Chapter 609   – Cheaters

Pagoda Treasure of Eden Garden Sect was often used to measure the talents and foundations of their disciples. Only immortals or mortals could enter this place. Had a deity entered this building, they would have been instantly kicked out.

The second floor was the passing mark for candidates, who were aspired to become official initiates of the sect.

The fifth floor was the separation line between top initiates and outer disciples. On the other hand, outer disciples needed to reach the 20th floor to become inner disciples.

To become a core disciple, inner disciples were required to reach the 50th floor. Anyone who could pass through this level would be qualified to enter Eden Garden Planet or become the sect's elder.

From the 51st floor to the 100th floor, they were there to measure the talents of core disciples or potential elders as not many immortals could condense more than 50 stellar stars in their dantian.

However, an anomaly occurred today.

Sun Bin, Grand Elder Rah, Grand Elder Mu, and many elites from the sect spectated the first examination round by looking at the leaderboard ranking. Their expressions were strange.

Miaomiao's progressing speed was too abnormal.

Moreover, Miaomiao managed to reach the 85th floor, and he hadn't been ejected yet!

Sun Bin wryly smiled as he remembered the day Adam had brought Miaomiao here. At first, he thought that Adam used his connection to bring his relative here, but it was not the case.

Miaomiao was the real deal!

'Indeed, he's special. Mao Miaomiao might have been hiding his true cultivation base or being sealed, and now he's showing his true power. Or maybe, he was actually a weak mortal. But after he got proper guidance from Adam and lived in the best environment, his true potential was stimulated.'

Sun Bin randomly guessed about Miaomiao's background. He smirked and shook his head.

'Alas, it's a pity. He can't reach the top floor with the remaining time.'

No matter how talented Miaomiao was, it was impossible to travel from the 85th floor to the 100th floor within less than 10 minutes. After all, the oppressing strength of the pagoda might be too strong for a mortal like Miaomiao.

It was a miracle that he got that far. Sun Bin believed that Miaomiao had proven himself, and nobody would question his status in the sect.

But suddenly, the crowd gasped in shock.

Miaomiao progressed to the 86th floor!

Sun Bin's expression was solemn. He checked the remaining time.

Seven minutes.

Not enough time to reach the 100th level.

'You've done your best. Just give up and come out already. You still need to take the second part of the assessment examination.'

Sun Bin sighed and averted his eyes from the leaderboard.

But the commotion hadn't ended yet. The noise was louder than before.

"IMPOSSIBLE!"

Grand Elder Mu also exclaimed in shock.

Annoyed by the loud voice, Sun Bin looked at the leaderboard again. Then, he was flabbergasted.

th floor?

But it had been less than ten seconds! What happened?

As Sun Bin kept staring at the leaderboard, the number and the scores of Miaomiao kept rising.

Miaomiao moved up a floor every 10 or 20 seconds!

Something was not right!

"Is he cheating?!"

Grand Elder Mu spoke what was on everybody's mind. Now, the progress was abnormally faster than the usual pace.

Sun Bin also narrowed his eyes. He also suspected Miaomiao of cheating.

…

Miaomiao never stopped. The clock near the leaderboard told everyone that he had about 4 minutes remaining, but Miaomiao was already on the 99th floor.

One more, and he would reach the top!

While Sun Bin, Grand Elder Mu, and other elders speculated that Miaomiao might be cheating, a black portal manifested on the mountain peak. Then, several elves from the Eden Garden came out.

Adam and his followers paid them a visit.

Grand Elder Rah, Fu Daotian, Sun Bin, and all powerhouse elites descended on the mountain and knelt to pay respect to their god. However, Grand Elder Mu refused to salute Adam.

Adam waved his hand and allow them to stand. He then turned to look at the leaderboard.

Grand Elder Mu was annoyed by Adam's demeanor. He spoke out loud.

"Being the King Piece of a Sage must be nice. Your kid can blatantly cheat the sect's prestige annual event, and nobody can do anything about it."

Adam snickered, but his eyes continued to look at the leaderboard, "You thinky?"

"Obviously, your illegitimate child must have used a heavenly artifact or something to negate the suppression force of the tower! Do you think a mortal can have the sturdy physique of a 100-Star Stellar Constellation Immortal?"

"Logically speaking, it's impossible."

"See?" Grand Elder Mu burst into laughter, believing that Adam had dug his own grave.

