"Well... why don't we start climbing these stairs?"

Right after saying that, Yun Ling lifted the unconscious Yue Dongmei off the stretcher and held her in his arms. Then, he placed the stretcher inside his storage ring as he looked at his students.

"There are a total of ten thousand steps in this staircase all in all. Since all of you are now in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it should only take you three hours at most to climb this staircase so I'm giving you exactly three hours to climb it," Yun Ling started. "If you still haven't reached the top after three hours, you will have to cultivate twice as much as the others will in your entire stay in the Great Buddhist Monastery. Yun Feng here will watch over you to make sure you do your part and protect you in case something happens."

Yun Xia was about to raise her arm.

"The same goes for you as well, Xia'er," Yun Ling said sternly. "If you don't reach the top within three hours, you will not be exempted. No one will be exempted."

Though he loved his daughter very much, Yun Ling wasn't going to baby Yun Xia all the time especially when it comes to her cultivation. If he did, then Yun Xia wouldn't amount to anything.

In the future, if she ever came across danger and he wasn't there, Yun Xia wouldn't be able to properly defend herself. Even if she had a high cultivation realm, an expert with a lower realm could easily kill her since she would be akin to that of a paper tiger— outwardly strong but actually weak. That was why Yun Ling would rather be harsh to her now and have her safe in the future than baby her and risk her safety.

Yun Xia put down her arm as she pouted at him, however, Yun Ling remained firm in his decision. He didn't let the adorable look on his beloved daughter's face affect him.

"Alright, let's do this!" Shi Zhong excitedly said. He couldn't wait to get ahead of everyone else and impress Yun Ling for being the first one to reach the top.

"I'm going to the top then..." Yun Ling said as he prepared himself to climb the stairs. "Snow Fang, Yun Feng, watch over them for me."

"I will, Young Master."

"Haha, don't worry Big Bro, I won't let anything happen to them," Yun Feng said as he smacked his chest making Yun Ling give him a dull stare.

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"Of course you won't because if you do..." Yun Ling's eyes went cold as he smiled kindly at him. "I think you already know what will happen, right?"

Yun Feng was a bit terrified when he saw that conflicting look on his elder brother's face. Yun Ling's eyes were telling him that he would suffer greatly if he messed up while his lips were showing kindness to him.

"I-I'm afraid, I don't. W-What will happen?" Yun Feng asked with a bit of a stutter.

"You don't wanna know."

"I-I got it, Big Bro..."

After he had scared off his mischievous younger brother, Yun Ling knew that he would surely behave and not mess around while climbing the stairs.

"Snow Fang, I'll hold onto him for you," Yun Ling said as he came towards Snow Fang while looking at the Lion King Cub.

"Waow!"

Snow Fang nodded at him and said through his Divine Sense, "I'll leave him to you then, Young Master."

The Lion King Cub hopped on Yun Ling's head after Snow Fang said that, making both Snow Fang and Yun Ling smile at the Lion King Cub.

"I'll see you all at the top then..." Yun Ling said one last time as he smiled at his daughter and students. "Do your best, everyone."

Right after saying that, he disappeared in front of everyone's eyes along with Yue Dongmei who was in his arms, and the Lion King Cub who was on his head.

'Fast!' Yun Feng thought to himself. His elder brother sure had improved a lot since the last time he showed off a few of his abilities to him.

Among the nine of them left at the foot of the mountain, Snow Fang was the only one who could follow Yun Ling's movements which was a given since he was a lesser beast in the same cultivation realm as Yun Ling. Moreover, he was once a Sacred King. He might've gone down by two cultivation realms but his senses as a Sacred King were still mostly there.

"Let's not waste our time anymore. Let's go," Snow Fang said to the children through his Divine Sense.

The children heard his voice and nodded. With that, they began climbing the stairs with Snow Fang leading the way and Yun Feng staying at their back.

...

It only took less than a minute for Yun Ling to reach the top of the stairs. When he got to the top, he took out the stretcher he put inside his storage ring and placed it on the ground. Then, he gently placed Yue Dongmei on the top of the stretcher.

"You've come back, Yun Ling."

Yun Ling was surprised at first when he heard a voice coming from behind him. Since he was finally a Fate Dominion Realm cultivator, his senses were greater than ever yet, he didn't even feel anyone approaching him. That was why he was surprised since they managed to sneak on him. After his initial surprise, however, he let out a smile as he recognized that voice.

He turned around and paid his respects to the handsome man wearing a buddhist robe behind him.

"This lowly one pays his respects to Tathagata," Yun Ling said respectfully.

The handsome man known as Tathagata smiled at him for a moment before fading away from Yun Ling's sight.

Before he disappeared though, Yun Ling could faintly hear his voice, saying, "Come inside after your little companions come up."