For a single fleeting moment, the world vanished.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then the storm erupted inside his mind.
Countless visions surged through his consciousness. Memories he had long buried resurfaced without mercy: moments of fear, flashes of doubt, and every hesitation that had ever slowed his steps along the path of cultivation.
Each memory struck like a blade.
The lightning tore through his thoughts mercilessly, testing the strength of his resolve and probing every weakness hidden within his spirit. It was not merely striking his body; it was judging his will.
His soul trembled.
Behind him, the faint image of his cosmic soul flickered violently, as though it might shatter at any moment. For an instant, the weight of Heaven itself seemed ready to crush him.
But slowly, his breathing steadied.
The chaos in his mind began to quiet. From the depths of his spirit, a single thought rose—firm and immovable.
He had not walked this path only to stop here.
The words were never spoken aloud, yet they echoed powerfully within his soul.
His consciousness hardened like a mountain standing against a raging storm. The lightning roared one final time. Like black calcified fire refining away impurities, the thunder tempered his cosmic soul. As it endured the relentless baptism of lightning, faint glowing veins began to form across his skin, spreading like intricate tattoos. His body became a canvas upon which the heavens themselves seemed to paint.
Within the storm of thunder, his cosmic soul gradually solidified, growing dense and radiant. Then, suddenly, he felt as though invisible shackles within him had shattered. The solidified cosmic soul dissolved into countless motes of light, flowing into every mysterious pattern etched across his body like the finishing stroke of a master artist. In that instant, a pillar of light surged upward from him, piercing the sky before shattering the dark clouds into countless sparks of golden light that slowly faded away.
The clouds above began to disperse.
Sunlight returned to the mountain ridge, illuminating the cultivator as he sat upon the stone and entered meditation. Smoke curled faintly from his robes. His body was battered and his meridians ached, yet an entirely new power now flowed through him.
The bottleneck in his cultivation had vanished.
The figure watching all of this remained silent. Aside from the brief glimmer of interest that had appeared when the human stepped onto the fifth step, he showed little reaction. Everything that had just occurred seemed incapable of stirring any greater response from him.
With a gentle movement of his hand, a soft surge of energy lifted the cultivator from the steps and placed him nearby, still seated in his meditative state.
The observers reacted in different ways. Those who had failed to reach the fifth step felt bitterness welling within their hearts, while those who had yet to face the trial watched with burning eagerness. Many of them began to speculate. If reaching the fifth step could grant such benefits, then perhaps ascending higher would bring even greater fortune. Some even wondered what might happen if someone were to reach the final step.
Soon, the next participant stepped forward.
It was the bear-like-looking young man. He walked without hurry, yet every movement carried quiet determination. Step by step, he began his ascent, facing the will of the platform and the questions hidden in each step. He answered with unwavering resolve as he climbed higher.
He reached the fifth step.
However, when he attempted to move further, his strength faltered. No matter how hard he tried, he could not advance and ultimately failed to reach the sixth step.
Moments later, the heavens responded.
Dark clouds gathered above him as he underwent a three-lightning tribulation. Thunder roared as the bolts struck his body, tempering his soul and flesh alike. After enduring the violent baptism of lightning, he successfully stepped into the Soul Spirit Realm.
With another casual wave of his hand, the mysterious figure moved him from the platform.
Next came Lu Chenyi.
He ascended steadily, determination blazing in his eyes. Step by step, he advanced until he too reached the fifth step. Gathering all his strength, he attempted the next step. He gave everything he had in an attempt to reach the sixth.
Yet in the end, he failed.
Like the bear-like cultivator before him, he underwent a three-lightning tribulation and broke through into the Soul Spirit Realm.
After him, Huang Wei stepped forward.
He ascended with sharp confidence, climbing the steps without hesitation. When he reached the fifth step, however, he did something unexpected.
Summoning his cosmic soul, a spear manifested in his hands.
Without hesitation, he thrust the spear into the ground and used it as leverage to propel himself forward, attempting to force his way toward the sixth step.
