Chapter 717: The Dark Witch Just Matured
“Level 41!”
“Level 42!”
“Level 43!”
Amidst the onlookers’ loud exclamations, Bai Jiacao continued to advance.
She was visibly getting more and more exhausted as she walked. She no longer had the feeling of being able to lift heavy weights lightly and dance gracefully.
Bean-sized beads of sweat kept rolling down from her red cheeks and evaporated on her slightly trembling muscles, turning into a faint layer of white mist.
Her skin was also suffused with mysterious and complicated spirit tattoos that were as beautiful as feathers. It was as if a pair of beautiful wings were converging from her shoulder blade to her back.
She began to hesitate and frown, thinking hard about the best way to go up.
At Level 43, she stopped for a full 30 seconds and repeatedly adjusted the position of the cauldron.
The two sides of her shoulders were scratched by the sharp edges of the cauldron, leaving bloody marks. Her skin, which was originally delicate, swelled up like a ripe peach.
The scene made the corners of Meng Chao’s eyes twitch, and his heart ached.
However, he still held his parents’ hands tightly and said in a low, firm voice, “It’s okay. Believe in Xiaocao. Whatever she wants to do, she will definitely do it!”
Sure enough, it was just going to take a full 30 seconds. However, it felt so long like it was 30 minutes. Just when everyone thought that this stubborn little girl was finally about to choose to return the way she came, she carried the huge cauldron and took two steps in a row. She stepped on the 45th level, achieving the best result among this year’s freshmen!
At that point, she had already climbed nearly half of the Stairway to Heaven, reaching the height of four or five floors.
Everyone stretched their necks and stared at her every move.
Perhaps it was because she had been moving too fast, but she did not stand steadily and staggered all of a sudden.
A wave of exclamations immediately erupted from below.
However, she immediately squatted down partially. The muscles all over her body surged like a tide, and her arms spread out like wings. The cauldron rolled back and forth across the left and right sides of her shoulders before it miraculously stabilized.
Then, she took a deep breath. Bai Jiacao bit her lip lightly and stood up abruptly. Without any hesitation, she stepped on Level 46!
“It… It’s been broken. This year’s freshman record has been broken so easily!”
“She didn’t even look down. Doesn’t she know that she has broken the record?”
“That’s not right. She still has no intention of stopping. She still wants to keep going up. Is she crazy? She’s clearly trembling so badly, and her hands and feet are at the end of their rope. What on Earth is she trying to do?”
Hao and his classmates, who had just set the record of Level 45, were all stunned.
No one knew better than Hao how difficult it was to climb up forty-five levels of the stairway while carrying a three-hundred-kilogram cauldron.
No one knew better than Hao how terrifying Bai Jiacao was.
Only Meng Chao could vaguely guess his sister’s thoughts.
“So, from the very beginning, you’ve never taken this year’s new student record seriously? In your opinion, that isn’t a record at all.”
Meng Chao muttered to himself, “From the very beginning, you’ve made up your mind to surpass your idol’s achievement, the 47th level of the Stairway to Heaven set by the Tyrant, Wang Dao, and the historical record set by the new student of Dragon City University’s Martial Arts Department.
“Moreover, not only do you have to surpass their records in terms of levels, but you also have to surpass them in terms of time. You have to be faster and stronger than Wang Dao.
“That’s right, this is Dark Witch’s style…”
As he smiled, Bai Jiacao took a step toward the 47th step.
The stairway there was only five centimeters wide, but its incline was more than thirty degrees. It was made of a material similar to glass, and it hung down by four iron chains. It swayed with the wind and fully gave off a sense of fragility and instability. Anyone who looked at it would feel dizzy, as though the world was spinning.
At that moment, no one dared to make any sound.
Whether it was gasps or screams, they were all tightly locked under the tip of their tongues.
It was not until Bai Jiacao steadily stood on Level 47 that the surrounding people released exclamations of horror and huge tension as if they had been relieved of a heavy burden.
They did not dare to believe it, but it seemed to be logical.
This little girl named Bai Jiacao had equaled the record that had been set by the Tyrant for several years.
No, it was because her climbing speed was 27 seconds faster than that of the Tyrant. If she could return at a constant speed without any accidents, she would be the new record holder.
On the freshmen’s Stairway to Heaven ranking, her name would surpass the Tyrant and sit high at the top.
“No wonder the major media plan to call this batch of new students the platinum generation. They think that their potential is stronger than that of the Tyrant and Meng Chao’s golden generation. The future of Dragon City is more and more worth looking forward to!”
The students, teachers, and parents were all suppressing their excitement and discussing in low voices.
However, during this time, Bai Jiacao actually hesitated.
She changed her posture a few times bashfully. The big cauldron on her shoulder had seemingly turned into a cold, bone-piercing lump of ice or a burning fireball. She felt uncomfortable no matter how she carried it.
For the first time, she pulled her gaze away from the stairway in front of her and threw it on the onlookers below the stage.
It was as if she was looking for something in the crowd. Her eyes were filled with hesitation, anxiety, and even… a lack of confidence.
In the end, her gaze locked onto a young man in the crowd. He wore wide sunglasses and had an ordinary appearance. His aura was ordinary.
