Gradually, the mirror started to zoom out from the darkness. All the boys rapidly turned their heads away, and the girls shrieked while covering their eyes. Only Tian Yao, Tieshan, and Xiaomeng, who was covering Lingling’s eyes, were looking at the mirror.

  "What in the actual hell?" Hearing the sudden outburst from Xiaomeng, all those who were pretending to be modest and shy started to peek at the mirror. And what they saw left them completely baffled. They glared at Xiaomeng for showing them such an absurd sight, who slightly coughed and ignored the stares.

  It was not the thing Tieshan was lifting, nor the way he was lifting it, but the shape and enormous size of that thing. "Who would lift something so massive and ugly?" Lingling suddenly blurted out unconsciously. At some time, she had lowered Xiaomeng’s hands from her eyes. Everyone else just nodded their heads in agreement.

  The Tieshan in the mirror was lifting a statue nearly fifty times his own size while squatting. The huffing sounds were from him using all his power to do it. The man depicted on the statue had oily, slicked-back black hair with a sheen of sweat on his upper forehead. The golden rings on all his fingers perfectly complemented his golden teeth. His upper shirt was unbuttoned, exposing his chest hair.

  Though the children didn't know the man in real life, he was definitely a sleazy character. And when you magnify it dozens of times, it just becomes an abomination. Even the elders standing above were baffled by this image. Lu Wancheng even spat out the tea in his mouth. "My eyes just died!" he cried loudly. Looking at his suffering only brought relief to the other elders.

  "Why are they so childish?" Lu Wancheng ranted. "Wasn't half of the last batch filled with assassins, spies, and demonic cultivators? How come we suddenly have such good luck? Is my sect going to be destroyed soon, and this is a warning?"

  The Fourth Elder approached him and handed him another bowl of steaming hot tea. "This is due to the fortune of the Sect Master," he flattered. "Perhaps the heavens have taken pity on our sect and finally decided to bless us with good seedlings."

  "You really think so?" Lu Wancheng asked suspiciously. “Because heaven really likes to mess with me all the time.”

  "Absolutely," Fourth Elder said with conviction.

  Lu Wancheng snorted slightly and went to sit on his floating chair. The Fourth Elder returned to the others and sent them an instant transmission: Next time, it's someone else's turn. But he got no reply.

  Hey, answer me, someone! He transmitted again. Still no answer from the others, and they even slightly distanced themselves from him. You bastards! he screamed in his mind.

  Down below, Gu Yichen pointed his hand at the mirror and asked in a trembling voice, "Who is he?"

  "Of course, it's my master," Tieshan replied with a hint of pride in his voice.

  "And why are you lifting his statue?"

  "Of course, to pay my respects to him," Tieshan answered without hesitation.

  Rong Ning was the first to move, and she moved rapidly away toward the higher stairs. The others also tacitly followed behind her. Tieshan was left puzzled as to why everyone had left. Just as he called out to Gu Yichen, the person in question started moving even faster. Just like Tieshan had done to him during his time eating the nuts. Tieshan never got an answer to his puzzle and had to move up with the others.

  The group encountered the next major hurdle at the fourteen-hundredth step. A female disciple wearing the blue sect uniform was standing on the stairs. In front of her lay several plates containing many different types of leaves. Approaching the plates, everyone began to observe their contents.

  "The test this time is to eat these leaves. Some of them are poisonous, and others are not. Anyone who eats a leaf is allowed to pass, and if all the leaves are finished, everyone may leave together," the female disciple explained.

  There were only thirteen trial takers but twenty leaves. Looking at the leaves, Xiaomeng picked up four and swallowed them directly. The disciple frantically jumped forward to pull them back out of her mouth. Suddenly, Tian Yao and Tieshan blocked her way.

  "All the leaves she ate were poisonous," the disciple tried to explain.

  Tieshan and Tian Yao suddenly looked back, but there were no visible changes in Xiaomeng's expression—just her cheeks had become a little rosy.

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  "Doesn't seem so," Tian Yao expressionlessly replied to the disciple.

  The female disciple observed Xiaomeng and didn't find any symptoms of poisoning. Gulping down the leafy things, Xiaomeng explained, "The leaves balanced each other's poison. I had seen them around my village a lot of times. My mouth is just burning a bit."

  Gu Yichen took out a few nuts from somewhere and extended his hand. Looking at those sweaty hands, Xiaomeng's stomach churned. Right then, Lingling took out a properly wrapped hawthorn candy and handed it over.

  Quickly taking and unwrapping it, Xiaomeng placed it in her mouth and enjoyed the sweet and tangy flavor.

