"Aaah!"

"Aargh!"

"Ouch!"

"Aigoo..."

In between the hustle and tussle to gain the lead, a number of mid Revolving Core rank Cultivators and above tried to climb the stars and ended up hitting an invisible barrier, breaking their nose, and some injuring their heads.

The stairs are a test of foundation and with each step your body feels heavier.

The talents who thought of this as a trivial matter came to realize how wrong they are after crossing the 500th step. After this step, the difficulty increased drastically forcing them to take rest each time after climbing 4-5 steps. This made them fall behind the real talents by a huge margin.

...

Almost all the participants seem to have an easy time for the first 300 stairs, after that their speed starts to drop gradually and after crossing the 500th step they seem to struggle a lot. These people are mostly with Cultivation rank under peak Foundation Establishment rank.

The disciples from the top ten sects are all above mid Foundation Establishment rank and they seem to be able to keep climbing at somewhat of a fixed pace.

...

The ones who are standing out the most from the participants of 2,000 Cultivators are a young couple from the Yin-Yang Sect who have already reached the 1000th step within 15 minutes and—

Just 10 steps behind them is a beautiful lady whose long black hair is waiving in the air giving her a heroic look, Chu Dongmei.

Other than these three, all the Cultivators seem to be under 700th step, creating a large gap between them and the three.

Maybe this stark contrast of three people leading a group of hundreds is so eye-catching that 90 percent of the audience didn't realize that a man in black hanfu is climbing at the 1300th step.

...

An old man in gray hanfu sneered, "Hehehe, the Star Disciple of Thousand Arms Sect is really something."

"You don't have to be so sarcastic about it, Elder Shek. Since our sects are in alliance, Ryujin is also the Star Disciple of your Ghost Sect." A young man in black hanfu with evil facial features remarked.

The old man snorted, "I would have been more pleased if the man said it to me by himself rather than his Master."

The young man smiled, "Don't worry Elder Shek, after the events of Dragon Palace are over, I, myself will bring Ryujin to pay respect to the Sect Master of Ghost Sect."

"You better do it, the Sect Master has already waited long."

"Don't worry, Elder Shek, I won't make her wait any longer. It's just that Ryujin wanted to enter the Dragon Palace, otherwise I would have already taken him to the Ghost Sect."

The old man stared at Ryujin who has climbed up to the 1600th step by now. He rubbed his chin—

"Just what type of secret techniques did the Thousand Arms Sect used to make it possible for an Open Ascension rank Cultivator to break through the restrictions of the Dragon Palace?"

The old man looked at the young Elder of Thousand Arms Sect from the corner of his eyes, seeking answers.

The young man shook his head, "It's not as Elder Shek thinks. It's Ryujin's own capabilities. The Thousand Arms Sect have never helped him other than providing him with resources."

He sighed, "There are really some geniuses who make you feel like you are living a worthless life. They make you realize no matter how hard you try, you can never be as good as them."

The old man rolled his eyes not believing that the Thousand Arms Sect had nothing to do with Ryujin's capabilities.

He then stepped a bit closer to the Elder of Thousand Arms Sect and whispered—

"By the way, what happened to that plan?"

The young man frowned, "Plan?"

The old man pointed high on the stairs with his nose, "That girl."

"Oh..."

"Elder Shek doesn't have to worry. I have ordered the disciples... except Ryujin to work together with the Ghost Sect disciples and capture her safely. I have also told them that this task is their first priority."

The old man nodded, "Good, good. If the job is done well, you will be greatly rewarded by the Sect Master. Look forward to it."

...

As the two Elders of Ghost Sect and Thousand Arms Sect were chatting something unimaginable have happened—

Surprisingly, in the lead is not the Yin-Yan Sect couples, nor is it Ryujin. The one in the lead is none other than Zhu Furong!

He has already climbed up to the 2,000th step without anyone noticing it.

"That kid, which sect is he from? How can he be so fast?"

"Siii... Truly an oddity. It's like the stairs have no effect on him. He is climbing like he is running through normal stairs!"

A lot of superior Cultivators who are here to support their juniors and disciples are shocked by Zhu Furong's performance.

They all couldn't help but breathe in cold air.

...

"Pavilion Master Fan, isn't that lad from your sect?"

Venerable Lou asked with interest.

Fan Xin smiled dryly, "I wish that was true. He indeed once used to be the disciple of our Sunlight Sect, but he left a year ago."

"He didn't leave on a bad note did he?"

Fan Xin shook her head, "No. He had some family issues."

