The final trial

The next morning.

On the enormous plaza at the foot of the Misty Sect's mountain gate.

"Today is the final trial. I wonder what they'll test."

"At last night's Heavenly Prodigy Gathering at Purple Mist Shore, I heard Lu Yongfei say the final trial seemed to be some sort of gravity test."

"I heard someone recited a poem at last night's Heavenly Prodigy Gathering and won a beauty's favor on the spot. That very night, he held her in his arms..."

"...A friend sent me word that two fairies folded and sold paper boats themselves at Crescent Bay last night. What a pity I wasn't there..."

The plaza teemed with people and bustled with activity, everyone gathered in twos and threes, talking quietly!

"Young master, look at my hands. They're still swollen."

Qing Ying spoke with a face full of reproach.

Last night at Crescent Bay, thanks to Ming Hao's inspired sales pitch, people had crowded around three rows deep to buy paper boats.

Poor Qing Ying and Qing Yun had each folded thousands, leaving their hands red and swollen, while Wang Yong, Meng Yi, and the others had only folded a few hundred each. There was simply no comparison.

Had they not run out of paper, they probably would have folded until dawn...

Yet Ming Hao, who was reclining at that moment, still shamelessly wanted Qing Ying to massage him.

Qing Yun had long since turned her face away, clearly furious as well.

Looking distressed, Ming Hao said, "Be good. Let your young master rub them for you."

As he spoke, he took Qing Ying's little hands and gently kneaded them.

The disciples beside them seethed, outwardly spitting in scorn while inwardly burning with envy and jealousy.

Dong, dong, dong.

Suddenly, bells rang out.

A vast sea of white-robed Misty Sect elders and disciples descended from the sky!

"Today's final trial is a gravity test.

"Look behind me at these ten thousand steps leading to the Misty Sect's mountain gate!"

The ten-thousand-step stairway resembled a coiling dragon, winding all the way into the clouds. Its majestic grandeur inspired awe!

"The rules are simple. You must climb these steps on foot. The gravity you experience will vary according to your cultivation.

"The firmer your foundation and the greater your combat strength, the farther you can go.

"You may also use this opportunity to hone your cultivation and solidify your foundation.

"There is no time limit. The first to reach the summit will take first place and receive one infusion of spiritual energy. The same applies to the following ranks, with progressively smaller infusions."

"Do you all understand?!"

The white-robed elder, with his air of an immortal sage, stroked his beard and asked in a deep voice.

Below, many people's eyes immediately lit up. They swore inwardly that they would claim the prize!

"We understand!"

A chorus of replies rose from the plaza.

"The final trial officially begins! Everyone, set the formation!"

As the elder shouted, he sent out a beam of formation light. The many elders, Protectors, Stewards, and disciples arrayed on either side likewise sent out beams of formation light.

In moments, a dark-yellow formation covered the ten thousand steps. Even from afar, its solemn majesty seemed to wash over them!

"The formation is complete. Enter at once!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Suddenly, sharp whistles rang out all around, as though tearing through the air.

At the sound, everyone's expressions changed, and they raced frantically toward the ten thousand steps, terrified of falling behind.

In the blink of an eye, the bottom steps were packed so tightly that not even water could pass through. There was scarcely room to stand.

Many people clashed violently while fighting for positions, coming straight to blows. Shouts, curses, and the sounds of fists and feet striking mingled together in utter chaos.

Amid the turmoil, the weaker Heavenly Prodigies let out cries of pain one after another.

As they shoved and collided with one another, they were swept off the steps and slammed heavily onto the ground.

Before they even had a chance to start climbing, these people suffered serious injuries. Some even lost the ability to continue altogether.

Such was the cruelty of competition! In this world where the weak were meat for the strong, only the powerful could survive.

After a while, the crowd gradually dispersed. Some had already climbed seventeen or eighteen hundred steps.

However, their pace had clearly begun to slow. They no longer advanced like a blade splitting bamboo.

"Young master, the crowd has thinned considerably. We should go up," Qing Yun said softly, looking at the steps ahead.

Ming Hao swept his gaze around. He noticed that quite a few powerful people had not rushed to seize a momentary lead. Instead, they stood quietly to one side, seemingly disdainful of the chaos.

They knew perfectly well that whether they could ultimately reach the summit depended on their own strength.

Once the crowd was no longer packed together, these people stepped forward and began climbing.

"Come. Follow me to the summit." Ming Hao rose at once and led his group swiftly toward the steps.