  Rong Ning came forward towards the remaining leaves and began to segregate them into poisonous and non-poisonous piles. Except for a few, these leaves were not spirit grasses but just ordinary leaves found around the region, and any knowledgeable person could identify them. The leaves Xiaomeng had eaten were also normal ones found nearly everywhere and were not lethal for consumption.

  But it was impossible for one person to know all, so everyone got together to work. Soon, with everyone's help, the leaves were properly separated into two groups. There were only four poisonous ones remaining. Rong Ning ate one and, bringing out a small bottle, drank its contents.

  Tieshan ate one, which made his body itch all over, but he endured it through willpower alone.

  An easily forgettable boy named Zhao Feng ate one. And the last one was eaten by Tian Yao, who showed no obvious reaction.

  Lu Wancheng, who was observing all this, asked in a livid voice, "Whose idea was this test?"

  The Fourth Elder coughed lightly twice at his words.

  "Good. Reduce the spirit stone allotment for the Pill Refining Hall by ten percent this year."

  "But, Sect Master…" The Fourth Elder tried to protest but was held back by the others, who caught him and gagged his mouth.

  "Quickly take him away, or else we'll all lose our allocated resources to the two vixens just like last time," the First Elder sent via voice transmission to the other men. The Second and Third Elders nodded and followed his lead.

  On the stairs, completing the current task, the group rested for a bit and then moved on.

  By now, the pressure had increased exponentially, and some were finding it hard to keep up. Xiaomeng being the worst of them all. Sweat beaded her forehead, and drops were dripping down her clammy hands. The advantages she had gained in this life were completely exhausted, and only her strong soul supported her. Somehow reaching the sixteen-hundredth step, she was sweating buckets, and her breathing was ragged. Looking around, except for her group, only two other people were present, and they were still quite a distance below.

  This time, a Senior Brother from the sect was standing there holding a plain blue box. The rules of this trial were simple: There were two balls inside the box—one carved with the word "True" and the other with "False."

  Everyone had one chance to reach inside and feel the balls. At any one time, only one ball would be carved with the words, and the other would revert to a plain surface. The person touching the ball had to remember which one they selected and tell the examiner.

  At the end, if someone had told a lie, they would be directly sent to the top and win immediately. Along with that, that person could also designate someone to be sent back to the base of the mountain. If more than one person had lied, the process would repeat for them, but the privilege of sending someone back would remain. Also, if everyone either lied or told the truth, they would simply pass with no special advantages. And for every lie told, the others had to stay put for that many incense sticks' time.

  Soon, everyone began touching inside and feeling the balls. First was Gu Yichen: "True."

  Followed by Rong Ning: "False."

  Next was Tieshan: "False."

  After him came Xiaomeng: "False."

  And like that, all thirteen of them finished. The Senior Brother took out the balls and began to match what he had heard with the timings registered on the balls. Soon, he discovered that everyone had told the truth and had to let them go.

  Floating high above, Lu Wancheng picked up his chair and threw it below. "Reduce the budget of the Pill Refining Hall by another ten percent!"

  The Fourth Elder, who had barely escaped the grasp of the others, had no time to protest before he was again gagged and taken away. Such was the tragic state of the Pill Refining Hall.

  On the stairs, after crossing the sixteen-hundredth step, the pressure became even harder to bear, and everyone had to take short breaks between each step. The late afternoon sun beat down on them, making the atmosphere more unbearable. But still, the group somehow managed to remain intact and carry forward. Gu Yichen was rapidly swinging his fan, while Lingling had covered her head with a spare cloth. Rong Ning had taken out a separate umbrella from somewhere and was protected by its shade. Everyone was using similar methods except Tian Yao. She just stood there observing their suffering, only a slight drop of sweat trickling down her smooth forehead, indicating that she was still human.

  By the time they reached the eighteen-hundredth step, it was already evening. It had taken more time to traverse the previous four hundred steps than to climb the first fourteen hundred. The exhausted bunch looked ahead at the Senior Brother standing in front, wearing the sect uniform.

  "To proceed ahead, you will have to defeat me," his words struck like thunder in their ears. In their current state, they couldn't even touch him, let alone defeat him. Even the tough Tieshan wore a grave expression.

  At that moment, Tian Yao walked ahead. Thinking that the beautiful girl wanted to say something, the Senior Brother let his guard down. Approaching him, Tian Yao suddenly kicked his left side. He was thrown aside and fell off the mountain from the open edge.

  The audience, both above and below, couldn't process this scene. Their jaws hung slack, reflecting their utter disbelief.