Just as Lin Donglai thought it was getting easier and his mind relaxed for a moment, two figures plummeted past before him, their screams shrill and piercing!
Then came two "thuds" as their breath was cut short.
Lin Donglai dared not look down. He only felt his palms sweating, his mouth growing drier and drier.
From such a height, anyone who fell was likely doomed!
He could only close his eyes, calm his mind, cast away distracting thoughts, and cultivate the Peiyuan Breathing Technique to recover his stamina.
Before long, the shadow of having just witnessed others fall off the cliff had fully dissipated. He immediately rose and continued climbing the steps.
But this time things did not go smoothly, because as he climbed, several more people fell.
Each time someone fell, they would first cry out, then fall silent. Within only a few breaths' worth of thought, the muffled sound of their bodies hitting the ground would arrive.
This made Lin Donglai's heart tighten.
"From this height, a mortal body would probably be smashed into a pulp!"
"Their brains would burst right out!"
"Hoo!"
"Hah!"
"Hoo!"
"Hah!"
Two deep breaths relieved some of the pressure. Lin Donglai continued climbing, not daring to linger too long—the longer he stopped, the easier it would be to fall. He had to quickly reach the second rest platform.
He didn't know how much time had passed when Lin Donglai's hand finally caught the edge of the rest platform. With his last ounce of strength, he pulled himself up.
Only to see that there was already someone on the rest platform.
That person looked at Lin Donglai, gaze appraising.
Lin Donglai's heart quickly turned wary.
"Someone up at the platform above is blocking people from climbing further," that person said flatly.
"Why?" Lin Donglai couldn't fathom it.
"Because they're resting. Only after resting well will they have a chance to fight for the top ten. From the third rest platform upward, the climb leads directly to the summit."
"Until they're certain of making the top ten, everyone who comes after them is a rival."
Lin Donglai eyed him warily.
"In a while, you go first." The man broke into a smile. "Otherwise, why do you think I didn't step on your fingers at the edge of the steps and kick you down?"
From below, it was hard to see what was happening above. This man wanted Lin Donglai to scout the way ahead. If Lin Donglai fell, he would simply wait a while longer.
Once the top ten were all decided, the contest would become meaningless, and only then would it be safe.
Lin Donglai had wanted to ask, "By what right!"
But right now his strength was exhausted. If he refused, he might well be pushed off.
Weakness was the original sin; poor aptitude meant being beneath others.
Even the protagonist in his dream's memories, having obtained the Dao Seed and counted as a strong one—hadn't he too been killed?
Survive first, then slowly grow stronger.
Besides, Lin Donglai wasn't competing for any top ten spot. As long as he wasn't eliminated, that was enough.
"Fine."
"So you know what's good for you!" the young man said, satisfied. "Let me ask you—what's your spirit root aptitude?"
"Five-attribute spirit root, lower grade." Lin Donglai answered truthfully, hoping to lower the young man's guard.
"Heh." Hearing this, the young man gave a cold laugh and paid Lin Donglai no further heed: with such spirit roots, this one was destined to be a nobody. What would it matter even if he made an enemy of him?
Lin Donglai seized the chance to cultivate the Peiyuan Breathing Technique and recover his strength. Before long—less than a quarter of an hour—the man stood up.
Lin Donglai was instantly alert, pressing himself against the wall.
"No one has fallen for a while now. That person should already be climbing the fourth stretch to the summit. You go up first and scout the way."
Lin Donglai hesitated slightly: "I haven't finished resting."
"If I say go, you go!"
The man sneered and grabbed Lin Donglai by the collar, his strength astonishingly great.
Lin Donglai considered his options, realized he couldn't beat this man, and so continued to swallow his anger: "No fighting over momentary pride. Once I've achieved cultivation, it won't be too late to settle accounts!"
At the very least, he memorized the young man's face.
He continued climbing upward. Wolves ahead, tigers behind—but the sharpness in his heart only grew stronger.
In his mind there was only one line, heard long ago from a storybook:
"A true man born between heaven and earth—how could he linger content in the dust beneath another's feet?"
As he neared the third rest platform, Lin Donglai almost didn't dare go on. Stepping onto the platform might mean being pushed off, but if he stayed stuck in this limbo, he would sooner or later fall anyway.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Donglai climbed onto the rest platform.
Fortunately, no one was guarding it.
Just as he climbed up, the sound of a bell came from above, the bell tolling accompanied by an elder's voice spreading far and wide: "The top ten of the Ascension Ceremony have been decided. The remaining spirit seedlings have one hour to climb the steps. Those who do not finish within one hour shall be deemed to have failed the Ascension!"
Hearing this, Lin Donglai was overjoyed and quickly gathered himself.
Just as he was focusing his mind, another figure sprang onto the rest platform—it was that young man from before. He glanced at Lin Donglai, did not choose to rest, and continued climbing the steps.
Lin Donglai waited until he had been gone for a while before continuing his climb. When he reached the summit, there were already nearly a hundred people at the top.
By himself, he counted as merely ordinary among the entire group of spirit seedling disciples.
Taking a long breath, Lin Donglai searched the crowd but did not see Ding Zhen.
Fortunately, about half a quarter hour later, Ding Zhen also climbed to the peak.
The two exchanged a look, feeling a sense of gratitude at having survived a calamity.
Before long, the bell rang out again.
"The hour has come. The Ascension Ceremony is over. Those who have not reached the summit are deemed to have failed!"
At this point, those who had climbed the peak numbered barely two hundred seventy or eighty.
Before long, disciples dressed in identical immortal sect uniforms, agile as spirit apes and graceful as immortal cranes, leapt down the mountain with each bound covering a dozen zhang, searching for the spirit seedlings who had not yet reached the top.
Soon, everyone had been brought up.
Only, the numbers were short by a dozen or so.
It seemed no small number of people had fallen off the cliff.
Elder Ma stood in midair, looking down upon these disciples who had failed the ascension: "Though you possess spirit roots, you lack fortune. By rights, you have already been eliminated and are fated to have no place in the immortal sect."
"However, the Grand Elder has shown mercy, permitting you to become menial servants. Though servants are not disciples and may not enter Spirit Seedling Peak or Lingxi Peak for cultivation, you will still be granted cultivation methods, along with a monthly stipend of half a spirit stone."
"If within one year you can draw qi into your body and reach the first layer of Qi Condensation, you may also directly become outer sect disciples."
"We are willing to be servants!" About two-thirds of them made their choice immediately. They had tested as possessing spirit root aptitude and had originally thought they could directly enter the immortal sect as disciples—how could they have known there was this additional trial?
The remaining thirty-some people hesitated. At that moment, several outer sect stewards appeared nearby: "If you're unwilling to be servants, that's fine too. Within Qingmu Immortal City, there are many cultivation clans founded by disciples of our sect, and they are seeking spirit seedlings with spirit roots as sons-in-law."
"As an immortal son-in-law, you will also be given cultivation methods and spirit stone provisions, and you may even enjoy three wives and four concubines."
Hearing this, the thirty-some people's eyes lit up, and nearly all of them agreed. Even among those who had just chosen to become servants, quite a few now regretted their choice.
After all, not everyone possessed a heart devoted to the Dao. With poor spirit root aptitude, they had been told that a lifetime of cultivation might only get them to early or middle Qi Condensation, with a lifespan only slightly longer than a mortal's—hardly as appealing as marrying three wives and four concubines.