However, before setting foot on the first step of the stair he breathed in and out and prepared himself.

Only then did he climb the first step.

No sound echoed in the dead stillness of the dark place, however, Yueshi felt as if an explosion had happened close to him.

The exact moment he stepped on the stair the pressure and feeling of heaviness increased several folds, almost forcing him on his knees.

He had been prepared, yet, the absurd increase still caught him by surprise.

For a moment, he felt as if he was walking into sinking sand or a swamp, his body was heavy and it took some time to even climb a single step.

Nonetheless, after getting accustomed, it became a tad easier.

After a few minutes, he finally managed to climb all the way.

However, he did not immediately set foot on the second floor. The pressure had been increasing with each step he took, so he could guess that it would be even worse on the second floor.

Not only that, the constant change in the pressure was taking its toll on his body.

This mighty power was not only an increase in gravity, so it had all sorts of effects. Even his organs seemed to be experiencing a similar pressure, so much that he felt like they would be damaged at any time.

“Step aside, boy.” Suddenly, just as he was examining his body and preparing himself, someone spoke. Looking back he saw one of the guys that had entered together with him.

The width of the stairway steps was not that great, and just enough for a single person to fit.

Yueshi did not answer and, after staring at the man for a moment, he concluded he was an idiot and a douchebag. That being so, he gave the person space to pass.

Seeing he could go, the other guy did not speak another word and immediately stepped on the second floor—

Bang.

With a resounding explosion, he was immediately forced on his knees, his breath becoming rough and veins popping all over his body.

A few seconds later, he crashed head-on on the black floor before disappearing in mots of light.

Yueshi merely shook his head from side to side. Looking back, he saw Yuan Yue and the others patiently waiting and also adjusting their breath.

“Take care.” Telling then so, he finally stepped forward.

Just as he set foot on the second floor he let out a small groan.

“Urgh!” The pressure was such that he could feel his bones creaking as if they would break, and even his organs seemed to shift place inside of him.

Because of that, instead of continuing forward, he decided to sit down and stabilize his body. He had just seen it – one would only be eliminated if they could not withstand the pressure.

Sitting down, or even kneeling, did not mean losing.

The others were a bit surprised when they arrived here and saw him sitting cross-legged on the ground.

However, when they also faced the heavy pressure on the second floor, they understood his line of thought.

Even if staying for longer meant spending more energy, not stabilizing their bodies would result in them losing.

Soon, Yuan Yue and the other two were also sitting close to him, cycling their qi calmly and getting accustomed to the suppression.

The last person of the group of three, seeing them like that, decided to do the same, since he did not want to be like the other two.

They were not sure of how much time had passed, since there wasn't anything they could take as an indication of its flow.

However, short after Xuehua and the other two girls arrived, Yueshi got up once more.

After glancing at everyone for a moment, he immediately started to move. Even if he wanted to help them - what he did - it was impossible.

Whatever he did they would still be subjected to the heavy pressure, and when it reached the point they could withstand no more they would lose.

Walking forward, Yueshi eventually reached the stairs that led to the third floor. However, he merely stared warily at it; he had already experienced it before, so he knew the pressure would increase many folds from just stepping on it.

The heavy feeling that gnawed at his bones wanting to break them apart, the suppressive feeling that made his organs feel constricted and reach the point of bursting apart… they would become even more intense with this single step.

Protector Mo did not say anything about it, but he was afraid that this pressure could even end wounding him.

This made him worry about the others, too. However, breathing in and out, he decided to forget about that – they knew what they could withstand, and it was out of his reach to protect them right now.

‘And they will surely succeed’, telling himself so, he finally took the first step.

“Argh!” A soft scream escaped his lips as he was forced to kneel on one knee, the bones all around his body releasing crackling and snapping sounds.

However the worst part was not that, but the power threatening his organs.

Had he been at the fifth stage maybe he would be able to withstand with greater ease, however, as of now, he felt as if his lungs had stopped working and his heart was being squashed, it was both uncomfortable and painful.

It took him a while to get his act back together.

“Are you… okay?” Yuan Yue’s familiar voice echoed from behind him. She was clearly having difficulty speaking.

“No… this sucks, a lot.” He wasn’t in a better situation, though, as his body failing him made it hard to speak.

"Guessed… so." Her tone of voice was still as merry and playful as ever, nonetheless. That made him relieved and gave him a willpower boost.

“Then I… will be going.” Having to stop from time to time to draw in oxygen, he spoke so with a smile. He could not stand forever blocking the way.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group was also making their way forward.

The distance between them and their positioning made it clear who was more at ease with moving under the intense pressure.

Behind Yuan Yue was Tian Tian, behind her was the other member of the group of three, then it was Baiyun, and following after him was Xuehua and then the Qing twins moving side by side.

One thing to note was that despite her lower cultivation base, Xuehua was almost on par with Baiyun.

That was the result of her intercourse with Yueshi earlier that year, though no one - even the involved parties - knew of that.

Obviously, it was not sex itself that led to this result, but what came together with it: the increase in her cultivation from an ordinary person to the third stage.

Yueshi and the others were not aware, but the pagoda tested not only their strength, resistance, and so on, but also their foundations.

If one had hushed the process of refining the body, their foundations would be weaker and their refinement of the body not as thorough as desired - the pressure would then consume them and make them fail.

Medicinal baths, pills, and all sorts of concoctions could help one refine the body in all sorts of ways. However, while it would shorten the period of time required to breakthrough, it could not decrease it exponentially.

