Chương 81: Chapter 80 – Race to Rock Punching Mountain

"First, you will follow me on foot. Anyone who fails to reach the testing grounds in time will fail. So do your best!" With that, Elder Ding turned and flew north west. The vast majority of disciples stood stunned, but a few quick-thinking ones reacted immediately. Ren shared a sideways glance with Hua, and both of them started to push past the other disciples.

The surprise wore off soon enough that the mass of disciples began rushing out like a raging river behind the elder, who was already just a small speck in the distance. Ren and Hua had forced their way to the vanguard and weren't caught in the crush. Ren knew that many would come to blows, but he focused on not falling behind. Their bodies made it easy to keep up the pace, but the elder showed no signs of stopping. Time passed and those with poor endurance began to slow and fall behind.

Those with imbalanced bodies tried to substitute speed and endurance with bursts of strength, but that only exhausted them even more swiftly. Ren looked back and saw an enormous stream of contenders stretching far behind him. Ren and Hua weren't at the front either. Around 15-25 disciples were ahead of them. Ren recognized a few seniors before the gap increased further. He knew better than to push himself so early without knowing how far the destination was. He kept a steady pace, pulling ahead of Hua eventually.

Ren wasn't too concerned. He knew they both would pass this first test. The elder led them all the way to the northern edges of the inner sect, further than Ren had ever explored. They had been running for an entire day, and night had long since fallen. Running up mountainsides in the dark wasn't hard because of how keen Ren's divine sense was, but at this time, many spirit beasts came out to hunt. Exhausted as he was, he still pushed on, confident in his ability to defend himself.

The elder hadn't forbidden the use of any skills, only that they follow him. Around midnight, they crossed a thin strip of trees surrounding the peak and reached a large moonlit clearing with a single gleaming black rock where the elder waited calmly for them. Every single disciple who had arrived was still breathing heavily. Worn as he was, Ren still had enough energy to keep from splaying on the ground in an undignified manner.

Ren recovered slowly and even ate some food as they settled in to wait for the other disciples. The elder just waited and watched as disciples trickled in slowly. The numbers swelled to over a hundred while it was still dark. Ren just took the time to admire the stars as he waited with Hua. The sky was clear but the moons glow hid many of the stars. Still, it was a beautiful night, not too cold or windy.

The skies lightened gradually as the number of disciples increased to over 150 but the number of disciples reaching the clearing had already slowed. It was still an impressive number. The elder had given enough time that even those who fell back initially could recover and push forward again. The last stragglers made their way into the clearing just as the sun rose. Elder Ding raised his hand and a barrier sprung up. A few disciples crashed into it but couldn't enter the clearing.

The look of despair as they realized they failed was harrowing to watch. The elder began to speak and Ren couldn't spare them any more attention.

"Well done! A fine display! All of you who made it here are worthy contenders. But we only have 100 seats and there are still 183 of you. So we move to the second test. This pillar you see before you was placed here by the very first sect leader. You will approach and punch this rock with all your might. It will display the strength in jin. Only the best will be accepted. Now line up!" The elder ended his speech with a commanding shout, and everyone hastened to obey.

In no particular order, the disciples stepped forward and punched. None of them shattered their fists so the pillar must be absorbing the entire blow. Ren was calm unlike the others. He was as prepared as he could be and having done his best, the rest was up to fate. The line moved slowly forward as the elder took note of each number. The strongest punch so far had been 38 thousand jin and very few came even close to that. A few were around 15-20 thousand, those disciples were pretty much guaranteed a slot.

As for the others, the results varied wildly from 2 thousand to 12 thousand. With that many, around 10 thousand, Ren was slightly concerned they would take all the slots. A few disciples in front of Ren, another outlier appeared at 34 thousand jin. Just like before, everyone took note of this disciple as well. Ren breathed deep and emptied his mind of all distractions. In all those spars with Hua, Ren had realized he lacked proper techniques to bring out his full strength.

He had long since addressed that flaw with the movement and fist art he bought from the inner sect. He had already gotten accustomed to them and even begun to integrate them in his combat style. There was nothing more to worry about now. When his turn came, Ren didn't even notice how the disciple ahead of him had performed. He stepped forward and waited for the elder's nod. When he received it, he inhaled sharply and engaged the Mountain Bounding Step and sprung forward with a cocked fist.

Building strength from his legs to his waist, Ren furiously channeled qi to empower his punch to the limit. Dragging every scrap of qi in his body through the patterns of Steel Splitting Strike, the foundation establishment realm fist technique, Ren's fist was a blur as it exploded toward the pillar. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Having seen it enough times already, Ren didn't flinch when his fist met the implacable rock.