But Adam hadn't finished yet.

"It's impossible for a human, elf, dwarf, demon, or vampire indeed."

Grand Elder Mu was stunned as he felt like Adam was implying something that he had overlooked.

Not a human, not an elf, and not a demon?

Wait a minute… Wasn't Adam a War Droid?

Then, what about Miaomiao?

Grand Elder Mu brought out a jade slip, which contained the records of all candidates, initiates, and disciples. He scanned through the content to find the recorded detail of Miaomiao.

He found it.

"!!!"

Miaomiao was a first-generation war droid!

The same generation as Uriel and the leaders of the Trumpet Alliance!

Suddenly, Grand Elder Mu sensed a chill running up and down his spine. He remembered the terror of the Devil and his goons, who had almost killed him several thousand years ago.

In the past, Mu Yi attempted to challenge Devil to become famous. However, he ran into one of the leading figures of the Trumpet Alliance – 1st Generation War Marionette, Metatron.

Metatron's physique was indestructible. Mu Yi used everything to kill Metatron, but the latter simply stood still and tanked everything as if Mu Yi's power were weaker than a baby's punch.

After Mu Yi was exhausted, he realized that Metatron's physical strength and toughness alone were on par with pseudo-sage. He fled in a horror.

Metatron forgave him. However, Devil suddenly showed up and slaughtered Mu Yi's family and clansmen, forcing him to migrate his remaining clansmen to the Dark Forbidden Zone to hide.

Then, Mu Clan sought shelter with Eden Garden Sect, but he realized later that the sect belonged to Adam.

Mu Yi hated war droids. Thus, he never showed respect to Adam.

And now, the feat of Miaomiao reminded Grand Elder Mu Yi of Metatron's phsyique. He suspected that Miaomiao's natural toughness might be the same as that archangel.

Mu Yi clenched his chest as his heart demon threatened to disrupt his Dao Heart. He glared at Adam, "What is Mao Miaomiao?!"

Adam laughed, "The strongest war droid in history!"

"…"

"Or should I say, the most broken war droid that has ever been created! Well, you can tell from his prowess. He can kill a deity while he's a mortal. And now, he has grown a lot stronger. It's a matter of time before he surpasses me and Devil."

"W-What?!"

Adam's voice was soft, but cultivators had good ears. Everybody could hear everything loud and clear, and the crowd was thrown into an uproar.

Miaomiao, the strongest war droid in history?

That explained why Adam brought him here!

It also explained his abnormal strength and his ability to tame immortal centipedes!

Miaomiao's fans cheered and gazed at the leaderboard in admiration.

…

Time slowly passed. One minute until the test was over.

Miaomiao's score finally changed once more. Now, he reached the 100th floor.

The top floor finally!

Many elders looked forward to seeing Miaomiao's glorious return while haters still thought that Miaomiao had cheated. Even Mu Yi still didn't believe it.

However, there was no notification or feedback from the plane and the pagoda.

Adam narrowed his eyes as he found it strange. Normally, the sect's pagoda would have announced Miaomiao's accomplishment and rewarded him.

However, the pagoda was still in silence.

Adam pinched his fingers and used the karmic deduction power to read the past events inside the plane.

Suddenly, he widened his eyes.

The Origin Primordial Yin Flame, Origin Primordial Yang Flame, and various types of compound element powers in the pagoda were not supposed to exist. The pagoda never had those power!

Yet, everything appeared as if someone had set up the stages for Miaomiao to reap the profits!

Adam easily discovered the cause of this mess. He found a trace of a colleague, who was the avatar of the Pioneer of Chaos and the Founder of Heavenly Dao.

'P-Pangu?! No. This force is not from the avatar. It's from Pangu's real body! Oh, god. THIS IS BLATANTLY CHEATING!'

The pagoda treasure had been tampered with by Pangu!

…

Meanwhile, Miaomiao stood on the top floor of the pagoda, staring at the sky with a deep frown.

Beyond the pagoda were floating stone plates, which formed another stairway to the sky.

'A stairway to heaven?'

Miaomiao looked at the remaining time he had in this realm.

seconds.

Even after he had slowed down the time flow, he wasted so much time to refine his physique and dantian. However, everything was worth the investment.

The only downside was that he didn't have enough time to go beyond the 100 floors. He wished to explore the road to Heaven.

