However, the people down below did not notice that Su Wan'er was holding a talisman tightly hidden in her palm.
This talisman could alter the spiritual pearl's sensing capability, artificially inflating her talent grade.
The officiating elder nearby naturally saw it, but he did not expose her. He had already received orders from Luoyun to ensure Su Wan'er passed by any means necessary.
Soon, points of light flickered within the spiritual pearl, and a full seven of them lit up!
"Seven! She actually has grade-seven talent!"
"Good heavens! Who is this person? She actually has grade-seven talent!"
Exclamations broke out among the crowd as everyone stared at Su Wan'er in shock.
Su Wan'er quickly put the talisman away, her face beaming with triumph when she saw everyone looking at her with looks of surprise and admiration.
So this was what it felt like to be regarded as a genius.
She proudly cast a glance at Fang Chen, hoping to catch a glimpse of shock or remorse in his eyes.
To her annoyance, however, Fang Chen's expression remained completely calm, and he didn't even spare her a second glance.
"Hmph! Let's see how long you can act so cocky! It'll be hilarious when your test reveals you only have grade-one talent."
She smiled sinisterly, well aware of the methods Luoyun had prepared to deal with Fang Chen.
After several hundred more people, it was finally Luo Ao's turn.
Before stepping onto the stage, Luo Ao coldly swept his gaze toward Fang Chen. "Trash, let me show you what true talent really is."
With that, he walked up the high stage, pressed both hands against the spiritual pearl, and channeled his spiritual energy.
Instantly, points of light rapidly lit up!
One point of light! Two... Seven! Eight!
Eight points of light! A full eight of them!
"My god! Am I seeing things?"
"Grade-eight talent! As expected of Luo Ao! He is an absolute monster!"
"The Luo family is truly terrifying! First they produced a Luoyun, and now a Luo Ao! They are destined to rise to power!"
The crowd gasped in continuous amazement, and quite a few female disciples looked at Luo Ao with worshipful, adoring eyes.
Luo Ao was extremely satisfied with this result. He held his head high and glanced contemptuously at Fang Chen, as if looking down at an ant.
Walking past Fang Chen after stepping down from the stage, Luo Ao said arrogantly, "Did you see that? That is the gap between us."
"Is that so?" The corners of Fang Chen's mouth curved up slightly. "Then let's wait and see."
The number of people gradually dwindled until the very last person came up for testing.
Just as the elder was about to call out the name, the officiating elder approached the spiritual pearl as if to inspect its spiritual resonance.
Yet no one noticed that he held a purplish-black piece of jade in his hand, which melted into the pearl the moment it touched it.
The spiritual pearl instantly dimmed a fraction, but no one noticed this subtle detail, nor could anyone have imagined that the officiating elder would tamper with it.
At that moment, another elder called out the final person: "Number five thousand three hundred and twenty-one, step forward."
Fang Chen slowly walked out from the crowd, drawing the attention of countless people.
"Overestimating oneself," Luo Ao sneered.
"I can't wait to watch you make a fool of yourself," Su Wan'er nearby sneered relentlessly.
"He crippled his own cultivation and yet still has the nerve to come. Does he really think he still has his old talent?"
"Crippling oneself leaves massive hidden vulnerabilities in the body. I doubt he'll even reach grade-three."
"I'd guess grade-one."
Many people below laughed among themselves.
"Let me see just what kind of talent you have." Only Meng Yao's seductive eyes were filled with anticipation.
Ignoring their remarks, Fang Chen walked up to the spiritual pearl.
He slowly placed his hand on the pearl and poured his spiritual energy into it.
Yet after waiting for a moment, the spiritual pearl showed no reaction whatsoever.
Seeing this, everyone below burst out laughing.
"Does he not even have grade-one?"
"Utter trash among trash!"
"What a fool, crippling his own cultivation and still having the nerve to show up. Absolutely shameless."
"Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter."
Jeers rang out continuously from the crowd.
The officiating elder sneered inwardly: "The Underworld-Sinking Stone reduces the Sky-Testing Pearl's spiritual resonance tenfold. No matter how good your talent is, you'll never rank above grade-one."
Up in the pavilion, Luoyun looked down at Fang Chen with a sneer. "This is the price of offending me!"
Further away, Lin Xueyan also shook her head. She knew Fang Chen was utterly useless, but she had never expected him to be this pathetic, failing to reach even grade-one.
At the same time, her resolve never to let Fang Chen drag Meng Yao down grew even firmer!
Yet their laughter abruptly cut short.
For the spiritual pearl suddenly burst with blinding light! Followed by a loud bang, it shattered into dust!
Silence. Absolute silence fell over the entire plaza.
Stunned, the crowd stared at the scene, completely at a loss.
