Erwin chuckled. "Don't worry, I value my life. I won't take unnecessary risks."
Sunny Finch gave him a searching look. "I hope you remember that."
She then led him forward. Soon, they left Kunlun's main grounds and arrived at a different mountain peak. At the foot, Sunny produced a small disc and tapped it. Instantly, two figures materialized before them.
"Sunny Finch, senior student of Kunlun, greets the Elders!" she bowed deeply.
Erwin's pupils constricted. The two old men radiated a faint but unmistakable aura of power—divine power. He hadn't even sensed their arrival.
The Elders glanced at the disc in Sunny's hand. "Today is not the day to open the Celestial Path," one stated flatly.
"I have a letter from the Headmaster," Sunny explained, handing over a scroll. "He said you would understand upon reading it."
The Elder flicked his sleeve, and the scroll floated into his hand. After a brief glance, he chuckled.
"It seems you suffered a loss due to this scroll," he said.
Sunny smiled sheepishly. "I underestimated its complexity."
"Nonsense," the Elder waved a hand. "You are only the third student to attempt breaking the Headmaster's seal, and the first to reach the seventh layer. You have exceptional talent."
"You're too kind, Elder," Sunny replied, a hint of pride in her voice.
"Perhaps. But the seal contains ninety-nine array patterns. You have a long way to go."
Sunny's jaw dropped. Ninety-nine patterns?
The Elder tapped the scroll, erasing the text with a flick of magic. "Study this. If you solve it, the rewards will be extraordinary."
He then turned his gaze to Erwin, sizing him up. He exchanged a look with the other Elder, and both formed a series of hand seals. A white jade staircase materialized on the mountainside.
It appeared deceptively simple—just nine steps.
"You may ascend," the Elder said.
"Thank you, Elders," Erwin bowed.
"Your Mandarin is excellent," the Elder noted with a smile. "Hurry along now. Don't waste time."
Erwin nodded to Sunny, who gave him a fist of encouragement, then took the first step.
The world spun.
The sensation was more disorienting than Apparition. Erwin squeezed his eyes shut against the vertigo. When he opened them, he stood alone before the white jade steps. The mountains, the Elders, and Sunny were gone. Behind him lay only infinite nothingness.
Teleportation? Or a pocket dimension? Erwin wondered, his mind racing with the possibilities. If I could learn this...
He looked up. Halfway up the mountain, he could see the real Celestial Path. The other students had arrived and were watching him. To them, he appeared to be staring at nothing, standing rigidly before an invisible staircase.
"He's not moving," a new student whispered.
"He's likely studying the formation," an older student explained. "The path isolates you completely. It forces you to focus, removing all distractions."
Erwin, unaware of their theories, finally tore his gaze away from the phenomenon. He looked at the nine steps directly before him.
They looked ordinary. Stone steps, nothing more. But his instincts screamed that they were far from it. A cold, dangerous aura radiated from them—a threat even to a wizard of his caliber.
He took a breath and lifted his foot.