Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The higher we climbed, the more astonishing the increase in gravity became with each step.

Tang Xiaolian originally had the energy to converse and joke with Yan Yu, maintaining a strong front as if to say "I can still hold on." However, as time passed, she gradually became weak and breathless until her tongue almost lolled out.

Yan Yu was also drenched in sweat, with every effort to climb one more step causing his bones to creak as if they were about to break.

Suddenly, the weight in his right hand increased; it was Tang Xiaolian finally fainting. Had Yan Yu not reacted quickly, her head would have collided intimately with the stairs.

"Didn't they say... it's a test of willpower?" Yan Yu gasped slightly and asked, "How could she faint then?"

"It is a test of willpower indeed," the ethereal female voice from the Mysterious Realm said, "She didn't withstand this challenge, hence she has fallen unconscious."

"Unconsciousness is a protective mechanism inherently in the body, much like involuntarily closing one's eyes when a blade stabs at you, or instinctively withdrawing your hand when burned. Essentially, it's life's profound fear of death."

"Without a will resilient enough to overcome death, one cannot counter the body's own protective mechanism. Her falling unconscious is the best proof of insufficient willpower."

"However, since she has been eliminated, I can offer you two choices," the Mysterious Realm's female voice suddenly shifted in tone, becoming more indifferent, "First, abandon her."

"The difficulty of carrying the weight of two people up the Ascending Heaven Stairs is worlds apart from doing it alone. You could even get injured as a result."

"Second, continue with her. Of course, even if you do make it, I won't give you any additional reward."

"I see," Yan Yu didn't hesitate for long and replied, "Though there are two choices, I have already promised to make her owe me a favor, and therefore cannot go back on my word."

"She is unconscious," the female voice said, "No matter what you choose, she won't know."

"But I am still awake," Yan Yu said.

He slightly bent down to pull Tang Xiaolian's arm from around his neck, straightened his back, and then hoisted her body up with effort.
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Tang Xiaolian was quite slender, especially at the waist, which seemed it could be encircled with a single hand, but the augmented weight was not to be underestimated, forcing Yan Yu to take out an Elixir Medicine and pop it into his mouth.

The female voice from the Mysterious Realm seemed indifferent to this or perhaps had tacitly allowed him to use the power of the Elixir Medicine for a slight advantage, provided he did not abandon his companion.

The higher they climbed, the closer to his physical limits Yan Yu became, and he eventually understood why Tang Xiaolian had fainted—the bones in his entire body, each muscle, each cell seemed to be lamenting, all trembling uncontrollably under the unbearable weight, causing the string of reason within his mind to teeter on the brink of collapse.

He was simply holding on to a breath of air, fiercely rallying the remaining strength within his body to ascend. If he were even slightly slower or if his spirit slackened for a moment, and he let that breath escape, he would immediately be crushed to the ground, passing out.

But Yan Yu had also extremely rich experience in breaking through his own limits and suppressing his bodily functions... the specific reasons are not mentioned.

He simply looked on silently as the weights of both himself and Tang Xiaolian increased dramatically, staunchly continuing upwards, like an iron man that knew neither fatigue nor fear of damage.

Finally!

Yan Yu stepped onto the last tier of the Ascending Heaven Stairs and the suddenly disappearing gravity allowed his body to relax.

He gently set Tang Xiaolian down on the ground and then lay down beside her.

So tired, where's the medical team... oh, there's no medical team here to rescue us anymore.

Yan Yu slowly closed his eyes to let his nearly spent body rest and recover.

After what seemed like about ten minutes, he suddenly felt someone pushing him.

"Captain Yan!" Tang Xiaolian's crying voice gradually became clear in his ears, "You mustn't die! Don't die on me, Captain Yan!"

Even completely drained, Yan Yu could not restrain a vein from popping on his forehead as he suddenly opened his eyes and roared:

"Stop making noise! I'm just resting for a bit!"

Tang Xiaolian was stunned for a while and then broke into a laugh, wiping away tears and saying:

"But they always say on TV that if you collapse from exhaustion and fall asleep, you really will die..."

Yan Yu couldn't be bothered with this silly girl and sat up, only to feel that all the muscles in his body were sore, numb, and lacked the strength to exert any force.