"What just happened? Why did the spiritual pearl explode?"
"I have no idea. I just saw a flash of light, and then it blew up."
"So does this mean Fang Chen passed or not?"
After recovering from their shock, the crowd began to buzz with discussion.
Only Fang Chen remained calm, showing no surprise whatsoever.
The current him was no longer the person he used to be—he possessed the Sword Demon Physique, the Heavenly Dao Demonic Bone, the Soul Heaven Demonic Eye, and the Sword Demon Bloodline.
Any single one of these traits manifesting in a person would exceed the pearl's maximum limit of a grade-nine talent. With all of them combined in Fang Chen, what did it matter if its sensitivity was reduced tenfold? It was bound to explode anyway.
Fang Chen's talent was simply beyond the comprehension of anyone present.
Meng Yao blinked her alluring eyes; this outcome far exceeded her expectations.
The officiating elder stared blankly at the scene, utterly bewildered.
Then his expression turned cold as he flatly declared, "The spiritual pearl has shattered, which means you failed the assessment. Eliminated."
As soon as these words fell, the crowd erupted into an even greater uproar.
"Does that count as failing?"
"How can an explosion count as passing?"
"Could it be that it exploded because his talent was simply too high?"
"What are you dreaming about? How could something like that ever happen?"
People argued heatedly below. Some felt Fang Chen should pass, while others believed he ought to be eliminated.
Up in the pavilion, Luoyun was somewhat surprised by the result, but hearing the officiating elder's verdict left him extremely satisfied.
Even if the pearl shattered, as long as Fang Chen was eliminated, that was all that mattered.
"Wait!"
Just then, Meng Yao spoke up.
Chapter 17: The Stairway to Heaven
Meng Yao's voice instantly drew everyone's attention.
She stated, "Officiating Elder, the spiritual pearl failed to measure his talent. On what grounds do you declare him eliminated?"
"This!"
The officiating elder hadn't expected Meng Yao to speak up for Fang Chen.
"Indeed, I think it should count as a pass. Perhaps it shattered because his talent was too astonishing."
"Yes, exactly."
Other elders chimed in immediately.
With Meng Yao's extraordinary status, they naturally knew whose side to take.
Seeing this, the officiating elder realized it would be impossible to eliminate Fang Chen this way. He changed his tune: "In that case, I happen to have a backup spiritual pearl here. Let this disciple test again."
Meng Yao cast a cold glance at him. "Since you had a backup, why didn't you bring it out earlier instead of immediately declaring him eliminated?"
Cold sweat beaded on the officiating elder's forehead as he scrambled for an excuse: "It simply slipped my mind for a moment."
With that, he produced another spiritual pearl—though this one had also been laced with the Underworld-Sinking Stone.
"Try again," the officiating elder said coldly to Fang Chen.
Fang Chen glanced at him, realizing without a doubt that this man was one of Luoyun's lackeys.
He sneered inwardly and once again placed his hand on the spiritual pearl.
Bang!
Yet the pearl shattered into fragments just like before!
Silence blanketed the plaza once again. What on earth was going on?
"As I thought."
Meng Yao murmured inwardly. No one noticed the golden light flashing in her eyes as she captured the entire scene of the pearl's explosion!
She had clearly seen that the moment Fang Chen touched it, the entire pearl was flooded with points of light! It burst simply because the reaction was far too overwhelming!
In other words, Fang Chen's talent had exceeded the pearl's absolute limit—surpassing grade-nine.
Her alluring eyes blinked as she looked at Fang Chen with growing curiosity.
"This man is getting more and more interesting," she thought to herself, her fascination with Fang Chen deepening.
The officiating elder was dumbfounded to see the second pearl explode as well.
"I don't believe it!"
He produced yet another spiritual pearl, this time stuffing it with a full ten pieces of Underworld-Sinking Stone.
Bang!
Yet the pearl exploded all the same!
By now, the officiating elder was at his wit's end, having completely run out of spiritual pearls.
Seeing this, Meng Yao said indifferently, "Why aren't you continuing?"
The officiating elder could only reply awkwardly, "We've run out of spiritual pearls."
Upon hearing this, Meng Yao declared, "Since that's the case, let him pass directly. If he truly is useless, he certainly won't make it past the second trial."
"Yes, yes."
"I completely agree with Junior Sister Meng."
The other elders quickly followed suit.
Realizing he could no longer argue and that eliminating Fang Chen in the first round was impossible, the officiating elder gritted his teeth and finally announced that Fang Chen had passed the assessment as well.
"That guy's luck is just ridiculous. He actually passed."
"Seriously! Why didn't the pearl explode when it was my turn?"
"Hmph, so what if he got lucky? He's bound to be eliminated in the second trial!"
