The moment my foot touched the first step, something akin to thought acceleration magic activated instantly.
Though acceleration magic isn't a debuff it's more of a double-edged buff. Your brain races, processing time hundreds of times faster than normal. To you, the world seems to slow to a crawl… but it's not the world that's slowing down, it's you who's thinking too fast.
One second becomes a battlefield of thoughts, emotions, and calculations. And in that endless second, it's easy to lose track of reality.
That's why this magic isn't exactly comfortable. The longer you remain in accelerated thought, the more strain it puts on your brain migraines, detachment from reality, or even permanent damage could occur if you're careless.
Climbing just one step while trapped in that acceleration feels like climbing thousands, maybe even millions of steps.
Still, for me, someone with near-absolute control over my energy, this isn't much of a problem. Even under the effects of thought acceleration, I can move normally and ascend the stairs.
The same was true for Lin An and Khalid. They climbed without showing the slightest sign of struggle. Khalid, in particular, looked completely composed, as if he wasn't planning anything suspicious at all.
I can't help but wonder when this guy will finally reveal his true intentions.
We had no issues climbing the first few steps, then the next, and the next. But eventually, we reached the halfway point up the hill and that's when things started to change. Thought acceleration began to distort our minds with illusions. I could no longer perceive my surroundings properly.
I started seeing illusions of everyone I'd ever known.
Technically speaking, I shouldn't even know that many people. For 20 years, I lived with only Sensei. Only recently have others started entering my life, and even then, not many.
But the illusion didn't reflect that reality. Countless familiar faces appeared to people who weren't real. No, they were those I once believed were real, until Sensei woke me up to the truth. They were illusions from the training simulations where he had raised me.
First came Erina, my queen, my heart, in the illusion where I ruled as a king. Her smile, warm and unwavering, still haunts me.
Then there was Emperor Feng, the stoic mentor who trained me when I was a vengeful martial artist. His eyes carried a weight I never fully understood.
And then... others. Friends, rivals, children. Ghosts of lives I once lived. Faces that had shaped me, even if they were never real.
But then, a line of text appeared within the illusion:
"Everyone here is a burden. You can only move forward if you let them go."
No further explanation came, and after a few seconds, the text vanished.
Let go of my burdens? Was it suggesting I kill them?
"What a stupid idea," I muttered with a sigh.
Even if they're illusions even if they're burdens you think I'd kill the people who shaped me into who I am?
"If they're burdens, then I'll carry them all," I said, and continued climbing the steps.
As expected, each step felt impossibly heavy. A hundred times normal gravity? I wasn't sure anymore. Even after activating the body reinforcement glyphs carved into my body, I still struggled with each movement.
And to make matters worse, from the very first step, any magic energy leaving my body was instantly dispersed just like what happened in the Sakti Forbidden Realm.
As a result, aside from the glyphs enhancing my body, I couldn't use any other magic to assist me.
One step… just one step felt like it took years. That was the combined effect of the mental burden and thought acceleration. I kept channeling mana continuously into the body enhancement glyphs. One… two… three… four… five after just five steps, I had already used up 80% of my mana.
If this keeps up, I'll run out of mana before I reach the top.
I didn't even have the luxury to check on the other candidates around me. All my focus was spent keeping the reinforcement glyphs active.
*
Meanwhile…
"What do you think?" Lin Feng asked the other generals through their shared communication system as they observed the screen displaying Gaia and the other candidates.
"The Thousands Stair to Heavens is a realm created by the Overseer using the same energy dispersion principle found in the Sakti Forbidden Realm," General Tian Fang explained. "If I remember correctly, it consists of 1,000 steps. The first 250 trigger thought acceleration, the next 250 invoke illusions of everyone the climber holds dear alive or dead."
"Not only that, the more people you consider precious, the heavier the burden placed on you," General Melfina added.
"I already knew that. No need to act like you're the only one informed," Tian Fang retorted.
"Then why did you explain it in the first place? Everyone here already knows what the Thousands Stair to Heavens is," Melfina snapped back.
And just like that, Melfina and Tian Fang started bickering again until General Chu interrupted.
"Fascinating... I didn't expect each candidate to choose such different solutions," said General Chu, watching the screen intently.
"Yeah, you're right. When I went through that trial, all of us took the same approach," Lin Feng replied, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.
"Too bad we can't see who they're seeing in their illusions," Melfina jokes.
"Typical of you. Always poking into other people's private lives," Tian Fang grumbled.
"What did you say!?"
"That's enough, you two," General Chu scolded, cutting off the brewing argument.
*
[System Notice]
◈ Domain Name: Thousand Steps to Heaven
◈ Effects:
– Thought Acceleration (All Steps)
– Emotional Illusions (Steps 251–500)
– Complete Mana Suppression (All Steps)
◈ Description:
A realm constructed by the Overseer of the Yinzhou Union using apostolic authority from the Chrones (UII) and enhanced through the sacred energy of Sakti. Refined repeatedly until its efficacy rivals sacred artifacts.
◈ Hidden Condition:
Reach Step 750 without slaying a single illusion. Something good will happen.
Wow… the Overseer really doesn't mess around. Creating such a complex domain just for a trial… And I only need to climb 250 steps without killing any of my precious ones? I'd do that even without being told.
"Activate System Skill Card: Absolute Qigong," Lin An said, holding a yellow card between his fingers that had appeared from who knows where.
[Phantom Rush: For 5 minutes, all burdens, debuffs, and status effects are nullified. You may move at full speed according to your physical capabilities.]
As golden light flared from the card, a warm aura enveloped Lin An's body. In an instant, every burden, physical exhaustion, magical pressure, even the debuffs gripping his joints vanished like morning mist under sunlight. His breathing lightened. The world cleared.
Then, without hesitation, he charged up the stairs. His steps were fast and firm, as though gravity no longer held sway over him. Each stride cut through the air, leaving behind faint afterimages. Lin An wasn't just running he was breaking through his own limits. Even with the chains forged from the illusionary images of his loved ones clinging to him, he surged upward.
Elsewhere, Luo Jin, Elysia, and Khalid were also finding their own ways to overcome the trial.