Bai Chenxiang Passed First

A month later, nine wooden stakes stood at the base of the mountain.

Each stake had a name, a goal, and the highest step count of the day carved into it. When Ma Hongjun made his, he carved his own name the largest, only for Bai Chenxiang to shave it flat the next day and rewrite it to the same size as the others.

Bai Chenxiang's stake had been stuck at the thirty-fourth step for six days already.

She was always the first to arrive at Sea God Mountain every morning. Before the morning mist had dissipated and while the Sea God's Light was condensing a layer of fine water droplets on the stone steps, she would first run ten laps around the base of the mountain, then wipe dry every single foothold. Bai Chenxiang did not need anyone else to clear the steps for her, and this routine simply helped her remember the distance of those thirty-six stone steps.

After finishing her training, she still had to patrol the outer waters for half an hour. Yellow Rank candidates were not required to shoulder any duties within the island, but she voluntarily joined the patrol team because she wanted to get used to the changing sea winds. Needletail Swifts pursued straight-line speed on the mainland, but out on the ocean, crosswinds and updrafts constantly altered their flight direction. After a month, she was already able to judge from the crests of the waves where the next gust of wind was coming from.

Every time she walked up to that point, her legs would fail to bear the divine light. Agility-type Soul Masters were accustomed to using speed to avoid frontal impacts, yet the Sea God's Light gave her no space to detour, forcing her to conquer every single step with