After hanging up the call with Yao Lan, Lin Huang returned to his hotel and logged in to the Genius Union again.

  On the Stairway Tree, the notice from the Emperor’s Heart had become the focus of the public, and a majority of them believed the investigation result of the Emperor’s Heart as it had never made a false judgment. Therefore, the discussion shifted from how Lin Xie cheated yesterday to how Lin Xie managed to gather 8 million points in a day.

  Lin Huang did not pay much attention to it. As soon as he returned to the Stairway Tree, he summoned the Mighty Ape and began another round of climbing up the stairway.

  The difficulty was much higher for him to get from the 31st checkpoint to the 40th checkpoint as he was attacked by immortal-level rank-5 worm monsters. Lin Huang took about 50 minutes to pass through each checkpoint. Once he reached the 40th checkpoint, he spent exactly an hour and a half to complete it. Upon reaching the 41st checkpoint, it was already 6 p.m. so Lin Huang did not continue, and logged out of virtual reality.

  "The difficulty level is getting higher. My Mighty Ape is no longer effective from the 36th checkpoint onward. Fortunately, I still have Tyrant and I should be able to handle it……" As he exited the virtual reality, he looked rather flustered.

  He had encountered various extreme conditions on the Stairway Tree. Each level felt difficult for him, and the difficulty was comparable to the training given by Mr. Fu.

  "The difficulty level from the 31st checkpoint to the 39th checkpoint is designed for those at immortal-level rank-6 while for the 40th checkpoint required one to possess the ability of someone at immortal-level rank-7. Due to the increasing difficulty, it might be difficult for me to get to the 50th checkpoint……" Lin Huang knew himself quite well. Although he had well-rounded abilities, his physique was much weaker compared to others on immortal-level rank-7 or rank-8. The Stairway Tree did not only assess one’s abilities but took stock of every aspect.

  Most people get stuck on the 63rd checkpoint because the use of Life Power was prohibited. It was simply a test of one’s physique, and cheating would not be possible. Naturally, this information was gleaned from Zhao San. He did not ask for the exact information but he knew that if his Life Power was restrained, it would be impossible for him to get through that.

  After having his dinner, Lin Huang did not slack. Instead, he continued practicing Army Attack Tactics until it was slightly after 11 p.m. before he went to bed.

  The next morning, he logged into Genius Union and continued climbing the Stairway Tree.

  There was a rapid increase in the difficulty beginning from the 41st checkpoint. It took Lin Huang an hour and fifty minutes to get through the 41st checkpoint. From the 42nd to the 44th checkpoint, he took about two hours to get through each checkpoint, and only barely managed to get past the 45th checkpoint after two and a half hours.

  There was a branch on the Stairway Tree’s 46th checkpoint. It was the third gathering point after the 21st and 34th checkpoint.

  After passing through the 45th checkpoint, Lin Huang did not continue. He had originally planned to ascend from a random point on the 46th checkpoint. However, Yao Lan sent him a message telling him that Huangfu Lin had arrived at the Sweep City so he logged out of virtual reality through a crack in the bark in the Stairway Tree.

  Since a notice had been issued by the Emperor’s Heart to address Lin Huang’s matter, the others had been putting less focus on him. However, there was still a number of people who checked on Lin Huang’s status every day.

  The news about Lin Huang being on the 46th checkpoint already to most of the people at the gathering point.

  Many of them wanted to challenge him. Since he was now a popular person, anyone who managed to kill him would obtain more than four million points.

  Many of them had thought about this earlier when they were on the 33rd checkpoint. However, Lin Huang did not even stay at the 33rd checkpoint yesterday as he managed to get to the 41st checkpoint. At this moment, he was taking a break on the 46th checkpoint. To many of the other people, it was a good chance to rob him.

  Since he was logged out of virtual reality, Lin Huang had no idea that he had caught the attention of so many people. After changing his clothes, he went to the Sweep Gourmet.

  After sitting in room No.301 for about three minutes, Yao Lan, Huangfu Hao, and a tall lady in a white top and black pants came in.

  The lady had waist-length black hair and she looked pretty yet cool. Although she managed to restrain her aura well, Lin Huang could still vaguely feel that she was intimidating.

  Lin Huang knew that she must be the Sweep Alliance’s chief, Huangfu Lin.

  Just as he was checking her out, she was checking him out as well.

  "Ms. Lin, he’s Lin Xie." Yao Lan introduced with a smile, "Lin Xie, the pretty girl standing next to me is the chief of Sweep Alliance, Huangfu Lin."

  "Hello, nice to meet you." Lin Huang stood up and shook hands with her.

  After greeting each other, all three sat down.

