Xiaomeng observed the scenery passing by outside the window. The clouds felt so close that extending her hand would enable her to touch them. They drifted past in lazy currents, occasionally breaking apart to reveal glimpses of the world far below—patchwork fields of green and brown, rivers that looked like blue thread, villages so small they could be missed for grass shoots.

  But alas, the boat was covered in a protective array that created an invisible wall around it. When she tentatively pressed her palm against that barrier, it felt warm and slightly resistant, like pushing against springy silk, and no matter what she did, the clouds remained enticingly out of reach.

  After observing the soothing scene for some time, Xiaomeng once again sat down in her corner. The polished wooden floor was warm beneath her, heated by the sun streaming through the windows, and she could feel the faint vibration of the ship's mechanisms through her crossed legs. Her gaze silently observed the newcomers while her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

  The ship had stopped at several other places to pick up more children, their numbers exceeding the estimation of the sect. Due to this, she was stuck sharing a room with more girls, making the space feel cramped. What had once been a comfortably spacious room with space to stretch and move had become a patchwork of sleeping mats and bundled belongings. The air smelled of the dried meat and fruit the children had brought from home.

  As Xiaomeng looked around absentmindedly, a small girl approached her. Her brown twin-tailed hair perfectly accentuated her bright red dress, and her slightly chubby cheeks were completely round, making others want to pinch them. The dress was made of finely embroidered silk that rustled with each step, and small jade beads hung from her earlobes, catching the light. There was something endearingly hesitant in the way she approached, as if she wasn't quite sure of her welcome. "What are you thinking, Xiaomeng?" she asked, tilting her head in a way that made her twin tails bounce.

  Xiaomeng, who was busy with her own thoughts, finally paid attention to the cute girl standing before her. She had been mentally listing the cultivation techniques she remembered from her original life, weighing which ones might be safe to use in this lower realm without drawing unwanted attention. But now she set those considerations aside and focused on the present. "Just thinking how long it will take to reach the sect," she replied with a warm smile.

  Hearing these words, the girl nodded in understanding, her round cheeks jiggling slightly with the motion. "Don't worry, we will reach it in a few incense sticks' time," she reassured. "My father said the journey from the last stop is always the shortest. The sect likes to gather everyone before making the final approach. Something about making a proper impression?" She scrunched up her face, trying to remember. The thing she remembered most vividly of that time was eating osmanthus cakes.

  "Lingling, didn't you say that you are from a prestigious family?" Xiaomeng asked with bright expectation visible in her eyes, leaning forward slightly as if hanging on the girl's every word.

  Looking at those shining eyes, the girl, Lingling, could only utter, "Y-Yes." Her fingers twisted nervously in the fabric of her dress.

  "Then you should know more about the immortals, right?" The expectations in Xiaomeng's eyes were visibly rising. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "Can you tell me more about them? My parents never knew much. We just farmed and prayed to the immortals for good harvests. I've always wondered what they're really like."

  Lingling was completely stumped by this question. Her round face flushed a deep pink that spread from her cheeks to her ears to the base of her throat. Bringing her hand to cover her reddening face, she replied in a small, mortified voice, "I… I don't know much either. When my father told me to study, I always sneaked outside to play." The confession seemed to physically pain her.

  She shifted from foot to foot, her beautiful dress rustling with each movement. "I only know that the place we are going to is called the Jade River Sect. And all the areas we have traveled in the boat are under their jurisdiction and protection." Barely saying these words, she spun around and fled back to the other girls, her twin tails streaming behind her like twin banners of defeat.

  She wanted to find a hole to crawl into. The regret of not studying when her father told her was rapidly swallowing her mind, and she could already imagine the disappointed look on his face if he ever found out how little she knew.

  Seeing the young girl behave so shyly, a small smile tugged at the corner of Xiaomeng's lips. There was something genuinely charming about Lingling's embarrassment. With nothing else to do, she closed her eyes and lay down on the warm floor. The wood cradled her back, and the distant hum of the ship's arrays lulled her toward sleep. She dreamed of nothing, which was exactly what she needed.

