When I Lay Flat, the Female Lead Panicked - Chapter 23
Chapter 23: Collapse
The flow of time in the Immortal Gate was different from the outside world.
While the elders outside only had a moment to drink tea and chat, four days had passed inside the Immortal Gate.
Most of the people who persevered to the end had reached the last part of the entrance to the Tianyan Sect, a one-hundred-meter staircase that looked like a ladder to the heavens.
From a distance, a majestic archway with the words “Tianyan Sect” etched on it could be seen through the clouds.
Leading everyone by a long shot, Si Luoyu’s face was tired, but her expression remained arrogant.
Perhaps due to the non-stop battles and climbing, Si Luoyu’s appearance was no longer as glamorous as it was in Fengtian City. She was wounded, and there were a few minor tears in her expensive clothes. She looked quite disheveled.
But she didn’t have time to fix her appearance. Perhaps because she was unwilling to fall behind, Si Luoyu put all her effort into climbing the moment the archway appeared.
The finish line was within reach, and most of the people who had made it this far were exhausted.
But perhaps it was the strong belief that she was the first to arrive that supported her. Si Luoyu gritted her teeth and climbed even faster. In a short while, she reached the top.
Not long after she reached the top, the people who were following closely behind also started to arrive.
Soon, about a dozen men and women were standing under the Tianyan Sect archway.
“…” Her crimson lips were panting slightly. She didn’t even think about drinking water first.
With a slight frown, Si Luoyu’s eyes quickly scanned the people who had arrived, as if she was looking for something.
Where is Niewodie? Didn’t she also come to the Immortal Gate?
Si Luoyu subconsciously felt that the person who could be by Wen Nanshu’s side should not be too weak. She looked around for Luo Xiaoxiao.
But when she couldn’t find her, she guessed that Luo Xiaoxiao was probably far behind. She was inexplicably in a good mood. Si Luoyu felt a sense of smugness and pride, and she thought happily.
“Hmph, so what if Niewodie was lucky enough to be with Big Sister Wen?
She wasn’t the first to arrive at the Immortal Gate. The comparison of who is stronger and who is weaker has been revealed.
At that time, Big Sister Wen will definitely pay more attention to her than to Niewodie!
Haha! Haha! Ha!”
…
A long time passed. There were now more than thirty people under the archway. These thirty-odd people were the top-tier existences who had stood out from tens of thousands of participants.
The male cultivator who had been giving a speech and casting the formation in Fengtian City estimated that the time was right and that all eligible people should have arrived.
He slowly landed on his sword and walked in front of the dozens of people. He cleared his throat and said in a calm voice.
“Since you are able to be here, it means that everyone present has excellent perseverance, talent, and immortal fortune. Next, I will lead you…”
“Wait! There’s still someone!”
Si Luoyu saw that the Tianyan Sect’s leading cultivator had appeared, but Luo Xiaoxiao was still nowhere to be seen.
Si Luoyu felt strange. She followed the high staircase and looked down, searching carefully. She finally caught a glimpse of a tiny figure, like a small ant, that was barely visible but was moving little by little.
“Someone else?”
Everyone present was attracted by the person Si Luoyu spoke of and looked toward the small figure.
The leading male cultivator’s eyes also showed a hint of strangeness. He subconsciously turned his head and looked at a certain figure hidden in the clouds, his eyes filled with confusion.
Didn’t Head Disciple just signal for me to lead the team away? How could there still be someone down there?
He didn’t know if Wen Nanshu had missed someone or what, but seeing that the person still climbing below had been discovered, the leading male cultivator immediately decided to wait with everyone.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the person who was climbing laboriously, step by step, below. Her blurry figure gradually became clearer.
It seemed to be a girl who looked young.
Her pale face was soaked with sweat, and her beautiful eyes seemed a little unfocused.
She clearly looked severely exhausted, as if she would collapse backward at any moment. But she still persisted, working hard to walk upward step by step.
The girl’s state was very poor, which made some people feel a little anxious. But no one could help her, not even a little. Because this was her trial, her destiny… No one could intervene. They could only silently cheer for her with their eyes.
Fortunately, the girl was also determined. Even though she looked half-dead from exhaustion, she still insisted on moving forward.