No one knew what this unbelievable little girl, who had just broken the Tyrant’s record, was looking for.
Only Meng Chao knew that his sister was asking for his guidance.
She was seeking his help, asking him if she should continue to move forward and completely shatter the previous record with an indisputable performance.
Meng Chao started to ponder.
Logically speaking, Bai Jiacao had already broken the Tyrant’s record. If she returned safely now, she would already be able to select the most powerful gold-medal instructor in Dragon City University’s Martial Arts Department, obtain the most abundant cultivation resources, and cultivate the most extensive and profound high-end courses. She would pave a shining golden path of transcendence.
However, if she took one wrong step and fell off the “cliff”, there would be nothing left.
Although she had already proven her strength…
Rules were rules, and she would have to start from scratch.
Meng Chao believed that no matter what kind of instructor, environment, and resources were available, it would be impossible to restrict his sister’s footsteps.
Nevertheless, as a big brother, of course, he still hoped that his little sister could choose the most comfortable, spacious, and fastest path.
So, he told Bai Jia Cao not to be too greedy and to stop when things were good?
Wait a minute…
Meng Chao read more information from his sister’s eyes.
His heart stirred, and he combined it with the personality of the independent, wanton, and unruly Dark Witch in the memory fragments of his previous life. She had stirred up the Other World’s entire continent, and Meng Chao came to a sudden realization.
It turned out that his sister was not asking for his opinion.
She had made up her mind from the very beginning and would never turn back. No one could change her determination.
She just wanted to get her big brother’s encouragement and support before she took that step.
That was right.
Since she had already surpassed the limits of her predecessors and herself, would it not be a pity if she did not try to take another step and reach an unprecedented state?
“My sister isn’t the second Wang Dao, but the one and only Dark Witch!”
As for failure, what was that?
Even if all previous efforts were wasted, her grades dropped to zero, and she was unable to obtain the most abundant cultivation resources from the Dragon City University’s Martial Arts Department, could he not secretly give his sister some special advice?
It was not easy for him to live a new life. If he could not act as the sturdiest “safety rope” around his sister’s waist, allowing his sister to climb, sprint, and soar without holding back, do whatever she wanted to do, explore every field she wanted to explore, and explore all the worlds that she wanted to explore, what kind of big brother would he be?!
Thinking of that, the smile and confidence on Meng Chao’s face became even stronger.
He grabbed his parents’ hands and nodded at Bai Jiacao.
“Go, Xiaocao. Sprint at full speed toward your dream. No matter what happens, Big Brother will always be there to take care of everything!”
Bai Jiacao saw her parents’ raised hands.
She also saw her brother’s smile and nod.
Her eyes were like the jet engine of a super-armored airship that had been added with accelerant. They suddenly lit up and spewed out extremely intense sparks.
Her tongue was like thunder as she shouted. Her body rose and fell as she lifted the cauldron up. She took the opportunity to break through Level 47 and charge toward the 48th step of the Stairway to Heaven!
No one expected this little girl, who had still been hesitant a moment ago, to suddenly become a completely different person.
It never occurred to anyone that once the tip of her foot lightly tapped on the 48th step of the stairway, her entire center of gravity would already land on it. When the cauldron landed on her shoulder once again, a sudden gust of strong wind actually blew from the side. It blew so hard that the chains hanging from the stairway made a “ding ding ding” sound, and more than ten steps on the stairway began to shake violently.
Bai Jiacao was like a flying insect that had its wings broken and was hovering on a wind chime.
She had no way to retreat. She could only grit her teeth and move upward. She adjusted her posture several times, but she could not find a delicate balance.
Her clothes were wet with sweat. The cauldron slipped off her shoulder, and the metal ball slipped out of the cauldron.
In order to save the cauldron, she took another half step and fell out from the side of the stairway.
“Ah!”
All the spectators who had been holding their breaths exploded like a balloon that had been blown to the limit.
Meng Chao’s pupils contracted into two red-hot needles, and the blood vessels in his eyes burst.
A faint but audible and strange “kacha kacha” sound came from under his feet.
Although he was still standing in the same place, a wave of essence, energy, and spirit seeped out of his 36,000 pores like invisible lava. Then, he turned into a fierce dragon that was about to pounce on his sister and catch her.
However, it was too late. Bai Jiacao stretched her limbs to the limit in mid-air, and like a young eagle falling off a cliff, she stretched her wings to the fullest for the first time.
The tip of her left foot gently hooked the chain that was hanging from the stairway’s 48th step.
Her right hand caught the big cauldron that was spinning randomly.
She took the opportunity to throw the free-falling metal ball back into the big cauldron’s arms.
The 300-kilogram cauldron then turned into a pendulum.
She circled the stairway and performed a 360-degree loop.
By the time she reached the top of the stairway again, she had already adjusted her breathing and balance.
During that perilous situation, a white pedal was firmly nailed to the 48th step of the stairway!
The entire place was dead silent. Everyone was frozen and petrified. No one dared to believe their eyes.
The future Dark Witch, however, blew away her unruly bangs that were hanging in front of her eyes. She stuck her tongue out and made a small grimace at her parents, as well as brother, below the stage.