Jiang Wushuang was shocked at the result. 'What? Rank 9 Spiritual Imprint and S-grade aptitude? That one even has two Spiritual Imprints! This is simply unheard of! There are three Emperor-level talents—I never imagined my inheritance would attract such monsters.'
Jiang Wushuang maintained his majesty and didn't let anything show on his face. He looked at everyone and said, "Now, we can start the ladder test. This will be a test of your perseverance. It will measure how hardworking you are!"
"You all have to climb these stairs—there are a hundred in total! However, remember that the higher your cultivation, the greater the pressure you will face on this ladder. If you fall while advancing to the next stage, or if you can't handle the pressure and kneel down, you will be eliminated. Also, you can't stay on a stair for more than ten minutes."
This ladder test has a special meaning. It tests one's potential destiny! Heaven gives talent, but it is your effort that shapes your destiny.
The staircase was so huge that it could fit hundreds of people at the same time, so everyone started together.
Li Yuxong stepped onto the first stair and immediately felt a massive suppression on his body, as if a huge boulder was pressing down on his shoulders.
Li Yuxong murmured, "This much weight just on the first step? What would it feel like on the hundredth?"
He continued moving. Step 1, 2... soon, he reached the 20th step. His breathing grew heavy, and he rested for a few moments to let his body adapt to the changes. At the same time, he looked around.
He was surprised to find many were ahead of him.
Ren Ying had reached the 38th step, Wang Xueyao was on the 35th, Huang Ling was just behind him on the 19th, Long Yifan was on the 26th, Huang Weimin on the 27th, and Tang Liuyue on the 23rd. Another person surprised him—Li Ming was on the 30th step!
'Isn't Li Ming just a lustful idiot? Or has he been pretending all this time?'
What Li Yuxong didn't know was that Li Ming had always lived under his shadow. Everyone praised Li Yuxong and compared Li Ming to him. Li Ming hated that and always practiced alone, determined to surpass Li Yuxong and prove his own worth. But it was a pity—he could never overcome the talent gap.
There's a saying: slow and steady wins the race. A similar thing happened in this test.
Those who started fast slowed down later.
After an hour, the standings changed entirely.
Ren Ying and Wang Xueyao were still at the top, on the 63rd and 61st steps respectively. Li Yuxong closed the gap and reached the 54th step, while Huang Ling climbed to the 50th. Li Ming was on the 55th!
Long Yifan was stuck on the 44th step. He gritted his teeth as he looked at those ahead of him. 'How can these lowborns surpass me? No, I have to do better. I must win.'
Huang Weimin had initially surpassed Long Yifan, but now he was behind him at the 40th step. Tang Liuyue was also alongside him.
But what surprised everyone was a dark horse—Deng Wei, one of the lone cultivators from Jade Harbor City, had reached the 60th step!
At this time, one of the warriors fell and was seriously injured. Jiang Wushuang nodded at him for his resolve, took out a Grade 6 Vitality Pill, and threw it to him. "Take this—it will heal all your injuries."
The competition continued, growing more and more intense.
Two more hours passed.
Wang Xueyao had now surpassed Ren Ying, though she was reaching her limit. She stood on the 94th step. 'Damn, if this were my true self, I would have reached the top without breaking a sweat. But this mortal body reaches its limit so easily!'
Ren Ying was on the 92nd step, breathing heavily and questioning his decisions.
'Why am I doing this? Why do I have to struggle so much? What's the point of all this? Throughout my life, I've struggled and worked hard for every moment. But... why must we strive to become stronger?'
As these questions clouded his mind, Ren Ying's eyes suddenly turned sharp. He murmured, "Damn, why am I having such thoughts? There's no point in thinking like this—it'll only hinder me. As for my purpose, I have my entire life to search for it... to find what I truly want."
Resolve isn't born from courage—it's born from refusal of helplessness, rejection of despair, and the rebirth of will.
At this moment, Ren Ying discarded all his messy and chaotic thoughts, resolved himself and determined to surpass Wang Xueyao!