As time went by and she climbed little by little, the girl was getting closer and closer to the finish line!
Ninety-nine stairs, eighty stairs, fifty stairs, thirty, twenty, ten…
Victory was within her grasp, but at the last ten stairs, her legs felt like they were filled with lead. Her physical strength was completely depleted. The fact that she could still lift her feet was purely a mechanical motion from her muscle memory.
Ten, nine, eight… three, two…
She was just one step away from the top, but as she used all her strength to lift her foot, she felt dizzy, and her vision went black.
She didn’t know if it was because her physical strength was exhausted or because the exhaustion from the continuous climbing and lack of rest over the past few days had caused her bl00d sugar to drop.
Her foot hadn’t even landed firmly.
She closed her eyes, swayed, and went limp.
She performed a live version of “youth is great, you can fall asleep anywhere,” and then she collapsed from exhaustion and fell straight into unconsciousness.
“Hey, you…”
Si Luoyu, who was closest to Luo Xiaoxiao, saw her about to fall after she climbed up.
She was about to mock her, but she froze. She subconsciously reached out to help her.
However, a figure was obviously faster than her. The moment Luo Xiaoxiao collapsed from exhaustion and was about to hit the ground heavily, the figure flashed and caught her firmly in their arms.
“…” Her vision was blurry and chaotic. She only knew that she had fallen into a familiar embrace filled with a faint floral fragrance.
She was so tired that her voice trembled, but as if she had sensed something, Luo Xiaoxiao instinctively spoke softly to the person holding her before she completely fainted.
“Uh… Big Sister, the, the Tianyan Sect, I, I conquered it, I did it…”
Her voice was weak but contained a hint of playfulness. Wen Nanshu felt a strange sense of emotion in her heart.
“Mhm, you did it…”
Her cold voice was as gentle as a feather stroking her cheek, soft yet solemn.
She lowered her eyes and looked at the girl’s face, which was soaked with sweat. After checking her breath and confirming that she was unharmed and had only fallen asleep from exhaustion, Wen Nanshu’s tense heart finally relaxed.
Down there, she had observed Luo Xiaoxiao’s breathing and stamina and knew she probably couldn’t hold on to the end.
Wen Nanshu hadn’t held out hope for Luo Xiaoxiao to make it to the top. She only wanted to protect her from getting hurt.
But she never thought… she would actually do it.
She really came to the Tianyan Sect, to… her side.
…
“Head Disciple.”
Upon seeing Wen Nanshu, he bowed respectfully.
The male cultivator who had been emotionless and cold in front of the new disciples now looked respectful and like a humble and studious disciple in front of Wen Nanshu.
“Mhm.” She nodded lightly, her expression calm.
She had no intention of causing a commotion with her appearance. She carried Luo Xiaoxiao to the stone column of the archway and gently put her down.
After carefully feeding Luo Xiaoxiao some spiritual water to help her recover her strength, Wen Nanshu said with a detached voice.
“Everyone is here. Take them for the test.”
“Yes.”
After receiving the order, the male cultivator gave a meaningful look in the direction of the still-unconscious Luo Xiaoxiao.
He then lightly coughed twice and said to the others present with a serious expression.
“Ahem, everyone should be here now. Next, as your leading senior brother, I will lead you to the Ethereal Peak. We will use the Ethereal Peak’s treasure, the Spirit-Testing Stone, to test your spiritual roots and talent attributes.
During the test, if you have exceptionally outstanding talent, you will be directly promoted to an inner disciple, bypassing the outer disciple status. If you are lucky and catch the eye of an elder and are chosen to join their peak on the spot, then…”
Wen Nanshu had no intention of disturbing the test. She only appeared for a short while before quietly leaving.
And throughout, Si Luoyu silently watched the person’s cold figure walk away. Her outstretched hand froze awkwardly in the air.
Her pretty eyebrows were tightly furrowed. Si Luoyu’s proud expression, which she had planned to show off to Luo Xiaoxiao the moment she got up, completely disappeared.
While feeling a mix of emotions, a strange phrase inexplicably floated through Si Luoyu’s mind:
“You laugh at her for not being first, but she laughs at you for having no one to feel sorry for her.”
