It was the middle of the afternoon, but the sky was rapidly turning dark. The sun above was about to be concealed by the shadow of the moon, robbing the lands of light and warmth.
Against this dark backdrop, a black raven flew across the sky before landing on the shoulder of an aged cultivator.
"It's about time," the old cultivator exclaimed as he looked around him.
At this moment, he was but one amongst countless cultivators standing around the mouth of a volcano. They overlooked a deep circular crater that was only around a kilometre wide and no more than a hundred metres deep. Such a distance was nothing for cultivators and could be covered in an instant.
Nevertheless, not a single person made their move. Everyone carefully remained right where they were, wary of the consequences that could arise from the slightest mistake.
The ground within the crater rippled slightly, as though it had turned into molten liquid.
"The gate is opening!"
"No, not yet! Just a bit more!"
"Get ready; it is going to happen anytime now!"
"Don't rush it, and wait for my cue!"
The elder cultivators among them cautioned, while the younger cultivators' eyes shone with a mix of excitement and determination.
In many of their minds, today was the perfect opportunity to prove their worth – to show the world just what they were capable of and make their factions proud!
The sky slowly turned darker as even the last rays of light started to disappear behind the shadow of the moon. Right at the moment when the sun became completely hidden, the elder cultivators shouted all at once.
"It's time!"
"Go!"
"Now!"
Without having to be told twice, the younger cultivators shot forward without hesitation, all of them heading straight for the bottom of the crater.
As they neared the bottom of the crater, they could feel themselves passing through a thin membrane of energy. They immediately understood that this was the barrier that they had heard so much about – the one thing that had prevented the senior cultivators from entering and given them a chance to shine.
And shine, they would.
These were all young heroes of the cultivation world, many of them future leaders of their respective factions. Not a single one of them was ordinary.
All of them had absolute confidence in their own capabilities.
One by one, they reached the bottom of the crater, then entered straight into the ground as though diving into an opaque pool. With that, they found themselves appearing in a separate space.
In this separate space was an enormous chamber of which the ceiling reached into the skies. At the centre was a small hill made of glittering gold, with a single flight of stairs leading up to the hilltop.
The moment these young cultivators emerged, their gazes were instantly attracted to the item at the top of the hill – an ancient-looking tome. On its own, the tome looked old and inconspicuous. However, nobody here would be foolish enough to think lowly of it.
That feeling was further strengthened by a strange pressure bearing down upon them, not inhibiting movement but making flight nigh impossible. With such a mystical setup, how could this tome possibly be ordinary?
While everyone was still hesitating, a single cultivator shot out from the crowd, heading straight for the stairs. This immediately broke everyone else out of their daze, and they quickly chased after him.
"Don't even think about it!"
"I will be the one to climb the hill!"
"Get out of my way!"
Weapons flashed and attacks flew.
As the main target for the oncoming bombardment of projectiles, the first person who moved never managed to reach the bottom of the stairs. Nevertheless, he still managed to defend himself while getting out of the way, escaping what could have been certain death for many.
But that was not the end of it.
Just because the first mover had stopped moving forward, that did not mean the rest of them were willing to sit back and relax. The situation within the chamber quickly devolved into a state of chaos, with everyone holding nothing back as they vied to be the first to ascend the stairs.
Among them was none other than Jiang Taiming, who had now grown into a young adult. He had the clear eyes of his mother and the handsome facial features of his father. His green tattered robes had patchwork done at various spots, and his face was ungroomed.
No matter how one looked at him, he did not look like he belonged here at this gathering of the various leaders of the younger generation.
However, none of that served to diminish the confidence that he was exuding.
He cast an indifferent gaze upon the other young cultivators who were currently engaged in battles, then started walking unhurriedly towards the bottom of the stairs.
The moment he did, he immediately caught the attention of the others who had been ignoring him so far due to his unimpressive appearance.