The old Venerable Lou caressed his beard and smiled, "Then he might be still emotionally attached to the sect. Didn't you guys have a nice chat earlier?"

Fan Xin slightly nodded, "Venerable Lou is wise, if he saw it that way then it might be true."

She smiled, "Maybe, our sect can still benefit from our former disciple?"

Venerable Lou nodded with affirmation and then both silently watched the trials.

But the topic was not over yet.

"Pavilion Master Fan, what is the background of that child? Isn't he from your sect?"

A 30 year old looking man with a stubble beard and mustache walked from the side wearing clean white hanfu. Along with him followed a beautiful woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She is also wearing a matching white hanfu.

They are none other than Pavilion Masters of the Yin-Yang sect. Unlike the other sects, every position in the Yin-Yang sect is shared by a couple.

Seeing the two approach, Fan Xin greeted with a smile and salute—

"It's good to see Pavilion Master Tai and Sister Sze. It's been a long time."

Pavilion Master Sze pouted, "That's because Sister Fan didn't visit the Yin-Yang sect like she used to in her younger days. She became detached from us after becoming a Pavilion Master of Sunlight Sect— It makes me quite sad."

"I apologize Sister Sze but I really have become a lot busier after becoming a Pavilion Master. Hope you understand." Fan Xin looked apologetic.

Pavilion Master Sze sighed, " I understand, that's why I am not pulling your hair right now."

Pavilion Master Tai coughed slightly, "Well, all Pavilion Masters tend to be busy, it's understandable."

He looked at Fan Xin, "By the way, Pavilion Master Fan..." He pointed towards the stairs, "That child?..."

Fan Xin slowly shook her head, "I cannot tell you anything about his background but one thing is for sure..." 

Her eyes glimmered, "His talent is no where less than the heavenly geniuses. He is one in a million!"

While Pavilion Master Tai nodded with agreement some snorts could be heard from the side of Ghost Sect and Thousand Arms Sect. It seems their ears were perked up all this time.

Pavilion Master Sze suddenly yelped, "Ah, he already reached the top!"

...

Only twenty minutes have passed since the start of the trials and Zhu Furong is already standing in front of the Dragon Palace gate. Everyone in the audience is extremely shocked with their mouths agape.

Even Fan Xin couldn't keep her calm, she subconsciously muttered—

"This... How?"

Almost everyone has the same question in their mind— 'How is this possible? When did he climb up there?'

Even Venerable Lou was so shocked that he subconsciously ended up pulling some strands of his beard.

The crowd is in uproar!

Someone shouted—

"Isn't the couple from the Yin-Yang sect at the lead? When did that Thousand Arms Sect disciple get ahead of them?"

"Thousand Arms Sect disciple? Your eyes are still stuck there? Look at the top. At the top!"

"Top?... Siiii... Not one but two?— From when did planet Shengdong have such heaven shaking geniuses?"

"Two? Huh?"

"What the fuck? When that second one got there, he wasn't there a moment ago!"

Someone explained, "That guy just appeared out of nowhere. It seems he was using some artifact to make himself invisible."

Someone muttered—

"Didn't the records say the fastest time to climb up 2,500 stairs is 45 minutes? This... Only 20 minutes have passed— How?"

Someone yelped with shock—

"Hey, doesn't the guy at the second place look a lot like the Second Prince of Ming Dynasty?"

"He doesn't just look like him, he is Ming Zen—I am 100 percent sure!"

The audience is in chaos, their voices are so loud that it even reached the Yin-Yang Sect couple and Chu Dongmei.

The three had already noticed Ryujin leading ahead but they never imagined that there was someone even further.

"Zuo Rong!?"

Chu Dongmei is extremely shocked.

"Little Brother? How? What the fuck?"

Tian Su vigorously rubbed his eyes.

"What kind of joke is this?"

Someone in the participants cried.

Others also started to curse and some started to try even harder.

...

Standing in front of the gate, Zhu Furong scratched his head with confusion—

'What happened to the test? Wasn't there supposed to be some test of foundation?'

He then realized something, 'Oh, I don't have any foundation yet, maybe that's why?'

Just as he was lost in thought, someone grabbed his shoulder from behind—

"Don't just stand here, you are the first to reach Dragon Palace, take advantage of it."

"Ah!" Zhu Furong yelped with surprise and took a fighting stance.

Ming Zen smirked, "What? Wanna fight your brother-in-law?"

"Huh!?" Zhu Furong looked surprised and confused at the same time.

