Su Bai stood before the thatched hut, Yun Xuan at his side, facing the thirty-six figures who had just descended from the Heavenly Ladder.
On the first day, thirty-six people had passed the trial!
This had exceeded Su Bai's expectations. He had originally thought there would only be one or two, yet there were so many.
This was already an excellent beginning!
Su Bai looked at them.
Nearly every one of them was raggedly dressed, their faces either sallow or dark, carrying the mingled scents of dirt, sweat, and wounds.
Yet at this moment, every pair of eyes shone with astonishing brightness.
At their head stood Su Hu.
Though the pressure on him had long since vanished, prolonged hunger and the physical and mental exhaustion of climbing the Heavenly Ladder still left his face pale and his body swaying slightly.
Yet he stood ramrod straight, like a javelin!
Behind him were thirty-five others who had likewise passed the test of sixty steps on the Heavenly Ladder.
There was the bold man who had voiced his doubts at the foot of the mountain, a frail and timid youth, a silent middle-aged man, and even women with tears in their eyes...
They came from the most ruined villages around Blackwater City, from the darkest caves... They were the dust at the very bottom of this Ninth Layer.
Su Bai's gaze slowly swept across those thirty-six faces.
He saw hatred, determination, the resolve to stake everything on a single throw, and hope!
"The Heavenly Dao Sect of this world has only just been founded."
"You thirty-six are its first batch of disciples."
"If you enter my sect, you must know its rules."
He paused slightly, and an unquestionable killing sternness entered his voice.
"First, do not use strength to bully the weak. The