The space cracked and a man stepped out of it, suddenly appearing above the Sect Elders who observing the entrance exam. Sensing the abrupt presence, all the Elders looked up. Then, slightly joining their hands they bowed down and greeted, "Welcome, Sect Leader!" The current sect leader of the Jade River Sect, Lu Wancheng, nodded at this and said, "Please rise. No need for such formalities."

  All the elders got up and looked at his smug face while cursing in their hearts. Looking down at the stairs, Lu Wancheng saw an interesting sight. While others were either struggling or sprawled on the stairs, a group of a dozen or so kids were steadily climbing up. But the most interesting thing was not the group itself, it was the fact that at most only a few of them had broken a sweat, and their breathing was just slightly uneven. And they were nearing the thousandth step—nearly halfway up the mountain.

  "This won't do," he loudly announced. "Let's give them a few special tasks so they'll split up and compete properly."

  "But Sect Master," the Fourth Elder spoke out, "won't it be unfair to them? Only they get such 'special' treatment."

  "What is unfair about it? From what I observe, they are the best we have seen in the past several decades. Of course, it warrants that we properly judge their character and see if they are spies sent from other sects." The Sect Leader said this with a matter-of-fact tone.

  The Fourth Elder wanted to rebuke him but found no words. The other elders just shook their heads and got to thinking, knowing full well that the Sect Master simply wanted to watch the kids suffer and enjoy their despairing looks. Yet all the work fell to them, as usual. They really hated this guy!

  Down below, after crossing the thousandth step, a white wall suddenly fell in front of the group from the sky. The height of the wall was nearly twice as high as any one of them. Right in the middle of the wall was a small jade door. Clearly written on the wall were the words: "Only one person can pass at every incense stick of time."

  "What is this!" Lingling exclaimed in puzzlement. "Wasn't the test only about climbing the stairs?"

  "Maybe the sect’s higher ups are not pleased with us doing it so leisurely," Rong Ning speculated. The cold beauty Tian Yao also nodded at these words, further lending them validity.

  "So, what should we do now? Do we fight to determine who goes first? Or talk it out amiably" asked Gu Da, who was accompanying Gu Yichen. Even while saying this, he had already clenched fists ready for an ambush. His words created silence in the previously lively atmosphere. Nobody said anything; they were busy planning their own methods.

  Xiaomeng suddenly moved forward, and everyone tensed. But they didn't attack, as she was moving toward a corner of the wall. Going near the wall, she touched it and felt a cool sensation on her hands. It was neither slippery nor grippy. Moving back a few steps, she rushed toward the wall and jumped. Her right leg hit the wall to cushion her from colliding, using the momentum to move upward. But still, she was only able to reach halfway up the remaining distance.

  Seeing this, Tieshan moved ahead and locked his fingers together, spreading his hands forward. "Try again," he said to Xiaomeng. Without wasting another word, Xiaomeng moved back and rushed ahead. Taking support from his hands, she also used a special technique to apply more pressure with her legs. This time, she was nearly able to touch the top of the wall.

  Moving back, she once again tried and was able to barely cling to the wall with the tips of her fingers. Using her extraordinary strength, she pulled her body upward with great difficulty. While doing so, the increased pressure of the step was also pulling her down. But after a lot of struggling and flailing, and with support from below, she was able to climb up. Standing atop the wall, she gazed down at the others.

  Seeing Xiaomeng climb the wall, the others also started to climb up one by one. The first to go were the girls. Xiaomeng flattened herself on the wall, lowering her hand. Whenever someone couldn't reach high enough, she would catch their hand and pull them up. With support from both above and below, climbing up was quite easy.

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  In no time all the girls were standing atop the wall—except for Tian Yao. She just stood aside in silence, watching everyone struggle as if it didn’t concern her. When her turn came, she simply walked up to the wall. Then, without any warning, she jumped. And her jump easily carried her up onto the wall. All those standing above and below were slack-jawed at this.