  As usual, Yao Lan was the one who ordered the dishes. It seemed like Huangfu Hao was rather reserved since he remained silent when he met his sister.

  Lin Huang was not close with Huangfu Lin so he kept quiet as well.

  Instead, Huangfu Lin started a conversation with Lin Huang, "I actually wanted to talk to you two days ago but you didn’t answer my call."

  "Two days ago?" Lin Huang was stunned and immediately recalled what happened back then. "Is that your number? I thought someone called the wrong number so I didn’t call back."

  "It’s okay. Sometimes it’s better to talk face to face." Huangfu Lin nodded her head and immediately said, "I heard it from Xiao Lan that you didn’t ask for the strategy of the Stairway Tree?"

  "Yes." Lin Huang nodded. "It’s more interesting to pass through each checkpoint on my own."

  "Does it mean that you’re now on the 46th checkpoint but you knew nothing about each checkpoint while you were going through them?" Huangfu Lin asked.

  "When I was on the 21st checkpoint, I overheard the strategy for several checkpoints but I didn’t ask for a more detailed description of the checkpoints." Lin Huang nodded his head and admitted.

  "Why do you want to do so? Isn’t it much easier if you know how each checkpoint is supposed to be?" Huangfu Lin frowned.

  "Climbing the stairway is like practice to me. It depends on how well-trained we are. That, will determine how far we’ll be able to go. It’s a natural thing. Don’t take completing each checkpoint as a goal and attempt to achieve checkpoints that are beyond one’s ability." Lin Huang explained.

  After listening to what Lin Huang said, Huangfu Lin, Huangfu Hao, and Yao Lan remained silent.

  "I believe that you didn’t cheat." Huangfu Lin sized him up and said. "A person who says this will definitely not cheat for the sake of getting more points."

  "Thank you." Lin Huang did not thank her for the compliment. Instead, it was because she could understand him.

  "What do you feel about Sweep Alliance?" What Huangfu Lin asked had caught Yao Lan and Huangfu Hao’s attention, shifting their focus to Lin Huang.

  "It’s good." Lin Huang had nothing to comment on since he had just joined the Sweep Alliance for a few days. Aside from Yao Lan and Huangfu Hao, he was not close with the rest of them.

  "I’m a straightforward person. To be frank, the Sweep Alliance is not for you." Huangfu Hao and Yao Lan were stunned as they heard what Huangfu Lin just said. This also caused Lin Huang to frown.

  "Sis Lin, you……" Huangfu Lin immediately interrupted, "The Sweep Alliance resembles a fish pond in the Genius Union. However, you aren’t a small fish. You’re a fish that has grown up. You can only become successful by living in a big ocean where the likes of the Heaven Alliance, Hong Alliance, and Tang Alliance are at."

  "You’re not strong enough now so the Sweep Alliance can indeed be helpful to you. However, as your combat strength gradually grows, the Sweep Alliance will slowly become your burden. I hope that you can leave. I’ll help you to contact the top alliances in Division 3. I believe they’ll accept you."

  Lin Huang stared at Huangfu Lin and kept quiet for a moment. It seemed like he could discern something from her eyes. It sounded like she was talking about herself…… She was supposed to have a bright future. However, the Sweep Alliance became a burden to her due to its limited resources. She did not want Lin Huang to repeat the same mistake.

  "Since you’re being honest with me, I’ll accept your suggestion and leave the Sweep Alliance." Still, Lin Huang nodded his head and said, "However, there’s no need for you to find another alliance for me. I know where to go."

  They then kept quiet during the dinner.

  After dinner, Lin Huang returned the Sweep Alliance token to her. On the Genius Union’s page, he tapped the "leave" button and left.

  The other three of them were still sitting in the room.

  "Let’s go." Huangfu Hao told Yao Lan. It seemed like he was angry at Huangfu Lin and was reluctant to talk to her.

  "You may leave first. I have something to talk to Sister Lin."

  "What are you going to tell her? It’s not easy to find a talented person but she asked him to leave." Huangfu Hao could no longer bear it and said what he wanted to say.

  "Go home first. I have something to talk to Sister Lin."

  After sending him away, Yao Lan sat in front of Huangfu Lin.

  "Sis Lin, did you regret joining Sweep Alliance?"

  Huangfu Lin kept quiet and did not answer her question.

  "Thank you, I know the answer." Yao Lan knew very well that silence was the best answer to her question. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so reckless……"

  "Don’t feel sorry for me. You and Xiao Hao are victims too." Huangfu Lin shook her head helplessly and lamented, "Sweep Alliance is like a sinking ship. Regardless of how good the captain and the sailor are, they won’t be able to stop the ship from sinking. It’s enough to have only three of us on the ship. We shouldn’t drag the others with us into this."