Eventually, the stone-paved road led the group to a stairway made of white marble. Each step was wide enough for five or so people to walk together, and each had around twenty centimeters of length.

The entire stairway was so long that their eyes could not see its end, as it hid itself amongst the clouds.

Yueshi could not help but massage his temples, knowing where this was going.

“This time, we will be testing your will.” Protector Mo suddenly turned around and looked toward them. “This test is the most simple, but it is still hard; if you can’t climb the entire stairway in eight hours, you fail.”

Everyone committed her words to memory. “If you feel you can’t keep going or are ready to give up, then shout it aloud and a protector will come to you and bring you back to the outer court.”

Everyone nodded seriously; however, none of them seemed to even think they would not be able to accomplish this trial. After all, they had done the same before during their examination to enter the sect.

Soon, however, they’d find out that they were wrong about how difficult the test was.

“Other than that, you can’t help anyone and everyone must climb on their own.” After saying that, she gave them permission to start.

And as the young disciples started to make their way toward the top, she looked at them with concerned eyes. However, there was nothing she could do to help them now.

Like this, time ticked by slowly as they made their way up.

And after one hour, the disciples finally started to notice the harshness of this trial.

Merely climbing a stairway was nothing, but as they continued to make their way upward they were not able to see its end, nor were they sure of how much they still had to climb.

However, that was not even the most important part.

Even if their bodies were refined and strengthened as they cultivated, the climbing was torturous. The steps were high and the continuous and repetitive movement eventually started to weaken their stamina and burden their legs.

Stopping to rest was not a possibility. They had eight hours to climb, and they were not sure of how many steps the stair had; what if they rested and ended failing to reach the top in the given time?

Yueshi and the others were also facing a similar problem.

Four of them, Yueshi, Yuan Yue, Tian Tian, and Baiyun did not have that much of a problem.

However, the other three were, at most, in the late phase of the third stage – it was already out of the ordinary that they were participating despite their cultivation base.

Xuehua and the twins were panting and felt their legs soring each passing second. However, none of them complained, because they were not the sort to whine about such a small thing.

Instead, Yuyi was even joking around and chatting merrily.

This was a trial that required one to have a strong will, not giving up in the face of the pain and exhaustion and, in that area, none of them was lacking.

Even when their bodies were brought to the limit, to the point that even Yueshi was feeling tired and sore, none of them ever thought of going back to the outer court.

Even if they had to crawl, they would keep on moving and climbing.

“First they tested our character, now or will… what about combat power and talent?” Baiyun wondered aloud. “Honestly, I can’t think of many things for then to test...”

Yueshi pondered for a moment. “Our talent and combat power… they are already aware of it, aren’t they? Wouldn’t it be strange if they tested it in the examination?” Though that did not answer Baiyun’s doubts, it was his opinion.

Baiyun agreed with a nod before sinking into silence, clearly ruminating about the subject.

With the question raised, Yueshi also started to wonder about it. What sort of test would it take for a lot of talented disciples to fail every time?

Instead of being afraid, however, he was curious and a bit excited.

--- - -

While this trial had been a bit harsh and tiring, Yueshi and the others still managed to pass with spare time.

Thanks to that, they earned almost an hour of resting time as they waited for the trial to end, together with a few more disciples that had successfully made their way up.

The inner court also showed itself before their eyes; there were beautiful pavilions, crystalline ponds, verdant green trees and grass, bridges connecting the mountains, elegant palaces, and all sorts of charms and wonders.

Moreover, when they looked below they could see the endless mass of clouds that extended until the horizon, painting a beautiful scene that was hard to describe.

Not only that, even the air here seemed purer, and the atmosphere contained a higher amount of qi than in the outer court.

A single breath made them all feel reinvigorated, and also ignited their determination to pass the examination, no, it was better to say that it fanned the fire that had already been lit inside of them.

“Congratulations to everyone who passed the last trial.” Protector Mo suddenly spoke, meaning that all those that had passed were already here.

Yueshi looked around and noticed that, despite the last trial being a bit burdensome, there were still almost sixty people present.

The following words of the elder, however, shocked him.

“Next is the last trial, and if you manage to pass it you will be accepted as an inner disciple.” Her words could be translated as: the next trial will be so harsh that your numbers will dwindle so much that you will be scared.

While everyone was nervous, Protector Mo together with the old man guided them through the stone-paved roads of the inner court.

The buildings here had walls painted in dark red and roofs in black, with details in white or yellow.

