Su Mo progressed slowly on the Sky-climbing Ladder as he faced greater and greater pressure with each step taken.
After the 950th step, even Su Mo’s body, which was covered by golden scales, could not hold on anymore. He was trembling and his bones were cracking.
“Huff… Huff…”
Su Mo’s breath was long-winded and heavy, like that of a bellows.
Poom!
His foot landed heavily. Given how difficult it was to take every step, Su Mo’s speed was obviously slowing down.
“If this is a trial, what is it testing? My perseverance?” Su Mo murmured. If the pressure from Sky-climbing Ladder depended on one’s strength, it meant that his strength would not help him complete the trial.
If it had nothing to do with his strength, much less his talent, it could only be a test of his perseverance!
That was the only purpose of the Sky-climbing Ladder that Su Mo could think of.
Taking himself as an example, he was already nearing his limits, and there was numbness affecting his entire body. Every step that he took required countless strength and effort. If Su Mo wanted to pass the trial, he had to rely on his mighty perseverance to finish the remaining 40 or so steps.
Having said that, those with superior strength had a slight advantage. The first 800 steps were relatively easier for them.
Su Mo dragged his exhausted body along, moving up the ladder one step at a time. It took him an hour to finally advance 20 steps and reach the 970th step of the ladder.
Meanwhile, Wenren Tianyi had long reached the 998th step, only a step away from completing the trial. He truly deserved to be at the top of the list of Top 100 Talents in the Dark Domain.
Having reached the 998th step, Wenren Tianyi was already bathed in blood.
However, he had to rest for another full 15 minutes before taking the last step.
After 15 minutes, Wenren Tianyi finally lifted his foot slowly, and landed heavily on the last step.
Many people were watching him from the back and showered him with looks of respect. They expected no less from the top genius of the biggest domain in East Continent. As the first one to clear the trial of Sky-climbing Ladder, his perseverance and strength were incomparable with the average geniuses.
After Wenren Tianyi had passed the trial, Chu Zhantian, Lei Xiao, and the other two were close as well. The four of them were all wounded and only few steps behind Wenren Tianyi.
To Su Mo, nothing existed except for the remaining steps before him.
Time was passing incredibly slowly in his mind. Every second felt more unbearable than a year.
Su Mo’s consciousness was clouded under the immense pressure, but there was an unshakeable faith that didn’t waver since the beginning.
“Onward!”
“Onward!”
“Finish all the steps!”
“Reach the end of the ladder!”
Su Mo continued to progress without stopping. Although every step was gruelling, he pressed on.
Su Mo did not know how long it took, it might have been two hours, or even a year. He had finally reached the 998th step, with only one step to go.
With his bloodied eyes, Su Mo gazed at the final step. He knew that the torture would end as soon as he stepped forward, but he could not do it no matter what.
Su Mo had already sustained serious internal damage, and the golden scales on his body were also full of cracks. It seemed that he could no longer feel his body as his ability to control it was tremendously weakening.
After a long while, probably 15 minutes, or possibly two hours, Su Mo exerted himself to slowly lift his foot up.
It was a slow process. Su Mo had almost used up all his strength as it felt 100 times tougher than lifting a huge mountain.
Boom!
A moment later, when Su Mo’s foot finally landed on the 999th step, he instantly felt a rumble in his brain.
His cultivation immediately recovered. Genuine Vitality in his nine Spiritual Spirals started channeling through his meridians and quickly removed all his fatigue.
“Huff!”
In an instant, Su Mo’s mind was clear as day and he exhaled deeply.
“I didn’t expect clearing the Sky-climbing Ladder to be beneficial!”
Su Mo was surprised that he felt an obvious sublimation throughout his body after passing the trial.
His mind was pure and his will was tougher. Even the flow of Genuine Vitality in his body was much faster than before.
This was a pleasant surprise for Su Mo.
Having cleared the Sky-climbing Ladder, he had now successfully entered the gate of the Firmament Palace. Su Mo glanced over and saw another square that was smaller than the White Jade Square below.
Nine giant steles and a tall stone pillar of unknown purpose stood erected in the square.
After surveying the area, Su Mo saw Wenren Tianyi, Xue Mo, and the other three geniuses sitting in the center of the square. They appeared to be healing themselves.
Su Mo was seriously injured as well. After pausing to think, he too walked over, swallowed a couple healing elixirs, and started treating himself.
Meanwhile, people on the Sky-climbing Ladder were having mixed emotions at seeing Su Mo clear the trial. Some were impressed or envious while others felt angry.
As of now, Su Mo was the only person to clear the ladder apart from the five experts at Lv 9 True Spirit Realm.
Time passed by slowly as Su Mo healed himself. In this time, more people cleared the trial.
Everyone who passed was a genius and many had outstanding perseverance. There were even people at a lower cultivation but forcefully made it through the trial with their unbelievable perseverance.
After four hours, about 80% of the people were eliminated and almost 1,000 people had passed the trial and ended in the square.
The ones who were eliminated disappeared from this space with a white flash.
The rest knew that they were sent back to where they came from!
It was worth mentioning that only two from the Hong Domain had made it pass the Sky-climbing Ladder. They were Wu Sheng and Hong Qingxuan.
Even Ao Wushuang had failed.
At this moment, everyone in the square was discussing the steles and stone pillar.
“These steles are for testing one’s body properties that correspond to the nine side palaces. If your body properties fulfill the requirement for any of the palaces, you’ll have an opportunity to receive its Legacy!”
“Indeed! However, it’s near impossible for your body properties to hit the requirement. It’s relatively easier for your talent to reach the requirement instead.”
“I’ve passed the talent requirement previously, but not the following trials. Although I did not receive any Legacy, I was rewarded.”
“The trials of Firmament Palace are basically testing one’s perseverance, talent, and strength. It’s completely up to oneself to receive the Legacy.”
At this moment, Su Mo’s injuries had already recovered. As he listened to their discussions, he realized right away that the second trial is a trial of talent.
However, Su Mo was puzzled, “Are we going to randomly test ourselves since there isn’t a host around?”
Just as he was feeling puzzled, a figure suddenly flew toward the square from deep within the Firmament Palace.
Su Mo was startled and confused to see the approaching figure.
“Wasn’t the Firmament Palace destroyed a long time ago? How is there someone inside?”
However, when Su Mo took a close look at the figure as it neared, he was shocked.