afterimage—or rather, a monster that could provide EXP! "Xiao Jia!" Qi Yuan fused with Xiao Jia. Then, he closed his eyes. At this moment, he was no longer himself; he was Long Pan. When drawing on insights, one naturally started with the strongest. Long Pan's memories and combat experience welled up into Qi Yuan's mind like a spring. Now, he forgot his own techniques. He treated himself as Long Pan. If he were Long Pan, how would he face this enemy? Then, Qi Yuan moved. He turned around, his back facing the burly man. Then he reached backward, seizing the burly man by the neck. A slam! Bang! The burly man crashed down. Blood sprayed across the ground, staining the arena red. Qi Yuan won this battle. Qi Yuan opened his eyes, reflecting on the pros and cons of the battle. *Why fight with his back turned?* *Turning his back on all living beings?* *It does look pretty cool and aloof.* *Oh, wait, no—it's because he blushes!* Qi Yuan instantly grasped the crux. With the first battle won, the second battle began. Qi Yuan lifted his foot and stepped onto the second stair. An enemy appeared once more. This time, it was a ferocious beast that looked like an alligator. Qi Yuan closed his eyes again. ... Seven days later, Qi Yuan logged out of the game. Going out for a stroll, he couldn't help blurting out upon seeing Jiang Lingsu: "Junior Sister, you've gone green." At this moment, Jiang Lingsu wore a simple green dress, looking ethereal as a secluded valley, but what drew the most attention were the instant-noodle green leaves on her head. Her hair had turned into instant-noodle curls, but made entirely of green leaves. Lush and exuberant. Qi Yuan even spotted little sparrows nesting among the dense foliage. Jiang Lingsu glared fiercely at Qi Yuan. "You're the one who's gone green! This is Wood Essence, a wonderful thing!" Just today, the Divine Light Sect had been shaken once again! Many cultivators had begun sprouting green buds and leaves on their heads and other parts of their bodies. At first, turmoil swept through the sect; some assumed someone had cast a dark spell to sabotage them. In the end, the sect master stepped forward, announcing that a Wood-element supreme treasure might have emerged into the world, which was why such a phenomenon occurred. Only then did everyone in the Divine Light Sect calm down. Many searched for the Wood-element treasure, while many also discovered that the green leaves and grass growing on their heads and bodies were Wood Essence, of tremendous benefit to cultivation. Consequently, quite a few plucked the Wood Essence to sell, while other cultivators absorbed it themselves. Among them, the Wood Essence grown on the bodies of pretty female cultivators fetched sky-high prices and was exceptionally popular. This made Qi Yuan gnash his teeth in envy. Clearly he was the one who had created the Wood Essence, yet it had all grown on others, letting them make a fortune! He had even considered whether he should knock those people out in secret and shave off all their hair and Wood Essence. But on second thought, he was only envious; his morals were still intact. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Otherwise, he would create a bunch of hairless monks and nuns. Could anyone even stay in this sect anymore? "Junior Sister, how about giving me some of the Wood Essence on your body?" Qi Yuan asked tentatively, looking at his junior sister. Jiang Lingsu's face flushed at once. "No way." "Junior Sister, I saw plenty of people selling it outside..." Before Qi Yuan could finish, Jiang Lingsu cut him off. "Get lost!" This Wood Essence was connected to her body, practically an extension of her flesh in some sense. How could she give it to someone else, let alone a man? However, she glanced at Qi Yuan, deep perplexity flickering in her eyes. "Eldest Senior Brother, the scent of blood on you has been quite heavy lately." "Huh?" Qi Yuan recalled that in the game, as he challenged the Daylight Ascension Platform, he had slain who knew how many beings. Because on each stair, it was not merely a single enemy; it could be an entire horde. Could the killing intent and scent of blood from the game carry over into reality as well? "Is it really heavy?" Qi Yuan asked uneasily. Jiang Lingsu nodded. "If you hadn't been holed up on Seven Colors Peak every day, I'd even suspect you sneaked out one day and wiped out someone's whole clan." Hearing this, Qi Yuan's eyes widened. "Why are you besmirching my innocence out of thin air? I didn't wipe out the Black Mountain Sect!" Jiang Lingsu laughed. "Who knows? Maybe you really sneaked out and hacked everyone in the Black Mountain Sect to death with that kitchen knife of yours." Qi Yuan's gaze