"Tang Xiaolian," he said hoarsely.

"What is it, Captain Yan?" Tang Xiaolian promptly responded.

"I temporarily have no strength," Yan Yu said.

"Mhm, I can see that, you should rest well," Tang Xiaolian said tenderly and considerately, "We're not in a hurry to keep moving forward."

"How can we not be in a hurry?" Yan Yu revealed an irritated expression as if saying, "I can't explain it to you," "I'm not you! As the captain of the Zhenhai Team, my vacation time is extremely precious and can't be wasted here! Moreover, we are currently in a Mysterious Realm, and calls cannot come in from outside. If too much time passes, there's bound to be problems... Sigh, you won't understand.

Just help me up quickly."

Tang Xiaolian's eye twitched. She was annoyed but still maintained a smile, after all, he had indeed carried her up here.

"If I support you and we continue on, does that count as returning a favor?" She supported Yan Yu as he slowly stood up and tentatively asked.

"Don't bring up those meaningless words," Yan Yu said, "It would spoil the good impression I have of you."

"All right, all right," sighed Tang Xiaolian, "But Captain Yan, in your current condition, you probably won't be able to fight, right? My condition isn't great either..."

"Then you will fight in my stead," Yan Yu declared.

"I say!" Tang Xiaolian exclaimed, "I'm not in good condition either! I just fainted a moment ago!"

"I know, you don't need to remind me that 'you've rested for a longer time than I have'," Yan Yu said with a gentle smile, completely ignoring her protest and mused to himself, "As for fighting, well, I think we can adopt the Duan Yu mode."

Tang Xiaolian was momentarily stunned and gave a dry laugh,

"How could I be Duan Yu? We're of different genders, at best I'd play Wang Yuyan."

"Wang Yuyan could move her lips to give Duan Yu pointers in combat, can you?" Yan Yu looked at her with surprise, as if to say "do you have any self-awareness," "Frankly, you might not even perform well as Duan Yu, but we don't have a more suitable candidate at the moment anyway."

Tang Xiaolian fell silent, and then heard Yan Yu exclaim with a laugh,

"I just remembered, Duan Yu hails from the Kingdom of Dali, located in Nanjiang, and Wang Yuyan's birthplace is in the Wu-speaking region... How coincidental, isn't it? Haha."

"Captain Yan just told me not to speak trivially, and now you've started saying things that leave one speechless," sighed Tang Xiaolian.

"Let's go, Miss Duan," Yan Yu said with an unconcerned smile, giving the order, "Accompany me in exploring this palace."

Tang Xiaolian supported him as they approached the palace, only to see that the main gate was six or seven meters tall—cloaked in gold, iron, and copper, it shone brilliantly.

Before even entering, they felt a draft blowing directly against them, as if countless tiny blades were skimming past, causing a slight sting on their cheeks.

"What formidable metallic killing energy," Yan Yu exclaimed in awe, "There's either some kind of metal-based Magic Treasure inside, or it's hiding an extremely formidable Immortal Sword."

"Given our current condition, even if we find a treasure, we wouldn't have enough strength to refine it," Tang Xiaolian rolled her eyes.

"You don't understand," Yan Yu laughed, "If there really is an Immortal Sword inside, just laying eyes on it would be worth it for us Sword Immortals, even if it meant dying on the spot!"

"Well, I'm not a Sword Immortal," Tang Xiaolian complained, "nor do I care about any Immortal Sword. It's only because she said there was something for me; otherwise, I would have turned back long ago."

"That's right!" She suddenly became alarmed and urged Yan Yu, "I can follow your lead in combat, but whether or not we fight, you must listen to me! I'm afraid Captain Yan... if you happen to see some Immortal Sword and let your adrenaline take over, disregarding our physical condition to charge into battle! If we end up dead and without the treasure, then we would truly be at a loss!"

"Don't worry," Yan Yu said seriously, noting her earnestness, "If there's an Immortal Sword inside, I'll definitely get my hands on it!"

"Your understanding is the complete opposite of what I meant!" Tang Xiaolian said helplessly, correcting him once again, "Let me repeat: life comes first!"

"Of course," Yan Yu affirmed gravely, "What I mean is... to get it while we're alive, not to be buried with it."

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