Chapter 41: Trials [3] - Soul

Chapter 41: Trials [3] - SoulTianling then clapped his hands again, a crisp, echoing sound reverberated across the empty space.

The towering mountain, which had previously loomed high into the golden heavens, began to tremble and shrink.

Stone cracked and compressed, its enormous height folding in on itself like a collapsing tower.

Within moments, the once sky-piercing mountain was reduced to a structure roughly the size of a monumental palace — still grand, but now scaled for mortals to approach.

From its base, 108 shimmering steps unfolded, each one glowing faintly with spiritual energy, like stars forming a path toward the heavens. At the summit, a flat golden platform awaited, swirling with divine mist.

Tianling hovered just above the newly formed staircase, hands behind his back and that ever-smug smile painted across his face.

"I’ll be waiting at the top. Come quickly, you have only one hour," he said lazily.

Then, as abruptly as he had appeared, he vanished into thin air.

Hearing the time limit, the disciples below erupted into motion.

Several immediately bolted for the staircase, fear and ambition flashing in their eyes.

Yu Xuan turned to his fellow Yu Clan disciples and raised his voice just enough to be heard.



"Don’t rush. We don’t know if these steps are laced with illusions, spirit suppressions, or soul pressure. Stay alert."

"Agreed," said Lin Fan, his expression serious. The transmigrated Gaialing, nodded in understanding. "One mistake here could cost us more than just time."

"We wouldn’t want to faint halfway up the staircase," Yu Hao added, his solid frame already tensing for the climb.

Mo Lin, the one with grandma in sword — stepped forward and asked, "Shall we proceed, Young Master?"

Only a handful of Yu Clan disciples remained after the previous trials.

Survivors like Lin Fan, Mo Lin, Yu Xueqing, Yu Bo, Yu Hao, Yu Zhen, and of course, Ming Tianmei and his sister, had proven themselves in body and spirit.

Yu Xuan could see it. These weren’t ordinary peers. These were disciples bearing fate.

Whether it was coincidence or not, they would carve their own legend.

"We move," he said. "But not with haste. Let’s not walk into a trap we can’t see."

Together with Lingluo, Ming Tianmei, and the others, Yu Xuan stepped toward the stairs.

At first, it felt like walking through a cool mountain breeze. The first few steps offered no resistance — one step, two steps, three, all the way to the eighth.

But for the others, pressure.

Like an invisible weight on the soul.

Ming Tianmei glanced down at her feet, feeling a difference — it was easier than the last time she’d attempted something similar.

She didn’t understand why. Perhaps something within her had changed.

Lingluo, who had struggled during the body trial, felt her physique activate instinctively — as if trying to shield her soul from the incoming pressure. Still, her steps became heavier with each movement.

At the ninth step, the atmosphere changed.

A dense pressure blanketed the surroundings.

And with every ninth step thereafter — the 18th, 27th, and so on — the difficulty increased significantly.

It was exponential, not linear.

By the time they reached the 45th step, Yu Xuan noticed the others slowing.

"I’ll go ahead," he said gently.

None argued.

Though they didn’t say it aloud, they understood. If anyone deserved to test the peak, it was him.

He climbed steadily, passing strangers along the way — most of them clearly not human.

One figure had crimson skin and four arms, his eyes burning with divine light. Another had translucent wings and a form that seemed to flicker in and out of visibility.



Yu Xuan, unfazed, continued.

He passed a humanoid being with gill slits on his neck, fins on his arms, and fish-like eyes. The fishman turned and called out, his tone arrogant and suspiciously noble.

"You there! How are you walking so easily? Share your method with this young mas— You there, don’t ignore—"

Yu Xuan waved casually and kept walking.

’Young master tropes again,’ he thought.

The irony, of course, was lost on him — he was technically a young master himself.


He caught up with Lingluo and Tianmei as they approached the 99th step.

That’s where things shifted.

The pressure was immense — not on the body or the spirit, but on the soul.

Lingluo managed to drag herself to the 107th step, knees shaking, but stopped.

Ming Tianmei, ever composed, forced herself up to the 108th... and collapsed.

Yu Xuan?

He strolled past the 108th step like he was ascending a hill on a sunny day.

The moment he crossed it, a golden medallion appeared in his hand.

[HEAVEN IMMORTAL SECT] was engraved in bold characters, glowing faintly.

He stared at it curiously, then turned to sit and wait. The clock was still ticking.

One by one, the remaining Yu Clan disciples fought their way higher. Most reached beyond the 60th step — impressive in its own right.

But no one else reached the top.

A few non-human cultivators made it to the 108th step. But, no one crossed.

Only Yu Xuan stood at the summit.

After exactly one hour, the golden light flared again.

Tianling reappeared, this time with applause.

"Good job," he said cheerfully, glancing at Yu Xuan and the medallion in his hand.

"Only one person qualified for the highest rank," he continued, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Excellent work."

Silence.

Dozens of cultivators stared at Yu Xuan, their faces contorted in varying degrees of shock, admiration... and jealousy.



Tianling burst into laughter.

"Haha! Just kidding! You only had to cross the 54th stair to pass."

The tension broke like glass.

Those on the lower steps erupted with relief. Some laughed, others cried.

Except for the one poor soul standing exactly on the 54th step — who now wept uncontrollably, his chance having slipped through his fingers with one missed step.

Those below the cutoff vanished in shimmering light — returned to their original locations.

The rest the successful few remained.

Barely a hundred out of tens of thousands.

Tianling clapped once more.

"Now then—"

He spun mid-air and pointed dramatically.

"Welcome to the Mini Heaven Immortal Sect!" he declared.