Chapter 42: Inside the Azure Cloud Sect, the Nine Cauldrons Assessment

Holy shit! Quickly look at that person!

Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit!

What did they see?

That cloud ladder was as hard for them to climb as ascending to heaven.

A man strode swiftly upward.

It's simply fucking outrageous, opening the door for outrageous, outrageous to the extreme!

Even more outrageous than that man leisurely strolling above.

Really, comparing people makes you furious enough to die!

Qin Han had already walked over three hundred steps, still calm and light.

Noticing someone chasing from behind, he paid no attention and continued walking slowly, step by step.

Ning Yan surged ahead of the man in front, then continued sprinting upward.

As he passed Qin Han, he glanced back.

Qin Han merely smiled faintly, as if he didn't mind being overtaken.

The emperor's temperament, tempered over tens of thousands of years, was as firm as rock; he had long since endured countless times the childish desire to be first.

The Illusory Heavenly Ladder has a total of nine hundred ninety-nine steps.

At this moment, besides Ning Yan and Qin Han, hundreds of people were struggling to persist on the steps above the hundredth level.

Sweat drenched their faces, full of struggle, utterly lacking the ease of Ning Yan and the other two.

But this already surpasses the vast majority; those who failed the trial hang their heads in dejection.

They either retreated after just a few steps, or persisted to ten steps before being sent down.

Of course, before the end, no one knows the outcome; after all, failing after one step is the same as failing after nine hundred ninety-eight steps.

At the top.

The three elders exchanged a glance.

Not bad, there are still a few promising seedlings.

Especially these two people in the front.

Now look over here.

On the heavenly ladder, Ning Yan surged to the very top and arrived before the sect gate.

The crowd below erupted again.

The first one to finish the test has come out!

This gave great encouragement to those who had not yet begun the challenge.

With the first, there will be a second, third, fourth… and so on.

Who knows, with a bit of effort I might be able to climb up too?

"Greetings, Elder, I am Ning Yan."

"Please wait a moment; the second test will begin shortly."

Elder Ye Bai said with a smile.

Being able to rush up in such a short time shows that this person's resolve is extremely firm and their willpower strong; they will henceforth be a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Ning Yan stood on the summit looking down; the highest climber now is that youth he gazes back at.

He has already climbed over eight hundred steps, his pace still steady; he even suspects that person is deliberately walking so slowly!

He heard the praise and adulation from the crowd below.

He felt a bit of it.

After ten years of bitter cultivation, no one knew him; overnight he became famous across the world!

feeling.

Time passed slowly, and soon Qin Han also climbed up.

Half a day later.

At this point, hundreds of millions of people have already been eliminated, half of them.

At this moment, a thousand people have gathered at the summit.

These thousand people are those who fought their way out of billions and successfully reached the summit, passing the test.

Each of them happily chatted with one another.

Grateful to have reached the summit, each of them fully understood the hardships along the way.

They gritted their teeth and persisted, encouraging themselves with each step: 'Persist a little more… strive a little more!'

They arrived at the summit through unyielding perseverance, step by step.

"The numbers are about right; now we will conduct the second test of aptitude."

After Ye Bai finished speaking, he noticed some were disheartened and some delighted, so he spoke again.

"You are now considered disciples of my Azure Cloud Sect, so don't be upset if you fail the second test."

"Passing the first test makes you a menial disciple; passing the second makes you an outer door disciple."

"Menial disciples have a ranking every two months; the top ten are promoted to outer door disciples, and outer door disciples follow the same rule: every two months, the top ten in the rankings are promoted to inner door disciples."

"So as long as each of you works hard in cultivation, you have a chance to become an outer door disciple, even an inner door disciple."

This rule was established by Feng Qingyang and the elders after discussion, to motivate the disciples.

Wherever there is competition, there is motivation.

Rankings on the leaderboard are based purely on strength; each list records only the top hundred, and any disciple may at any time challenge those ranked higher.