"Know your place!" a young lady shouted while throwing out a talisman. Upon leaving her hands, the talisman rapidly transformed into a bird of fire.
Screech-!
As it charged straight towards Jiang Taiming, its shriek created tremors through the ground and waves through the air, as though it was a divine eagle diving for its prey. The spiritual pressure that resulted was tremendous, enough to probably knock out Zhao Yunxiao had he been there in person.
But in his current state, Zhao Yunxiao was able to look it in the eye, appreciating it in all its glory while experiencing the baptism of its spiritual pressure.
Every little detail fell into his eyes as he observed the oncoming bird of fire through the young Jiang Taiming's eyes, watching as he punched out at a speed that the lady failed to even register.
Boom-!
His punch, imbued with essence energy, instantly extinguished the flames. The bird of fire that had looked so intimidating just a moment ago was now nowhere to be seen.
"Y-You...!" the young lady staggered back in horror.
She knew just how strong the bird of fire was. To be able to get rid of it so easily should be impossible for those at their cultivation level!
The fact that he even smiled and nodded at her before continuing to advance only served to send chills down her spine.
Just who was this guy?
What was this confidence?
She knew all the famous young prodigies of the cultivation world, but this guy was definitely not one of them!
"Hah, why aren't you following up on your attack? Have you been charmed by the poor kid?" a young man appeared and stood in Jiang Taiming's path this time, his words clearly meant for the young lady.
"What do you know? There's something strange about him!" the young lady replied in irritation.
"Strange? We are cultivators – there can be something strange about everyone. However, none of that matters in the face of true strength. I will just quickly get rid of him before climbing the hill myself!" the young man claimed before brandishing his sword towards Jiang Taiming. "Count yourself unlucky to have ended up here with the big boys today! Back off now, and I will spare your life. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Jiang Taiming looked towards the young man but did not slow down his pace one bit. This naturally infuriated the other party.
"I guess this is what people term as recklessness arising from ignorance. You might have had a promising future, but this one mistake will be the sole cause of your downfall!"
The young man dashed forward at what should have been a terrifying speed, yet everything appeared to be in slow motion as Zhao Yunxiao watched through Jiang Taiming's eyes. The sword strike that would have easily cleaved Zhao Yunxiao into two now seemed like the cute swagger of a child – completely harmless.
Jiang Taiming dodged it easily, gathering energy in his fist before punching forward. Just like the one before that he used to vanquish the bird of flames, this appeared to be a very basic punch that was devoid of any special techniques. However, what set it apart was the pure mastery of energy incorporated within.
Not a centimetre of unnecessary movement.
Not a bit of essence energy lost to the environment.
It was a punch perfected through innumerable practice, allowing it to display the highest level of power with the same amount of strength and energy.
It was a stage of perfection that all cultivators aspired for when it came to their combat techniques, and Zhao Yunxiao had just managed to experience such execution firsthand.
The thunderous collision caught everyone by surprise.
The young man wore a treasure soft armour beneath his robes, which served to dampen Jiang Taiming's strike. On top of that, he had also erected a layer of protective energy, one strong enough to even block treasure weapons from cultivators of the same level.
Yet, none of that mattered in the face of true strength.
Jiang Taiming's fist pierced straight through the young man's chest, emerging from his back.
The young man's eyes widened in disbelief, unable to say a word as blood bubbled out from his mouth. His grip loosened, and his sword fell to the ground with a gentle clank.
His death was not the first since the start of the chaotic fights, but it was definitely the one that drew the most attention.
That was because this young man was the future heir of a gargantuan faction, an extremely talented young cultivator whose name struck both fear and awe in the hearts of others. Not to mention opponents at his cultivation level; even those with a higher cultivation level might not be able to beat him in combat!
If not because they had seen it with their own two eyes, nobody could have possibly imagined that he would meet his death in such a direct and helpless manner, and at the hands of a fellow member of the younger generation as well.
It was one thing if he had gone down after a spectacular battle, but this looked way too easy for his opponent.
