Tian Yao looked at the stunned expressions of the others and, ignoring them, she began to walk the last two hundred steps.

  All the kids stood frozen, unable to process what they'd just witnessed. Finally, Gu Yichen broke the silence, “He was not a cultivator, right?”

  After a slight pause, a reply came from Tieshan, “He probably was. He seemed pretty strong.”

  “And he was still thrown down with a single kick? Did I see that right?” Yichen continued.

  “We all saw that,” Rong Ning answered in a deliberately slow voice.

  “Is she still human?” These words from Gu Yichen silenced everyone once again. Gu Da remembered how he had raised the topic of fighting in front of the wall. Luckily it didn’t progress that far or else he could easily imagine himself having a nice conversation with open air while falling down.

  Xiaomeng was totally frustrated by this situation. She just wanted to shout, “Just look in the mirror yourself,” but her ragged breathing prevented her from doing so. Slowly she took one step up and the others came out of their reverie.

  Looking at her, they all were reminded that this was not the time to dawdle around. They also began to hurriedly climb up.

  Above in the clouds, Sect Master Lu Wancheng trained his gaze on the First Elder. "Exactly what are you feeding her?"

  Even the First Elder was baffled by the recent events and could only reply with a small smile. "Nothing special. Just a few medicinal herbs every now and then." But the doubts of the Sect Master were still not completely dispelled, though he decided to let it go for now.

  Down below, the others began to follow behind Tian Yao. Just slightly ahead of them, two more kids were present.

  "How did they get through the test?" Lingling voiced the question on everyone's mind.

  Suddenly, they started to notice the weird aspects of the special tests. If everyone else had also taken them, there would definitely be stragglers left behind. But due to the urgency of the tests and the increasing difficulty, this had slipped their minds. Thinking back, it was definitely strange.

  "Are we being targeted?" She voiced the conclusion everyone had reached. Yet nobody raised their voice to affirm it.

  "We'll know when we go up," Xiaomeng said while huffing. Among everyone present, she looked like she was struggling the most. Everyone nodded at these words and began to climb the last stretch.

  Tian Yao left the others behind and rapidly climbed up. She had promised her teacher that she would come first, and she intended to keep her word. As she neared the two boys ahead, who were competing and cursing each other, they also took notice of her. For a brief moment, they were both mesmerized by her beauty, but the pain from their strained bodies brought them back to their senses.

  Suddenly, they both tried to climb faster and faster but were easily overtaken by the beautiful girl when only the last hundred steps were remaining. When they looked back, they saw more test takers catching up. Behind them, Rong Ning and Gu Yichen were quickly closing the distance with others following closely behind. And at the end of the trail were Xiaomeng and Lingling.

  "You should… go ahead," Xiaomeng said with small breaths. Her clothes were nearly soaked in sweat. If not for the fact that there was no source of water around, someone might have mistaken her for someone who enjoyed walking around after swimming with her clothes on.

  Lingling gave her a worried look.

  "Don't worry," Xiaomeng replied in a reassuring voice. "I'll catch up soon."

  Giving her one final look, Lingling also began to climb faster. Looking back, there was no other person visible for more than a hundred steps. Gripping her fists together and tightly gritting her teeth, Xiaomeng continued.

  The pressure was crushing her body. If not for her special body training technique, she would definitely be out cold with froth coming out of her mouth like those she had seen. Even in the Upper Realm, she had not faced such harsh trials. She had been loved dearly by her parents, who always prevented her from doing anything dangerous or too straining on the body, making her path of cultivation very smooth.

  For the first time in her life, she was facing true hardship, and it certainly didn't feel sweet.

  "Heave ho!" Sudden sounds came from ahead. Slowly moving her head up, Xiaomeng saw Tieshan sitting down with his hands clasped behind his head, doing a duck walk on the stairs.

  Suddenly, Xiaomeng felt something break in her mind. Never. I will at least not be behind this bastard.

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  And so, an elegant lady finally learned to curse. The person responsible for this was completely unaware, trying to train his body more in the last stretch.

  In the clouds, Lu Wancheng said while looking at the two boys whom Tian Yao had overtaken, "Seems like the Grand Elder trained his grandsons well. He will be surprised by the result once he comes out."

  The elders could only nod at this and gave the First Elder empathetic gazes. The Fourth Elder was even smiling a little. The First Elder just let out a small, silent sigh as the clouds shifted around them and said, "Yes, he would definitely be pleased with the outcome."

  The Third Elder nodded thoughtfully. "It's rare to see such resilience in the younger generation. This test was designed to weed out all but the strongest, yet here they have turned it into a competition to determine who is strongest."

  "The first three are already determined," the Second Elder chimed in. "Let's look at how the remaining others fare."

  “Since it is almost time, I am going back. Take care of the things here” Lu Wancheng had disappeared from his place as soon as the words were spoken.