Ming Zen patted his shoulder, "Your disguise is perfect. It's just that I can feel the Monster Race bloodline inside you from meters away now compared to the first time we met. I doubted it's you but after looking at your reaction, I am glad I didn't make a joke of myself." He rubbed his cheek with a finger in embarrassment.

Zhu Furong breathed out, "Sorry, I have my reasons."

"It's fine, everyone has their reasons but..." Ming Zen frowned, "What's the reason for jilting my sister?— You know she cried her eyes out after we got back home?"

He sighed and looked sad, "She was still crying when I left for the Dragon Palace."

Zhu Furong doesn't know what to say. At that time he was mentally unstable and didn't consider Ming Lan's feelings. He just agreed with the Empress in the heat of the moment.

He remembers Grandpa Bohai had suggested he talk things out with Ming Lan before annulling the engagement, but he didn't care. Now it seems he should have done things properly.

Ming Zen noticed the troubled expression of Zhu Furong and changed the subject.

He pointed behind him, "You see the man in black hanfu? Be wary of him. He is not simple."

Zhu Furong peeked behind Ming Zen and found the mentioned man climbing the 1800th step.

"Who is he?"

"He?— They call him their Star Disciple. He is Ryujin of Thousand Arms Sect."

"What is his Cultivation rank?"

Ming Zen shook his head, "Not sure about now. Though the last time I fought him, he had just broken through to the Open Ascension rank, but..."

"But?"

Ming Zen looked worried, "Well he is quite odd. Even though he had just broken through to the Open Ascension rank he already had a Nascent Soul and Divine Sea— It was his Spiritual Attack that hurt my soul and caused me to retreat. You may have heard some rumors."

"What? Nascent Soul and Divine Sea?" Zhu Furong is extremely shocked hearing this.

'He has a Nascent Soul and Divine Sea? Isn't he just like me?'

Ming Zen stepped forward, "Let's go inside, we have already wasted a lot of time."

He paused, "We will be split after entering but let's have some chat later. There are things I want to tell you and..."

He glared at Zhu Furong, "Let's talk about my sister."

He then turned towards the gate, warning—

"Don't you dare run away, I have already left a Spiritual Mark on your body."

Zhu Furong rolled his eyes—

'I know that already. You also checked my face with Divine Sense to make sure I was Zhu Furong. Who are you trying to hide your skills from?'

Shaking his head, Zhu Furong entered the Dragon Palace before taking a last glimpse at Ryujin.

'Seems like the girls didn't come with him. At least he has some common sense to not bring them to dangerous places.'

...

"How the fuck that Ming Zen is here and how can he be faster than me? And what with that stranger? Who is he?"

Ryujin ground his teeth in hatred and suddenly increased his pace.

A young man's vigorous voice scolded Ryujin via Divine Sense.

"Don't be hasty. You are already faster than everyone else! Look behind you, the next ones are still at the 1200th step. Don't waste your energy on trifling competition. Everything inside the Dragon Palace is yours to begin with, why does it matter if someone enters first or last?" "Save your energy, we will need it later."

After the scolding ended, Ryujin dropped his pace to normal, though he is still faster than other people.

...

Out of 2000 participants, only 400 made it to the Dragon Palace and the stairs retreated just on time. Some participants couldn't make it back to the ground and had to jump from 500 meters. 

Thanks to them being Cultivators and getting help from their superiors, they avoided any major injuries.

The Dragon Palace disappeared.

Some people tried throwing stones but it cut through the air without any resistance.

"It really disappeared and is not just invisible."

"Only 400 people made it this time? Sigh... It seems the quality of the Cultivators have fallen by a lot compared to 10,000 years ago."

"Humph! Indeed! Look at you, I am ashamed to be called a Cultivator like you."

"What? What did you say? How dare you insult your daddy? Wanna die?"

"You think I am scared? Come, let this grandpa teach you the rules of the society."

Well, since all sorts of Cultivators have gathered here, scuffles are bound to happen.

...

All the participants from the top ten sects seem to have made it to the Dragon Palace. Their superiors were quite satisfied and they rode their Spirit Boats back to their sects. Except the Ghost Sect which seems to visit the Thousand Arms Sect.

Since a few years ago, the Ghost Sect's behavior has been quite strange. This makes the other sects feel uneasy but feeling uneasy is all they can do. After all, it's not like that the Ghost Sect has committed some crime.

The smaller sects and unaffiliated Cultivators also returned home as the day came to an end.