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The person was dressed in white, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist, and his speed was extremely fast. As he passed by, he didn't forget to let out a mocking sneer. Li Guanqi frowned slightly. He didn't think the other person was in the Body Refinement Realm, so why was his speed so fast? But then, Li Guanqi saw two clear wind talismans stuck to the bottom of the young man's feet! Li Guanqi shook his head and began to adjust his breathing and stride. He didn't know how many steps were left, and he wanted to conserve his strength as much as possible.
When he reached the thousand-step staircase, the stairs, which were more than ten zhang wide, were now filled with people, leaving only a two-foot-wide path in the middle for people to climb. When someone in front slowed down, the people behind had no choice but to wait. The young men and women resting on the steps all looked at the people passing by with playful expressions. Some even had unconcealed smiles on their faces. It seemed these people were also enticed by others' words, which was why they sat so densely, leaving only a small path that restricted people's speed. Li Guanqi couldn't help but let out a cold sneer when he saw this scene.
"It's really true that if you've been rained on yourself, you want to tear up others' umbrellas!" "Hmph!" Li Guanqi's mind's eye scanned his surroundings, his gaze sharp. He saw the white jade handrail beside the stairs, and on the other side of the handrail was a thousand-foot cliff!
However, Li Guanqi suddenly pushed hard with his feet, his body instantly soaring a zhang high. As he leaped almost two zhang, he immediately stepped on a young man's shoulder and leaped again!
"Wow!! How can that person jump so far?" "Is he crazy?! What does he want to do? There's a cliff down there!" This horrifying action immediately drew gasps of surprise from the crowd.
Thump-thump! Li Guanqi instantly landed on the handrail, his body low, like a leopard choosing its prey, and swiftly sped upwards. However, the young man's action drew continuous screams from the crowd, yet no one dared to imitate him. One must know that on the other side of the handrail was a thousand-foot cliff! If one didn't stand firm, falling would mean being shattered to pieces, and there was no hope of the Great Xia Sword Sect sending disciples to save you.
However, Li Guanqi was not the only one with bold skill. This blocked staircase had hundreds of steps. If one went slowly, others would have already reached the top. Among this group, there were many descendants of great clans, who had honed their physiques since childhood and had also entered the Body Refinement Realm. Some used their arms to powerfully climb onto the side walls of the stairs, their bodies like apes, swiftly passing through the crowd with the help of withered vines. Others forcibly stepped on others' shoulders to cross the crowded mass of people. For a while, the crowd immediately resorted to various methods, all rushing towards the peak.
"Hoo... ha..." At this moment, Li Guanqi had already reached over two thousand steps, and his forward speed had not slowed down much. The cloth straps of his sword coffin had left two long bloody marks on his shoulders. Sweat blurred the young man's eyes. At this point, only a handful of people could keep up with him.
When Li Guanqi, panting heavily, stepped onto the last step, the spiritual talisman on his chest stopped burning. Li Guanqi put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. At this moment, a burly young man came beside him and was about to reach out and pat his shoulder. However, Li Guanqi sensed it and flashed to dodge. The young man was slightly surprised. He retracted his hand and gave a thumbs up, praising him. "Good heavens, brother, your physique is truly impressive!" Li Guanqi turned to look at the dark-skinned young man and chuckled, "Brother, you flatter me; you're not bad either."
The young man laughed heartily, scratching his head. "I chased you all the way and couldn't catch up. Even I broke a sweat when I passed through the crowd on the handrail. You're really brave!" "Oh, right, let's get acquainted. My name is Lin Dong."
Looking at the young man's outstretched hand, Li Guanqi was slightly startled. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and softly said, "Blind, Li Guanqi." Lin Dong was slightly surprised, then looked at the cloth strips over Li Guanqi's eyes and grinned. "They all call me Dongzi. You can call me that too from now on." "Let's go. It should be almost over."
Li Guanqi had a good impression of this casually familiar young man. The two walked side-by-side towards the plaza. At this moment, Li Guanqi looked up and scanned his surroundings. He found that this plaza platform was probably more than two thousand zhang in circumference. Behind the plaza were another hundred or so steps, and above that was a huge empty space formed by two mountain peaks. Above, the four characters 'Great Xia Sword Sect' were carved in flamboyant strokes. Around them, dozens of sword qi of various colors crisscrossed.