  Just as Lingling had said, after a few incense sticks' time, the ship stopped again. Right then, a voice was heard in the ears of every person present on the ship: "We have reached our destination. Follow the given directives and properly offboard the ship."

  Hearing the instructions, a few were scared when an invisible voice spoke directly into their minds. But the intelligent ones quickly discovered what had happened and clarified it to the others. Soon, everyone started to get off the ship, gathering their belongings and filing toward the exits in a chaotic but somehow functional stream.

  Groggily getting up, Xiaomeng began stretching her body. Her muscles protested the sudden movement. So she took her sweet time rolling her shoulders, twisting her spine, flexing her fingers and toes to get the blood moving. The other girls had already packed their belongings and were seemingly waiting for her.

  "You all go ahead. I will join you later," Xiaomeng said. She didn't like wasting others' time by making them wait for her, and more importantly, she wanted a moment alone to observe her surroundings. The girls responded with a slight nod and went out, leaving her alone. Lingling paused at the door, looking back with concern, but Xiaomeng waved her on with a reassuring smile.

  After shaking off her grogginess, Xiaomeng heard sudden exclamations come from outside the window. Looking out, Xiaomeng saw a sight she would never forget in her whole life. "Beautiful," she muttered unconsciously, gazing at the otherworldly girl standing on the pier surrounded by many people.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  The girl was perhaps eleven or twelve, around her own age. Her hair was the color of moonlight on snow, falling past her waist in waves that seemed to move even when the air was still. Her features were delicate to the point of unreality—high cheekbones, full lips, eyes that held a color somewhere between silver and lavender. She wore robes of pale blue silk that shifted through a dozen shades with each subtle movement.

  The people around her maintained a certain distance, as if avoiding her. Yet their gazes remained fixed on her with expressions ranging from awe to envy to naked desire. She stood perfectly still amid the chaos of the pier, a statue of living jade surrounded by common stone.

  Sensing a gaze focused on her, the girl also looked back toward the windows of one of the newly arrived ships, locking eyes with Xiaomeng. For a brief moment, neither of them moved. Then the girl looked away with studied casualness, leaving Xiaomeng dazed.

  Xiaomeng was called out of her stupor by the sudden opening of the door behind her. One of the disciples of the Jade River Sect, a young man in blue robes with a friendly but impatient expression, was looking at her with a questioning gaze. He had clearly been tasked with clearing the ship and wanted to quickly finish his work. She gave him a wry smile and, picking up her packed luggage, followed behind. The small bundle was light in her arms.

  The corridors of the ship were empty, indicating that most of the passengers had already gone out. Their footsteps echoed in the sudden silence, a hollow tapping against wood. Through the windows, she could see the crowd on the pier growing larger as more ships disgorged their passengers. Walking behind the sect disciple, Xiaomeng asked, "Senior Brother, who is that girl outside?" with curiosity evident in her voice.

  The Senior Brother replied with a bored but knowing smile, glancing back at Xiaomeng with something like amusement in his eyes. "She is a disciple personally recruited by one of the elders and brought here. But due to the sect's rules of only allowing disciples inside once every five years, she was not yet a formal member of the sect. She will take the entrance test with all of you."

  "Entrance test?" Xiaomeng asked in a puzzled voice, though she had already guessed what was coming. Every sect had its methods for separating the truly gifted from the merely talented, and she had also taken such tests in her original life. Sadly, she had failed in most of them.

  The Senior Brother gave her an inscrutable smile while saying, "You will know soon," and offered no further explanation.

  Soon, they were both graced by the bright light of the sun. After the dim, warm interior of the ship, the outside world seemed almost painfully bright. Xiaomeng blinked rapidly, letting her eyes adjust. The bustling deck was now empty, but the cacophony of noises persisted, just coming from another direction.