If one rushed the process, the qi would not permeate all parts of their bodies equally. This would lead to different degrees of refinement in certain parts of the body and could be fatal.

That aside, unknowing to Yueshi, his strange cultivation method not only increased his cultivation base with great speed but, also, refined his body perfectly.

It was to the point that even if he or his partner had a weak foundation before the intercourse, it would be completely taken care of and strengthened after dual cultivating.

This led to him, Xuehua, and Yuan Yue having a perfect foundation up to this point.

That was also why Xuehua’s speed was close to Baiyun’s. Because no matter how much one paid attention to it, it was too hard to refine the body perfectly and without leaving behind any gap.

Coming back to Yueshi, after a while he had finally managed to reach the last section of the stairway.

He was sure that if he rushed his steps he would be able to step on the third floor successfully, before being immediately eliminated.

However, he was not aiming for that; since he was sure he could do it, why hush things and not just take it calmly?

Then, step by step, he finally reached the last one. If he moved just a bit forward he would have entered the third floor and passed the inner disciple examination.

Looking back, he saw Yuan Yue just a few steps below. Like him, she was taking her time, not rushing things, and spending some time to get accustomed to the increased pressure of each step.

Then, with a determined look, he looked forward once more.

Preparing himself, he finally took the last step.

Even with his qi circulating inside of him all the while to alleviate the pain and help him withstand the pressure, he still felt as if a foreign force was ravishing his body.

The intense pressure seemed to want to crack his skin open, break his bones, burst his veins and smash his organs – it was painful, uncomfortable, and sickening.

At that moment he felt that even his blood flow was reversed or stilled, and he immediately sat cross-legged, afraid that if he did not do so he would fall right here.

However, even then, it was still hard to deal with everything.

His lungs claimed for oxygen that could not reach them, and his heartbeat at a fast rate trying to make blood flow – yet, the blood flow had slowed down so much that it could not change anything.

In the stillness of this place, he could even feel as if the beatings of his heart were echoing across the entire black space.

Pop… snap…

He could hear the sound of his bones being almost forced out of place ringing in his ears.

Fortunately, a cultivator’s regenerative abilities were far greater than the ordinary people and the bones would almost immediately be put back into place.

Crack…

Suddenly, his face distorted as his shoulder blades were broken, not able to withstand the pressure any longer.

To make matters worse, the pressure made it even more painful than it would have already been. This time, Yueshi seriously considered going out, since he had successfully completed the trial.

However, a while later, Yueshi still decided against giving up.

Instead, he closed his eyes and started to cultivate. He tried to distract himself from the pain and pressure, and also nourish his body with qi in an attempt of mitigating the pressure and its effects on his body.

And that worked wonders.

Not only that, the rate at which he absorbed the qi in the world and the rate at which he refined his body increased considerably too.

He could even feel the qi sipping inside his muscles, bones, and organs and nourishing them, strengthening them slowly but surely.

Moreover, his body seemed to thirsty for it as it naturally cycled around in a smooth path and with perfection.

Every single part of his body was nourished at the same time and with the same amount of energy, growing stronger altogether and at the same rate.

Seeing such a scene, Yueshi made his decision.

‘Advancing to the next stage should not bring any problems…’ Assured of that, he immediately focused completely on what he was doing, forgetting about the rest of the world and even the trial.

Time had come to reach the fifth stage.

…

Outside the pagoda, Protector Mo and the Great Elder were watching the pagoda with calm eyes.

Their perception could not reach inside of it, since it was a perfect sealed space; however, with their position, they had long learned how to look inside the pagoda using a technique created only for that purpose.

They could see as the eight people inside continued to struggle, some facing fewer troubles than the others.

From what they could see, it was not impossible for the entire group to pass, but that would require them to withstand the pain of having their bones broken and veins snapped.

Most of them, that is.

Yueshi and Yuan Yue would have a far easier time than the Qing twins, for example.

The two young girls had the lowest cultivation base, being at the middle phase of the third stage. If they had been given a month, or even less, they would have reached the late phase, unfortunately, that could not be changed.

Seeing Yueshi sit down to cultivate, both of them nodded. This pagoda's main function was exactly that – to increase cultivation speed.

The higher the floor one could reach, the greater the results would be; however, because the pagoda required a lot of energy to be used, even inner court disciples had to pay contribution points to enter it.

Because of that, this was also a chance for them.

Time passed by slowly and, eventually, the Great Elder gave a satisfied smile. Then, bidding farewell, he left.

He had seen what he had come to see, now, he had no more worries weighing his heart down. That being so, there were no motives to remain here.

Protector Mo did not pay much attention to him, fully focused on the disciples.

Soon after, someone finally left the pagoda, panting hard and having a hard time walking… no, it was not someone, but two people. They supported each other as they made their way out through the door.

Despite being tired and pale-faced, the two were smiling -they had succeeded, it had been hard but they had still done so.

As the twins smiled it was as if flowers were blooming, painting a charming and beautiful sight.

That aside, the protector immediately arranged for them to be guided to their residence to rest.

After the great effort that they had put, despite their low cultivation base, they deserved to rest for a bit.

The two also did not refuse; they did not need to worry about the others, since they had already passed too, so they left.

Following this other people started to leave the pagoda.

After ten or so minutes, the remaining people had all came out – including Yueshi.

Seeing that all of them had passed, the other disciples relaxed, thinking that the trial was not as hard as it sounded.

This would lead everyone from the next batch to fail, to their despair – but this is not a story that matters.