The spectators watching—both those who had already taken the trial and those who had yet to attempt it—were stunned. Almost all of them simultaneously came to the same realisation at the same time.
"So it can be done like this…"
Those who had already taken the trial felt a pang of regret, while those yet to face the steps began calculating rapidly in their minds.
Above them, the mysterious figure merely sighed.
Just as Huang Wei's body shot forward, he suddenly collided with an invisible barrier.
A powerful rebound force erupted.
He was thrown back violently and landed once more upon the fifth step. When he landed, all of his efforts to move forward proved futile.
The expressions of the crowd changed instantly. Those who had begun forming clever plans in their minds saw their ideas collapse in an instant. Those who had felt regret earlier now wore strange, twisted expressions.
Huang Wei eventually steadied himself and remained on the fifth step. Shortly afterwards, his tribulation descended. After surviving it, he too entered the next realm.
The next was Miao Ying.
Her ascent was calm but filled with momentum. She reached the fifth step, yet unlike the others, her forward momentum did not immediately halt.
She lifted her foot toward the sixth step.
It was as though she were pressing against an invisible wall.
Her leg trembled violently. The distance between the steps seemed only a few inches, yet that tiny gap demanded everything she had. For a brief moment, her foot hovered agonisingly close to the sixth step.
Then the invisible force rebounded.
Her leg was forced back onto the fifth step.
Even so, she had come closer than anyone before her. She was the first person to nearly reach the sixth step.
Soon, her tribulation arrived.
Unlike the others, hers was not a simple three-lightning tribulation. A fourth bolt faintly formed in the heavens, though it was incomplete, revealing the depth of her foundation.
Despite the difficulty, she endured it and stepped into the next realm.
Following her was Yan Lu.
She too reached the fifth step and pressed forward without hesitation. As she pushed toward the sixth step, veins bulged across her body and blood began to drip from the corners of her mouth. Yet she refused to retreat.
With a final burst of strength, she stepped onto the sixth step.
Immediately, a surge of energy from the platform flowed into her body, stabilising her condition. Soon after, her tribulation descended.
Unlike Miao Ying's incomplete one, Yan Lu faced a complete four-lightning tribulation.
After a fierce struggle, she passed it and entered the next realm.
Next came Shen Jiu.
He began his ascent with a relaxed smile on his face. However, when he stepped onto the fourth step, that smile slowly faded as he felt the immense pressure weighing upon him.
Still, he continued climbing.
He reached the fifth step, then the sixth.
When he attempted to step onto the seventh, something strange happened.
The distance between the steps seemed to stretch across space itself. The seventh step looked close, yet no matter how he reached for it, it felt as though it existed in an entirely different dimension.
The more he tried, the further it seemed. The attempt drained all of his strength.
In the end, he remained on the sixth step.
His tribulation soon descended. Five bolts of lightning tore through the sky.
This five-lightning tribulation was far more violent than the previous ones. Shen Jiu struggled fiercely beneath the roaring thunder. His earlier smile was long gone, replaced by a solemn and resolute expression.
Minutes passed before the lightning finally faded.
He had succeeded.
After stepping into the next realm, he was gently moved away by the mysterious figure.
Then Bing Wenhai stepped forward.
Before beginning his ascent, he glanced toward Chu Feng. Seeing that Chu Feng had not moved, he assumed the latter might be afraid of embarrassing himself.
Shaking his head slightly, he approached the platform.
Confidence radiated from every step he took.
He ascended steadily, facing the silent questions of the steps with unwavering determination. Step after step, he advanced until he reached the fifth.
Then the sixth.
Finally, he stepped onto the seventh.
The moment his foot touched the seventh step, an overwhelming heavenly pressure spread across the entire platform.
Dark clouds gathered instantly above the mountain ridge. Deep rumbles echoed through the sky, yet no lightning fell.
This was the second time such a phenomenon had appeared, just like when the first cultivator stepped onto the fifth step.
The clouds were waiting.