  Xiaomeng went down the gangplank carefully, feeling the slight sway of the wooden boards beneath her feet. Once on solid ground, she gathered near her roommates, who had waited for her despite her instructions to go ahead. Lingling grabbed her hand immediately, squeezing tight as if afraid they might be separated.

  After the last ship had been anchored and its passengers disembarked, a voice reverberated in the ears of all the children present. "Welcome to all the new disciples of the Jade River Sect."

  The words hung in the air, commanding absolute silence. Thousands of children held their breath, making the whole area silent. "Although you may all have the ability to cultivate, you are severely limited by your spiritual roots. These roots are the source of your talent and also determine how many resources you receive and what position you will hold in the sect. But sometimes, some extraordinary people defy the heavens and write their own path through sheer willpower and strength. This test is conducted to search for such individuals. The process is very simple: just climb the stairs in front of you to the top, and you will pass."

  A moment of utter silence fell at the base of the mountain. Xiaomeng looked up, following the gaze of a thousand others, and saw for the first time the white marble stairs stretching up without end. They gleamed in the morning light, each step carved with such precision that they seemed to have grown from the mountain itself rather than been built upon it. At the top, hidden somewhere, lay the Jade River Sect.

  Suddenly, everyone began rushing toward the white marble stairs. Children pushed past each other, some falling, some crying, some shouting for siblings or friends lost in the chaos. Soon, most of the children were gone, swallowed by the stairs and the mist, leaving only a few behind.

  Lingling looked at Xiaomeng standing behind her, her round face pale with shock at the sudden violence of the crowd's movement. "Do you not want to go?" she asked, her voice small and uncertain.

  "I hate crowded places. What about you?" Xiaomeng replied nonchalantly, watching the last of the crowd disappear into the white expanse above. The pier felt almost peaceful now, with only scattered groups remaining.

  "I also hate them," Lingling readily agreed, some of her color returning. "Moreover, we just have to reach the top. And no time limit was given." She straightened her shoulders, trying to look brave and grown-up despite the trembling in her hands.

  Xiaomeng nodded at this. Then, looking around, she began to observe the others still present. There were perhaps a dozen or so of them, scattered across the base of the stairs in small groups or standing alone. Everyone among them radiated an extraordinary aura. Some wore expensive dresses while others donned coarse clothes, but anyone would know not to underestimate them. The stunning girl from before had also stayed put, standing slightly apart from everyone else, her silvery-lavender eyes fixed on the stairs with an expression Xiaomeng couldn't read.

  After around an incense stick's time, all the remaining ones began to move toward the stairs in silent agreement. Their gait was steady and relaxed, showing no worry or hesitation. A burly boy with coarse, torn clothes laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the marble. He had arms like tree trunks and a face that had seen more fights than meals. "It seems quite fun!" he boomed, cracking his knuckles with obvious relish.

  A well-dressed boy waved a fan in front of his face, "The sect should also start to consider what type of people to bring," he said in cultured tones, his eyes sliding dismissively over the burly boy. But this only elicited more laughter from the burly boy, who clapped him on the shoulder hard enough to make him stumble. The others tacitly avoided the banter of those two, focusing instead on the stairs ahead.

  Reaching the first step, Xiaomeng and Lingling stood together, their shoulders almost touching. They both simultaneously placed their feet on the white marble. At that moment, Xiaomeng felt a very slight and subtle pressure enveloping both her body and soul. It was like being wrapped in warm silk or submerged in shallow water. But it was so small that it was negligible, barely worth noticing. Lingling beside her also showed no reaction.

  Just as she took another step upward, she felt the pressure increase by just a little. The difference was minuscule, but due to her developed senses, honed from training her body all these years in both lives, she was able to perceive it with perfect clarity. This did not seem like an ordinary staircase. Each step would bring greater pressure, testing not just physical strength but will, determination, and the very quality of one's spirit.

  "Let's do this," Xiaomeng muttered softly, more to herself than to her companion. And then she began climbing rapidly, her feet finding a steady rhythm on the marble. Behind her, Lingling squeaked in surprise and hurried to keep up, her expensive dress swishing against the steps.