Lin Dong whispered to Li Guanqi, recounting the details of each peak of the Great Xia Sword Sect. Hearing what Lin Dong said, Li Guanqi couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Are you very familiar with the Great Xia Sword Sect?" Lin Dong's face showed a simple smile. He scratched his head and replied, "I've been practicing martial arts at the foot of the mountain since I was five. Entering the Great Xia Sword Sect is my lifelong dream, so of course, I'm very familiar with it." "If I can luckily form a foundation, ride a sword to fly, slay demons and eliminate evil, how joyful that would be!"
Just as the two were talking, a chubby young man in a golden robe finally struggled to climb the stairs. His clothes were soaked with sweat, and his face was flushed. He lay on the ground, panting heavily. The spiritual talisman on his chest was only the size of a fingernail. The chubby young man carefully cradled the tiny piece of yellow talisman paper, tears streaming down his face. After a while, the chubby young man struggled to his feet. He saw Li Guanqi and Lin Dong approaching him with smiles. As he walked, the chubby young man bowed and said with a flattering smile, "Hello, two brothers. I am Li Shengan. I secretly hid a few drumsticks; would you like to eat together?"
Originally, Li Guanqi wanted to refuse. After all, it wasn't good to eat someone's food when they didn't even know each other. But just as he was about to refuse, his stomach couldn't resist the tempting aroma and rumbled. Li Shengan's small eyes narrowed even further with laughter as he directly shoved the drumsticks from his bosom into their hands. Li Guanqi found that the drumsticks were actually still warm, and he heard Li Shengan say, "I put them in my bosom. Don't worry, they're wrapped in oiled paper, absolutely no sweaty smell." Lin Dong also laughed heartily at this and unceremoniously began to gnaw on one. "My name is Lin Dong, and this brother is Li Guanqi." "Don't even mention it... climbing these steps is exhausting. I'm really hungry." Li Shengan took over the conversation and complained, "Yeah... I didn't hear anything about climbing stairs last year. People just paid some silver and were carried up." Li Guanqi merely smiled and said nothing. He didn't believe the Great Xia Sword Sect would bother with such a display for no reason.
Indeed! Just as the three of them finished gnawing on the drumsticks, two young disciples, dressed in white sect robes, flew out from the Heavenly Gate, riding their swords! Their figures, flying with hands behind their backs, completely stunned everyone! At this moment, there were nearly three thousand people standing in the plaza. Everyone held their breath when they saw this scene. Their eyes burned with fervent gazes at the two ethereal figures.
One man, one woman. The man was handsome, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, and a resolute face. The woman had a cold temperament, with skin like congealed cream. She had an oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and slightly thin lips. What a peerless beauty! Even Li Guanqi, who had always been unperturbed, looked at this scene through his mind's eye, his emotions surging. He fantasized that perhaps one day he too could walk on a sword, soaring between heaven and earth!
Li Shengan murmured when he saw the two of them. "Good heavens, is it Senior Brother Zhou Zhi from the Heavenly Gold Peak's outer sect, and Senior Sister Jiang Su, personally here to guide us?" Li Guanqi's ears twitched. He memorized both of their names and identities. Based on his observations, he always felt that Li Shengan didn't seem to come from an ordinary commoner family.
The man and woman gracefully landed. Everyone's gaze focused on the two of them. At this moment, only a handful of people had made it up the stairs. Zhou Zhi scanned his surroundings expressionlessly, then with a wave of his hand, a massive ancient bell thudded onto the stone slab. Then the man struck the ancient bell and said in a deep voice, "Time's up! Those who haven't made it up the stairs can go back!" His voice, mixed with spiritual power, carried far, and immediately countless people began to complain!
However, the man turned a deaf ear to this. He threw out a jade slip, and the thousands of steps actually vanished into thin air before everyone's eyes! The originally real staircase beneath them had now turned into a thousand-foot cliff! The plaza where everyone was standing was actually floating in mid-air. Then, mysterious glowing runes suddenly lit up in the center of the plaza. Finally, they coalesced into the form of a teleportation array, shimmering.
Jiang Su's cold voice slowly sounded: "Those whose spiritual talismans are completely burned, please step forward." As soon as these words were uttered, a commotion immediately erupted in the crowd. Jiang Su exuded an invisible pressure. The clamor disappeared, and many people walked out dejectedly, their heads lowered. "Those who didn't make it up the mountain within the designated time, please enter the array." Li Guanqi looked at Li Shengan, who was carefully cradling a fingernail-sized yellow talisman, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Your luck is really good, just barely made it." Li Shengan stared intently at the yellow talisman paper in his hand, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, "God knows how hard I worked!" Lin Dong looked at the chubby young man in confusion and said, "Brother, you don't seem like someone short of money. Why didn't you get some talismans or something?" But who knew, Li Shengan just sneered and said, "It's not that simple... you'll see."
