Investing in the Reborn Empress, She Actually Calls Me ‘Husband’ Chapter 7: Summit

Three suns blazed within the cloudless firmament.

The bone-touching assessment had reached its end, yet the atmosphere remained electric as those who failed to qualify lingered to witness the final trial.

Before the newly admitted disciples lay two distinct paths winding toward the peak of Qingyuan Mountain.

The first was a standard trail, the common route used by sect members for their daily commute.

The second was choked with wild weeds, yet it radiated an aura both ancient and majestic.

This was the renowned Stairway to Heaven.

According to legend, this was a damaged treasure retrieved by the founding ancestor of the Clear Abyss Sect—a remnant from a forgotten era used by an ancient sect to evaluate their disciples.

"Ascend ten steps, and you shall earn the rank of an outer disciple," announced the stout Elder positioned before the Stairway.

"Fifty steps will grant you entry into the inner sect."

"And what happens if someone reaches the very top?" a bold voice rang out.

It was none other than Wang Hu.

A slight smirk touched the Elder’s mouth, as if he had provided this answer countless times before:

"The founding patriarch established that anyone who reaches the summit shall become the personal disciple of the Sect Master."

"However, in our entire history, only two or three have ever succeeded—and each was a genius possessing Heaven-grade aptitude. Do not let your ambition cloud your judgment, or you may stumble where you might have otherwise climbed high."

He paused briefly, adding that such counsel was intended for the majority.

This year, after all, featured that one extraordinary girl, did it not?

"Elder, wouldn’t those with powerful physiques or prior martial arts experience have an unfair advantage?" someone else asked.

The Elder answered with patience,

"Do not fret. The steps exert a pressure that suppresses physical strength."

With that brief clarification, he signaled with his hand.

"You have one hour. You may begin."

Following his command, a disciple ignited a thick stick of incense within a bronze censer.

The countdown was underway—yet the disciples wavered, none daring to be the pioneer.

"A bunch of spineless cowards! I’ll go first!"

Wang Hu marched onto the steps with unmatched arrogance.

Immediately, the surging energy within his frame grew still, no longer providing him with his superhuman power.

Despite this, he pressed forward without hesitation.

Ten steps... twenty...

By the time he reached the thirtieth, his stance became shaky.

The faint sound of a tiger’s roar resonated from within him as he fought against the crushing weight—allowing him to force his way past the fiftieth step.

Audible gasps erupted from the spectators.

Inner sect status.

With the ice finally broken, the others began their ascent, conscious of the burning incense. Every lost second was a step they might not take.

Some moved with speed while others crawled—but not a single face looked relaxed.

The gravity intensified with every stride, squeezing the very breath from their chests.

"Is that Lin Jiang? He’s making good time."

"Murong Xiao is even faster!"

"How can they look so untroubled?"

The majority, however, could focus on nothing but the climb.

Then, Ying Bing moved forward.

Every gaze shifted toward her.

The same question occupied every mind:

How far would this distant girl—the one with Heaven-grade talent—actually go?

"A fully intact Stairway would challenge one’s willpower as well," Ying Bing thought to herself, feeling only a minor resistance.

Furthermore...

This Stairway was ancient.

In time, its power might fade away completely.

Her form, as cold as a frost-lotus, ascended higher.

Ten steps... twenty... thirty...

She moved as though she were walking on flat ground!

The others were left far in her wake.

The assembly was struck dumb.

The question wasn't whether she would reach the peak anymore.

She was obliterating records.

Her potential might be the greatest the Sect had ever seen.

Ying Bing continued her rise.

Fifty-fourth step.

"Hm?"

Wang Hu noticed the abrupt silence behind him. He turned around and froze in place.

The girl’s eyes were like frozen snow—

Like a cold moon looking down upon the mortal world from the heavens.

For a moment, he found himself unable to meet her gaze and instinctively moved aside.

"Everyone is watching her," Li Mo whispered to himself.

Some people were cold on the surface but warm inside. Others were warm outside but frigid within.

But this block of ice? She was cold on the outside and domineering within. That was a first for him.

With that thought, he began to move.

Holding back?

There was no reason to.

The higher his ascent, the better his status would be—making it easier to cross paths with those favored by destiny.

He wasn't finished shearing wool from this ice-block just yet.

Furthermore...

He was curious to see his own limits.

A third-grade aptitude during the bone-touching test?

He still lacked a true understanding of his own potential.

How would an immortal physique perform in this world of martial arts?

He needed an answer immediately.

He took his first step.

"Huh?"

"These feel like perfectly normal stairs."

Li Mo tilted his head in confusion, then began taking three steps at a time.

......

Upon the elevated platform:

"That girl Ying Bing has a temperament that suits my tastes!"

The eyes of the woman in palace robes sparkled as she watched the girl advance like a blizzard.

Her movements highlighted her already impressive figure even more... clearly.

"Is it possible those two will end up together?"