  They could clearly tell how much strength it took just to jump up and catch the edge of the wall. But this girl was able to accomplish the impossible with such ease. Tian Yao met the gazes of the others with her calm eyes and went to stand at the edge. A clap from Rong Ning brought everyone back from their stupor, and they continued to help others climb.

  The first boy to climb was Gu Yichen, and after helping him up, Xiaomeng stood. "Take care of yourself," she said, then went aside to rest. With no other alternative, Gu Yichen had to take her place. But just from his expression, one could tell the unwillingness in his actions. In a little more time, nearly all the boys were also up.

  Looking at the remaining Tieshan, Gu Yichen's expression grew more pained. His hand was already hurting from all the hard work; if he helped this brute, he didn't know if his hand would survive. But he couldn't let the name of his clan be desecrated. Clenching his teeth, he closed his eyes and waited for the pull to come.

  But even after some time had passed, nothing happened. Opening his eyes, he looked ahead and didn't see Tieshan. Looking back, everyone else was also gone. Then he remembered that one person could still enter through the jade door. Hurriedly getting down from the wall, he chased after the others.

  "Ha ha ha..." Lu Wancheng smiled while viewing the antics of the kids. "So young, still so bright," he said in a cheerful voice. However, the elders standing beside him could tell that the laugh was not really a laugh. "Since the new disciples are so intelligent and hardworking, we should also not disappoint them." And so, the poor elders had to get to work manufacturing more props for the test.

  After the thousandth step, the group did not encounter anything abnormal like before for quite some time. While climbing they also came across the young master who had been busy stealing a fiancée before. He and his new fiancée were both stopped at the eleven hundredth step and were sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, their bodies and souls being tempered. The group simply bypassed them without disturbing.

  During this time, Xiaomeng had discovered an interesting fact. The tempering from each step was fixed in amount. But if someone’s body was able to bear it, then they would be tempered in a shorter time with a higher degree of pressure. And if someone was weak, they would have to endure slow tempering for a longer time.

  Due to this, even though their group was moving fast, they didn't lose much. They just had to stay on a single step for a few breaths and receive all the tempering in that short time. And with each step climbed, they were getting stronger than before, greatly helping them maintain their speed. However, the strain was accumulating, slowly becoming visible with each step.

  When the group reached the twelve hundredth step, a mirror stood beside the stairs. "If you want to proceed up, you will have to face your deepest desires" was written on the mirror.

  Ignoring it, Tian Yao bypassed it. Suddenly, the text was erased, and her image appeared in the mirror. She was sitting cross-legged in meditation with her eyes closed. Everyone waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

  Xiaomeng followed behind, thinking it was safe. Suddenly, as she passed the mirror, the image changed to her. She was sitting down with a large bowl in front of her, her chopsticks moving with lightning speed as she snatched meatballs inside and stuffed her mouth. Looking at the scene, her own stomach growled. But with a thick face, she simply ignored it and moved ahead.

  Rong Ning followed behind. In her reflection, she was sitting on a regal throne in a bright red dress, reprimanding others for doing a poor job. Trailing behind her was Lingling, who was acting as a seductress with men following behind her. Looking at this, Lingling's face turned beet red, and she ran to hide behind Xiaomeng, who consoled her with pats on the head.

  The process continued as everyone passed the mirror one by one. Some scenes were funny, while some were warm, but none were anything that would make someone hated or isolated. During Gu Yichen's turn, he was being carried in a palanquin pulled by four flood dragons, showering others with his wealth. "A gentleman should help others," were his only words in response to this, delivered with a righteous expression.

  In the end, it was Tieshan's turn, as he was last. "Ha... ha... ha..." Suddenly, the mirror went black, and strange huffing noises started to come from it.

  At first, everyone was confused, exchanging puzzled glances. Then, as understanding dawned, the older kids' eyes widened. Some turned away with flushed cheeks, while others shot Tieshan looks of pure disgust. Gu Yichen's fan froze mid-wave, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Lingling just made a confused expression, and even Rong Ning's composed expression cracked slightly. As for Tian Yao, she was Tian Yao as normal.

  And the topic of their attention, Tieshan, just tilted his head and asked, “What happened?”