"It's about to begin!" Qingrong reminded her. Suiyi looked up and saw colorful clouds fluttering in the sky, a truly beautiful sight! Flocks of white cranes formed a solemn procession, their purpose unclear—whether it was to welcome a newlywed or to welcome an important figure. The group felt the space before them distort, like ripples on a lake. After a while, the view changed from towering, verdant mountains to endless white jade staircases leading to the heavens. The staircases stretched as far as the eye could see. Suiyi's legs went weak; there were at least a thousand steps—how long would it take to climb?
"This is the famous Heavenly Ladder of the Xuanfeng Sect, and it is also part of the Xuanfeng Sect's assessment," Qingrong said in a deep voice from behind.
"Uncle, do you mean the main hall of the Xuanfeng Sect is at the top of the Heavenly Ladder?" Sui Yi turned to Qing Rong and asked in confusion.
"right!"
"Is it too late for me to leave now?" Suiyi asked rhetorically.
"Go? Where to? This is our goal. We're already here, it would be a shame not to give it a try." Ziyou's face was full of disapproval when he heard Suiyi say "go".
"Didn't Uncle say that I'm not suited to find a master at Xuanfeng Sect? I'd better not go!" Sui Yi chuckled dryly. If Qi Muzhi were here, he would definitely carry her on his back.
"I'll carry you up!"
Suiyi: ...
Qingrong: "You're underestimating this Heavenly Ladder. Some people can't even make it up empty-handed, let alone carrying Ningning. You're dreaming."
"Is it that difficult?" Ziyou frowned, glancing at the Heavenly Ladder. There was nothing particularly special about it!
Qingrong didn't want to waste words with him, so she quickly grabbed his collar, lifted him up, and threw him onto the Heavenly Ladder.
After Ziyou landed, he couldn't even stand steadily, swaying back and forth as if he were drunk.
"Haha! Kid, enjoy this!" Qingrong transmitted her voice to Ziyou, who glared at her with eyes blazing with anger.
"Is this Heavenly Ladder really that difficult? Look at how distorted his face is!" Sui Yi frowned.
"Ningning, would you like to give it a try? But the Heavenly Ladder can only be climbed, not descended. If you go up, you must persevere and climb to the top, or you will be punished by the gods."
“Since we’re already here, and he’s already gone up, I might as well go up and try.” Sui Yi shrugged and turned to walk towards the Heavenly Ladder.
Many people were blocking the way, and Sui Yi had to exert a great deal of effort to reach the Heavenly Ladder. Finding an empty spot, she stepped onto it. But was the Heavenly Ladder so easy to climb? Obviously not. The moment Sui Yi stepped on, the stone steps vanished, replaced by flames. Sui Yi raised an eyebrow; interesting. She loved challenges! She closed her eyes, carefully sensing the flames beneath her feet. They were intensely hot, but if she cleared her mind and remained calm, they felt no heat at all.
Sui Yi opened her eyes and smiled confidently. Good heavens, the test has already begun from the very first step. She wondered when the people around her would finally grasp the meaning. Sui Yi calmly stepped into the flames, which posed no threat to her whatsoever. She walked with leisurely ease, as if strolling through her own backyard.
Suiyi quickly caught up with Ziyou, "Are you waiting for me?" she asked with a smile, looking at the people around her.
“Okay! Let’s go together!” Ziyou said with a smile.
"Alright! Let's have a race to see who reaches the finish line first, shall we?"
"Alright!" Taking a deep breath, Ziyou roused himself and quickly climbed the stairs, one level at a time, with Suiyi not wanting to fall behind. Those behind watched the two of them competing, filled with envy and jealousy. Why did they seem so relaxed while they were still struggling at the bottom? This Heavenly Ladder must hold some secret. Inspired by the two, some more perceptive individuals began to close their eyes and explore, and some actually succeeded in reaching the second and third levels… More and more people began to take action.
Suiyi and Ziyou had already left everyone far behind. The problem now facing them was that the ladder seemed to be divided into three hundred steps at a time. After climbing the three hundredth step, the flames beneath their feet disappeared, replaced by solid stone steps. However, the problem was that the space within these stone steps was subject to a gravitational pressure. Anyone who climbed them would be suppressed by gravity, feeling as if they were carrying a mountain on their back, making it extremely difficult to move. It was estimated that the gravitational pressure would become stronger the higher they went.
The two looked at each other, turned their faces away, and together lifted their feet to step up.
Sui Yi glanced at him from the 301st floor, then smiled and focused all her spiritual energy on her feet, instantly feeling the gravity lessen! Sui Yi smiled and stepped upwards. Don't think that a Golden Core cultivator like her was bullying someone at the eighth level of spiritual energy; she had suppressed her spiritual energy down to the fourth level! In the past few days of cultivation, both of them had made considerable progress.
Actually, this Heavenly Ladder is a piece of cake. As long as Sui Yi uses some of her trump cards, this little Heavenly Ladder is no problem. But she wants to keep a low profile, so she chose the least effective method: using spiritual energy to reduce gravity around her body.
Sui Yi never even considered how many other people were as twisted as them. The people below were toiling away, barely managing to climb two hundred steps, while these two were already over three hundred! Who are these two monsters, unleashing them to humiliate people? Two wide noodles are dripping down their faces. This is too much!
Sui Yi went up to the top, and sure enough, the gravity was stronger the higher she went, so she slowed down and climbed up at a leisurely pace.
Inside the main hall, through the images, a group of high-ranking members of the Xuanfeng Sect sat together, watching the teenagers participating in the assessment. They shook their heads when they saw someone fall off the Heavenly Ladder.
"These years, the children are getting worse and worse. Their willpower and comprehension are incomparable to those of the past. There are fewer and fewer good talents!" The Third Elder looked at the crowd of examinees blocking the 300th ladder and was greatly disappointed.
“Those who aren’t good will always be eliminated. We’ll take in as many as we can, better to have fewer but better ones,” the elder said, taking a sip of tea.
"Aren't there about ten good ones? Especially those two kids, they look like absolute geniuses. They're almost at the six hundredth step now! And the others behind them are quite good too." The Fifth Elder said with a smile, having already made up his mind to take those two kids under his wing.
"Perhaps they have some trump card. The 999-step ladder is not easy to pass, especially the last 99 steps."
"That's right. Levels 600 to 900 are about one's character, while levels 901 to 99 are about one's comprehension! Once they've all made it up, we can take a look at their spiritual roots and decide how much resources to give them in the future!"
"Forget about those two kids, go and focus on the other assessments!" the sect leader suddenly said.
The elders all looked at him with suspicion. Was he going to take on another disciple?
"Don't look at me. It's not me who wants to take on disciples, but the Grand Elder and the Supreme Elder who want to take on disciples," the sect leader explained to the people.
"Me? I haven't decided yet?" The Grand Elder was also completely confused.
"The Supreme Elder just relayed a message: the two leaders of the Heavenly Ladder are those he has his eye on among the common people. One of them, named Ziyou, is suitable for the Grand Elder, and the other is a disciple he has his eye on. So, no one else has a chance!"
The other elders were filled with envy and jealousy! This Supreme Elder is so biased. He didn't even think of himself when there were promising talents. How frustrating!
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