Their figures flashed up the stairway like lightning, drawing many eyes.

The instant Ming Hao stepped onto the stairs, an invisible force seemed to press down on him. Though slight, he could feel it clearly.

At the same time, a faint breeze blew down at him from above, seemingly trying to blow him off the steps.

With every step Ming Hao climbed, the gravity increased a little, as did the breeze, as though an unseen hand kept adding to his burden.

Yet the gradually increasing gravity did not hinder Ming Hao. His steps remained steady, and his pace barely slowed.

After a while, Ming Hao and the others had climbed more than two thousand steps, still maintaining a steady rhythm.

Ming Hao looked ahead. Not far in front of him, quite a few people had already climbed more than four thousand steps. They all looked somewhat strained, but continued stubbornly upward.

Ming Hao glanced back and saw the dense crowd following close behind them, like ants climbing a tree.

Many among them were powerful Heavenly Prodigies, yet even they looked exhausted by the long climb.

When he looked at Qing Yun and the others beside him, their faces actually appeared relaxed and at ease, as though these two thousand-odd steps posed no difficulty whatsoever.

Ming Hao and the others advanced again. Along the way, he kept overtaking other Heavenly Prodigies until he gradually reached a height of more than five thousand steps.

Looking ahead now, he found that well over half the people in front had fallen away. Even the highest had only reached a little over six thousand steps.

When he looked back, a clear gap appeared in his field of vision.

The three-thousandth step seemed to be a dividing line, where a vast, dark mass of people was still struggling desperately.

The five-thousandth step was another dividing line. Many Heavenly Prodigies had stopped there, unable to take another step forward for the time being.

Throughout the long climb, cries of alarm rang out from time to time as people were eliminated.

Clearly, quite a few Heavenly Prodigies had already been eliminated, so the spectators below had long since grown accustomed to it.

Around the same height, many Heavenly Prodigies were exhausted from the prolonged climb, having consumed enormous amounts of spiritual energy and stamina. They chose to sit and meditate where they were to replenish their depleted spiritual energy.

Those Heavenly Prodigies with greater resources took out precious pills without hesitation and swallowed them as quickly as sweets, hoping to recover their strength as soon as possible.

In stark contrast to the other Heavenly Prodigies, however, Qing Yun and Qing Ying still had enough energy to stand on either side of Ming Hao with soft towels, gently wiping away his almost nonexistent beads of sweat.

Several other maids fed him water and food.

The sight made the onlookers grind their teeth, desperately wishing they were the one in his place.

Meanwhile, everyone else displayed their own special abilities. Some took out water flasks and gulped down mouthfuls to replenish their fluids; others produced all sorts of delicacies and wolfed them down to fill their hungry stomachs.

Some even took little stools out of their packs and sat down leisurely, as though this climb were nothing more than an easy stroll.

These scenes shattered the Dao hearts of those behind them. Those eliminated through a moment's carelessness were especially furious at the leisurely manner of Ming Hao and his companions.

On the steps not far behind Ming Hao, Luo Bai, dressed in garish colors and flashy to the extreme, struggled to withstand the powerful gravity.

His face flushed crimson from exertion, and veins bulged on his forehead. He looked terribly strained.

Even so, his gaze remained fixed on Ming Hao and the others, his eyes filled with hatred and jealousy.

He cursed inwardly:

Damn that scoundrel! Isn't he just relying on his privileged birth? What's so great about him?!

Once I enter the Misty Sect and achieve success in cultivation, I'll take everything he has! Only I deserve beauties like these. That brat has no fortune to enjoy them!

As his fantasies ran wild, a beautiful scene gradually formed in Luo Bai's mind: he would overwhelm all his rivals in the coming competition, successfully seize first place, and become the focus of everyone's attention.

The great figures would also look upon him with special favor, fighting to take him as their Personal Disciple. From then on, he would rise effortlessly through the clouds and soar into the heavens...

Then he would rise all the way to the top, trampling Heavenly Prodigies of every stripe beneath his feet as all manner of goddesses threw themselves into his arms...

Just as he was lost in fantasy, drool spilling from his mouth, the footing beneath him suddenly vanished, and he was ejected straight off the stairs.

By the time he came to his senses, he was already in midair, crying out loudly.

"No~ It wasn't supposed to be like this! I haven't trampled the Heavenly Prodigies or slept with all the goddesses yet... How could this..."

At his words, quite a few people instantly showed expressions of disgust.