Chapter 6: Senior Brother Dai, You Have To Calm Down
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou crouched and used the dagger to dig a hole in the ground. Burying one end of the ladder into the earth, they stomped the soil to firm it up.
Lu Yang kicked the ladder. It did not budge. Instead, the vibration caused his right leg to turn numb.
“Not bad; very sturdy. Let me try first. You can follow if I succeed.”
Meng Jingzhou nodded. “No problem.”
Lu Yang rubbed his hands, then sped toward the ladder, swiftly climbing up. When he reached the corner, which was also the same height as the fiftieth step, he murmured, “Oh no!”
Forcing himself to look straight ahead and ignore what was below him, Lu Yang edged forward at the speed of a caterpillar.
The people on the steps lifted their heads, their jaws dropping as the scene of Lu Yang approaching the fiftieth step unfolded before their eyes.
What the hell is that?!
A gigantic ladder with a ninety-degree angle had been planted into the ground and its end was at the finishing point—the fiftieth step!
Although they had noticed Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou building the ladder at the bottom of the steps, they hadn’t thought much of it.
It hadn’t been easy for them to arrive at the fortieth step, so they thought there was no point in bothering with what the two were up to. If they went back down and realized that all the two were concocting was nonsense, they wouldn’t have the energy to go back up to the fortieth step. That would cement their failure for this round.
Among all of them, Man Gu had the most commendable progress. Despite reaching the forty-ninth step, it was as if an insurmountable chasm lay between him and the fiftieth step. He felt like he was carrying a mountain ready to crush him.
Just then, he watched helplessly as Lu Yang climbed past him, arriving at the fiftieth step.
Without any mishap, Lu Yang successfully passed.
Following closely behind, Meng Jingzhou also passed.
With that, the first and second places were set.
~~~
Outside the Heart-Seeking Mountain, the Dao-Seeking Sect disciples were in a frenzy.
“Don’t block me, I must teach those two brats a lesson today! I guarantee that I won’t beat them to death!” Dai Bufan’s muscles were bulging, and he looked like a black bear whose honey had been snatched.
His junior brothers and sisters hurriedly came to dissuade him.
“Senior Brother Dai, you can’t beat them!”
“Senior Brother Dai, you have to calm down.”
“If word gets out that something happened to the participants, our sect’s reputation will be ruined.”
“Senior Brother Dai, bullying the weak will besmirch your reputation!”
“Senior Brother Dai, don’t forget that the third round tests one’s heart in seeking the Dao; you mustn’t get angry!”
The last few words finally reminded Dai Bufan to calm down.
That's right, the third round tests one’s heart to seek the Dao; getting angry so easily will be detrimental to my future cultivation.
“Wait a minute… the third round is testing them, not me!”
The Dao-Seeking Sect disciples were once again plunged into a frenzy.
The River Spirit was comforted as he watched the pandemonium breaking out. Returning to the river, he decided that he no longer wanted to deal with those people.
~~~
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s stellar collaboration seemed to have inspired the others, for they roared as they pushed themselves all the way to the fiftieth step.
Man Gu was the first, followed by people Lu Yang didn’t recognize. They were all people who ranked behind Lu Yang, so he had no idea what was special about their spirit root, but he did recognize the last few who had Dual Spirit Roots.
The remaining participants tried relentlessly, but they were ultimately unable to advance a single step further. They thought of going down the mountain to make use of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s ladder to reach the fiftieth step, but descending did not spare them from the immense pressure, and their bodies were already at their limits.
“The third round has ended. The people still on the mountain are disqualified,” Yun Zhi coldly announced, then asked Dai Bufan to bring them down the mountain.
Even Dai Bufan could not purge the effects of the Heart-Seeking Mountain. To rescue the people on the mountain, he would have to bear the pressure as a mortal and climb every single step up.
Dai Bufan glared at Lu Yang viciously before proceeding to climb the mountain.
He climbed to the fiftieth step with ease.
Witnessing how effortless it was for Dai Bufan and recalling their struggle of life and death to the fiftieth step, they could only remark how tremendous the disparity was.
“There’s nothing not to understand. All of you are only fourteen or fifteen years old. Even if you were exposed to cultivation from a young age due to your clans, what you witnessed is nothing more than the moon in the water and flowers in a mirror—there is no substance, so you can’t truly understand the meaning of ‘Dao’ and ‘immortal.’”
“Cultivation to become an immortal also includes cultivating the heart and mind. When you have achieved success in your cultivation, climbing the Heart-Seeking Mountain will no longer be a challenge.”
Nearing the end of his explanation, Yun Zhi was reminded of something. “Congratulations on becoming disciples of the Dao-Seeking Sect,” she added for formality's sake.
She waved her hand, and the bells on her wrist tinkled. A blanket of mist rose and morphed into a cloud, lifting everyone up.
As Lu Yang stood on the cloud and watched the ground getting further away, he tried hard to swallow his saliva, feeling as if his heart was in his throat.
Oh man, cultivation is so thrilling.
Yun Zhi looked down at her junior brothers and sisters who were clearing up. “Thank you, all. After you are done cleaning up, you may continue working on your other matters.”
The disciples replied simultaneously, “Understood.”
They kept chanting “one, two, three” as they dismantled Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s ladder.
We can’t have a random ladder on the Heart-Seeking Mountain.
On the cloud, Lu Yang did not dare to even open his eyes. However, hearing the animated discussion around him, as the rest exclaimed how beautiful the scenery was, he finally succumbed to his curiosity. When he opened his eyes, he was totally stunned by the scenery before him.
A towering mountain stood in the center of a sea of mountains, its precipitous cliffs piercing right into the clouds as if it were a majestic immortal sword. Eight mountains emanating fascinating aura waves surrounded the mountain in the middle. On the periphery was an undulating range of mountains encircling the nine core mountains. The mountains resembled a blooming lotus flower that enthralled one’s heart, while the hazy mist that shrouded them provided an additional tinge of mystery.
Yun Zhi explained indifferently, “There are nine core peaks in the Dao-Seeking Sect. The one in the middle, Heaven’s Gate Peak, is where the sect leader resides; the other eight peaks belong to eight elders who each have their own expertise and position.
“The other mountain peaks include the sect’s trial grounds, annexes and external grounds of the elders’ mountain peaks, and the Dao-Seeking Sect disciples’ cultivation grounds. There are also some dangerous areas—inadequate cultivation would result in death…it’s not something that can be explained in a few sentences. All of you can slowly explore in the future.
“Cultivation focuses on the word ‘kismet.’ In the upcoming month, you can move around in Dao-Seeking freely; that includes touring the mountain peaks and entering the scripture library. You can also consult the senior disciples and elders.
“One month from now, you will choose an elder as your master. Of course, the elder must first agree to take you in as their disciple.”
Man Gu was straightforward in voicing his question. “It has to be an elder? Can we choose the sect leader?”
“You can, but the sect leader has never liked teaching disciples; your chances are very slim.”
In spite of Yun Zhi’s words, many people still wanted the sect leader as their master.
The Dao-Seeking Sect was one of the esteemed Central Continent Great Five Immortal Sects, so the sect leader held an impressive position. His strength was also unquestionable, and few could stand against him. They could already imagine the countless overt and discreet benefits if they could enter the tutelage of someone as formidable as the sect leader.
“Someone will lead you to your respective cave abodes later.”
“Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, you two stay behind.”
Rakumon's ThoughtsHAHA are you a Lu Yang or a Man Gu?
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