I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

Chapter 551: Chapter 552 The Human Skin Mask Shows Its Power
Just as Li Xiaobai was feeling perplexed, a cultivator beside him suddenly let out a cry of surprise, drawing the attention of many cultivators.

Now is the time!

Li Xiaobai’s heart leaped with joy, his wrist flicked, and he pulled out a cherished human skin mask he had long stored away. Swiftly, he slipped it over his head, and his entire demeanor was transformed. He blended into the crowd and became completely indistinguishable as an ordinary person.

Looking up toward the direction the crowd was gazing at, he could vaguely make out several figures flickering on the fifth layer, one of whom was particularly burly.

It was his senior brothers and sisters!

At this moment, they were striding forward, taking large steps without stopping for a moment.

Without any attempt to hide, they were heading straight for the seventh layer.

It seemed that the reason these senior brothers and sisters had come today was to use the mysteries of this staircase to temper their bodies.

To Li Xiaobai, who had the System, the Linglong Pagoda was practically illusory, but for those geniuses at the same Tribulation Crossing realm, it was a rare opportunity. Even the eldest senior sister, who had half-stepped into the Mahayana Realm, was unwilling to let this chance slip by.

Standing under immense pressure to temper oneself, and feeling the exhaustion after all Spiritual Power in the Dantian was depleted, was greatly beneficial for laying a solid foundation.

This climbing speed was truly astonishing; one must know that even the sons of the three great families and Situ Guixiong were only just managing to finish climbing the third layer, preparing to ascend the fourth.

Yet the senior brothers and sisters seemed to be under no pressure at all, their pace steady and unhesitating.

“Hehe, thanks to you, my senior brothers and sisters, for attracting everyone’s attention. Without you, I couldn’t have changed my appearance so smoothly. Now, I can take the treasure without any worries,” Li Xiaobai murmured to himself, as he touched the human skin mask on his face, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting into a smile.

Using this face to take the treasure, and then removing the mask afterward, everything would remain in the dark. Even if exposed, no one would discover it was his doing.

With these thoughts, his steps also unconsciously quickened.

Below.

On the high platform, Long Xue’s eyes were filled with confusion.

She had been intently watching Li Xiaobai, wanting to see how far this unfathomable man could go. If he managed to reach the top, it wasn’t impossible for her to…

Thinking of this, Long Xue’s cheeks unconsciously flushed with warmth.

However, just a moment ago, her attention had been drawn to a couple of cultivators who had climbed to the fifth layer. When she turned her gaze back, Li Xiaobai had disappeared.

No matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find him. She checked everywhere from the first to the fifth layer and was certain that he was definitely not on this staircase.

It was also hard to distinguish him by his clothes, as there were too many cultivators dressed in white at today’s gathering. Li Xiaobai seemed to have vanished into thin air.

But her woman’s intuition told her that Li Xiaobai was on this staircase, climbing the tower with everyone else, and that he must have already started some secret operation.

“Could it be a Formation that conceals one’s presence?” she wondered.

“But I haven’t sensed any special spiritual power fluctuations, where on earth has this person gone?”

“Speaking of which, the seventh layer might really be topped by someone, if Young Master Li reaches the top, that matter could indeed be considered, but if those five people also make it up there, what should I do?”

“Damn it, if I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have made that promise in the first place!”

Long Xue’s cheeks flushed with color, her eyes shimmering, she felt a hidden anger. Her decision back then was motivated by a family alliance matter, to fend off the relentless pursuit of a suitor, she had set a rule and promise, through which she successfully regained her freedom and blocked the family marriage.

But she had never imagined, at this moment, facing the risk that six people might simultaneously reach the seventh level. Are the cultivators from overseas all so formidable?

For so many years, this was the first time she felt as if she hadn’t seen the world, but she quickly calmed down and steadied her heart. There was no use being upset now; as long as Xiaobai performed well and reached the top, she wouldn’t have anything to worry about.

With this in mind, the azure luster in Long Xue’s eyes twinkled as she resumed her quest to find Li Xiaobai.

On the third layer, Li Xiaobai had already surpassed most of the young geniuses, unbeknownst to himself.

His pace wasn’t particularly fast, moving steadily along; however, the cultivators around him were slowing down as if their bodies were filled with lead, each step they took was extremely difficult, Xiaobai was quite helpless about it.

In the journey of cultivation, one always stands out by contrast to others, even if one wishes to remain low-profile, it’s not possible.

However, this also showed the huge gap between Long Xue and these cultivators; even the most talented Beichen Shixi and his group were progressing slowly at the fourth layer’s steps, while Dragon Girl was leisurely living it up on the seventh.

In a direct confrontation on the stage, these cultivators probably wouldn’t last one move against her; there was no helping it, her foundation was simply too solid.

After all, the prodigies of this age group were mostly at the Divinity Transformation Stage, and only a few were among the geniuses who had entered the early ranks of the Tribulation Crossing Stage.

Facing the pressure comparable to the Tribulation Crossing Stage was still somewhat difficult to withstand, and after a moment of struggling, the majority of cultivators simply accepted their fate, sat down where they were, and began to cultivate slowly under that pressure.

The spiritual power inside Linglong Pagoda was exceptionally vigorous, far surpassing that of the outside world; the circulation of spiritual power within their bodies, alternating between consumption and recovery, greatly benefited the expansion of their meridians and the broadening of their Dantian.

Li Xiaobai was still moving along unhurriedly, swaying leisurely as he climbed up from the third level, drawing sidelong glances from other prodigies.

“Who is this person? He’s too powerful, isn’t he?”

“There’s not a single sign of hesitation or slackness in his walk, he’s just walking normally, and this kind of easy strength feels even more imposing than leaping up at once!”

“It’s terrifying to think about it, I’ve never seen this person before, could he be a genius from some secretive great family?”

“I don’t recognize him, a stranger, just look how slowly he’s walking; he must be a first-timer, gradually getting used to the pressure from the steps!”

“Such a prodigy, I must get to know…”

Watching Xiaobai’s comfortable demeanor, envy filled the eyes of the cultivators. Sometimes, the gap between people is just so vast, like an insurmountable chasm.

Powerless to do anything about it, they could only hope to establish a good karmic relationship, looking forward to getting some advice from him if they ever met again.

Reaching the base of the fourth floor’s steps, Li Xiaobai looked up and saw fewer than ten cultivators above, besides Beichen Shixi’s trio and Situ Guixiong, there were six members of major families slowly climbing up with solid and steady steps.

As his gaze swept past Situ Guixiong, Li Xiaobai’s heart stirred, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly; he had thought of a way to make money.