Test of will

Jiang Hao looked at the gate and the stairs behind it. Since it was a test, it was definitely not just simple climbing and reaching the top.

He crossed the gate and looked at the stairs. The end of the stairway wasn't visible. It was definitely very long. A mortal might not be able to climb these steps easily, but he wasn't a mortal.

He moved and climbed on the first stone step. The moment he landed, he felt pressure on his whole body. It wasn't very high that he couldn't endure it, but it was definitely enough to make any ordinary peak Qi Refinement cultivator feel like a mortal on these stone steps.

It looked like this was the real test. He had to climb these stairs in the presence of this pressure. He had no doubt he could still climb easily as he wasn't an ordinary cultivator.

If the pressure was according to his strength instead of cultivation realm, then it would have been a real test for him, but right now, it wasn't much of a deal.

He climbed the second step and felt the pressure. It hadn't increased, so it would be constant for all the stone steps.

He started climbing quickly.

...

"I am getting bored. Standing guard is really tiring... sigh," said a young man who was standing as a guard at the entrance of the Mountain Sword Sect.

"Senior brother, it's a punishment; we should endure it. Only five days are left anyway," another guard, who was a little older than the person he called senior, spoke.

Seniority in the cultivation world is decided by cultivation realm, not by age. Age becomes just a number in the long life of cultivators. All that matters is your strength.

Just as they were about to speak again, they saw an eagle flying towards them. They both recognized the eagle immediately as it was the famous spirit-contracted beast of Elder Huan.

Before they could think about why elder Huan would come to the entrance of the sect, the eagle landed in front of them.

They were stunned as there was another person with Elder Huan. Even though she was wearing a veil, they knew her because she was the most famous genius of the sect, not to mention the most beautiful too.

"Greetings, Elder," they both greeted her.

"Hmm..." After she nodded to them, she jumped down from the eagle. Ming Yue also came down.

They both moved towards the stairs, which were coming from the bottom. Nothing was visible on them yet because there was a curve halfway through. Unless Jiang Hao reached this curve, no one could see him.

Even though he was climbing very fast, almost like sprinting on the steps, he was still very far away, so it would take some time.

Huan Caiyi looked at the stairs. She wasn't in a rush. She knew that, on average, a peak Qi Refinement cultivator would take six hours to climb these stairs.

She didn't know how much of a genius Jiang Hao was, but he would definitely take about three to four hours to reach the top. So, to reach that curve, it would take him about half of that time.

Ming Yue had different thoughts, though. She was also suspicious of Jiang Hao's real strength. So even if he held back in this test, it would still be a lot faster for him to reach the top.

The curve was exactly halfway. Although it was very far away and mortals couldn't even see it, it wasn't a problem for cultivators.

The guards didn't know what was going on, but since both Elder Huan and Ming Yue were looking at the stairs, this meant someone was taking the test.

They couldn't ask Elder Huan, as they weren't qualified to ask her any questions. Asking Sister Ming Yue was also impossible, as she didn't talk to just anybody.

They already had an inkling of who it was, though. They had heard the rumors that Sister Ming Yue had taken a liking to a man. At first, no one believed such rumors, but when everyone saw that Ming Yue wasn't in the sect and that she also didn't return from the sect mission even after so many days, it became somewhat believable.

Ming Yue was the most beautiful woman in the whole eastern region. There were many people who wanted to pursue her. Not to mention only the Mountain Sword Sect, even cultivators from other sects were infatuated with her.

So, when the news came that Ming Yue liked someone, many people gnashed their teeth in jealousy. They wanted to know who it was. And when they heard it was only a boy at the peak of Qi Refinement, they were even more indignant about it.

They looked into each other's eyes and moved towards the stairs to also see who it was. After all, they were also infatuated with Ming Yue and hated this boy to the core.

Jiang Hao didn't care about what others thought about him. He was still climbing the stairs at a constant speed.

After half an hour, he saw a curve. It looked like the stairs bent here. He didn't slow down and crossed it.

"Hm..."

Huan Caiyi immediately saw him and was stunned. Wasn't it too fast? She looked at Ming Yue, who had already removed her veil. She looked like she had expected this.So this was the reason why she invited him to the sect.

With the speed this guy was climbing, he would definitely reach the top in less than an hour.That was way too fast for a peak Qi Refinement realm cultivator.His strength was monstrous, to say the least.

She became interested in him now. Before, she thought he was just another genius, and Ming Yue was interested in him, so she invited him to the sect. But she had misinterpreted everything.

This wasn't a genius; he was far more than just ordinary genius. Many elders would want him to join their faction.she wondered if she can make him join the Alchemy faction. 'Forget it, it would be a waste of his talents.'

As expected, in less than an hour, Jiang Hao was already at the top of the stairs. He saw that there were two more people standing with Ming Yue and Huan Caiyi.

"Congratulations, junior brother. You have passed the first test," Ming Yue congratulated him.

"Thank you for complement senior sister"

The two guards were too shocked to say anything. They knew beforehand that he was only at the peak of the Qi Refinement realm. Then what was the speed they just saw now? How could a mere peak Qi Refinement cultivator climb even faster than them?

They were Foundation Establishment realm cultivators. One was at the early stage while the other was at the mid-stage. Sometimes they came here to test their speeds when they were bored, but they doubted they could beat him in the speed of climbing.

He was also very good-looking. In fact, they hadn't seen a guy as good-looking as him before. Was senior sister Ming Yue really infatuated with him? After all, he was a monstrous genius too.

Before, they were skeptical about it, but now it might be the truth. Anger surged inside their hearts, If not for Elder Huan and Ming Yue, they might have already attacked him. After all, he wasn't yet part of the sect.

Huan Caiyi looked at Jiang Hao with a surprised gaze. Even after climbing at that speed, he didn't seem too exhausted. He could still talk and breathe normally.

She had an rare approving look in her eyes.

"Good, let's move to the second test. The first test was all about your physical endurance, and the second test is all about your will.

Will is the most important factor for cultivators. Those who don't give up in adversity and face it calmly are bound to reach higher than weak-hearted people," Huan Caiyi looked at him.

"It will be even more difficult than the first test. Are you ready?"

Jiang Hao had always known that he was different from others. No matter how many unavoidable situations he had faced till now, he had faced them calmly.

He knew that his will was quite strong. He just didn't know his limits.

There was another gate at the spot they were at right now. It was the true entrance to the sect.Jiang Hao followed Elder Huan and Ming Yue inside the sect.

The two guards stopped and didn't enter. They were serving punishment by standing guard. They didn't have the right to leave the gates.

The path was still very empty. He didn't see any disciples of the Mountain Sword Sect.

After walking for 15 minutes, they arrived at an open space. In the middle was a pillar. It was black in color. There was a highlighted pathway to reach the pillar with some small pillars standing on both sides of the pathway.

Jiang Hao paid attention to it and figured out each small pillar was divided by 10 meters in length, so the black pillar was exactly 100 meters away from the starting point of the pathway.

"See that black pillar? All you have to do is get as close to it as you can. Remember, the distance you cover will determine your status in the clan.

For example, outer sect disciples are lower in status and don't have access to many resources and pavilions, which are core parts of the sect.

Then come the inner sect disciples. They are way better compared to outer sect disciples. They have access to almost everything, but there are some places even they can't venture unless they have permission to do so."