Xue Jing stroked his beard, lost in thought.

In the letter he received, Li Mo’s father—his former pupil—had hinted at his desire for Ying Bing to be his future daughter-in-law.

But currently...

That seemed unlikely.

A third-grade aptitude was hardly enough to become a true disciple... Wait—

Xue Jing’s attention shifted to a figure sprinting up the staircase.

"Sect Master, let me have that girl! I will train her properly!"

The woman in palace robes pounded her chest, her speech slurred by alcohol.

The other Elders groaned in unison.

"Out of twelve hours in a day, you spend six asleep and the other six drunk!"

"Junior Sister Shang Wu, leave the poor girl alone. Do not stifle a genius."

"Over my dead body! I will never allow it!"

Every one of them wanted her as a disciple—

But they were united on one front: anyone but Shang Wu of the Ninth Peak.

Then—

The cry of a phoenix pierced the heavens.

Ying Bing stood at the very top of the Stairway.

Crows, magpies, geese, and eagles—thousands of birds converged from every direction, circling her in a display of submission.

The crowd was paralyzed with shock.

But the Sect Elders witnessed something far greater.

Behind Ying Bing, a moon-white avian phantom appeared—its plumage was magnificent, its aura both mysterious and grand.

The Sect Master, who had been silent until now, stood up suddenly.

"This girl can manifest the forms of a hundred birds, condense the very essence of a phoenix, and call forth the vision of the Great Moon!"

The eyes of Shangguan Wencang burned with intensity.

......

Those still climbing the Stairway could not see the divine vision—

But they heard the sky-shaking cry and saw the reverence of the birds.

Wang Hu’s shock transformed into greed as the celestial figure stood only forty steps above him.

Just as he braced himself to charge upward—

Tap.

The sound of a footstep echoed behind him.

Li Mo?

How had he reached this height?

"You must be using some sort of trickery to cheat the Heavenly Ascension Steps!"

"You still think you can stand beside her? Get the hell down from here!"

The eyes of Wang Hu were bloodshot, his expression twisted with rage.

Barely holding on against the pressure, he lunged to grab Li Mo’s collar, intending to hurl him down the mountain.

Li Mo: "?"

To his eyes, the other man’s movements were as sluggish as a crawling turtle.

Even at this point, they refused to let things go?

To be honest, Li Mo had no desire to humiliate anyone.

"Heh heh... The rules didn't say we couldn't fight on the steps..."

"Oh? What was that?"

"I said—"

Thwack!

Young Li executed a lightning-fast kick directly to the groin.

There are some pains so intense that even those watching feel it.

Every young man who saw the strike felt a sudden, cold shiver below the waist.

"Ugh..."

Wang Hu’s face instantly turned a dark shade of liver.

The agonizing pain made it impossible for him to stand—especially on the Heavenly Ascension Steps where the pressure was already staggering.

"Aaaah—!"

His screams faded as he went tumbling into the distance.

"Get out of the way!"

Someone yelled a warning, and fortunately, the crowd managed to dodge just in time, avoiding the human bowling ball that was Wang Hu.

"Peace at last."

Li Mo shrugged his shoulders and resumed his climb.

Earlier, Butler Han had looked his way but said nothing.

It seemed Wang Hu was correct—there really were no prohibitions against hindering others on the staircase.

However, since this wasn't a race, wasting one's strength just to spite another was sheer stupidity—a classic scenario of mutual failure. No one had ever been brazen enough to try it before now.

"That kid looks so cheerful and friendly, but his strikes are absolutely brutal."

"Wait, that's not what matters."

"Wasn't he supposed to be a third-tier talent?"

As someone voiced the question, the entire crowd went still.

Exactly—that made no sense!

How had he made it past the fiftieth step... no, he was already beyond the eightieth!

And he was moving as casually as if he were taking a stroll through a garden.

If Ying Bing’s display had left them in awe, then Li Mo’s performance was utterly nonsensical.

This is what they called a third-tier talent?!

"Butler Han, are you certain you didn't misread this boy’s bone structure?" a short, plump Elder muttered with skepticism.

The elderly woman who had previously assessed Li Mo turned pale, but she could only concede, "Perhaps my aging eyes have failed me."

Her admission left the Elders in deep contemplation.

That steward was renowned for her sharp eyes and vast experience.

How could she possibly misidentify something as fundamental as bone structure?

In the time it took for those few words to be exchanged—

Another figure joined the lone girl at the summit.

Ying Bing’s eyes sparkled with genuine surprise.

Reaching the top?

To her, it was simple.

Even on a complete version of the Heavenly Ascension Steps, she had encountered many capable of such a feat.

But he had never been counted among them.

A breeze blew by, causing Li Mo’s robes to flutter as he smiled.

"What a coincidence—you're up here too."

Standing above the world, a sense of exhilaration filled his chest.

It was a perfect moment—totally ruined when a crow, completely lacking in manners, landed right on top of the young man’s head.