The Heavenly Stairway's Trial, as Difficult as Climbing to Heaven

At Elder Ye Bai's command.

The people in the field began ascending the Heavenly Stairway in batches.

The Heavenly Stairway was large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people undergoing the trial at once.

Moreover, those who failed would be teleported back down, allowing those behind them to fill in, so the process moved quickly.

The first batch swiftly charged up the Heavenly Stairway, as though entering the Azure Cloud Sect was within arm's reach.

Yet imagination was beautiful, while reality was cruel.

"Help! Why is there so much fire?!"

The moment one man stepped onto the Heavenly Stairway, he discovered that the entire stairway had turned into a Mountain of Blades and Sea of Flames. Terrified, he hurriedly screamed and retreated.

"No! Don't... don't kill me! I'm actually... an undercover agent sent by Your Excellency. I surrender!"

This man's illusion was even more interesting. In the illusion, the Azure Cloud Sect had been breached. Being fainthearted, he immediately begged for mercy, trembling as he made up such a line.

"I was wrong! Sect Master, I shouldn't have exposed your womanizing exploits everywhere! Spare me!"

His illusion was that he had spread the Sect Master's romantic exploits everywhere, tarnishing the Sect Master's reputation, and was mercilessly whipped for it. His lack of mental fortitude caused him to fail.

If Feng Qingyang found out, he would surely curse at the top of his lungs. What the hell womanizing exploits do I have?

You dare slander the Sect Master? Drag him out and give him three hundred strokes first!

"I won't dare again! I didn't mean to betray the sect! Spare me, spare me!"

As for this one, he truly deserved to die! In the illusion, he betrayed the sect for a tiny bit of profit, and his challenge immediately failed.

The first stage tested only one's character and the perseverance to see things through to the end. It was meant to weed out those with weak character—those who fed off the sect while betraying it, committed countless evils, or were lazy and greedy.

Thus, everyone who passed the first stage possessed firm character and great perseverance.

If one could pass the first stage but fail the second, it merely meant that their innate talent was poor and could not be improved through blind effort alone.

They could still be accepted as Servant Disciples. With the sect's nurturing and a little more effort of their own, they could soar into the sky in a single leap.

As time passed, the trial continued in full swing.

All tens of thousands from the first batch were eliminated. Even the one who went the farthest had only taken four steps before being teleported down.

Once back on the ground, they panted heavily, taking quite a while to calm down.

"Waaah! I'm trash! I was teleported down after taking just one step."

"We know! So what? Do you want us to give you an award for being trash?"

"You think it's that easy to be trash?"

"I didn't even take a single damn step!"

"Fuck, I'm worse than trash! Waaah!"

Before he even stepped onto the Heavenly Stairway, he heard many people ahead screaming miserably. Frightened, he pulled back the foot he had been about to place forward.

Batch after batch was eliminated. The person who went the highest had only managed ten steps! After a scream, he too was mercilessly eliminated.

Those who failed looked toward the top of the Heavenly Stairway with regret and unwillingness. It seemed close at hand, yet it was as distant as the ends of the earth.

The three elders of the Azure Cloud Sect watched these failed candidates throughout with expressionless faces.

Weak character and no perseverance, yet they wanted to enter the Azure Cloud Sect?

Wake up. Stop dreaming!

Countless people charged toward the Heavenly Stairway in wave after wave, like crucian carp crossing a river.

To them, this Heavenly Stairway was like the legendary Dragon Gate. Once they crossed this chasm, they would turn from carp into dragons and soar straight into the clouds!

"What kind of shitty Heavenly Stairway is this?!"

"With talent as high as mine, I can only take one step?!"

"It can't recognize a jewel before its eyes! This damn Azure Cloud Sect isn't worth joining!"

A man said furiously. Within his family, his talent ranked among the very best. He was a renowned genius within tens of thousands of miles.

When he came here, he had confidently assured others, "With talent as high as mine, won't passing the assessment be easy?"

"Maybe I'll even enter the inner sect and become an elder someday."

Now his face had been thoroughly slapped. He could not even take the second step!

The surrounding people pointed and whispered about him.

They exclaimed that he had tremendous nerve—he was simply courting death.

A few complaints would have been one thing, but he actually dared insult the superior sect?

"Who dares insult my Azure Cloud Sect?"

Guard Wang Jian shouted angrily as he arrived before the man.

"Was it you who said we can't recognize a jewel before our eyes?"

"I think you're nothing but a pig. Go die."

"Don't... don't...! My father..."

Wang Jian did not waste any words. With one palm strike, he turned the wild-talking man into a puddle of blood.

This scene also drew the attention of everyone present.

Seeing so many people looking over, Wang Jian spoke.

"I'll say it again. The first stage tests character and perseverance."

"If you cannot even pass the first stage, then no matter how high your talent is, my Azure Cloud Sect has no interest in taking you."

"Complaining is allowed. But if anyone insults my sect again, their end will be the same as his."

Wang Jian pointed at the puddle of blood on the ground.

Upon hearing this, some of those who had failed the assessment but considered their talent fairly good, and had wanted to vent properly, no longer dared to speak.

At the same time.

A figure was slowly making his way up the Heavenly Stairway. He had already taken a full hundred steps without pausing in the slightest.

This sight drew cries of astonishment from the people below!

Strong—far too strong!

Especially those who had failed the assessment were utterly shocked. They had personally experienced the terror of the Illusionary Sky Ladder and understood it deeply!

Then they were filled with envy. At this rate, that person could easily pass the first stage. Even if he could not pass the second, he would still become a Servant Disciple.

It could be said that this man was already a guaranteed disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.

This young man was the one who had killed the Nether Tiger with a single palm strike in the Magical Beast Forest.

At this moment, Qin Han was walking up the Heavenly Stairway as though strolling through a leisurely courtyard. The illusions and pressure seemed to have failed against him, unable to hinder his footsteps in the slightest.

"This assessment is far too easy for This Emperor!"

One illusion after another came at him, only to be shattered in an instant. His state of mind, forged in the Great Emperor Realm, was unbreakable.

Having been a Great Emperor expert in his previous life, he lacked the youthful vigor and drive of a young man. Instead, his entire aura was restrained.

He was like a mire, impossible to discern the depth of.

Such people were the most terrifying.

Elsewhere.

"Master, it's finally my turn. But should I reveal my true strength now?"

Ning Yan communicated with his master through divine sense.

The waters ran too deep at such a grand occasion; he could not get a handle on it.

His master was a major figure from the Central Domain. He had seen more of the world than Ning Yan had eaten salt, so he could certainly grasp the situation.

Besides, ever since he began cultivating, he had always enjoyed playing the pig to eat the tiger.

The feeling was simply too satisfying.

Whenever he saw the astonished expressions on his enemies' faces, he felt completely fulfilled.

"Yan'er, when you cannot decide what to do, ask your heart."

The old man said mysteriously.

Everyone had their own thoughts. He did not want his disciple to rely on him too much.

"My heart... my heart."

"Master, I understand."

"That's right. My purpose today was to treat them as stepping stones and trample over them."

"I must display enough weight for others to take me seriously."

"I shall crush everything in my path!"

"Not bad, not bad. The heart of invincibility has begun to take shape."

The old man nodded in satisfaction.