The crowd looked at Fang Chen with envy, especially those who had already failed, burning with resentment.
Luo Ao wore a gloomy expression, though his face still held utter disdain. "Just a lucky bastard. He'll never make it through the second trial."
"Exactly!" Si Chengye nodded repeatedly.
Su Wan'er's expression was equally unsightly. Earlier, she had sworn up and down that Fang Chen wouldn't even pass the first round, yet here he was, through.
"Trash, so what if you passed the first round? Brother Luo has more than just one trick up his sleeve!"
A moment later, however, her expression twisted into a sneer, confident victory written all over her face.
Luoyun hadn't expected Fang Chen to pass just like that, and his face darkened slightly.
Still, he sneered to himself: "In the second trial, I won't let you take a single step forward!"
The second trial was not held here. Led by the officiating elder, the crowd was brought to another peak belonging to the Wuzi Peak range.
Here lay a long white jade stairway consisting of a thousand steps.
It was a creation built at enormous cost by the sect's master array makers and artifact refiners.
Once you stepped onto it, you would experience a suppressing force pressing down from the outside in. Those with weak willpower wouldn't even be able to ascend ten steps!
The officiating elder introduced it: "This is the Stairway to Heaven, the second trial of this assessment. Passing is quite simple: you do not need to climb all thousand steps, just one hundred. A word of warning to you all: know your limits. If you force your ascent, you will suffer a backlash, and in severe cases, it could cost you your life."
When he uttered the word "life," he intentionally or unintentionally glanced at Fang Chen.
He produced a token—the very instrument used to control the Stairway to Heaven.
As the token flashed with light, the Stairway to Heaven emitted a faint glow, officially opening.
"Go on! What are you waiting for?!"
One disciple rushed onto the stairway first!
The moment he took a single step, a terrifying suppressing force crashed down upon him!
His posture instantly dropped by half! But since it was only the first step, he managed to endure it. Once he fully adapted to the pressure, he continued his ascent.
Seeing this, the others rushed toward the stairway and began climbing.
Over three thousand people had passed the first trial, but the stairway was wide enough that climbing together did not feel overly crowded.
Luo Ao approached Fang Chen, gazing at him mockingly. "Bastard, let's see if you can even manage a single step."
Beside him, Su Wan'er also sneered, "In this trial, you'll learn what true despair feels like!"
Fang Chen frowned slightly as he watched the two of them head toward the stairway. Having these dogs barking at his heels constantly was getting irritating.
Once Luo Ao stepped onto the stairway, it looked as if he were walking on flat ground!
He easily made his way upward, casually reaching the nineteenth step before his pace finally began to slow.
What was even more astonishing was that Su Wan'er right beside him experienced the exact same thing, closely trailing behind Luo Ao!
Ling Fan frowned slightly at the sight. Luo Ao managing this didn't surprise him, as he was considered a true genius.
However, he knew Su Wan'er's capabilities very well; both in talent and diligence, she was thoroughly mediocre and had no business being this relaxed.
He glanced at the officiating elder holding the token by the stairway, and understanding dawned on him instantly.
The elder must have been manipulating the individual pressures on the stairway, easing the burden for Su Wan'er so she could ascend so effortlessly.
Fang Chen's suspicion was correct. Not only Su Wan'er, but Luo Ao as well, was receiving special treatment.
While Luo Ao's pressure had been reduced by just ten percent, Su Wan'er's pressure had been slashed by a staggering ninety percent.
No matter how useless Su Wan'er was, with ninety percent of the pressure removed, following closely behind Luo Ao was child's play.
Seeing that most people had already begun climbing, Fang Chen stopped waiting and stepped onto the Stairway to Heaven.
Yet he did not notice the officiating elder glaring directly at him.
The moment he planted his foot on the first step! A terrifying wave of suppression crashed down upon Fang Chen! It felt as heavy as Mount Tai!
The officiating elder sneered inwardly: "Your suppression is a full ten times greater than anyone else's. Even an early Houtian Realm cultivator would struggle to resist it. Let's see how you plan to get through this trial!"
Fang Chen frowned slightly. This pressure felt deeply wrong. Had his body not been remade by the Sword Demon's blood and tempered through those inhuman tortures, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it either.
He cast an icy gaze at the officiating elder, who returned it with a mocking look.
Fang Chen was certain the man was behind this.
Ahead of them, Luo Ao and Su Wan'er sneered mockingly when they saw Fang Chen stop dead on the first step, unable to move.
"You want to fight us? Destroying you is effortless."
Yet the gloating expressions on their faces instantly froze.
Chapter 18: What Can Twenty Times Do?!
To their shock, after lingering on the first step for two breaths, Fang Chen strode directly onto the second step, then the third, and the fourth!
