As the hours passed, more and more people climbed upward, yet on the 333rd step the number of people was still small when compared to the total number who had attempted.
Fortunately, with about one and a half billion people participating, the numbers slowly began to accumulate.
Aotian admitted that, deep down, the tests conducted this time were even harsher than those he had carried out in the past.
But that was because the number of people he would accept into the sect this time was many times greater than before, and if they did not have a good heart to guide them, Aotian would end up with a very scarce workforce to deal with the problems that would arise. In addition to the fact that he had optimized the process to be carried out through formations rather than through his own ability, such measures were necessary.
Of course, just because he had raised the requirements of this test a little did not mean that the disciples recruited previously would not pass it—they would. After all, he had been very selective with them as well.
So much so that, in secret, he had already made his more than thirteen thousand disciples go through this judgment, both to test them and to test the staircase before the current recruitment took place, and all of them passed successfully, including Rihai, who had also wanted to undergo the test.
Back in the present, half a day after the recruitment began, on the 333rd step, around four thousand people were gathered there, sitting cross-legged.
Such a large number of individuals that, if not for this specific step already being expected as a place for challengers to recover their strength—and therefore being much wider—there would not have been enough space for everyone to sit.
Even so, it was already starting to feel a little crowded.
Fortunately, it was at that moment that Shen He, the first to arrive there, opened his eyes.
Others who had arrived not long after him also seemed to show signs that they would awaken from their meditations.
But Shen He ignored them, stood up, and walked to where the next step began.
There, he took a deep breath and calmed himself.
A few moments later, his eyes steadied.
After the first judgment, he already knew just how terrifying that staircase could be.
'Judgment of the heart…' he reflected, looking back at the path he had traveled. 'The name truly matches what I went through. I believe that if my heart had strayed toward evil at any moment, I would have been expelled like those people.'
His gaze fell upon some people who stepped onto one of the steps and were immediately teleported away in a golden flash.
'The Infinite Dao Sect truly values the heart… such trials, I believe only a very small portion of people in the world could persevere through them.'
He shook his head and sighed before turning his gaze forward again.
'Now it is the Judgment of Loyalty.' He blinked, thoughtful. 'If before it tested my heart to see how far I could prevent evil from consuming me, then the judgment of loyalty must test how far I can remain firm in my loyalty to the sect.'
Shen He reasoned and snorted to himself.
Even if he knew that, so what? The staircase temporarily erased his memories, and knowing or not knowing what the test was based on did not change anything.
But as he pondered this and was about to lift his foot, determined to continue, a voice sounded in his mind.
["Xiao He… are you alright?"]
It was his master, asking with concern.
After freezing for a moment, Shen He scratched his head with an embarrassed smile. He had completely forgotten about his master due to his focus on the challenge.
'Err… Master, don't worry, I'll explain it better later. But the test creates an illusory world in my mind. Everything that happens there seems to occur countless times faster than in reality.'
'Although, when I wake up, it becomes very clear that it was an illusion, like in a dream, where some things that don't make sense are simply ignored by us, but when we wake up, we understand everything.'
He explained quickly, but this time it was Liu Taixuan who scratched his head.
Talking about dreams with him was somewhat strange.
In his hundred thousand years of life, perhaps the only times he had ever dreamed were before he reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Having begun cultivating at eight, he never dreamed again after turning nine. From then on, he no longer slept, only meditated.
Although he had slept a few times, whether out of curiosity or when his old wife was still alive and he became exhausted, he still did not dream. His mind was simply too strong for that.
But even if it had only been at the beginning of his life, with his memory, he still retained a certain clarity of the concept of what it was like to be in a dream.
'Well, Master. In the first judgment, I went through 333 different illusions, where my heart was tested for its firmness in doing good. In each test, I encountered a drastic choice, having my greed, kindness, and mercy tested many times. In the end, I persevered through all of it and feel clearer about my heart, just as I do about the value of life.'
Shen He sighed as he revealed this, his eyes becoming complex, yet unshakable in the end.
Liu Taixuan listened to everything attentively, but with a trembling heart. He had not expected a sect like the Infinite Dao Sect to be so extreme and unconventional, all to test the righteousness of future disciples.
This was something he had never seen before, and it deeply shook him.
He had already seen people choose their direct disciples while ignoring talent and prioritizing character and fate, just as he had done with Shen He. But there was a drastic difference between doing so as the master of a single disciple and applying the same principle to an entire sect.
Talented disciples were the foundation of a sect—its growth and potential. Throwing all of that away to prioritize character was truly bizarre.
And this sect was not merely choosing someone loyal and not entirely bad, but seeking kind and genuinely good people for its ranks, ignoring any other requirement, be it age or talent.
Liu Taixuan had to admit it. He was convinced.
That sect… truly seemed reliable.
Even if it was because of the end of the world and they were simply playing around after giving up, a sect that prioritized kindness was still something he could not imagine—unless they truly valued it.
And, unwillingly, he did not dare think wildly that they intended to carry out a demonic ritual by sacrificing good people.
Besides being absurd and something he had never heard of, he had also lived among that sect for the past month, and malicious, demonic, and cruel seemed to be words diametrically opposed to describing that benevolent sect.
Of course, he would still observe more. But one thing was certain… that sect was already beginning to gain a bit of the trust of his old and suspicious heart.
