Chapter 7 Ascending the Heavenly Ladder (Part 1) Shock! Little Dragon Aotian is actually...

Although Qingyuan Sect only requires new disciples to be under twenty years old and able to make the Sky-Observing Stone light up, ordinary people like Yin Lisheng and Yan Shuangwan who have never been exposed to cultivation are not many. Most people have more or less entered the Qi Refining stage.

However, this only applies to the Qi Refining stage. Foundation Establishment stage cultivators under the age of twenty are quite rare. If they are, they are usually recruited by various sects early on and rarely appear in entrance examinations open to the general public.

For the new disciples, who had some level of cultivation, climbing the mountain wasn't a big deal at first. Even those at the early Qi Refining stage generally had physical abilities ten or eight times better than ordinary people, not to mention that some of them might have some family wealth and had prepared elixirs and magical artifacts.

The most arrogant of them all was Pan Tianlei. He simply took out a sedan chair, sat down leisurely inside, and had eight attendants clearing the way for him. As he passed Yin Lisheng and his companions, he even made a provocative face at them.

Qiu Nan rolled his eyes speechlessly and said indignantly, "Isn't what he did cheating?"

“No, that doesn’t count,” Yin Simiao, who was in charge of proctoring the exam, drifted to the group's vicinity at some point and said quietly, “After all, the rules only say that you have to climb to the top of the mountain before dark, but they don’t say how to get there.”

The man's appearance was so sudden that Yan Shuangwan was startled and trembled, dodging to the side like a frightened little rabbit.

Yin Simiao touched her face and said incredulously, "My face is the most handsome, dashing, elegant, and refined among the disciples of this generation of Qingyuan Sect. How could you be scared?"

Another disciple passing by said helplessly, "Senior Brother Yin, do you think Senior Brother agrees with what you're saying?"

"Yu Jiangheng isn't here, how can he control me!" Yin Simiao said irritably.

The group was speechless with shock. This second disciple of the Qingyuan Sect was not like this yesterday. Has he revealed his true nature today?

Yin Simiao waved away the disciple who had just dismantled them, then looked at the group meaningfully and said, "The entrance examination for Qingyuan Sect is not that simple. Underestimating it will only lead to trouble. That sedan chair will soon be useless."

After saying that, he disappeared in a flash.

Fu Yunshu chuckled inwardly; Song Wenzhuo's second disciple was quite interesting.

Yin Lisheng was somewhat concerned about Yin Simiao's words, but before he could figure it out, reality gave him the answer.

After crossing the halfway point of the mountain, the ladder to heaven changed noticeably. Everyone felt a weight on their shoulders, as if several people were lying on their backs, making it impossible for them to breathe.

Needless to say, the men carrying Pan Tianlei's sedan chair were even heavier than the others, as they had the chair on their shoulders. They quickly couldn't hold on any longer, their hands slipped, and the sedan chair slid to the ground. Pan Tianlei's round body spun around several times on the ladder to heaven, getting covered in dust and dirt.

This scene was truly hilarious, but everyone was too upset by the sudden turn of events to care, while Yin Simiao in the sky laughed extremely unrestrainedly.

Pan Tianlei didn't dare to vent his anger on Yin Simiao, so he took it out on his followers.

He strode forward, cursing, "What's going on with you guys? How dare you make me fall! I'm telling you, I..."

Gradually, his voice weakened, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his legs gave way, causing him to kneel on the ground.

"Everyone, an incense stick's time has passed, and you're all still. If you keep this up, we won't reach the summit before dark," Yin Simiao said excitedly.

Finally, it's time for Yin Simiao to watch the show from up there, hahaha.

Thinking back to when he took the entrance exam, he was not only pinned down here and unable to move, enduring the gloating looks from his senior brothers, but he also had to watch helplessly as that monster Yu Jiangheng walked forward. It was infuriating!

There shouldn't be any monsters like Yu Jiangheng this year, so these new disciples will probably have to be kept in check for a while longer.

Thinking of this, Yin Simiao turned her gaze downwards again, preparing to show some concern for these future junior brothers and sisters.

Then, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief. One, two, damn it, how come there are two moving monsters this year!

Looking closely, Yin Simiao saw that the child who caused the explosion of the Heavenly Stone was walking in front, and the red-clothed boy who had been standing next to him was slightly behind.

Seeing that it was these two people, Yin Simiao's mood calmed down. It wasn't surprising that it was them. Yin Lisheng could make the Heavenly Stone explode, and although the reason was unknown, his talent must be quite good. As for Qiu Nan, according to his junior brother, the light emitted by the Heavenly Stone was comparable to that of Yu Jiangheng back then, so he was probably another cultivation monster.

But soon, his smile vanished, because not far behind them, the girl he had frightened earlier stood up shakily.

The girl used all her strength to take a step, each step extremely difficult, but she never stopped. Even when she fell, she gritted her teeth and got up, trying her best to keep up with the two people in front of her.

"A child who is willing to endure hardship and work hard deserves to be able to walk," Yin Simiao comforted herself.

Then, he saw that after the three of them left, the least noticeable one among the four also started to move. He walked very easily, as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard, and even looked up and smiled slightly at Yin Simiao in the sky.

Yin Simiao: "..."

No, why? It's one thing for the first three, but why is it that this ordinary-looking Su Yun, who you could easily blend into a crowd, can walk up the ladder? Is the threshold for climbing the Heavenly Ladder really that low now?

