Chapter 382: Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase
The Luo Clan's ancestor, Luo Xu, was a saint who had emerged from the Holy Academy and held an extremely lofty status within it.
Luo Shuihan, holding his token, naturally had unimpeded passage throughout the Holy Academy.
Soon, the group from Demon Ridge arrived at the first round's examination site—the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase.
The Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase was the tallest structure in the Holy Academy, built from white snow-crystal meteorites, each block weighing a hundred thousand jin. It had a total of ninety-nine steps, reaching straight into the clouds, giving a sense of grandeur and majesty.
At the top of the ninety-nine-step staircase stood a white sacred hall, which perpetually emitted a white holy light. From afar, it looked like a full moon suspended in the sky, with a sacred hall at its center.
Such a spectacle could only be seen within the Holy Academy.
It was said that, since ancient times, every saint who had walked out of the Holy Academy would leave behind an item, stored in that sacred hall.
At the same time, that sacred hall enshrined stone statues of the various saints, containing their residual saintly power, for future generations of students to worship eternally.
To pay homage to the saints, one had to ascend the staircase.
The sacred hall at the top of the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase emitted a massive pressure of saintly power, like white chains cascading down.
With each step upward, the pressure doubled.
Only students who reached the thirtieth step of the staircase would pass the first round of the examination.
When Luo Shuihan, Zhang Ruochen, Huang Yanchen, Duanmu Xingling, Si Xingkong, Chang Qiqi, and Chen Xi'er arrived at the base of the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase, several hundred people had already ascended the staircase and were climbing higher.
At the thirtieth step stood a nine-meter-tall massive jade stele.
Any student who reached the thirtieth step had to use their finger to carve their name onto the jade stele to pass the first round.
Those genius students who reached the thirtieth step were not satisfied and continued climbing higher.
Some had even reached the fiftieth step and were still ascending.
Huang Yanchen said, "Only those with higher aptitude can climb higher. So, even after passing the first round, many people keep climbing to prove they are better than others."
"The Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase is a famous historical site throughout the Eastern Domain. If you can dominate here and show exceptional talent, you'll immediately become renowned across the world."
"Fame and reputation cast a long shadow. Such opportunities don't come often."
Chang Qiqi rubbed his palms together, getting excited, and said with fervor, "Haha! Looks like today is the day I, Old Chang, make a name for myself!"
It wasn't just Chang Qiqi; Si Xingkong, Huang Yanchen, and Chen Xi'er were also quite excited. This was a rare chance to prove their strength and compete with the proud sons of heaven from the entire Eastern Domain.
And it was at the Holy Academy.
Many half-saint-level figures were likely watching from the shadows, observing the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase.
If one performed well enough, they might even be taken as a disciple by a half-saint on the spot.
Such things had happened in previous Holy Academy examinations. So, even though it was only the first round, everyone was giving their all to show off.
Zhang Ruochen and the others didn't immediately ascend the staircase. They continued observing, wanting to gauge the level of the Eastern Domain's geniuses.
Before long, the genius students from Nanyun Commandery also arrived at the base of the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase and rushed forward in a crowd toward the steps.
Even someone like Zi Hansha, an outstanding heir of a half-saint clan, would consider it a great blessing to be taken as a disciple by a half-saint.
After all, the Zi family only had one half-saint-level ancestor, and that ancestor rarely showed himself.
If that half-saint ancestor were to fall without a new half-saint emerging, the Zi family would immediately lose its half-saint clan status and might face suppression and territorial division from other half-saint clans.
If Zi Hansha could become a half-saint's disciple, his status in the Zi family would rise, and he would surely become the heir to the family head.
Even the Zi family's standing might improve as a result.
"Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase. Perfect. Today is the day I, Zi Hansha, make a name for myself. If I can catch the eye of a half-saint and become their disciple, who in the Zi family would dare disrespect me? That little wretch Xue Yingrou would have no choice but to throw herself into my arms."
The more Zi Hansha thought about it, the more excited he became. He took a deep breath, kicked off the ground, and leaped, landing directly on the twenty-first step.
"Boom!"
Zi Hansha's outstanding performance caused quite a stir.
"Who is that? He jumped straight to the twenty-first step. Impressive."
"The Holy Academy examination truly has no shortage of experts."
Hearing the exclamations from below, Zi Hansha felt pleased and continued climbing: the twenty-second step, the twenty-third step...
He ascended without any pause, reaching the thirtieth step.
With his fingertip, he condensed a purple light and, with three swift strokes, carved the name "Zi Hansha" deeply into the jade stele.
Then, he continued climbing.
However, after the thirtieth step, the saintly power pressure from the sacred hall increased significantly, and Zi Hansha's climbing speed gradually slowed.
It took him a quarter of an hour to reach the fortieth step.
After that, his pace slowed even more. He could only ascend one step every three minutes or so.
Even so, Zi Hansha still stood out, as only twenty-three genius students, including him, had reached the fortieth step or higher by then.
"Zi Hansha truly deserves to be the top expert of the Nanyun Commandery Martial Market Academy. He has real skill," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Just then, another wave of exclamations arose from the base of the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase.