It was as if the tenfold suppressing force couldn't cause him any harm at all!
They had no idea what Fang Chen had endured over the past five years; the lingering trauma of his crippled dantian had tortured him relentlessly.
The hardest part had been the terror of the future, the helplessness, seeing no path forward. That crushing sense of
uncertainty was enough to break a person's mind.
To fall instantly from the peak of a prodigy down into the abyss of a living hell.
Not everyone could survive such a trial.
Coupled with the agony of having his bones dug out, Su Wan'er's betrayal, and the agonizing process of the Sword Demon's blood transforming his body.
Fang Chen's willpower wasn't just forged by the Sword Demon's blood; his inner resilience was already immense. Otherwise, how could he have survived the very first infusion of the Sword Demon's blood?
So what if the pressure he bore was ten times greater than others?
Even twenty times! Thirty times! Fang Chen could withstand it all!
Clack, clack, clack!
Step by step, Fang Chen forged upward!
Ten steps!
Twenty steps!
Thirty steps!
Fifty steps!
Gradually, he actually caught up to the leading group of three!
Although his pace began to slow as he climbed higher, his gaze remained unyielding and steadfast.
Compared to Fang Chen, Su Wan'er—who was only bearing ten percent of the normal pressure—was already sweating profusely.
That's right, even with just ten percent of the load, she was struggling with every step!
Watching Fang Chen relentlessly close the distance from behind, a ferocious and disbelieving look crossed her face.
"Impossible! How could this trash be so strong? He clearly—"
Luo Ao also stared at Fang Chen with a grave expression, a hint of doubt in his heart: "Could it be that the officiating elder failed to give him the tenfold pressure?"
The officiating elder was equally dumbfounded. He could clearly feel that Fang Chen was indeed under tenfold pressure.
Yet Fang Chen was moving at such speed! He was practically catching up to the frontrunners!
"I don't believe this!"
With a dark expression, the officiating elder flicked the token in his hand!
Instantly, the pressure weighing on Fang Chen spiked to a full twenty times!
Fang Chen's body dipped slightly, but his gaze remained resolute! The Sword Demon Physique erupted! The Soul Heaven Demonic Eye activated!
He straightened his back once more and marched forward!
"Impossible! What is wrong with this guy?!"
No longer able to conceal his shock, the officiating elder stared wide-eyed at the spectacle!
"I refuse to accept this!"
Gritting his teeth, he intensified the suppression even further!
Thirty times!
Forty times!
Fifty times!
At fifty times the pressure, Fang Chen finally could not take another step forward! He dropped to one knee on the seventy-eighth step!
The officiating elder felt a surge of triumph, but his expression twisted the next second!
He had forgotten! Once the pressure of the Stairway to Heaven reached fifty times, it would materialize into a physical force!
The next moment, everyone saw visible currents of oppressive force manifesting around Fang Chen! They pinned him down relentlessly, making every movement an agonizing struggle!
Meng Yao had been watching Fang Chen the entire time. At first, she had truly believed willpower was his weak point.
However, when she noticed his body suddenly dipping downward at times, as if a crushing weight had been slammed onto him out of nowhere, she sensed something was amiss!
Seeing the materialized crushing force wrapping around Fang Chen now, she immediately understood that the officiating elder must have meddled!
Physicalized pressure only manifested at fifty times the baseline.
Even a Houtian Realm cultivator would struggle to endure such terrifying pressure!
Fury surged across her alluring face as she locked an icy gaze on the officiating elder: "Officiating Elder, what is the meaning of this?!"
"This!"
Meeting Meng Yao's icy glare, the officiating elder was at a loss for words.
The rest of the crowd also noticed the anomaly—the pressure weighing on Fang Chen was vastly greater than anyone else's!
Yet despite that, Fang Chen was still clawing his way upward! Just how terrifying did one's willpower have to be to pull off something like that?!
"This..."
Cold sweat poured down the officiating elder's face as he stammered, unable to offer an explanation.
"Junior Sister Meng, why bother getting upset?"
Just then, Luoyun walked over.
His appearance immediately drew gasps of admiration from many disciples.
"It's Senior Brother Luoyun!"
"Good heavens! He's so handsome!"
"Senior Brother Luoyun!"
Luoyun held quite a prominent reputation in the Tianyu Divine Sect—not only because of his talent, but also because he was the eldest young master of the Luo family.
Meng Yao naturally recognized Luoyun, but her expression remained ice-cold. "What? Did you order him to do this?"
Luoyun maintained his smile. "Naturally not, though I happen to know why the officiating elder acted this way."
Meng Yao's gaze remained frigid. "Go on."
With a smile, Luoyun said, "Perhaps Junior Sister Meng does not know, but this Fang Chen is an utterly debauched and licentious person."