Chapter 644: Second Stage, Heart-Questioning Pool

Zhou Yan didn't know how to explain it either.

How would he know why Ye Lin was running so fast?

The assessment time for climbing the Heavenly Ladder was three days. Now, the morning of the first day hadn't even passed, and that kid was rushing forward like he was crazy... oh no, crawling forward.

Rushing fast without a reward, what was this kid after?

In the confused, shocked, and puzzled eyes of the crowd, a blood-colored unknown object squirmed rapidly and soon left everyone behind.

Xiao Qingming's expression was somewhat strange.

Originally, he could have taken first place on the Heavenly Ladder with a leisurely stroll, but now that Ye Lin had done this, he could only settle for second place.

It wasn't that Xiao Qingming couldn't compare to Ye Lin; if he also disregarded his image and used his hands and feet, Ye Lin definitely wouldn't be faster than him.

It was just that that method, even if it could win, wasn't decent.

Taking first place with a leisurely stroll, receiving the admiration of ten thousand people.

Taking first place using hands and feet, climbing a ladder and being gossiped about for a lifetime.

Xiao Qingming wanted to show off, but he didn't want to be an eyesore.

"Forget it, there are two more stages behind; I'll take back first place then." Xiao Qingming shook his head.

Gu Qianxue and Ye Chen obviously had the same idea. Geniuses had the pride of geniuses; others climbed the Heavenly Ladder, you crawled the Heavenly Ladder—what kind of thing was that?

In the blink of an eye, two and a half hours passed quietly.

The Heavenly Ladder had already been dyed red with blood.

The originally immortal-like Heavenly Ladder now looked like it had an extra sense of eeriness.

"How much further is it?"

Ye Lin vaguely felt that his body was almost unable to withstand the terrifying pressure of the Heavenly Ladder.

More importantly, as the height increased, various strange illusions began to appear around Ye Lin, blocking his path forward, which made his speed slow down a bit.

If this continued, his physical body would inevitably collapse on the spot.

He had to think of a way; otherwise, should he bribe Zhou Yan again? Anyway, he still had many Immortal Source Stones.

Just as Ye Lin was thinking about how to break the situation, he suddenly felt the pressure around him decrease sharply.

Ye Lin tried to stand up, and gradually, he even felt the pressure around him disappear completely, as if the Heavenly Ladder had become an ordinary staircase.

"Eh?"

Ye Lin couldn't help but let out a soft sound, his face full of confusion. He even couldn't help but jump a few times on the Heavenly Ladder.

This scene also attracted the attention of the nine Peak Masters and everyone present.

"What's going on? This kid suddenly became immune to the spiritual pressure of the Heavenly Ladder? Did he use some evil method?"

"It doesn't seem to be an evil method... it's just that he bled too much, and the Heavenly Ladder was irrigated with a large amount of fresh blood, creating an affinity with him."

"That works too? The Heavenly Ladder has been open for so long, and I have never seen this way of passing the stage! This kid's blood and energy are truly astonishing; he can still jump around after losing so much blood."

"No wonder he had to use such an unsightly way to climb the Heavenly Ladder. Was all this calculated by him? I'm afraid he will break the fastest record for the Heavenly Ladder!"

"This kid is not simple! Although he is only at the Great Perfection of the Spirit Gathering Realm, with this temperament, he will definitely become a great expert in the future!"

"I am becoming more and more curious about his bone structure now!"

The nine Peak Masters were filled with emotion, and their gazes toward Ye Lin were different, with a few more expressions of appreciation.

Just now, they were all wondering why Ye Lin had to use such an indecent method to pass the stage. Unexpectedly, they were on the first floor, while Ye Lin was on the fifth floor!

In this way, all those strange actions of this kid just now could be explained.

The other disciples participating in the assessment were also looking at the figure at the very front with complex eyes.

Only then did they understand what it meant for a genius to always be lonely!

If Ye Lin hadn't personally taken the field to demonstrate it for them, they wouldn't have been able to think of this solution for the Heavenly Ladder other than hard resistance even if they broke their heads.

Many cultivators who were confident in their own blood and energy had their eyes become firm instantly.

Question Ye Lin, understand Ye Lin, and now, they wanted to become Ye Lin!

Many cultivators crawled on the ground, imitating Ye Lin's appearance, and began to crawl in a dark and twisted way upward.

In an instant, there were countless figures of maggots on the Heavenly Ladder.

This method was indeed extremely effective; many cultivators' climbing speed soared instantly, and they didn't stop even if they bled on the Heavenly Ladder.

And as the number of people joining increased, there was even a blood-colored waterfall on the Heavenly Ladder.

Looking at this scene, Zhou Yan's eyes went dark.

This... this isn't right, is it?

The Heavenly Ladder stage originally tested a cultivator's constitution and cultivation, and when it was about to reach the top, it began to test the cultivator's willpower.

But now, how did it become a test of whose blood bar was thicker?

Ye Lin hadn't realized that he had single-handedly distorted the entire style.

Realizing that the spiritual pressure had disappeared, he rushed upward without saying a word. Without the obstruction of spiritual pressure, for a cultivator, reaching the top of the Heavenly Ladder was just a matter of a few breaths.

After standing on the top of the Heavenly Ladder, Ye Lin looked at Zhou Yan and asked.

"Elder Zhou, I've passed the stage, right?"

"Hmm."

Zhou Yan hummed with a dark face. He knew without thinking that this Heavenly Ladder stage would definitely have to be redesigned.

Ye Lin was all smiles and waited at the top of the Heavenly Ladder.

Three days later, nearly half of the cultivators failed to reach the top and were all eliminated.

This was still the result of many people learning Ye Lin's crawling-and-bleeding method; otherwise, in previous years, having one-third of the people reach the top of the Heavenly Ladder would have been considered a good result.

Zhou Yan waved his hand, and the Heavenly Ladder disappeared. In its place was a pool of water like a mirror, without any ripples, and everyone was floating above this pool.

"The second trial, the Heart-Questioning Pool."

Zhou Yan stood with his hands behind his back.

"The Heart-Questioning Pool questions the Dao heart! This second stage doesn't test anything else, only whether your Dao heart is firm! The Heart-Questioning Pool will temporarily seal your memories, and you must face the deepest fears in your heart!"

As soon as his voice fell, everyone present fell down like dumplings, and the sounds of "plop, plop" rang out continuously.

"Let's see what kind of illusion Ye Lin will face. If he has any unspeakable secrets, he will definitely not be able to escape the interrogation of the Heart-Questioning Pool."

"Let's also look at that Xiao Qingming. He is a good seedling; there is no problem with his talent, and his character must also be passable, otherwise, he will be a harm to the world's common people!"

"Bring out Gu Qianxue and Ye Chen's as well!"

Soon, four pictures appeared before the nine Peak Masters. These four people were obviously the most watched disciples in this batch of entrance assessment participants.

The Peak Masters first looked at Xiao Qingming. The deepest fear in his heart was that he almost died under the mouth of a demon beast when he was six years old.

The Heart-Questioning Pool pulled him back to that year when he was six, and based on his memories, wove a brand-new illusion.

What Gu Qianxue and Ye Chen encountered was similar to Xiao Qingming's, basically all life-and-death crises.

But when they saw Ye Lin's illusion, the nine Peak Masters couldn't help but freeze, and a question mark floated neatly above their heads. ===== CHAPTER 645 =====