The twenty-fourth genius student had reached the fortieth step.
What caused the stir was that this genius student was a stunningly beautiful woman, with a slender figure, skin like solidified fat (ningzhi), and long hair like a golden waterfall. Against the sacred radiance of the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase, she looked like a fairy from a painting.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the woman and nodded slightly. He had to admit, Xue Yingrou was indeed strikingly beautiful. Especially her endearing, delicate demeanor, which was irresistibly charming to men, making one want to hold her close and cherish her.
"This woman is annoying, but her talent is not low," Duanmu Xingling said.
Huang Yanchen asked, "Do you know her?"
Duanmu Xingling curled her lips, glanced at Zhang Ruochen, and said with a smile, "I barely know her. But Zhang Ruochen has a deep connection with her—he saved her and even taught her swordsmanship..."
Duanmu Xingling was about to continue, but Zhang Ruochen coughed dryly to interrupt her.
Huang Yanchen was already hot-tempered; a single spark could set her off. Hearing Duanmu Xingling's words, she naturally imagined many "romantic and beautiful" scenes.
"Hmph! Is she that beautiful? I don't think so!"
Huang Yanchen gritted her white teeth, staring intently at Zhang Ruochen, her five fingers clenching until they cracked.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "She's not that beautiful, indeed."
Huang Yanchen snorted again, giving him a "like I'd believe that" look, then rushed out. She too was going to climb the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase.
With guidance from her mother and the power of dragon blood, Huang Yanchen's cultivation had soared, making her a completely different person from before.
"Whoosh!"
With just one step, Huang Yanchen landed directly on the twenty-second step. Then, moving swiftly, she took four more steps and reached the thirtieth step.
After leaving her name on the jade stele, she immediately stepped onto the thirty-first step and pursued Xue Yingrou ahead.
Men loved to compete and show off, but weren't women the same?
Seeing Huang Yanchen chasing after Xue Yingrou, Zhang Ruochen felt even more helpless. He glared at Duanmu Xingling and said, "Senior Sister Duanmu, you knew Senior Sister Huang has a fiery temper, yet you deliberately provoked her."
"I only spoke the truth. Was I wrong? I didn't even tell her that Xue Yingrou kissed you," Duanmu Xingling said with a giggle.
Chang Qiqi looked at Huang Yanchen on the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase and said, "How is Junior Sister Huang so powerful? Has she fully refined the dragon blood?"
The strength Huang Yanchen displayed was indeed astonishing, seemingly even surpassing Zi Hansha.
Chang Qiqi felt he had been training hard, but he had only refined a third of the dragon blood. His current strength was far behind Huang Yanchen's.
Chen Xi'er said, "Don't you know? Junior Sister Huang's mother is a half-saint. With a half-saint's help, Junior Sister Huang has already fully refined the dragon blood. And it's not just the dragon blood."
"Not just the dragon blood?"
Chen Xi'er nodded and said, "Do you remember Di Yi's half-saint heart? That half-saint heart was dug out by Aunt and given to Junior Sister Huang. In the past few months, Junior Sister Huang has been cultivating with that half-saint heart. With Aunt's help, her cultivation has already broken through to the late stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, and she seems to be approaching the Minor Extreme Position of the Heavenly Extreme Realm."
"Sigh! Having a half-saint as a mother is truly something special. If I had a half-saint's help, I would have fully refined the dragon blood too. If I had a half-saint heart, I would have broken through my realm long ago," Chang Qiqi said with a long sigh.
Huang Yanchen's progress was indeed remarkable. Perhaps because she had fully refined the dragon blood, when she fully activated her true qi, golden light emerged from her body, coalescing into the shadow of a golden dragon.
"Roar!"
A clear dragon roar erupted from within her, forming a powerful aura.
In an instant, she leaped three steps in a row, reaching the forty-second step and arriving behind Xue Yingrou.
Xue Yingrou was clearly startled. Feeling the immense aura behind her, she immediately turned around and saw an icy beauty with long blue hair standing there.
"Roar!"
Another dragon roar.
The blue-haired beauty extended a hand, her palm glowing with golden light, forming a dragon claw that grabbed toward Xue Yingrou's shoulder.
"Who are you? What are you doing?" Xue Yingrou exclaimed in alarm.
Xue Yingrou was also a powerful proud daughter of heaven with quick reflexes. She immediately sidestepped, twisting her slender waist to dodge Huang Yanchen's attack.
"Divine Dragon Moves Mountains."
Huang Yanchen pursued her, striking out with both palms. One hand grabbed Xue Yingrou's waist, the other her neck, like two dragon claws. She pushed downward, sending Xue Yingrou tumbling off the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase.
"Thump, thump!"
Xue Yingrou, a stunning beauty, rolled down the staircase in a sorry state.
In every Holy Academy examination, there were bound to be many geniuses fighting on the Pilgrimage Heavenly Staircase, and everyone was mentally prepared for it.
But no one expected that two beautiful women would be the first to start a fight, and it was so brutal. One was sent flying, losing all face and dignity. It couldn't have been more miserable!