In other words, if you're capable, you get to rise.

Those who passed the Heavenly Ladder eagerly followed the Elder into the Azure Cloud Sect.

This day finally arrived; they entered the cultivation holy land they had long dreamed of.

Upon entering the sect, a majestic spiritual aura surged forth; looking around, the aura turned to mist, and pavilions and towers seemed like a fairyland.

Shocking!

A shock like never before!

Those living in Spirit Prefecture had never encountered a holy land; when had they ever seen a scene so powerful it could crush a holy land?

Thinking that they now counted as Azure Cloud Sect disciples and could cultivate and live here from now on,

Each became even more excited; previously they only knew the Azure Cloud Sect was strong, the supreme sect that dominated all of Lingzhou.

Now they truly understood the depth of the Azure Cloud Sect's foundation—how could such a sect not rise?

Qin Han also narrowed his eyes; this Azure Cloud Sect is not simple! Its spiritual aura density far surpasses the Central Region!

Since arriving at the Azure Cloud Mountain Range, he had noticed that even the outer spiritual aura matched the Central Region; he never expected the sect's interior to be many times stronger.

Could it be that I accidentally stumbled into a Hidden Great Sect!

Even the Great Emperor was shocked! Not to mention the old man inside the Ning Yan Necklace.

What place is this!!

He had just been bragging to his disciple, old man, what scenes haven't I seen?

This... this scene I really haven't seen before!

At this moment, the Nine Cauldrons Grand Dao Bell had already been brought up; it had been prepared three days ago.

"This is our Azure Cloud Sect's exclusive tool for testing talent."

"Strike it with all your strength; those who make the bell ring three times pass the test and can become outer sect disciples."

"Ringing it three times is still quite simple, so relax."

Being able to ring it three times indicates one's talent is not low; they can be called a genius.

The Great Emperor Qin Han went numb again; he sensed that the Nine Cauldrons continuously inhaled and exhaled Dao rhythms, suppressing fortune—could such a supreme treasure be an immortal artifact?

"Tell me, you Azure Cloud Sect are using an immortal artifact to test talent?"

Extravagant!

He, like Leng Bingning, also began to doubt; the Azure Cloud Sect could no longer be called a Hidden Great Sect—could it be an Upper Realm Immortal Sect?

Using an immortal artifact to test talent is a waste of heavenly resources! You really are something!

Upon hearing the Elder's words, everyone quickly expressed disbelief.

Is ringing it three times really simple?

You just said the Heavenly Ladder was simple! Simple?

Elder, you have no martial virtue!

I guess it's another difficult matter.

The crowd lined up and took turns testing.

"Ha!"

A youth struck the Nine Cauldrons with force, then looked at them expectantly.

"Dong, dong!"

"Two rings of the bell—unqualified, next."

"Dong, dong!"

"Unqualified, next."

"Dong, dong, dong!"

"It rang three times, Elder!"

"I passed, haha!"

A man exclaimed excitedly, his talent having been fine since childhood.

But seeing that over a hundred ahead had been eliminated one after another, he still felt a bit nervous; now at last the stone in his heart fell.

"Three bell rings, test passed."

The test continued.

Some were eliminated one after another, while others passed.

Everyone's joys and sorrows differed.

In between, a few who rang the bell four times and one who rang it five times appeared—heavenly talents.

After the Elder's explanation, they understood that four bell rings indicated talent higher than ordinary geniuses, belonging to the type that is not enough to surpass the above but more than enough to fall short of the below.

And five bell rings signified heavenly talent.

The one who rang five times, though excited, didn't say much, because everyone knew that regardless of how many rings, as long as they passed they were outer sect disciples; only later would true strength be shown.

There was also one named Jini tai mei who was most unfortunate, for the bell rang only two and a half times, and the test failed.

On the spot he performed a wave of anguished expressions, flailing his arms and legs as he burst into tears.

Even Elder Ye Bai felt it was a pity, half a ring short, stalling this disciple.