"Hahahahahahaha," Ning Xuexi laughed so hard she couldn't stop, "Senior Brother Song, your second disciple's expression is like he's eaten shit, hahaha I really want to see his expression after he finds out that this person is Grandmaster Uncle."

Ye Xiuzhu sighed silently: "Junior Sister Ning, must your happiness be built on the suffering of your junior nephew?"

Ning Xuexi raised an eyebrow and said, "What else can we do? We should have fun with this kid while he's still young. It won't be fun when he becomes as boring as his master in a few years. Look at his senior brother Yu Jiangheng, he's just like Senior Brother Song, a carbon copy of him, rigid and serious, no fun at all."

Song Dynasty, rigid and serious, boring Wen Zhuo: "..."

Yin Simiao was completely unaware of the commotion on the main peak. At this moment, he was staring intently at Fu Yunshu, as if trying to bore a hole through him.

Fu Yunshu, who was being stared at, had long noticed Yin Simiao's gaze, but he didn't care at all. His attention was mostly focused on Yin Lisheng at the front.

Yin Lisheng walked steadily, step by step, without stopping, but Fu Yunshu knew that his climb was not easy.

This sudden turn of events was only a small part of the entire Ascending Heaven Ladder assessment, the purpose of which was to temper the will of the new disciples.

At the beginning, several times the pressure is suddenly applied to everyone. Under such circumstances, most people will feel fear, helplessness, and pain, and give up after realizing that they have no ability to resist.

However, this pressure is not real. As long as you persevere in your efforts toward your goal, there is still a possibility that you will be unable to move.

However, the pressure he had to endure would not lessen; it could only be said that Yin Lisheng's heart was too strong, and he was unwilling to give up even under such immense pressure.

Qingyuan Sect doesn't necessarily make everyone climb the mountain under such pressure. People with such temperament are extremely rare, and only a few have emerged this year, which is why Yin Simiao is so frustrated.

The real test in this stage is to endure the oppressive pressure for half an hour. After half an hour, the pressure will disappear on its own, and those who cannot endure it will be eliminated.

Before long, disciples began to give up and be eliminated.

Seeing the number of people eliminated, which was similar to that of previous years, Yin Simiao felt much more at ease.

It wasn't that he was too incompetent back then; it was clearly Yu Jiangheng and those kids who were too monstrous!

Just as Fu Yunshu had expected, Yin Lisheng wasn't as indifferent as he appeared. His hair was soaked with sweat, forming a continuous clump; his eyes were also fogged up, it was hard to tell if it was sweat or tears. His hands and legs felt as if they were bound by a thousand-pound stone, he had no strength to lift his hand to wipe away the water droplets in front of his eyes, his vision became blurred, and the stone steps in front of him appeared as double images. Yin Lisheng could only numbly move forward by instinct.

Fu Yunshu felt heartbroken. Reason told him that this was a test that Yin Lisheng had to go through, and it was also Yin Lisheng's own choice. With the child's precociousness, it was impossible that he didn't know that he only needed to persevere for a while to pass this test. He himself chose a more difficult but also more brilliant way. But emotionally, Fu Yunshu couldn't bear to see Yin Lisheng torturing himself like this. He had already done enough. Why not make himself more comfortable? Why did he have to work so hard?

“Grandmaster Uncle is heartbroken,” Song Wenzhuo said.

"So this child really has a chance to become our junior uncle?" Ning Xuexi's eyes lit up.

Ye Xiuzhu stroked his chin and said, "I think it's pretty much true. When have you ever seen your grandmaster look like this? And he cares so much about this child, even personally accompanying him to the entrance exam. If I didn't know it was impossible, I would have suspected that Yin Lisheng was your grandmaster's long-lost child."

"Nonsense!"

Be careful what you say and do!

"What nonsense are you spouting, you brat!"

Three sharp glares flew toward Ye Xiuzhu.

Ye Xiuzhu immediately admitted his mistake: "I was just joking, just joking. Of course I know that's impossible. My grandmaster is not such an irresponsible person."

Song Wenzhuo was still displeased. He suppressed his anger and frowned, saying, "Junior Brother Ye is still too unreliable. Go to the Law Enforcement Hall to receive your punishment later. After the entrance examination, go back to your Weapon Peak and reflect on your actions."

Not only would he be beaten, but he would also be confined. Although he didn't usually like to leave Qi Peak, this was a completely different matter from being confined! Thinking of this, Ye Xiuzhu immediately wilted.

However, he knew it was all his fault for his loose tongue, so he had no complaints and obediently accepted the punishment.

Knowing that this was one of his few remaining free days, Ye Xiuzhu focused all his attention on the entrance exam.

With two quarters of an hour remaining, Yan Shuangwan collapsed. For an ordinary girl who had never cultivated to walk such a long distance was already a miracle;

With a quarter of an hour left, Qiu Nan collapsed. He leaned against the stone steps, gasping for breath, and looked ahead, shouting with his last ounce of strength, "Yin Lisheng, you can do it!"

With only a little over half an incense stick's time left in the half-hour period, Yin Lisheng had reached his limit. His mind was buzzing, his eyelids were incredibly heavy, and his whole body was swaying. He dared not stop, and could only rely on instinct to lift his feet and take steps, constantly telling himself: Almost there, just hold on a little longer.

At the last moment of the half hour, Yin Lisheng smelled a fragrance. He suddenly smiled, all his strength dissipated, and his body fell heavily forward.

Yin Lisheng didn't crash onto the stone steps, but instead fell into a slightly thin but warm embrace.

Before my consciousness completely faded, I heard a familiar, clear voice:

"Yin Lisheng, congratulations."

A note from the author:

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