He clenched his teeth and continued moving. "Keep going," he repeated inwardly.
His breathing was ragged, but he didn't stop.
Long Yifan and Huang Weimin had already reached their limits at the 68th and 70th steps respectively.
Deng Wei was at the 78th, breathing heavily. He looked at Wang Xueyao and Ren Ying and smiled bitterly. 'These two monsters...'
Li Yuxong had reached his limit at the 84th step, and Huang Ling was on the 70th alongside Huang Weimin.
Tang Liuyue had long been eliminated at the 50th step.
Li Ming persevered until the 72nd step, then fell when climbing the next one—eliminated.
At this moment, while moving toward the 95th stair, Wang Xueyao's ankle twisted under the pressure and her own carelessness. She fell from the 95th to the 94th step and was eliminated.
Ren Ying looked at her and smiled. "Now I have a temporary goal."
He clenched his teeth and forced his body to move onto the 93rd step. As soon as he set foot on it, the pressure doubled.
"Success."
Though he succeeded, the pressure was unbearable. He waited, adapting his body to it. After nine minutes, he tried again. He lifted one leg, and as soon as it touched the next step, the pressure doubled again. He gritted his teeth and used all his energy to move his other leg up.
In this way, he finally reached the 94th step.
One more and I'll win this.
Ren Ying's vision started to blur. What he didn't realize was that his body was bleeding internally. It was the limit of his endurance, but he still murmured stubbornly, "One more."
He lifted one leg onto the 95th step. The pressure nearly crushed him, but he held firm, placing one hand on the 97th step for support. The moment he touched it, the pressure increased fourfold. Gritting his teeth, he used his hands to push himself upward—then suddenly released them. The sudden shift sent his body forward, and he landed fully on the 95th step.
"Finally... I win."
Those were his last words before fainting. Sometimes, victory is not reaching the end, but daring to walk when your heart has already fallen.
Jiang Wushuang looked at Ren Ying and nodded. 'There is honor in the fall if your hands were still reaching for the next step. You are the most impressive one among all the geniuses present. Even I find myself inferior to you. I've never seen someone with such resolve! It's a pity you don't possess great talent in cultivation… but the tactic you used at the last moment was truly incredible.'
At the last moment, Ren Ying placed his hand on a higher step. It was similar to a man struggling to stand with 200 kilograms on his shoulders—then suddenly adding 600 more. And just as he was about to collapse, that extra weight vanished. The sudden difference in pressure between the higher and lower steps caused his body to lurch forward, making him fall onto the upper stair.
The difference was that when he used his hands for support, he managed to remove them despite the immense pressure. Quite unbelievable! Perhaps it was because his arms were the least exhausted during the climb, unlike his legs, that he was able to pull this off. It was a huge gamble—but he succeeded.
Jiang Wushuang walked over, took out a Vitality Pill, and placed it in Ren Ying's mouth.
Deng Wei had also reached his limit at the 83rd step.
Finally, the top list of perseverance was updated:
1. Ren Ying - 95 steps
2. Wang Xueyao - 94 steps
3. Li Yuxong - 84 steps
4. Deng Wei - 83 steps
5. Li Ming - 72 steps
6. Huang Weimin - 70 steps
7. Huang Ling - 70 steps
...
After announcing the list, Jiang Wushuang said, "One week from now, the next test will be held."
Everyone began dispersing, talking about the Ladder Test and the Pillar Test.
"Who would have expected Deng Wei to reach so high!"
"Senior Brother Ming, you really did great there!"
"Wang Xueyao is amazing—not only does she have great potential, but also such perseverance!"
"Li Yuxong isn't half bad either. He was the strongest in talent, and now even his resolve is firm. Truly tenacious!"
Hearing those murmurs, Long Yifan's face turned red with anger. He had always been hailed as the greatest genius, and just a few hours earlier, he had mocked the others. But now? He wasn't even in the top five.