turned instantly chilling. "Junior Sister, you know too much!" For some reason, an inexplicable shiver ran through Jiang Lingsu's heart. Looking at Qi Yuan, she felt a trace of fear, yet she still said, "Senior Brother, I don't know why you have such thick killing intent on you. But you'd better disperse it, or hide it away. Otherwise, it won't do your cultivation any good and will spawn inner demons. More importantly, if you run into some eccentric great cultivators, they might act on Heaven's behalf and eliminate you." Recalling something, Jiang Lingsu felt a flicker of fear and aversion deep inside. She knew cultivators like that. Those cultivators belonged to a certain organization. The members of that organization hated evil like poison, yet their reputation was far from good. They called themselves emissaries of justice, yet everything they did was overbearing to the extreme. Once, a cultivator wiped out a bandit stronghold, only to cross paths with someone from that organization, who killed him on the grounds that the scent of blood on him was too heavy. In any case, only what they defined as justice was justice. If they said someone had killed too heavily, no matter the reason, that person deserved to die. "What? There are people like that who want to vanquish demons and exterminate monsters on me?" Hearing this, Qi Yuan could barely keep still. Jiang Lingsu was speechless. She really couldn't comprehend how her Eldest Senior Brother, whose brain clearly had issues, ended up with such a heavy scent of blood on him. Could playing too many games really affect reality? "There really are people like that, and more than one—it's an entire organization. What, Eldest Senior Brother, are you going to go wipe out their whole sect too? They aren't weak like the Black Mountain Sect; their Divine Infant realm experts alone reach double digits," Jiang Lingsu teased. Hearing this, Qi Yuan slumped dejectedly to the ground. "I'm so useless, so weak and helpless! I can't even kill all those loathsome people overnight and wipe out their whole sect." Then, thinking of something, Qi Yuan said, "For people this vile, I ought to unite with righteous figures and wipe them out!" Accustomed to her Eldest Senior Brother's bizarre train of thought, Jiang Lingsu was happy to banter along with him. "Righteous figures won't do. What they represent is justice itself, yet they often commit evil deeds in justice's name." "Operating from the moral high ground?" Qi Yuan asked. Pondering for a moment, Jiang Lingsu understood what he meant. "Exactly." "Despicable! How dare they copy me? Only I get to occupy the moral high ground! Hmph, those who learn from me may live, but those who imitate me shall die! If I'm not the head of that organization, they're doomed! And even if I become the boss, I'll revoke the human status of all those evildoers and rebels!" Revoke their human status? Jiang Lingsu was stunned. "Eldest Senior Brother, you're truly ruthless!" "By the way, what's this organization called?" "Palace of Light." "Palace of Light? Why don't they call themselves the Illuminati?" Qi Yuan muttered, then declared, "I've memorized their name. They'd better not run into me, or they'll be in for a world of hurt." After saying that, however, Qi Yuan thought of something and grew worried. Lowering his voice, he leaned close to Jiang Lingsu's foliage-covered ear and whispered, "Junior Sister, their sect doesn't have an Innate Saint who can sense that I just mentioned them, right?" "...No." Qi Yuan let out a sigh of relief. That was good. Still uneasy, he asked, "They won't suddenly come to Seven Colors Peak, will they?" "No." Jiang Lingsu felt she shouldn't have told her Eldest Senior Brother in the first place—she had scared him half to death. Hearing this, Qi Yuan felt greatly reassured. "Sigh, you're right. I need to get rid of the blood scent on me." Jiang Lingsu added faintly, "However, I heard that someone from the Palace of Light came to Great Shang, seemingly to meddle in Great Shang's Dragon Contention." "What?" Qi Yuan was startled. "It's fine. He isn't strong, only at Foundation Establishment." "No one else came?" "No." That night, Qi Yuan returned to his room and did not sleep well. Still, remembering that he hadn't cleared the game yet, he decided to put the matter aside for now. After all, he stayed on Seven Colors Peak every day. How could he possibly be unlucky enough to run into busybodies meddling in other people's business? Besides, he had no grudge with the Palace of Light and had never even seen them. He cared about saving face, so he would feel embarrassed to claim the moral high ground against them. The Black Mountain Sect, on the other hand, was different.