"Very good." Elder Bai nodded in approval. The young man's skill was impressive; his lightness art alone was worthy of admiration.
"Ha! Old Bai, holding examinations again today?" A hearty voice boomed out. A burly man under twenty-five sprinted up the mountain, followed by several companions whose cultivation auras were formidable.
This time, Elder Bai cast aside his cold sternness toward the true disciples. A faint smile tugged at his wrinkled face, yet from years of rarely smiling, it looked more wretched than a sob.
"Ah, it's Zhu Jin and his men. What took you so long to return? Have you completed your mission?" Elder Bai asked with a gentle smile.
In the blink of an eye, the group soared through the air and landed lightly on the edge of the opposite platform, gazing toward them from afar.
Zhu Jin laughed loudly. "We ran into a slight hitch mid-mission. A minor conflict with the wandering jianghu swordsman Zhao Xingfeng, the Whirlwind Lad. We slew him in the end."
Murmurs broke out among the candidates below.
"Zhao Xingfeng? He's a famous name in the jianghu! His cultivation reaches the Fourth Layer of True Essence, and his power is overwhelming. Most notably, his lightness skill is unrivaled. It's said he was once surrounded by three Fourth Layer experts—and defeated them all.
Even a peak Fifth Layer True Essence warrior could not keep up with his speed. That warrior chased him relentlessly, yet every time, Zhao vanished within half an hour. In the end, he gave up the hunt entirely."
"That's nothing. Senior Brother Zhu Jin ranks among the top hundred of our Misty Sect. How could he not overcome Zhao Xingfeng? Rumor has it he's reached the mid-stage of the Fourth Layer of True Essence, immensely powerful. The Raindrift Peak has invited him to join numerous times, but he refused every time!"
"Naturally. Senior Brother Zhu Jin holds the title of Boulder-Shattering Hand in the jianghu. A single palm can reduce stone to powder. He ranks eighty-third among inner-sect disciples!"
"A wandering swordsman can never compare to a sect disciple—unless he takes a Spirit Fusion expert as his master. Otherwise, his potential is limited."
Elder Bai looked astonished. "The Whirlwind Lad? It seems your strength has grown tremendously—far more so than when you took the inner-sect examination."
"Haha, of course! To celebrate our victory, I'm treating everyone to a feast at the foot of the mountain. What do you say, Old Bai? Care to join?" Zhu Jin grinned, casting a teasing glance. "You lost to me in drinking last time! Dare you face me again?"
"You rascal! Who says I lost to a boy like you? Wait until I'm finished here, and we'll go!" Elder Bai snapped, glaring at Zhu Jin in mock anger.
Zhu Jin sighed as he looked over the examinees. "Sigh. I wonder how many of these young ones will pass. And how many will be snapped up by the five peaks. What a pity—they'll lose the bold spirit of a true warrior. Kindred spirits grow fewer and fewer."
Elder Bai also sighed, gazing at the candidates below. "Is it not the same for all of us? But if the five peaks do not compete in this way, their power will only fade. None of them will stand for that."
"Enough, enough, Old Bai. Hurry up with the test, or it'll grow late!" Zhu Jin urged.
Gao Han mused silently. It seemed tensions ran high between inner-sect disciples unaffiliated with the five peaks, and those who served the peaks as true disciples.
"Very well. Liang Qing, continue." Elder Bai declared.
One hundred and eighty meters posed no challenge for Liang Qing. His body transformed into a swirling gust of wind, gliding smoothly to the opposite platform.
"Hmm. Not bad." Zhu Jin nodded, clearly impressed by Liang Qing's lightness skill. "His art is nearly half as swift as Zhao Xingfeng's."
Liang Qing acknowledged the praise with a faint nod, his expression unchanged.
"Sigh." At the sight of Liang Qing's composure, Zhu Jin knew the young man intended to join one of the five peaks. He could not help but feel a twinge of regret.
Elder Bai noticed this too, and though he felt a similar regret, he did not disparage the youth. "Excellent. Liang Qing, you have passed."
Below, two candidates groaned in despair. "Sigh! What are we going to do? This is impossible!"
"I know! I never expected a lightness skill trial. I only cultivated a low-tier Mortal Rank art, and I've barely mastered the second form. Two leaps carry me barely a hundred and fifty meters—how will I cross the last twenty?"
"You're better off than me. I never learned any lightness art at all. My true essence can only carry me less than a hundred meters. I'm doomed."
"Next candidate: Lin Lin!"
Lin Lin's lightness art was uniquely elegant. When activated, she fluttered like a butterfly dancing on the breeze, or a withered leaf drifting toward the platform.
Without hesitation, she glided toward the opposite platform, graceful as a crimson maple leaf.
Gao Han raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Aerial Grace Art. Few choose this technique. It is ill-suited for combat, has limited range, and serves only as a display of beauty."
Halfway across, her body began to descend. Though the fall was slow, at this rate, she would never reach the platform.
Elder Bai sighed softly. "She falls short, after all. Aerial Grace is the least practical of lightness arts. It seems she shall be eliminated."
Even Gao Han thought the girl would fail. Yet in a bizarre twist, her body seemed caught by an invisible wind, drifting onward toward the platform with a slight upward lift.
Gasps erupted from the onlookers. Zhu Jin, the Boulder-Shattering Hand, looked on with quiet admiration. "This is the Azure Wind Art—a rare wind-element technique. I never imagined she would choose this path, and wield it with such ingenuity."
Elder Bai nodded gently. Barring any accidents, Lin Lin would surely pass.
As expected, Lin Lin cleared the trial. Though she took longer than most, no rule dictated a time limit.
The next two candidates were the ones who had lamented their fate moments before. The young man with the Three-Step Leap fell mid-jump, just as he had feared.
Splash!
He plunged into the water, soaked to the bone.
The following candidate fared even worse—despite being a Second Layer True Essence cultivator, he had never learned any lightness art. He plummeted to the ground after barely eighty meters.
Climbing back to shore, his face burned with shame. He glanced repeatedly at Gao Han and the others, silently hoping they too would fail, if only to save his pride.
"Ha!"
An Ruoxuan shot forward like a sharp arrow, barely reaching the edge of the platform, his heels hanging over the side.
So far, four candidates had passed the lightness skill trial. The remaining Second Layer True Essence cultivator did not disappoint, clearing the gap with ease.
All eyes now turned to Gao Han, curious to see how the most powerful candidate present would complete the trial.
Zhu Jin smiled faintly. "I see a Third Layer True Essence cultivator among this group—and only sixteen or seventeen years old. I wonder which peak such a prodigy will choose."
Before anyone could speculate further, Gao Han's figure blurred into a shadow, vanishing from the spot. In an instant, he stood atop the platform, having unleashed his Floating Light and Gliding Shadow art.
The crowd stared in stunned disbelief. But the shock was far from over.
Once on the platform, Gao Han paid no mind to its width. He pushed off with his legs, and the stone surface cracked open beneath him. A shockwave of compressed air burst outward in all directions, and the recoil launched Gao Han toward the opposite platform like a projectile.