Ye Ling did not climb very fast. She made no deliberate effort to speed up, yet she remained firmly within the first tier. There were about a dozen others at roughly the same height as her.
Most of her companions were geniuses from the Commandery City; from the subordinate cities, only she and Ye Chen had managed to join their ranks.
Behind them was the slightly larger second tier, consisting of over a hundred people.
Its members were mostly the top geniuses of various cities and the remaining geniuses of the Commandery City, currently hovering around the five-thousandth step.
Although everyone felt the strain and their bodies were fast approaching their limits, they continued to climb.
Six thousand steps yielded an excellent rating, while five thousand steps was only upper-middle. Since their scores directly affected their chances of entering a sect, no one was willing to stop there.
Further back was the most populous third tier, numbering in the hundreds, with most lingering around the four-thousandth step.
These martial artists were actually the ones pushing themselves the hardest, as most of them had only obtained upper-middle ratings in the first two rounds of testing.
According to the rules, they had to achieve at least an upper-middle rating in this climbing test—meaning they had to reach at least five thousand steps—to qualify for admission into the four major sects.
Thus, with solemn expressions, they strained with all their might to forge ahead toward the five-thousandth step, one grueling pace at a time.
Li Wanxi, Su Qinghe, and Liu Daoyao were also in this tier.
At this moment, Su Qinghe and Liu Daoyao were single-mindedly focusing all their strength on rushing toward the five-thousandth step, while Li Wanxi's expression carried a trace of desolation.
In her first talent test, she had only received an upper-middle rating, and in the second comprehension test, she had only achieved a mediocre rating.
According to the rules, she had to secure an excellent rating in this spiritual stairs climb to be eligible to join the four major sects.
Yet she had only reached the four-thousandth step, and she was already physically and mentally exhausted. She was still quite a distance away from the five-thousandth step required for an upper-middle rating, let alone the six-thousandth step needed for an excellent rating.
For a moment, the thought of giving up quietly sprouted in her heart.
Just as her spirits hit rock bottom, she subconsciously looked up and caught sight of Ye Ling at the six-thousandth step.
The other girl's steps remained calm and composed, as though the heavy gravity and the suppression of spiritual energy around her had absolutely no effect on her.
Li Wanxi sighed inwardly. Was this what a true peerless genius was like? Being born in the same era as someone like her inevitably made one feel a sense of disparity.
But she did not want to be left far behind—at least, not too far behind for now.
She clenched her fists, sweeping away the dejection in her heart. Reinvigorated, she put all her effort into advancing toward the six-thousandth step.
Even if she ultimately failed to reach her goal, she would push herself to her absolute limit, holding on until she could no longer stand before stepping down from the spiritual stairs.
Behind her was the slightly smaller fourth tier.
Most of these people came from small cities and were currently struggling bitterly at the three-thousandth step.
The vast majority had already lost heart. Knowing they had long since lost any chance of securing a spot in the four major sects, they began to step down from the spiritual stairs one after another.
Yet a few still gritted their teeth and refused to stop. Even if they could not enter a sect, they wanted to use this climb to temper their willpower and character.
Among them, one young girl was particularly eye-catching.
The heavy gravity, combined with her continuously flowing sweat, caused her clothes to cling tightly to her skin.
Wisps of blood seeped from her eyes and ears, showing that her physical body had clearly reached its limit of endurance. Yet she still refused to halt her steps.
She came from a remote, small city in Heishui Commandery and had been abandoned by her parents at a young age. Fortunately, she was adopted by a rogue cultivator.
From childhood to adulthood, she had lived a dependent life with her master, who treated her exceptionally well.
Her master pinched pennies in daily life, giving her all the pills she was reluctant to use and the savings accumulated over many years, placing all of her life's expectations and hopes upon her.
And she had never let down her master's painstaking efforts. Always diligent and determined to succeed, she had already cultivated to the Houtian Eighth Layer at the tender age of eighteen.
This time, she had successfully passed the preliminary selection and made her way all the way to the final selection in Heishui Commandery.
But only after truly stepping into Heishui Commandery and witnessing the geniuses of all sides did she genuinely understand how vast the world outside was, and how countless the geniuses of the world were.
In the past, she was a well-known and highly praised genius in her own small city, basking in boundless glory.
Yet in this trial ground where all the elites gathered, she was merely one of the most ordinary members.
But she did not want to disappoint the master who had nurtured her so carefully, nor was she willing to stop her forward progress here.
Gritting her teeth, she insisted on continuing to climb upward. Even though she was already bleeding from her facial orifices and her body was suffering intense agony, her determination did not waver in the slightest.
Many spectators below also noticed this young girl, and a wave of discussion broke out.
“This girl is already bleeding from her facial orifices. Why is she still forcing herself to go up?”
“The elder warned us earlier that if we can't hold on, we should step down immediately. Forcing it can easily damage one's foundation. Is she trying to get herself killed?”
To the side of the crowd, a middle-aged woman was already covered in tears.
Gathering all her strength, she shouted toward the spiritual stairs, “Xue'er! Xue'er! Don't go any higher! Come down! Master is already very satisfied!”
Xue'er was the name she had given her disciple. She had picked up the child on a snowy day and named her accordingly, a name filled with love and hope for her disciple.
But the Heavenly Spirit Stairs was an Earth-grade spiritual treasure, surrounded by a tight array barrier. The woman's shouts could not reach the stairs at all.
Xue'er was entirely unaware of this, still stubbornly moving upward. By now, she was no longer able to walk normally and could only crawl on all fours, scrambling upward step by step.
Although the shouts below could not penetrate the spiritual stairs' array barrier, they clearly reached the high platform.
On the high platform, the Commandery Lord's gaze remained fixed on the very top of the spiritual stairs, watching the geniuses of the first tier climb.
The elder of the Qinglan Sword Sect sat with closed eyes, focusing his mind, having long entered deep meditation, completely undisturbed by the noise outside.
The elder of the Burning Heaven Martial Academy also heard the shouts below, but his expression was indifferent and unconcerned.
In his eyes, the martial path was inherently cruel; sailing against the current was never easy.
In fact, he rather admired this young girl who was gritting her teeth and holding on. Her willpower and determination perfectly matched the Burning Heaven Martial Academy's criteria for choosing disciples.
It was a pity that her talent and cultivation were both lacking, making her ineligible to enter the academy. Shaking his head slightly, he withdrew his gaze and stopped paying attention.
The Xuanling Valley elder was entirely focused on maintaining the operation of the spiritual stairs' array. With his mind highly concentrated, he had no time to spare.
Only the elder from Jingshui Yaotai, dressed in a water-colored long dress, sighed softly at the sight. She raised her hand and drew forth a thread of gentle spiritual energy.
She gently wrapped it around the middle-aged woman's shouts below, penetrating the layers of array barriers to deliver them precisely into the ears of the struggling girl.
“Xue'er! Xue'er! Stop! Don't climb anymore!”
Xue'er, who was pushing all of her willpower to climb upward with gritted teeth, suddenly snapped back to her senses, her eyes filled with astonishment.
This was her master's voice! Her master was supposed to be guarding their small city. How could she have appeared in the distant Heishui Commandery?
Enduring the tearing pain racking her entire body, she struggled to look down.
The sea of people below was dense and packed, making it impossible to see any faces clearly, yet she was able to lock her gaze precisely onto her tearful master in the crowd.
Her mind grew dazed. Was this an illusion born of extreme exhaustion? But her master's anxious calls in her ears continued, sounding incomparably real.
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