The disciples in front quickly finished their turn and only two were left - Li Qiye and Gong Qianyue.
The fourth trial eliminated numerous disciples. Only a hundred or so managed to make it up to sixty steps, the majority of whom being older disciples. First-time attempters were nearly non-existent. Some were sad and became dispirited after losing. However, they told themselves that this wasn’t their last examination.
On the other hand, for those like Huang Ning, this might actually be their last chance. They have been in Divine Black long enough to begin taking up roles and positions.
With only two remaining, Huang Ning currently had the best record at ninety-nine steps.
All eyes were on Li Qiye and Qianyue now. It was a matter of course for her to surpa.s.s Huang Ning because she was at the Yin Yang Celestial realm. The difference of a full realm was insurmountable.
Therefore, she should have no problem breaking the one hundred mark. The question became, how many steps in total?
As for Li Qiye? They sneered at him, thinking that his tricks and methods wouldn’t be able to help him here. He had no chance of beating Huang Ning.
Zhang Yue and the elders stared at the two and didn’t call for one to come.
“Ladies first.” Li Qiye got up and smiled.
She walked towards the steps like a kingdom-toppling G.o.ddess. Her distant temperament made her even more desirable to the male disciples.
She seemed like a floating beauty up in the clouds, unstained by the dust in the mortal world. Both her appearance, temperament, and actions captivated the spectators.
Her ascend was a gorgeous dance in their eyes, a visual feast demanding all of their attention.
“So pretty.” The ones who didn’t have romantic thoughts about her were still impressed.
“Yes, not only is she the strongest, she’s also the most beautiful.” Her admirers naturally praised while being fully immersed.
The powerful ones like Zhan Hu had powerful mental fort.i.tude. Nonetheless, they were still affected by her.
“We really can’t compare to Senior Sister Qianyue.” Many female disciples felt inferior. The ones who were jealous of her had to admit their inadequacies in comparison.
“There’s no shame in admitting that she’s the number one beauty in our sect.” A female disciple confident in her own appearance accepted defeat.
“One hundred steps!” An elder interrupted them with a shout.
The ones in a daze calmed down and saw how far she had made it, still effortlessly.
“I’m really weaker than Junior Sister.” Huang Ning himself said.
Zhang Yue and the elders expected this since they were confident in her abilities.
“Looks like one twenty is definitely possible.” The elder in charge nodded approvingly, thinking that she had calculated this goal first.
“One ten!” Someone shouted.
“Senior Sister, you can definitely make it to one twenty!” More cheered.
“One twenty is nothing for you, Senior Sister!” Everyone started cheering for her due to their admiration for her abilities. No one would question her power and thought that she would stay true to her claim.
When she got to one eleven, she seemed to finally be facing resistance. However, she could still handle it unlike Zhan Hu or Huang Ning during the final stage.
As expected, she finally made it past one twenty.
“She did it! Will she break the record that has been kept for several generations?!” The crowd erupted.
“One thirty, she’s challenging it right now!”
However, Qianyue found herself in trouble after entering the one-twentieth step.
“Boom!” A holy aura permeated the area. Flames started jumping around her; heat waves oozed out. This was the samadhi flame but it wasn’t the thing frightening people.
A black tortoise emerged with a universe around it. It lifted its head and looked like the ruler above the myriad laws.
“Black Tortoise Imperial Art!” Many disciples were moved at this sight and felt the urge to prostrate before the great ent.i.ty.
“The technique of our patriarch.” They became envious as well.
This was one of the strongest merit laws in Divine Black pa.s.sed down by its progenitor since the ancient era. It was considered a high-level heaven law by future generations.
According to the legends, after their patriarch created this law, it also received guidance from the great immortal. The merit law changed from being complicated to simple - something far superior than before. The tortoise then pa.s.sed it down to its disciples.
“When will I be able to learn it?” Some wondered.
“Getting it is one thing but can you actually learn it? There are others with top laws but it’s still useless.” An older disciple stared at them and said.
This group turned towards Li Qiye after hearing this. Everyone knew that he got the Nine Primeval Laws, another top merit law of their sect. Alas, he couldn’t learn it anyway.
They had no chance of cultivating heaven laws before reaching the sacred level. One exception was to have an inborn true fate.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Each of her steps had the power of a Black Tortoise. The world trembled, unable to withstand the force.
“So powerful.” The spectators felt as if she was capable of opening a path to heaven at this point.
“Boom!” She made it to the one hundred and thirtieth step.
The place became quiet. Even the elders were moved.
“Incredible.” Zhang Yue said. He might not do better than her despite his current cultivation. Remember, he was one generation older with a full cultivation realm advantage.
Unfortunately, she was shaking and drenched with sweat. Everyone could see that this was her limit.
“No need to keep going, you’ve already broken the record.” The elder in charge said.