When the fifteen-year-old girl reached level 900, her feet gave way and she almost fell forward.
At the moment when her body lost balance and fell forward, a hand stretched out from beside her, lightly grabbed her wrist, and held her steady.
She raised her head and saw it was Lin Feng.
She was stunned for a moment, because the pace of Lin Feng was... wrong.
He walked too steadily, evenly, even calmly, with his hands in his sleeves, as if he were walking, without any sign of tension. His expression was leisurely, and his eyes were looking ahead, as if the formations under his feet were transparent to him.
"Stand still, don't look back," Lin Feng helped her steady, said casually, and then continued walking up, "You can reach the top."
She watched him leave, froze for a moment, gritted her teeth, and started walking again.
Level one thousand five hundred.
Only twelve of the thirty people were still walking, and the rest had stopped at different locations. Some sat down on the spot to recover, some leaned on the edge to catch their breath, and some turned pale and couldn't move their feet at all.
Level two thousand.
There are seven people left, among whom Early Divine Marquis Stage is at the end of his strength, and you can hear the gasps squeezed from the depths of his throat every step of the way.
Lin Feng walked at the front among the seven people, and there was no change in speed.
Not slow.
It's fast.
Even when he was at level 2,200, because he was used to his normal pace, compared with the open space some distance ahead, a situation occurred that he had not expected at all -
He walked too fast, there was no one behind him, and there was no one in front of him. He was walking alone in the middle, and he had a strange feeling that he couldn't explain.
He stopped and looked back, and saw that Early Divine Marquis Stage was still panting at level 2,000. The twenty-year-old boy barely caught up and saw Lin Feng stopped, and was obviously stunned for a moment - he thought Lin Feng was tired too.
Then he saw Lin Feng standing there with his hands folded, waiting for them.
The two looked at each other, and the boy ran as hard as he could through the last few levels to catch up. He was panting heavily, with sweat on his face. He looked at Lin Feng with a complicated look in his eyes. In the end, he only said one sentence, which he couldn't even finish:
"... You, are you... a human..."
"Yes," Lin Feng said, "Let's go, it's almost here."
Level three thousand.
The crowd of onlookers below the square had already raised their necks sorely, staring at the stone steps from a distance, counting how many people were still moving.
The eleventh batch, thirty people, above level 2,900, only three are left.
That Early Divine Marquis Stage stopped at level 2800. He has reached his limit and his spiritual power is almost exhausted. If he goes up any higher, there is a risk of falling.
The twenty-year-old boy gritted his teeth and stopped at level 3100. It wasn't that he didn't want to go, but his legs really didn't work. He squatted on the steps, pressed himself into a ball, pressed his face against the stone steps, like a squashed frog, and looked up with difficulty.
Lin Feng, still walking.
Level 3200.
Level three thousand four hundred.
Level 3500. In the history of the academy, only seven people have passed this position.
Lin Feng stepped up and reached the last level, level 3600.
The moment he stepped on it, the induction array at the top of Heaven-Ascending Stairway was activated, and a beam of light rose from the array plate at the top of the steps, straight into the sky, like a signal flare, announcing to the entire academy:
Someone reached the top.
The bell in the college rang. It was the eighth time in four thousand years that such a bell rang.
Lin Feng stood at the top of level 3600 and glanced down. The crowd of onlookers in the square in the distance had become so small that there were only figures left. On the steps, more than 20 people parked here and there raised their heads and looked at him. The fifteen-year-old girl whom he had helped was standing at level 1100, looking up with an expression that was unclear whether it was shock or something else.
Lin Feng Go down.
The speed of going down the mountain is the same as going up the mountain. Keep your hands on it and take your time.
Heaven-Ascending Stairway's gravity array has the same effect on downward movement, but the direction is changed to upward thrust, which is equivalent to the same resistance. For most people, downward movement is only slightly easier than upward movement.
Lin Feng completed 3,600 levels and returned to the ground in the following time:
It's 20% faster than before.
The staff member waiting to record the results at the bottom wrote down the first "full completion" record of the year and wrote a line in the remarks column next to it:
"Time and status of the ascent: walking normally, no signs of physical exertion, and supporting others once during the journey."
Then he stopped writing, thought for a moment, and added:
"The downward travel time is about 20% shorter than the upward travel time. The reason is unknown."
The result of Heaven-Ascending Stairway was spread throughout the college before application time in the afternoon.
This year's enrollment, there is one person in the eleventh batch who has reached the top, with a bone age of two years and three months, Mid God King Stage, Rogue Cultivator, with a surname of Lin and a given name of Feng.
The dean of the Heavenly Dao Academy is called Yun Chengwang, with a cultivation level of Early God Emperor Stage. He is a senior founding member of the academy. He has been in this position for nearly two thousand years and has seen countless geniuses. But today, he read the test record three times.
He read the figure of bone age two years and three months.
Mid God King Stage This cultivation level, he read it for the second time.
Heaven-Ascending Stairway He read the line about completing the whole process, no physical exertion, and helping others along the way. He read it for the third time.
Then he called the deacon in charge of admissions and asked a question:
"Where is he now?"
Lin Feng was sitting in the visitor lounge area of the college, thinking about what to have for dinner.
The comprehensive assessment of the third level would not start until the next day. He had arranged accommodation tonight. He was idle and turned the volume Wild Domain Gazetteer he bought to the chapter about Boundless Wastes. He read it carefully, hoping to learn more information before entering the forbidden area.
The dean came, bringing two elders with him.
Yun Chengwang looks about fifty years old, with a gentle temperament, and a kind of indifference formed after a long time between his eyebrows and eyes. He sat down opposite Lin Feng, without any pretense, as if he was visiting a peer rather than meeting a candidate.
"I heard your name is Lin Feng," he said straight to the point, "Where did you come from?"
"Far away," Lin Feng put Wild Domain Gazetteer together, "You came just in time. I have a few questions to ask."
Yun Chengwang was stunned for a moment and smiled:
"The candidates haven't finished the exam yet, why don't they ask questions to the dean first?"
"Be more efficient," Lin Feng said. "How much information about Boundless Wastes is there in the college? Can you lend it to me?"
Yun Chengwang did not answer this question immediately. He pondered for a moment and changed direction:
"I want to accept you as a closed disciple," he said. "You can apply to use the resources of the academy, including some permission rights in forbidden areas. What are the conditions for this?"
Lin Feng glanced at him and then asked:
"What kind of exercises do you practice?"
"Cloud Heaven Art, the training method of our hospital," Yun Chengwang was a little surprised by this question, but still answered truthfully, "It has been used by past presidents."