My Crazy Upgrade System

Chapter 383: Chapter 382: Choice

With his mind made up, Yi Tianyun knew exactly which gate to choose.

"Let’s go. We’re heading in," Yi Tianyun said, starting to walk forward. Xu Fei nodded. ’What they do is none of my business. I just need to focus on my own path.’

Xu Fei walked up to the Earth Level gate. Seeing this, Wang Menglong, who was behind him, sneered, "So you’re choosing Earth Level, huh? As expected. With your abilities, that’s the only one you can choose."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wang Menglong strode to the Celestial Level gate. He shot Xu Fei a provocative look, then glanced at Hua Xiyin from the corner of his eye, hoping to see some reaction on her face. Unfortunately for him, Hua Xiyin’s expression remained perfectly serene. She was completely indifferent to his choice.

The Celestial Level was incredibly difficult; one moment of carelessness could mean death. Wang Menglong’s only reason for choosing it was to show Hua Xiyin how powerful he was, but she clearly didn’t care in the slightest.

"I choose the Celestial Level. For me, it’s no challenge at all," Wang Menglong announced, raising his voice. He then looked at Xu Fei and said, "Only those with exceptional talent dare to attempt the Celestial Level. The mediocre ones can only choose Earth Level or lower."

Xu Fei clenched his fists, but he didn’t say anything in rebuttal. He refused to be provoked into irrationally choosing the Celestial Level. If he did, he would very likely die inside just to prove a point.

’Calm down, calm down... I wonder which difficulty Yi will choose?’ When he turned to look for Yi Tianyun, he saw that at some point, Yi Tianyun had walked up to the gate with the highest difficulty—the smallest one of all!

His choice instantly drew everyone’s attention. Most of the onlookers were stunned. Nobody would ever choose the smallest gate. Going in meant certain death, so who would dare? You’d have to be crazy to pick the smallest gate.

History was filled with records of this. Cultivators of all levels, both high and low, had entered, but none had ever come out. The strongest was at the Void Spirit Stage, and the weakest was at the Spirit Refining Stage. Not a single person had ever emerged. It was, in effect, a death trap that made countless people recoil in fear.

The Celestial Level’s difficulty was high; those who returned all confirmed this, but at least it was survivable. As for the gate of unknown difficulty, no one had ever come back. Therefore, nobody knew what lay within.

What often inspires the most fear is not a powerful enemy standing before you, but the power of the unknown!

"Haha! Xu Fei, is that your friend? Is he out of his mind? If he’s got the guts, let’s see him go in and try!" Wang Menglong snapped out of his stupor and burst into laughter, finding Yi Tianyun’s choice utterly ridiculous.

"That’s right. Someone’s actually choosing the smallest gate. Looks like he has a death wish."

"Heh, maybe he’s just trying to get Hua Xiyin’s attention!"

"Could be. Look, Hua Xiyin is looking his way! It actually worked. But is he really going to go in, or is he just going to stand there?"

Hua Xiyin’s attention was indeed drawn to Yi Tianyun, but her beautiful eyes remained placid. She showed no particular interest. ’Unless he actually goes in, this means nothing. Anyone can stand in front of a door.’

"Yi, you’re not actually thinking of choosing that gate, are you...?" Xu Fei urged hastily. "That one is the most difficult! No one who has ever gone in has come out..."

"Hey, kid! If you’ve got guts, then go on in! Let’s see how brave you really are! What’s the point of just standing there? Go on, I dare you!" Wang Menglong goaded from the side, fanning the flames and mocking Yi Tianyun for hesitating.

Yi Tianyun completely ignored Wang Menglong and said to Xu Fei, "Wait for me on the other side. This might take me a bit longer."

Without another word, Yi Tianyun stepped forward and walked straight into the gate, vanishing before the light. Everyone was left dumbfounded. Even Hua Xiyin was shaken by the scene. ’He actually went in. He really doesn’t value his life.’

"Haha! Xu Fei, your friend certainly has guts! He said he was going in, and he actually did it. He even told you to wait for him. I’m afraid you could wait a lifetime and he still wouldn’t come out." Wang Menglong roared with laughter, his eyes dripping with scorn. "Birds of a feather really do flock together. He’s just like you, completely overestimating his own strength. The young lady of the Qin Family isn’t someone a minor character like you can have designs on. I’d advise you to go on back to being your family’s Third Young Master!"

With that, Wang Menglong shot another glance at Hua Xiyin before stepping through the Celestial Level gate without any further delay.

Xu Fei’s expression darkened. He gritted his teeth and said, "Yi will come out... and if he doesn’t, I’ll wait there forever!"

Without another moment of hesitation, Xu Fei stepped through the Earth Level gate and vanished into the light.

"My Lady, that boy who came with Xu Fei is truly reckless, choosing to enter the Gate of the Unknown. It’s obvious he didn’t do any research, or he never would have dared."

"Hee hee, I think he was just trying to get your attention, My Lady. Then he got provoked and had to go through with it to save face."

The two maids beside Hua Xiyin chattered on, painting Yi Tianyun in the worst possible light.

"That’s enough. What others choose to do is their business; it has nothing to do with us. Our priority is to help the princess find a trace of the next Great Emperor, and to use this place to temper ourselves," Hua Xiyin said calmly. "You two will take the Earth Level. I will take the Celestial Level."

Finished speaking, she ignored the stares of the onlookers and stepped into the Light Gate.

The remaining Cultivators looked at one another. Most thought Yi Tianyun’s choice was impulsive, but none of them felt any pity for him. ’If he dies, he dies. Who’s to blame but himself?’

「Meanwhile」 After Yi Tianyun stepped through the Light Gate, a road paved with cyan stones appeared before him, stretching out into the distance. The surroundings were pitch black; nothing else was visible. A single glance told Yi Tianyun that the road was flanked by a strange dimension. If he strayed from the Cyan Stone Road, he would fall into the Void, his fate unknown.

The Coiling Dragon Treasure Map didn’t have many details about this place. It only stated that he absolutely had to take this path; otherwise, he would never reach the treasure map’s final destination. A single, perfect line was drawn on it, leading straight to the end. As for what he would find there, that was unclear.

So, his reason for choosing this path wasn’t because he thought it would be easy. He chose it because the Coiling Dragon Treasure Map dictated that he must, or he would never reach the final destination. It was as simple as that.

’Let’s see just how difficult this road that no one has passed for so many years really is!’ Yi Tianyun’s eyes gleamed as he continued forward, pushing his Perception to its absolute limit!