Fortunately, he had plot armor on his side. The pagoda's voice made an announcement.

<Mao Miaomiao has reached the top floor of the pagoda.>

<Mao Miaomiao may choose between these three rewards.>

<One – Heavenly Dao Merit Marble.>

<Two – 9th-grade Soul Stone.>

<Three – Extend Assessment Test Time by One Day.>

Miaomiao glanced at the choice and scoffed.

"Motherfucker. I don't need Heavenly Merit anymore. All my elemental continents are now stellar stars. Even if I have it, I will just increase the number of stellar stars by one."

Miaomiao also didn't need the 9th-grade soul stone as he had the 4th-grade soul stone mines in his dantian. His isolated training space was a money-making machine, so he had no problem with money and cultivation resources.

Although the 9th-grade seemed domineering and promising, the last choice was more attractive since Miaomiao might be able to learn or improve his physique at a higher level.

Miaomiao pressed the last line right away.

Time was priceless, so why not?

<You have chosen the third choice.>

Ding

<Heavenly Dao of Zenith Heaven approves of your choice.>

<Heavenly Dao of Zenith Heaven has purified you. All seals on your Qi and dantian has been dispelled.>

Miaomiao grinned. He warmed up his muscles and gazed toward the sky.

"Highway to Hell, here I go!"

I'm on a Highway to Hell!

Miaomiao activated the Dao of Eurobeat, sending the hard rock guitars sound to Heaven while he sang an iconic song.

<Heavenly Dao of Zenith Heaven corrects you. It's a stairway to Heaven, not Hell.>

As soon as Miaomiao took the first step to the floating stone plate, his entire body was shattered to blood mist, leaving him with his only transparent soul.

Ding

<You died.>

???

A split second later, his physical body was reconstructed. All flesh and blood regrouped and recreated the body.

Miaomiao widened his eyes in shock. He didn't expect to be attacked by a strange force.

Did he just die?

How did he die?

This was not Dark Soul or Elden Ring! How the heck did he die or get resurrected?!

Miaomiao didn't remember that he had used a respawn skill or had saved a respawn location. He was confused.

"What the? HOW?!"

<Heavenly Dao of Zenith Heaven explains that the Stairs to Heaven will destroy your fleshy body. But it will automatically resurrect you.>

<The stairs shall refine your soul at the cost of your lifespan. Every time you reconstruct your body, the Heavenly Dao shall consume your lifespan by 1,000 years.>

<Heavenly Dao of Zenith Heaven hopes that you have stocked enough lifespan for this event. After all, the sky has no limit, and there are infinite stone plates to use... or commit suicide.>

"…"

Miaomiao narrowed his eyes. He reexamined his body, soul, and the people in his dantian space.

As soon as he discovered the changes, he was astonished once again.

"Ha… haha… HAHAHAHAHA!!"

Miaomiao formed and hand incantation and attempted to summon Liu Guang back to the dantian space.

A portal was opened in front of him.

…

Outside the testing ground, Liu Guang observed the event from afar.

Miaomiao didn't forget her. On the contrary, he had entrusted her with a task. She was supposed to keep watch on Xie Lian and protect him because the quest demanded Miaomiao to keep Xie Lian alive.

While Liu Guang was outside, she could still sense her soul core in Miaomiao's dantian even though their bodies were far apart.

Liu Guang didn't know how and why her elemental planet had evolved into a stellar star. Moreover, her soul core's energy was on the verge of growing, but it lacked a push.

She had the urge to return to Miaomiao. It was uncomfortable to be outside for too long.

She missed the isolated training space now. Liu Guang felt like the outside world was no longer interesting anymore.

As Liu Guang was eager to go back, a portal appeared in front of her. She could also see the other side of the portal and hear Miaomiao's voice.

'Guang'er, come back. Time to breakthrough.'

"Eh? Wait, since when can you…"

Liu Guang was confused. She didn't know how Miaomiao managed to create a portal in front of her while they were in a different realm or place.

'Well, I can find my sentinels in the other realms now. I can even sense Xie Tian's presence in the other place. For now, come back. We can tackle the Transcendent Soul Realm now!'

Hearing that Miaomiao was confident enough to breakthrough, Liu Guang rushed into the portal.

The portal was instantly closed after she had entered.

Many cultivators noticed the portal, and they tried to sneak in.. However, no one managed to infiltrate Miaomiao's private universe.