Elders' Wager

On an open patch of ground at the edge of Clearheart Island, Xiahou Lie, Lei Wu, and Bai Yu had gathered. Behind them stood numerous deacons.

"The Ancient Sect, the Azure Flame Sect! Had this old man encountered such an opportunity in his youth, would he have remained in the True Martial Realm for so long?"

Xiahou Lie sighed, then changed the subject. "Elder Lei, Elder Bai, how many of these new disciples do you think can climb the Azure Flame Heavenly Stairway?"

Bai Yu pondered for a moment. "The disciples recruited by our Myriad Phenomena Hall are all talented people from across the land. But this was the Azure Flame Sect's testing ground for prospective disciples. The difficulty must be immense."

"Reaching the first few stone steps shouldn't be a problem for them, but I expect precious few will make it past the nineteenth."

"I wonder whether anyone this year can pass the Forty-Ninth Stone Stairway and become an Inner Disciple of the Azure Flame Sect."

"To pass the seventy-ninth stone step and become a Core Disciple would have been harder than ascending to heaven even in the Ancient Era. It's practically impossible."

"As for the ninety-nine white jade steps, I wonder whether anyone in the Azure Flame Sect ever reached the top during the Ancient Era?"

Even for the talented people the Myriad Phenomena Hall had painstakingly selected from across the land, climbing the Azure Flame Heavenly Stairway was exceedingly difficult.

Lei Wu laughed. "Elder Bai is right. If Lei Zhen, the prodigy of our Lei family, were here, he might have a chance of becoming a Core Disciple. But these little ones can't manage that."

"Still... Lei Yun is remarkably gifted and has an exceptionally steadfast heart for the Martial Way. He should have a chance of