At their level, luck had little to do with the outcome of a fight. For the first time, the chaos in the chamber ceased as the young heroes present hesitated.
Fear crept into their hearts as they cast their gazes upon the completely unknown Jiang Taiming, who had simply continued walking forward with a nonchalant expression as his opponent fell limply to the ground.
There was no doubt about it. This guy, who had come out of nowhere, was on a completely different level!
Still, this was not enough to make everyone give up.
A middle-aged man crept forward silently, sneaking up on Jiang Taiming from behind before thrusting his spear forward with all his might.
Unfortunately, he was still unable to avoid the spiritual sense of Jiang Taiming.
Another dodge.
Another punch.
Another death.
Jiang Taiming's expression did not even change as he continued walking forward.
At this point, there was not one person who still wished to risk facing him in combat. They knew for a fact that beating him was unlikely. But if this monster was going to take his time walking, then they would just avoid him altogether by getting to the goal before he did!
The others quickly decided to change their tactic. Numerous cultivators rushed forward – not towards Jiang Taiming but towards the golden stairs.
Seeing that Jiang Taiming did not speed up in response, these cultivators could not help but smirk in satisfaction. Just as they were thinking about how to wrestle the first position from the others who shared their thoughts, the fastest one finally stepped foot on the first step.
"Wha-?!"
He exclaimed in shock while falling to his knees, weighed down by the immense pressure that had suddenly fallen upon him.
It was not just him either.
At the moment he stepped foot on the stairs, that same pressure fell upon every single individual in this separate space.
"Shit!"
"What is this?!"
"Urgh!"
Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!
Knees hit the ground in droves. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the young cultivators present had ended up kneeling on the ground, with more of them following suit with each passing moment.
Thankfully, the pressure magically eased after they fell to their knees.
But if they wanted to stand back up, they would immediately feel the same pressure bearing down upon them, forcing them back to the ground once again.
That was when everyone realised that it was not as simple as just being the first to climb the stairs. On the contrary, the most important thing was whether one had the ability to climb the stairs in the first place!
Under this terrifying pressure, not a single person had the time and effort to continue bothering with the others. Before doing so, they would first have to ensure that they could remain standing. Otherwise, what could they possibly even compete for?
At this point, Zhao Yunxiao felt like his mind was about to explode.
Through Jiang Taiming, he could indirectly feel the pressure bearing down upon him as well. He did not know just how much of the actual pressure he was experiencing at the moment, but what he did know was that the pressure he was being subjected to right now would already be more than enough to crush his actual body to smithereens!
There was no need to worry about Jiang Taiming's body that was almost akin to a living treasure. However, the mental agony still passed through to reach Zhao Yunxiao.
If not because his mental fortitude was far stronger than normal, he would probably have already blanked out by now!
"Step forward."
Huh?
Zhao Yunxiao's mind jolted in shock as an ancient voice resounded within, but he understood what was happening almost instantly.
This was a test, eh?
He willed to clench his fists, and the suffering Jiang Taiming's fists slowly clenched.
He willed to narrow his eyes, and Jiang Taiming did the same.
There was no doubt about it. For the very first time, he had gained control of Jiang Taiming's body!
Zhao Yunxiao gritted his teeth to endure the pain, looking up at the ancient tome that seemed to be staring down at him with disdain.
At this moment, he was the young Jiang Taiming.
In that case, he would have to personally realise what had been recorded in the annals of history – to overcome the immense pressure and walk up these golden stairs under the envious gazes of all these young prodigies, accomplishing a feat far beyond what any of them could ever hope to achieve!
Had he been in his own body, Zhao Yunxiao would have had absolutely no confidence in doing so. However, things were different right now.
He now possessed the body of the young Untethered Sage – a complete monster capable of suppressing all others in the same generation. If he failed to do this even with such a ridiculous advantage, then it would no longer just be about passing the test. Should that end up happening, he would not be able to forgive himself either!