Instead of his fist smashing into pulp, every drop of power was pulled into the pillar. His fist came to a gentle rest on the cool stone. A wave of fatigue washed over him as he broke his stance and looked up.

"13, 212" The number glowed above him. It was an exemplary attempt on his behalf. Ren had no regrets as he made his way to the side on shaky legs. He sat on the grass at the edge of the clearing as he watched the rest of the disciples take their turn striking the pillar. He had given everything he had, and no matter what the result, he was proud of how far he had come in such a short time.

He tried to watch every disciple's attempt to keep track of anybody who stood out, but the sleepless night and the exhaustion from the previous day caught up with him, and he fell asleep under the shade of a nearby tree. Ren startled awake when he sensed someone approaching subconsciously. It was Bao Hua, who had come to wake him. There were only a handful of disciples left. Ren felt embarrassed for falling asleep under a tree for all to see, like a countryside bumpkin.

But the brief nap had undeniably refreshed him. He watched the final disciples take their turns. Judging by their results, the calculative ones must have tried to gain as much time to recover from the sprint as possible. But it was telling that they doubted their prowess because the trend of scores the pillar revealed was mostly around two thousand jin. When the final one finished at a meager 1500 jin, Elder Ding took a moment to record it and then threw out an array plate on which he placed a piece of jade.

A list of a hundred names appeared in the air. Everyone began searching the list that determined their fate for their names with wide eyes. Beside him, Hua let out a relieved sigh, which meant he had found his name. Ren kept going and found his name in 42nd place!

'Hoo… I made it! All that effort was not for nothing. And I'll be going to the Golden Light Monastery and participating in the foundation establishment realm trial!!' Ren felt more relieved than excited at first, but that was quickly changing. But before he could get lost in his thoughts, he was interrupted by the elder continuing to speak.

"Congratulations to the 100 who have made it till here. You bring honor to yourselves and to the sect. Those of you who weren't selected, keep working hard. Cultivation is a long journey, and you never know when fortunes may change. You may return now." The dejected disciples departed from the clearing expeditiously, not wanting to annoy the elder. When the last one had left, Elder Ding addressed the remaining 100.

"All of you have earned your place in the Golden Dharma Trial, but there yet remains a final test. This is to determine the 25 top disciples that the sect will be allocating additional resources to. It matters not if you fall, you will still have your place but if you do well, then you will find the sect can be very generous with the top talents who represent us all. Now climb on." The elder threw out a small boat that expanded before their eyes till it was large enough to hold them all.

Once everyone was aboard, it took off westward at an incredibly fast pace. Even Ren flying at his fastest wouldn't be able to keep up. He could only ruefully shake his head. There were always heavens above the heavens! They flew far enough west that the spirit beasts that made this section of mountains their home were of the upper stage of the foundation realm. There might even be some potential beast tyrants of the core stage, but the elders surely monitored them.

They arrived at a dilapidated pagoda where they disembarked. When Ren examined the building, he found incongruous details. The pagoda looked ancient and damaged in sections, though its foundations were extremely solid. The materials it was made of were shining with qi to his senses, making even the treasures on his peak look like everyday objects. This was no mere building but a marvel of construction! Elder Ding led them in without a word.

The pagoda had stairs on either side that led to the upper floors, but curiously, there was an extra set of stairs directly in front of them that led halfway up the opposite wall. When they approached, Ren's skin prickled from a feeling of danger that was coming from the stairs, of all things! Halting before the crumbling stairs, the elder addressed them.

"By coming this far, you have all earned yourselves a reward. These are the 'Stairs of Ascension'. A fragment of an ancient artifact, shattered long ago, that the sect managed to gain control over. It is one of the sect's treasures, and you cannot begin to comprehend its value! Rejoice for this opportunity because you have a week. In that time, the 25 who climb highest will be rewarded. You may begin." A few disciples behind Ren discussed in hushed voices, "There are only 17 steps there. How can that take a week?"

"You idiot, can't you feel that intensity? Like someone is pointing a blade right at your throat? Don't ignore the elder's warning." Ren happened to agree with the second voice. These were no ordinary stairs, but the sword at the throat seemed to be a bit of an exaggeration. Wasn't it just a mild feeling? Before he could think on it for long, the first disciple stepped on the stair and vanished from their sight! A few gasps rang out and everyone froze, unwilling to step into the unknown.

Then a brave young lady pushed her way to the front and climbed the first stair. She too disappeared before their very eyes. Seeing no way to avoid it, everyone slowly stepped on the first step and vanished. Hua and Ren wished each other good fortunes and then climbed on. Everything blacked out for an instant and then Ren found himself on an enormous set of gleaming white stairs where the step in front of him was taller than two men! Then a crushing pressure descended on him and all Ren knew was pain.