  Down on the stairs, the kids who had previously been climbing easily were now struggling on the last stretch. The pressure had increased, but their bodies had also grown exhausted from the continuous climbing. Some were bent down, some hunched over, and some were using both hands and legs to barely climb up one step at a time, like cats or dogs.

  Lingling made her way through the others. Her arms and legs were shaking, and her legs threatened to buckle with every step. But somehow, she pushed through and reached Rong Ning and Gu Yichen, who were taking the lead among them.

  By now, Tian Yao had already climbed the last step and completed the test. At the end stood a large door, and inscribed on the board above it were the words: Jade River Sect.

  Touching the door with both her hands, Tian Yao used her full strength for the first time. The large door swung inward and opened. Finally, she entered the premises of the sect.

  Standing before her was her teacher, welcoming her. Looking back, she saw the two boys from before and, behind them, her previous group making their way up steadily. She observed them for a moment, their struggling forms, the desperate determination, then turned away, not giving it a second thought.

  Moving toward her teacher, she said, "I'm going to my room. Don't disturb me." Leaving his stunned look behind, she made her way inside.

  Although she had not been a formal member of the sect before, she had still lived and roamed inside it and was familiar with its layout. The First Elder only came to his senses after she had disappeared around the corner.

  "She is just very shy," he said with a wry smile toward the others who had just appeared.

  "Seems so," the Fourth Elder mockingly commented from the side.

  "At least it's better than someone who is finding it hard to even bring more disciples to join his peak," the First Elder shot back.

  "Let's stop arguing. The other disciples will be coming up soon. You don't want to show them such an unsightly sight, right?" The Second Elder acted as a mediator. His words smoothed the tension, and the Elders fell silent. Making the atmosphere more peaceful and serene.

  Soon, the two grandsons of the Grand Elder entered through the door. Looking at the elders, the pair slightly bowed. "We greet the Elders."

  "En, not bad. You may rise," the Third Elder said. "Since you have completed the test, you are now official disciples of the Jade River Sect. From now on, you should abide by the rules of the sect and strive to bring glory to the sect."

  "Disciple understands," the brothers said in unison, their loud voices echoing in the area. Then they went to their assigned quarters to freshen up and rest.

  Following behind them was Lingling, her hands and legs shaking, her clothes wet with sweat. Right behind her came Rong Ning and Gu Yichen. The trio collapsed onto the stone platform as soon as they entered. Only after taking a few breaths and clearing their minds did they notice the four elders standing ahead. They hurriedly got up and, bowing deeply, called out, "We greet the immortals."

  A slight smile lit up the faces of the elders already present. "Good, good. You may all rise."

  The trio slowly stood straight. Just then, among the group of formal disciples standing behind the elders, a younger man and woman came forward and led the trio away. Lingling cast one last worried glance at the door before following behind.

  In the time that followed, more and more children completed the test and were led away. Finally, the last one was Tieshan, and for fifty steps below him, there was nobody visible. After sending him off, the Second Elder said, "Let's go. We only have to welcome the disciples on the first day." The others nodded in agreement.

  "Let me check one last time," the Second Elder added, and his divine sense spread through the stairs. Suddenly, his happy smile froze in place.

  Looking at the anomaly, the other elders asked what had happened.

  "We can't leave until the last moment," he said.

  Hearing this, all the elders spread their senses, and their eyes widened. And so, they continued standing there.

  Soon, the evening sun set, and the spiritual lamps were lit inside the large courtyard, illuminating the darkness. The elders were still standing and chatting away. Time continued to pass, and just as it neared midnight, a hand rose from below the stairs. Slowly, with the support of that hand, someone climbed onto the last step. The person's body and clothes were completely covered in dust, and it was hard to even recognize the face.

  Looking around with a dazed expression, Xiaomeng saw that she was now in a wide courtyard lit by spirit lamps. It meant she had completed the test and succeeded in climbing to the top. Through blurred vision, she glimpsed the elders' white robes in the distance, which her mind tacitly ignored. While lying down on her back, she took a few deep breaths; the pressure on her body and soul had completely disappeared. Slowly getting up with a shaking and creaking body, she began to walk forward.

  Her gait was completely unsteady, like a drunkard. With each step, it seemed like she would fall at any moment, but she didn’t. Finally, after a dozen steps, she had passed by the elders, thinking of them as white pillars. And after a dozen more steps, her body gave way, her mind went dark, and she fell forward.

  Just before hitting the floor, an invisible force enveloped her and lifted her body. Handing the unconscious girl to the female disciple beside him, the Fourth Elder ordered, "Take her to my disciple and tell her to give this child a medicinal bath and some rejuvenating decoctions."

  After that, all the elders disappeared from the courtyard, and the disciple carried unconscious Xiaomeng away.