The main group was still chasing after Tang Yao. By the time they reached around the thirtieth step, they were all utterly exhausted!
Unable to use talismans and relying purely on physical strength, they could only watch Tang Yao's retreating figure and silently marvel. Their senior sister really was a freak of a talisman cultivator...
What respectable talisman cultivator had such freakish stamina?!
Yet before they could react-
"Whoosh-"
A pink blur shot forward at tremendous speed. All they felt was a gust of wind sweeping past!
To them, exhausted as they were, that breeze actually felt rather refreshing?
"Wait! What was that? It was a person! Someone just ran past!" The first disciple to react widened his eyes.
"Pink? Was that... Senior Sister Xiaohua?"
"..."
The new talisman disciples nearby were having their entire worldview rewritten!
It was as if thunder had exploded inside their heads. Comparing yourself to others really could anger you to death!
Some disciples who had run out of strength saw the two senior sisters charging ahead, gritted their teeth, and stood back up.
Those two senior sisters were just... too ruthless!
The culprit who had unwittingly sparked this involution was charging ahead without any trouble. Only when she reached around the sixtieth step did Tang Yao begin to feel a little uncomfortable.
Tang Yao stopped and rested for a moment.
The higher the steps, the denser the spiritual Qi became, while the pressure also increased severalfold.
Tang Yao sped up the circulation of spiritual Qi. Her luminous white spirit root revealed a multicolored presence, drawing in spiritual Qi of every surrounding element at once.
As it circulated through all her meridians, she felt the spiritual Qi slowly repairing her body while her physique also grew stronger.
Inside the elders' pavilion of the Profound Heaven Sect.
Three old men huddled together around a projection stone, each beaming with delight. This batch of disciples was especially willing to endure hardship, particularly those currently in first and second place. Their talent was outstanding! Who would have thought their stamina would be so good too? They had truly stumbled upon treasures!
For all their solemn faces outside, the three old men were now so overjoyed they were almost ready to embrace and weep together. Promising seedlings, every last one of them!
"Bang-" The door to the elders' pavilion was kicked open with tremendous force.
"Ling He, you weren't lying to me, were you? We took in two mutated spirit roots this year?!" A middle-aged man in deep purple Daoist robes strode in, a trace of urgency in his voice.
Elder Ling huffed. "Duan Xiangyuan, you made it back just in time. Come here, hurry!" He immediately made room for the sect master.
And just like that, three people huddling together became four.
Sect Master Duan's gaze paused on Chu Song, and then the three elders' voices rang out beside his ears.
"Oh, come now! Geniuses are always different from ordinary people!"
"...Old Ling is right. How many years has it been since we last recruited a lightning spirit root? Senior Brother Sect Master, don't go bruising the child's pride!"
Sect Master Duan fell silent for a long while before finally speaking slowly.
"...A fair point."
By around the eightieth step, Tang Yao was already struggling to keep going.
Fine beads of sweat fell from her forehead. She felt unable to take another step, her body becoming extraordinarily heavy.
The spiritual power within her was also circulating rapidly, frantically absorbing the surrounding spiritual Qi.
Spiritual Qi was draining away at tremendous speed, all of it going toward supporting her flesh and tempering her body over and over. Tang Yao simply stopped moving and sat cross-legged where she was.
Spiritual power surged ceaselessly inside her while she frantically drew in spiritual Qi from outside, as though she stood at the center of a storm.
Circulating at tremendous speed, the spiritual power finally converged in her Dantian like a tide.
Tang Yao opened her eyes, a faint glow emanating from her body.
It seemed she had reached Foundation Establishment.
The original owner had probably never absorbed all five primary elements simultaneously. Though it took a little more effort, the speed of advancement was truly terrifying.
She stood up and stretched, feeling her newfound strength. Her utterly exhausted meridians were now brimming with life again.
Elsewhere-
The elders were beside themselves with excitement. "The child broke through!" Sect Master Duan Xiangyuan could not hide his excitement either, as though he could see hope for the Profound Heaven Sect in the inter-sect tournament.
I have to scoop her up as my final disciple!
Sect Master Duan stood there, stunned.
Was this girl really an ice spirit root? At the instant of her breakthrough, all sorts of transparent elements had seemed to surround her.
But a chaos spirit root was something out of legend, after all...
Let's observe a little longer.
Just as Tang Yao was about to step onto the eighty-first step.
"Hey! Brother Tang!"
A voice came from behind her.
Chu Song had just climbed onto the eightieth step, panting, one hand braced against his waist.
"You little punk, didn't you tell me you weren't going for the top three? You said you'd be taking a personal disciple spot from another sect, yet you ran faster than a rabbit!"
Tang Yao turned sideways and gave Chu Song a smile as pained as a stomachache, speaking at a volume only the two of them could hear.
"You think I wanted to? Think about it. Neither of us can draw talismans, so won't we be done for in the second round? If we can't even get into the inner sect, you'll have plenty to cry about!"
After speaking, she looked at the bewildered Chu Song and shook her head, exasperated at his failure to shape up.
Chu Song said, "I can... draw them."
Tang Yao said, "...?"
"My family hired a talisman cultivation teacher for me. I can draw a few, or I wouldn't have dared come here to steal their teachings!" Chu Song explained, then shifted his gaze, looking a little incredulous.
"Don't tell me you came without knowing anything..."
Tang Yao said, "...?"
Seeing Tang Yao's reaction, Chu Song guessed the truth. He sucked in a breath before speaking. "You don't even know whether you can cultivate talismans! And you still dared come!"