Luo Xiaoxiao didn’t know how long she had been sleeping. When she groggily woke up, she seemed to be on a moving spiritual boat.
She sleepily rubbed her eyes with her hands, her eyes filled with confusion. Luo Xiaoxiao hadn’t even figured out how she got here when she heard a familiar, spoiled voice.
“Hey, Niewodie, have you leaned on me enough?”
“…”
She felt that she was indeed leaning on something soft. She slowly lifted her head and looked in the direction of the voice.
When she saw the young miss’s enlarged, angry, and menacing face in front of her, Luo Xiaoxiao was still confused.
Huh? What happened?
Her last memory was of herself climbing the mountain, exhausted. How did she end up leaning on this stupid young miss in the blink of an eye?
Could it be… that she lost some of her memory?
She felt as if she had forgotten something very important. Luo Xiaoxiao rubbed her aching temples.
She didn’t pay attention to Si Luoyu’s angry expression, which looked like she wanted to swallow her alive. She just subconsciously asked.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“Hmph, you have the nerve to ask. We’re almost at the Ethereal Peak. You’ve been leaning on me like a pig, sleeping for a good half-hour.”
Si Luoyu angrily glared at Luo Xiaoxiao and crossed her arms. She rolled her eyes impatiently. Her resentful tone made it sound like Luo Xiaoxiao had done something terribly wrong to her.
“…”
She didn’t bother with the young miss’s tantrum. She didn’t expect to have slept for so long. And for some reason, she didn’t feel tired at all when she woke up. She felt refreshed.
She simply thought that her feeling of lightness came from the spiritual energy that was floating around the sect.
Luo Xiaoxiao was trying to remember how she had inexplicably passed the trial and entered the Tianyan Sect.
But she didn’t expect that when Si Luoyu saw Luo Xiaoxiao ignoring her and falling into deep thought, her temper flared up. She coldly snorted.
She said angrily, “Niewodie, have you forgotten something?”
“Hm?”
Luo Xiaoxiao looked at Si Luoyu in confusion. She saw her angry expression and realized that she hadn’t thanked her for leaning on her shoulder for so long.
Luo Xiaoxiao’s expression was natural. She wasn’t shy and said sincerely.
“Thank you for your shoulder. It was very soft, and I slept very comfortably.”
“…Who told you to thank me for that!”
The words that were meant to be a provocation were misinterpreted as a request for praise.
And she was praised so deeply and so ambiguously!
Si Luoyu’s pretty face inexplicably turned red. She realized that Luo Xiaoxiao had misunderstood. She felt like she had punched cotton. She gritted her teeth and said.
“I wasn’t talking about that! You’re the last one to arrive!”
“Huh?… Oh.”
She didn’t understand what Si Luoyu was saying. Although she didn’t understand, she gave a perfunctory response out of politeness.
“Hey, I said you’re the last one. The last one!”
Seeing that Luo Xiaoxiao’s reaction was calm, even indifferent, Si Luoyu raised her voice and emphasized again.
“Oh.”
“You… you? Don’t you feel ashamed?”
“Ashamed?”
She heard the young miss’s strange question. Since she couldn’t remember what had happened, Luo Xiaoxiao tilted her head cutely. Her long eyelashes blinked, and her eyes, still a little dazed from sleep, met Si Luoyu’s in confusion. She said as a matter of course.
“Why should I be ashamed? I didn’t carry any honor and wasn’t in any competition.”
“You! You… you weren’t in a competition? What about me? Didn’t you…”
Seeing that Luo Xiaoxiao was so nonchalant, Si Luoyu’s questioning words choked up. Her tone inexplicably had a hint of grievance.
“Huh?”
“I said we would see each other at the Immortal Gate! That was my challenge to you! Now, based on the climbing order, I’m first, and you’re the last one!!!”
“…” Why is she getting so worked up?
Luo Xiaoxiao looked a little speechless. She probably knew what the young miss wanted to say.
Luo Xiaoxiao was silent for a moment. Then, with a look as if she was looking at an idiot, she complained helplessly.
“Are you a middle schooler?”
“…? What’s a middle schooler?”
“A childish person.”
“Niewodie, you! You’re in big trouble!”
“…”