"Senior Brother Gao, Ling Ling is not afraid. It's not scary in there at all. And Ling Ling even passed the first trial! Now my body feels all warm and full of strength, like I suddenly have a lot of energy," Su Lingling said, her voice filled with childlike delight.
Gao Jingxuan froze.
What?
So many cultivators had failed to clear the first trial, yet Su Lingling not only passed it but even received a reward?
He quickly asked, "Tell me in detail, what exactly happened in there?"
Su Lingling thought for a moment, then replied, "When I went in, a cow appeared. It was about twice as tall as me. My mother once rented a cow for plowing, Lao Huang. Lao Huang had the best temper, and I was his best friend. One time when I went out with him, he even—"
Gao Jingxuan quickly interrupted, a little helpless. "Ling Ling, just focus on the important part!"
Su Lingling pouted, feeling a bit wronged, but stopped talking about Lao Huang. She went on, "Anyway, I thought maybe I could be friends with this cow too. But this cow was mean. As soon as it appeared, it charged straight at me, so I got a little angry.
I tried to scold it the way my mother scolds me sometimes. But then the cow felt too ashamed and ran headfirst into the wall. It died just like that." She lowered her head, embarrassed. "I didn't expect it to have such a bad temper."
Ran into the wall… and killed itself?
Gao Jingxuan was completely stunned. From the way other disciples had described it, the beasts in the trials always matched the challenger's cultivation level.
Which meant…
During Su Lingling's first attempt, the cow should have been no more than an ordinary mortal beast. In that case, it might really have been possible.
But still… why?
After pressing her further, Gao Jingxuan finally pieced the truth together: the cow had tripped over a rock, stumbled, and slammed headfirst into the wall, killing itself.
"…"
He sighed. "Well… I suppose that explanation sounds a little more scientific."
Scientific his foot!
What kind of nonsense was this?
Even a mortal cow shouldn't have been defeated by a five-year-old girl!
Was Su Lingling really the darling daughter of the Heavens?
Still, Gao Jingxuan managed to glean some useful information. So the Trial Tower did include environmental factors. If one was clever enough to make use of them, it might be possible to defeat stronger foes.
Taking a deep breath, he softened his tone and asked, "And what about the second trial?"
Su Lingling shook her head. "The tiger in the second trial was scary. I didn't do anything. As soon as I saw it, I got sent out."
Gao Jingxuan actually let out a sigh of relief.
So his little Junior Sister really did have limits. If she had somehow cleared the second trial too, he would have started doubting reality itself.
He thought for a while, then seriously advised her, "Ling Ling, now that you have a year of cultivation, the next cow you face will be stronger. Be careful when you try again. And if you fail, don't be discouraged. Once you go to the Scripture Pavilion and learn proper cultivation techniques, you'll naturally grow stronger."
"Okay," Su Lingling nodded obediently.
"Don't waste the chance. Go again," Gao Jingxuan said with a smile. "I'll be here waiting for you."
She chirped an "Mm," then happily ran back into the Trial Tower.
This time, she stayed inside much longer. Many disciples who had reattempted the trials had already come back out, yet Su Lingling still hadn't returned.
Just as Gao Jingxuan began to feel anxious, she suddenly reappeared.
Her expression made it hard to tell whether she had succeeded or not.
"Senior Brother Gao, I still only passed the first trial," Su Lingling quickly admitted on her own. "This time the cow was mean too. It charged me again. But I can control a little water now, and I discovered that water can turn into ice! I spread some ice on the ground, and the cow slipped and died!"
She beamed with pride.
"???"
Yes, water could indeed freeze into ice.
But who told her that a beginner with barely a year of Qi Refining cultivation could manage such a feat?
"How did you even manage that?" Gao Jingxuan asked, bewildered.
Su Lingling blinked, unable to explain. Instead, she demonstrated with her little hands, "Like this, like this, and then like this."
"… I understand. Thank you," Gao Jingxuan muttered weakly.
"You're welcome!" she chirped, clearly pleased with herself.
Gao Jingxuan felt like crying but held it in. His little Junior Sister… was nothing short of a monster.
Forcing a calm smile, he said, "Junior Sister, go on and try the third attempt."
Su Lingling seemed to think the trials were fun. Humming to herself, she skipped back inside.
On her third attempt, she once again cleared only the first trial.
By this point, Gao Jingxuan didn't even bother asking how she had done it. Instead, he told her to wait quietly near the ranking stele while he finally went to challenge the tower himself.
By now, quite a number of disciples had gathered around the ranking stele.
When they learned that even Su Lingling had cleared the first trial, some nearly broke down in tears.
They weren't even as good as a five-year-old?
No. They had to grit their teeth and strive harder.
"Look at the ranking stele!" someone suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone turned their heads curiously.
"Check how many trials the Sect Master has cleared!"
At the top of the Unity-stage rankings stood Yun Jin's name.
Their gazes darted to the far right column… and their jaws dropped.
In the short time since entering, Yun Jin had already advanced to the tenth trial!
The tenth trial!
By the rules of the Trial Tower, every opponent matched her cultivation and grew stronger with each level.
Her power was terrifying.
"What's the fuss about?" one disciple said proudly. "Don't forget. Even though Sect Master is still in the Unity stage, she once hunted down and killed a Mahayana expert like Xue Daoren. There cannot possibly be a Unity cultivator stronger than her. I wonder how many trials the tower even has. Our Sect Master might just clear them all."
The others nodded fervently.
Indeed.
If even Yun Jin could not conquer the tower, then no one in the world could. Even across the three thousand minor worlds, how many Unity cultivators could crush Mahayana experts?
Since most of them had already used up their three daily attempts, the disciples now had nothing better to do than watch.
"Look there. In the Mahayana stage rankings, Senior Qin Ping is leading. He's already cleared two trials and has been stuck in the third for some time now. He might break through soon. The other two Mahayana seniors are weaker—one is still on the second trial, and the other hasn't even cleared the first.
As for the Unity stage, besides Sect Master, the second rank has only cleared two levels. Eight disciples in total have cleared two, nineteen have cleared one, and the rest have yet to appear on the list."
They scanned further down at the Divine Transformation and Nascent Soul stages.
By now, they had a rough sense of which disciples currently held the advantage.
But none of them felt discouraged.
Because this was only the beginning.
They had joined the Wushuang Sect precisely for opportunities like this. Initial advantages did not mean permanent dominance.
One day, they would surpass even those ahead of them.