"Everyone who comes to the Profound Heaven Sect is assumed to be a talisman cultivator, because this place offers them the best resources and cultivation methods. What if you can't cultivate talismans?!"
"And you still dared come!"
At that moment, Chu Song could only think that Tang Yao was seriously badass.
Sure enough, sword cultivators like them had only their worthless lives to lose, so they might as well go for it!
To salvage a little of her image and dignity, Tang Yao decided to act mysterious. "Ahem. Though I don't know how yet, I'm certain I can cultivate talismans. Rest assured, Brother Chu."
She remembered very clearly that during a fight with the female lead in the book, the original owner had drawn a talisman in midair on the spot to counterattack.
That strike had distracted the female lead, allowing Jiang Yueyan, who was a devil cultivator at the time, to injure her. So at the very least, this body could cultivate talismans!
Tang Yao said thoughtfully, "If you can draw talismans, you don't need to max out this round. Otherwise, if they really make you a personal disciple and you run back to the Beast Taming Sect, the Profound Heaven Sect will break your legs!"
Chu Song imagined that scene and shuddered.
"You make a fair point, Brother Tang!" He immediately sat cross-legged to meditate and rest.
He dared not imagine what situation he would have ended up in if he had not met Brother Tang!
But right after saying that, she remembered the plot.
In the original story, Chu Song had never met Tang Yao and had successfully become the Profound Heaven Sect's second disciple. With his extraordinary talent and dual cultivation of beast taming and talismans, he had the Profound Heaven Sect and the Beast Taming Sect fighting endlessly over him! He received resources until his hands went limp! The only downside was having to face some gossip.
Tang Yao coughed awkwardly, then turned and left.
"Thanks, Brother Tang!" Watching Tang Yao's retreating figure, Chu Song marveled that there really were more good people in the world!
Hearing that, Tang Yao walked even faster.
"..."
With Chu Song away from her, he could finally discover that there was neither wind nor rain outside. She should give him another pointer later.
There were a hundred steps in total. Though the final ten took effort, they were not that difficult for Tang Yao, who had just broken through to Foundation Establishment. This was only a beginner version of the heavenly stairway, after all.
The spiritual Qi here was dense. Nothing could be better than using this pressure formation to temper her body, and it was just right for stabilizing her Foundation Establishment Realm.
Tang Yao reached the ninety-ninth step. Because she had increased the difficulty for herself, her spiritual Qi was now nearly depleted. Her legs felt as though two great boulders were strapped to them, every step weighing hundreds upon thousands of pounds, her muscles and joints feeling as if they were being torn apart.
Finally, she gritted her teeth, grabbed the hundredth step with one hand, and lifted her leg up with the motion, flipping onto the hundredth step like a salted fish turning over.
After that, she could no longer lift her body. Tang Yao lay on the ground of the hundredth step, panting.
If only I had a Spirit Restoration Pill right now.
Tang Yao surveyed her surroundings with a somewhat unfocused gaze. Clearly, the hundredth step was the final level.
I really maxed it out this time.
But was that a senior brother sitting at the finish line ahead?
Tang Yao watched him sitting there with his head lowered, seemingly very reluctant.
On the reclining chair, Jiang Yueyan idly scrolled through a Jade Slip, his left hand propping up his cheek in boredom. Just then, he vaguely spotted something that looked like a person ahead.
Those indifferent eyes gradually filled with astonishment.
Their eyes met.
Tang Yao said awkwardly, "Hi."
Fuck! Jiang Yueyan!
Jiang Yueyan murmured in puzzlement, "Someone among this year's new disciples actually made it up here..."
When the elders had originally assigned him to handle registration at the summit, he had been extremely unwilling. This was unquestionably a waste of time. How could anyone possibly make it up?
Yet now, someone was right before his eyes.
Jiang Yueyan slowly rose and paced over to Tang Yao, looking down at her from above.
Foundation Establishment Realm. Decent strength.
His gaze sharpened.
But why did this person look a little familiar?
She looked like the Tang family's young master who had been rude to him at the restaurant last time...
At that thought, Jiang Yueyan's face darkened.
But since she was a new junior sister, he ultimately held it in. Taking a high-grade Spirit Restoration Pill from his Storage Bag, he crouched down and said coldly, "Hey, still holding up?"
Tang Yao raised her arm halfway with difficulty. "Thanks for asking. Dead, but slightly alive."
Jiang Yueyan said, "What are you babbling about?"
With that, he stuffed the Spirit Restoration Pill into Tang Yao's hand, turned, and strode away.
Just as Jiang Yueyan thought there would be nothing more for him to do, another figure walked up from below. Compared with Tang Yao's bedraggled state, this person seemed unhurried, composed, and calm.
A pair of boots, accompanied by the hem of a robe, approached within Tang Yao's peripheral vision.
Someone else?
Wasn't Chu Song not coming up?
Tang Yao struggled to prop herself up and looked to the side.
It was a pale-faced youth with a hint of malice in his features. His steps were unhurried as he stared at Jiang Yueyan and walked toward him.
"Senior Brother Jiang." His voice was soft and beguiling.
Jiang Yueyan glanced up coldly. "Hm?"
"Those elders are really too much. Couldn't they have found any disciple to do this job? They had to make you do it, Senior Brother Jiang. You'd be better off spending this time cultivating instead of wasting your days here."
The youth chuckled, approaching step by step.
Jiang Yueyan swept his icy gaze over the youth, making no denial.
After all, it really was a waste of time.