Indeed! Zhou Zhi slowly rose into the air, his eyes sharp, and he said in a deep voice, "Those who resort to trickery, the Great Xia Sword Sect does not want them. Whoever wants to take them, take them!" As soon as these words were uttered, many people immediately lowered their heads, looking around.
Hmph! A cold snort was like a huge rock pressing down on everyone's hearts. Then Zhou Zhi waved his hand and threw out several transparent crystal balls. Inside were the figures of many who had used talismans while climbing the stairs. There were also those who had directly consumed special powders, and so on. Without exception, these people were also stripped of their qualifications.
One burly young man, unconvinced, strode forward a few steps and looked at Zhou Zhi, shouting loudly. "I merely consumed some blood-activating powder that benefits qi and blood. I'm already at the peak of Body Refinement, why should my qualifications be stripped?!" Zhou Zhi suddenly turned to look at the man, his eyes narrowed as he said in a deep voice, "Are you... asking me for an explanation?" The young man stiffened his neck and said defiantly, "Yes! Not only am I at the peak of Body Refinement, my father long ago had someone test my spiritual roots." "I have a genuine spiritual root of both wood and fire! Why should I be like a bunch of useless people?!"
A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Zhou Zhi's mouth. He descended from mid-air and walked directly towards the speaker! Zhou Zhi, a head taller than the other person, looked down into his eyes and sneered. "You think your wood and fire spiritual root talent is very high, and you look down on others, do you?" The young man, facing Zhou Zhi's gaze, felt a powerful pressure, his face flushed. But he still said, "That's right! Why?!"
Zhou Zhi turned and looked around, softly asking, "Are some of you thinking the same?" Seeing that no one dared to speak, Zhou Zhi scoffed. "You're even less courageous than him!" "What's your name?" The young man looked up at Zhou Zhi, his emotions much calmer, and said in a deep voice, "Luo Hu!" Zhou Zhi flew back, stood in the air, and looked at the crowd, saying in a deep voice, "Those who resort to trickery, the Great Xia Sword Sect doesn't want them. Whoever wants to take them, take them!"
Luo Hu's face immediately darkened, and anger surged in his heart. He felt that Zhou Zhi was targeting him! At this moment, Luo Hu happened to see Li Guanqi and his two companions. He immediately unleashed his anger on Li Guanqi, pointing at him and roaring, "The Great Xia Sword Sect even accepts a blind man! This already declining sect is better off not joining!" Hearing this, Zhou Zhi's face instantly turned incredibly grim. Facing the three thousand-plus disciples who wished to join the sect, he said in a deep voice, "The Great Xia Sword Sect recruits disciples based on three things: first, character; second, perseverance; and third, talent!" "You're not convinced, are you? Show me your spiritual talisman!"
Luo Hu took out the spiritual talisman from his bosom and threw it towards Zhou Zhi. Seeing the talisman, which still had a quarter left, the crowd couldn't help but exclaim in surprise! Because most of those who reached the top only had about a tenth of their talismans left. Luo Hu looked at Zhou Zhi with an arrogant expression, as if to say, it's your loss if the Great Xia Sword Sect doesn't accept me. However, Zhou Zhi walked directly to Li Guanqi's side and said softly, "May I see your spiritual talisman?" Li Guanqi rubbed his nose. He hadn't expected this to affect him. Then, he took out the remaining spiritual talisman from his bosom and handed it to Zhou Zhi.
Luo Hu, who had been watching the two, saw the folded spiritual talisman and couldn't help but say, "I thought it was something else! It's just like mine, a quarter left!" "This only shows that his strength is not bad, so what?" But who knew, Zhou Zhi slowly unfolded the spiritual talisman under the shocked gazes of the crowd. A quarter! But... Li Guanqi's spiritual talisman had only burned a quarter, and a large portion was still left!! The folded talisman had looked like a small piece before it was unfolded.
Zhou Zhi was clearly a bit surprised himself... He looked at Luo Hu with an indifferent gaze and said, "You weren't convinced before, how about now?" "No more nonsense! Get lost!"