Reaching the eightieth step would make one an Inner Disciple.
But Jiang Munan did not stop.
A young man's pride burned bright. If he was going to do this, he would do it perfectly.
Beyond the eightieth step, the pressure crashed down like an ancient sacred mountain. Every breath Jiang Munan drew rasped like a broken bellows.
Illusions had swallowed him whole: the despair of a dungeon, death hovering within reach…
Yet a faint glimmer still burned in his heart, driving him to drag himself upward, step by step.
Hua Yuntian's gaze turned complicated. For the first time, he truly took notice of Jiang Munan.
He could already tell: if this boy did not die young, he would become someone extraordinary.
Ye Qingshuang's eyes flickered, a hint of approval softening her young face.
The Jade Platform judged the heart.
Everyone who climbed it faced a different trial.
Some carried a heavy burden, the pressure growing with each step.
Others fell into obsession, enduring endless mental torment.
Those with pure souls, however, could reach the top with ease.
Jiang Munan had barely survived a great disaster. Reaching the eightieth step was already a miracle.
As for the ninetieth…
The thought had barely formed when Ye Qingshuang's eyes widened in shock.
Jiang Munan had already reached the eighty-ninth step, struggling toward the ninetieth.
That single step was like an impassable chasm.
He was completely exhausted. Were it not for his unyielding will, he would have collapsed long ago.
One more step. If he climbed it, he would become a Personal Disciple of the Sect Master, step onto the path of immortality, cultivate immortal arts, and personally destroy Blackwind Ridge!
A fierce light flashed in Jiang Munan's eyes. A surge of strength erupted from nowhere. He kicked violently, and before everyone's disbelieving eyes, he flipped onto the ninetieth step!
He had done it!
At the peak of the white jade stairway, a gentle glow flickered, as if acknowledging his worth.
The entire crowd fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Then, the rescued boys and girls erupted into uncontrollable cheers.
They had witnessed Jiang Munan's miracle with their own eyes. Overwhelmed with emotion, another thought arose in their hearts.
If Jiang Munan could pass the Jade Platform… why couldn't they?
Especially the girls.
They were homeless. Even becoming an Outer Disciple would be better than wandering destitute, living a fate worse than death.
But would the Taishi Sect accept girls like them, broken and tarnished?
Anxiety gnawed at them. The more sensitive ones began to cry.
Then one girl stepped forward, her gaze firm.
"What is there to fear? If the immortals do not chase us away, we still have value! One day, I will use this flesh and blood to wash Blackwind Ridge in blood!"
Her name was Su Wanqing, devastatingly beautiful. Her lips were nearly bitten raw, yet her eyes blazed with terrifying resolve. Her hatred ignited the other girls.
"Right! As long as I live, I will never forget this blood debt!"
"One day, I will march into Blackwind Ridge and make those beasts suffer the same agony!"
"March on Blackwind Ridge!"
"Blood for blood!"
"I will not rest until this grudge is avenged!"
Their long-suppressed hatred and will to live exploded at that moment.
Fear and numbness vanished from the youths' eyes, replaced by raging fire.
If they had feared the Jade Platform before, now nothing could stop them.
Ye Qingshuang turned toward the girls, recognizing Su Wanqing — the same one who had tugged her sleeve earlier.
She had always seemed brave. Now it was clear just how much.
Ye Qingshuang paused, then spoke suddenly:
"When my sect chooses disciples, we ask not about your past. As long as you carry Taishi in your heart, you may climb the Jade Platform!"
Her meaning was clear: pass the trial, and you would become a Taishi Disciple.
All past shame would be erased.
"Really? That's wonderful! I'm climbing it right now!"
"Thank you, little fairy! I will succeed!"
"Let's go! Now!"
No urging was needed. Everyone who could stand charged toward the white jade stairway — a symbol of hope and trial — with unshakable resolve.
Ye Qingshuang's words were an anchor, granting them final courage.
Jiang Ling stood before the main hall, hands clasped behind his back. His gaze swept over the revitalized youths, a faint, almost imperceptible glint of approval in his eyes.
He had saved them purely out of kindness. But the resilience and spirit they now showed gave him a glimpse of the sect's future backbone.
For now, though, the priority was the young man collapsed on the platform.
"The ninetieth step earns you the status of Sect Master's Disciple. Jiang Munan, this sovereign wishes to take you as my fourth Personal Disciple. Do you accept?"
On the Jade Platform, Jiang Munan — barely conscious, utterly drained — snapped his head up. Brilliant light exploded in his eyes. He roared with his last strength:
"This disciple accepts! I would die a thousand deaths without regret!"
"Good!"
Jiang Ling nodded. "Rest and recover. In three days, this sovereign will pass on the true Dao arts to you. Yuntian,"
He turned to the grim-faced Hua Yuntian.
"Escort your junior brother down. Take him to receive his sect token and settle him."
Hua Yuntian: "…"
So after tending to this kid for days, I'm stuck with him now?
He glanced left and right. On his left was a rooster, on his right a little kid. He was the only normal one here.
Who else but him?
Hua Yuntian's face darkened. He flashed onto the platform, grabbed Jiang Munan like a chick, and carried him into the sect.
[Ding! Mission accomplished: Recruit a disciple with exceptional management potential. Rewarding now.]
[Congratulations, Host! You have received: 10,000 Points, ten mu of top-grade spirit farmland, one middle-grade spirit vein, one spirit beast garden. Rewards deposited in System Space. Please designate deployment location.]
Listening to the System's notification, Jiang Ling's lips curled into a grin. He watched Jiang Munan leave, his gaze unusually kind.
Top-grade spirit farmland!
A middle-grade spirit vein!
And a spirit beast garden!
The rewards were beyond generous.
Even just the middle-grade spirit vein would make countless sixth-grade sects green with envy.
Spirit veins did not merely emit spiritual energy for cultivation. More importantly, they formed spirit mines and produced spirit stones.
A middle-grade vein yielded mostly middle-grade spirit stones… and sometimes even peerless ones.
Their appearance always sparked bloody conflicts, with countless powers fighting over them.
Jiang Ling stood, took a step, and appeared outside the hall. He hovered in midair, his green robe flapping violently in the wind.
His eyes blazed like lightning as he swept over the sect's newly expanded hundred-li territory. An aura of cosmic dominance burst forth.
"The sect is reborn. We must fortify our foundation! Today, I shall forge an eternal, undying foundation for the Taishi Sect!"
Jiang Ling's voice boomed like heavenly thunder, carrying supreme majesty across the land.
"Spirit vein, suppress!"
He pressed his fingers together like a sword, stabbing toward the main peak's core from the sky!
This version uses standard Xianxia terms accepted by English readers and maintains the dramatic, fast-paced style of the original.