Thus, in just a few seconds, Shen He quickly finished explaining, in broad strokes, what he had gone through, but saw only his master remaining silent.
Blinking in doubt, he opened his mouth to speak, even though he only needed to form the words in his mind, but in the end he closed it again.
'Master must be thinking about what I said. In that case, let's continue.'
Taking a deep breath and composing himself, he finally gently lifted his foot… and stepped onto the next stair.
The moment he did, his mind went blank once again.
When he regained his senses, he frowned, looking at the dark alley he was in.
'What am I doing? Have I gone mad?' Shen He scolded himself internally, suddenly clenching his fist.
He, a dignified and proud disciple of the Infinite Dao Sect, was about to commit the mistake of his life.
Thinking of the absurdity of what he was about to do, he took a step back in disbelief, planning to return.
But at that moment, from the other end of the alley, a hooded figure approached, emerging from the shadows with a malicious smile.
"You came…" the figure chuckled softly. "I brought the pill you need to cure your father. Hand over your sect's technique, and soon he will be well," the man said temptingly, raising a hand in which rested a golden, vibrant pill.
Shen He swallowed hard at the sight of the pill.
His father had been injured by a mysterious poison and needed the pill in the man's hand in order to recover.
In truth, it was the man himself who had injured his father, and who had then sought him out and threatened him.
He wanted the technique the sect had given him in exchange for the pill that could remove the poison killing his father.
Worse still, he had been told never to seek help from the Infinite Dao Sect—otherwise, the man would vanish, and his father would die miserably, supposedly beyond the sect's ability to save him.
But now, Shen He felt his mind clearer.
Before, due to the fear that the sect might not be able to cure his father and would instead cause his death because of a wrong choice, he had come to that alley to negotiate.
Only now did he realize the foolishness of what he was doing.
Even if he handed over the technique, who could prove that what the man held was truly an antidote? And if he actually negotiated, the Infinite Dao Sect—though it valued kindness—also valued loyalty, and such a betrayal would still bring death upon him and all who stood in its way trying to defend him.
Finally, why was the man afraid of involving the sect? Was it not because he feared the sect? And who said the sect could not cure his father was the same scoundrel who had poisoned him, someone who was clearly unworthy of trust.
Thus, it was far better to trust the sect than him.
Thinking this, he raised his eyes and placed a hand behind his back.
Then, suddenly, he rushed forward, drew a sword from the storage ring at his back, and attacked without hesitation.
"You!" The man was startled and quickly dodged, but within a second he recovered, and soon Shen He was pinned to the ground, his face pressed into the dirt, with a claw-shaped hand locking onto his throat.
The bandit was far stronger than him, and now seemed furious at having been attacked.
"Give me the technique, or I'll kill you here and now, you filthy worm, and then I'll kill your entire family, leaving not even pigs, chickens, or even rats in the corners far from my vengeance," he growled threateningly.
But ignoring the man's threats, Shen He, pressed against the ground and gravely injured, suddenly smiled, his teeth revealed and stained red with blood as he looked to the side.
The sinister man, sensing something wrong, looked into the boy's eyes, and it was then that he saw a blurred figure reflected within them, making his heart leap.
Unfortunately, before he could react, his throat was seized, and his body lifted, a powerful energy preventing him from resisting.
"You are quite bold to lay a hand on our disciples," a man in red robes, who had appeared out of nowhere, mocked.
It was an outer elder of the powerful Infinite Dao Sect.
The elder, ignoring the man struggling in his grasp, turned his gaze to Shen He at the side, who was struggling to stand after the beating he had taken.
"You did well to send a distress signal." The elder nodded with sincere appreciation for that courageous disciple.
"Thank you, elder, for arriving in time." Shen He coughed and rubbed his sore throat as he smiled, his teeth still stained with blood he had spat out.
When he placed his hand behind his back earlier, it had not only been to draw the sword, but also to quickly shatter a signal talisman before attacking, since he was unsure of the man's cultivation realm.
And he had made the right choice, otherwise he would have fallen there.
What the boy did not know was that if he had not remembered to ask for help, yet had still remained loyal to the end, without handing over the technique even when he was about to die, the elder would still have appeared to rescue him.
But Shen He had triggered this scenario early due to his logical choice.
Soon, under Shen He's sincere admission of what had happened, the elder learned the whole truth.
Although he scolded him harshly and said that, based on intent alone, he would still have to undergo some reforms within the sect, the elder, to Shen He's relief, helped him deal with the problems that plagued him.
Unfortunately, the sinister man had lied, and the pill he offered was an even more potent poison disguised as a cure. He had never intended to heal his father.
This made Shen He clench his fists, filled with hatred and helplessness.
But then, the elder visited his father, observed him briefly, casually took a pill from his storage ring, and restored him to peak condition in mere seconds, leaving everyone present—including Shen He and the bandit—speechless.
Only then did the illusion shatter, and Shen He's body stepped alone onto the 335th stair.
It would only be later, when all the tests had ended, that the disciples who passed this stair would come to understand the true meaning of the trial.
It was not about valuing the sect's techniques above one's own life, nor the lives of one's relatives.
Nor was it about being smarter than the bandit.
It was about trust — trusting the sect, believing that it could offer help in moments of greatest crisis and despair.
It was meant to remind them that the Infinite Dao Sect, for its disciples… was their greatest support.