Different from the wooden buildings of the outer court, they were all made with good quality materials and looked elegant and well-cared for.

From time to time they a few inner court disciples passed by; however, none of those people paid them any attention.

After paying their respects to the two elders they moved on as if rushing somewhere.

Soon, they arrived where they had to be. It was a pagoda-like building that resembled the Thousand Deities Refining Pagoda, though this one gave an even more mysterious aura.

In front of it, there was a plaque, upon which 'heavenly trial' was written.

“Don’t pay too much heed to the bold name over there.” Seeing them read the board seriously, Protector Mo spoke calmly. “The true name of this place is simple Body Tempering Pagoda.”

“Once you enter inside you will be enveloped by a powerful might If you can’t withstand it you will be immediately expelled from the pagoda.” Seeing everyone nod she continued.

“There are twelve floors in the pagoda, each floor’s pressure is harder to withstand than the previous one. If you want to become an inner disciple, you must reach at least the third floor.”

Everyone exchanged glances, not sure how to react.

It should be hard to achieve such a feat, but, having not experienced it by themselves, they were not sure of what emotions to show.

Nonetheless, having reached this far, they would give their all even if it was not enough.

“Do not take this lightly. Be prepared to face a might power once you enter inside; do not hesitate to use anything in your power to withstand such power.” Protector Mo advised them. Seeing everyone nod, she smiled. “Then, please enter in batches of ten.”

When she ended speaking, audible gulps could be heard coming from the crowd. No one wanted to go first, even more so now that they had reached the last step – it was not fear, but more along the lines of anxiety.

What if they failed when their objective was so close?

A while later, people finally moved. The ones making their way inside were none other than Yueshi and his group, and the seven of them walked with confident and calm steps.

They had received permission to eat a pill to recover from the fatigue and soreness, so they were – more or less – in peak condition.

Seeing them walk in, three people eventually decided to follow.

To the side, the Great Elder and Protector Mo watched with calm eyes, as if unconcerned.

However, that was only true for the Great Elder, because the latter was honestly concerned with all participants and truly hopping for their success – even though she knew only a few would manage that.

Coming back to Yueshi, as soon as they entered the pagoda they found themselves in a black space instead of what they’d expected.

It was as if they had entered another dimension altogether – even the door behind them had completely disappeared.

This black space was not exactly dark, and they could see perfectly inside of it, which made it look even stranger.

However, they could not spare any attention to that, since when they set foot inside they felt a heavy pressure trying to force them to kneel.

If they had been caught unprepared, they were sure that they wouldn't have gotten the chance to even resist.

Just as they were exchanging eyes, a hollow sound echoed from behind them.

Looking over, they saw another three people over there – two were withstanding the pressure as well, while another had been knocked down, lying with its face against the ground.

Not even an instant later, the one that had fallen turned into specks of light before disappearing.

This person could only curse at his own ignorance as he had been unprepared when he entered.

Despite the protector's warning, he had naively believed the first floor would be nothing at all – and this was the consequence of his foolish thoughts.

Yueshi and the others looked at each other.

"Should we go together or on our own accord?" Yueshi asked. The first floor was nothing for him, and though he felt heavy it wasn't that hard for him to move.

The first to answer was Yueli. "No, that will not do." At her words, everyone looked toward her. "Even if you don't feel pressured, you will still lose energy since your body has to withstand the heavy pressure. The longer you stay, the harder it will eventually become."

Her words had a clear meaning – if those that could easily keep going stayed behind, they would be dragged down.

This pressure was not the same as gravity, but it was similar, so one example would be the following: even if a person could move under a heavier gravity just like they moved under the average gravitational force, they would still spend more energy and stamina because their bodies would need to withstand the increased weight.

"Okay, then." Hearing her, Yueshi smiled slightly. "Then, I will be waiting for you up there." His words were not specially said to her, but Yueli nodded seriously nonetheless.

Following that, Yueshi promptly moved toward the stairs located at the center of the black space. His speed was just slightly inferior to what it was outside and, closely behind him, was Yuan Yue, followed by Tian Tian and Baiyun.

Those four were all at the fourth stage, so it was fairly easier for them to move.

The Qing twins and Xuehua then made their way forward too; the pressure on the first floor was not enough to greatly hinder them, still, it was a bit annoying.

It had to be noted, though, that Xuehua had an easier time than the twins.

That aside, Yueshi, as the one in the lead, soon arrived close to the stairs leading to the second floor.