Eternal Thief
chapter-990

The Mortal Heart Imperial City was the heart of the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, and every high-ranking noble from the Imperial Marquise to the Imperial Grand Duke was allowed to live there.

Except for the empire nobles, the Alchemy Guild and Formation Guild also have their main headquarters in the imperial city. But there was another existence that stood above all these powers and only below the Imperial Palace, the Sky Heart Imperial School.

The Sky Heart Imperial School was founded by the first Mortal Emperor when he conquered the lands from myriad races and regained supreme over them, becoming the one and only Mortal Emperor. At least, that's what the historical records described it.

Anyhow, the Sky Heart Imperial School was a dream of every youth, for it was the best institute in the entire Sky Heart Plains, and the Imperial Family also sent their members to learn.

They had nurtured many historical figures. Even the Mortal Emperors had to graduate from the Sky Heart Imperial School before they could become the Mortal Emperors; it was like a tradition.

Almost all the young prodigies of the Sky Heart Plains come here every year to try their luck and enter this legendary institute. However, their admission criteria were extremely strict, and if you failed twice, you would never be able to take the entrance exam again.

Today was the final day of the entrance examination, and the teachers were paying close attention to the youngsters just in case they found a diamond in the rough and could take it as their personal student.

The students also try their best to draw the royal teachers' attention, and if they could draw the attention of the Imperial Teachers who ranked higher than the Royal Teachers, their social standing would soar.

The final test to the Sky Heart Imperial School was famous all over the Sky Heart Plains; it was named the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.

The Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was a mysterious treasure, and legend has it that it was found by the First Mortal Emperor in one of the mystery plains, the Devil Mountains Plain!

The Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was a staircase of 99 stairs with three different sections of 33 stairs each, which test people's Strength, Courage, and Willpower.

But it wasn't as plane as its name suggested. With each higher step, the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase will release powerful pressure and a dark aura that will give people lifelike hallucinations. Each section will have different tests, and there is even a chance of losing one life, and their souls and bodies will be devoured by the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase!

The Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was by no means a simple treasure; it has its own rules, and no one can go against them. Not even the First Mortal Emperor was able to change them.

One of those rules was if someone wanted to give up, they had to leave behind a silver of their soul willingly, and this process was almost painless. But if they didn't admit defeat in time and lost their mind, no one can save them not even Law Comprehension Realm Experts.

That's why the participants were warned again and again to know their limits and give up before they lost their minds. Nefarious this method might be, it was an excellent method to test the new participants and anyone who could step on the 30th step was qualified to enter the Sky Heart Imperial School.

If someone can cross into the second section, the 34th step, they are considered a rare genius and allocated to different classes under more powerful teachers.

If someone can step into the third section, the 67th step, they are a genius worth learning from the Imperial Teachers, and normally only the Imperial Family members can achieve it.

To this day, no one has ever been able to reach the 99th step of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.

The highest record was set by the First Mortal Emperor himself, and no one has ever been able to break it to this day; he was able to reach the 89th step before he was forced to give in.

Everyone dreamt of breaking that record and making a name for themselves, but no one has ever done it. Even the 95th Mortal Emperor, who was considered as talented as the First Mortal Emperor, was only able to step onto the 87th step.

At this moment, over one thousand youths remained from 15,000, and they were the ones who had passed the first two tests, and now all that remained was passing the requirement of Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.

One after another, they stepped onto a hundred-meter-wide pitch-black staircase with mysterious crimson runes lining every step.

Among these youths, adorned in a white dress with blue lining, was a 2.5-meter-tall young devil girl with pristine gray skin and an elegant figure. Two black bat wings were folded behind her back, and a pair of black horns were curved over her head like a crescent moon.

She appeared aloof and cold as if nothing could move her in this world, and gracefully stepped on the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.

The moment she fully climbed the step, the pressure of a mountain suddenly weighed down on her slender body; her dark eyes shimmered in a peculiar glint, 'So, this is the strength section, interesting.'

Astounded, she took the second step while the others were still struggling to become accustomed to the pressure, and this time, the pressure doubled, but she remained unmoved.

Suddenly, the scene changed before her eyes, and she saw a huge mountain-like claw descending on her, filled with murderous intent.

"Hmph, paltry illusion!" A sliver of pitch-black streak suddenly flashed past her eyes, and the mountainous claw suddenly shattered like a mirror.

Her expression was still as aloof and dismissive as she moved to the third step, and this drew almost all the observing people's attention!

At the highest tower within the Sky Heart Imperial School, also known as Principal Tower, ten old men in black gold robes were solemnly watching the projection screen in front of them, which was focused on the devil girl at this moment, and she had taken another step.

Those old men's emotionless eyes shimmered with a hint of surprise.

"Who is she?" An old demon with empty eye sockets questioned in his husky voice.

A middle-aged giant woman from the Skylar Clan coldly waved her sleeve, and a string of words appeared on the projection screen.

"Participant No.19039. Name: Evie Gray Shadow, Affiliation: Gray Shadow Devil Grand Duke Clan, Third Daughter of Gray Shadow Devil Grand Duke. Age: 17, Cultivation: Platinum Soul Embryo Realm.

"No bad." The Demon nodded in satisfaction.

At this moment, Evie successfully stepped on the fifth stairstep.

Everyone's eyes began to shimmer as they looked at Evie like they were looking at treasure!