The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron
chapter-781

When Shao Li witnessed the scene before her, she unexpectedly jumped to another stone pillar. It seemed like she wanted to compete against Su Yu.

However, Su Yu didn’t pay any attention to her, but only looked at the precipitous flight of stairs. When his feet stepped on them, the fountain erupted, causing a boundless stream of water to hit his face.

He felt like countless big stones, which weighed dozens of pounds each, had just struck him. The water’s flow was dense and continuous, which meant that the pain it caused him was also constant and continuous.

The water soaked through his clothes, causing them to become heavy as they took on water. This extra weight was a burden upon him, and in the twinkling of an eye, he felt like he was carrying a giant boulder that weighed ten thousand pounds on his back.

Su Yu tried to raise his feet, yet even though his body was quite powerful, he still found the water too heavy, so he was unable to do so. It wasn’t surprising that Shan Qilin had chosen to give up so easily, as this trial was too difficult! Hence, her decisive actions were a wise choice on her part.

“Look over there! Shao Li already took three steps. That is to be expected of a genius at Level Five Fairy Realm!” someone in the crowd shouted in surprise.

Shao Li looked at Su Yu in a provocative manner. Su Yu, who was still on the first step, was so wholly engrossed and concentrating hard on the flight of steps, that he didn’t seem to care about the outside world at all.

In the end, he finally was able to move his feet and stride onto the second step, albeit very slowly. The water stream of the second step’s fountain was even more dense, causing the weight and burden on his body to be even more heavy and intense.

At this point, the slower he proceeded forward, the more detrimental it would be to him, In contrast, if he progressed quickly in a short time, like Shao Li, it would be advantageous to him.

However, Su Yu still proceeded forward calmly and slowly. When he reached the sixth step, the people in the crowd gasped in alarm. Shao Li had already crossed the stipulated number of steps! She had passed the test!

As Shao Li gasped for breath and tried to recover her energy, she looked back at Su Yu and shook her head. It seemed like she was looking down upon him with disdain.

After that, she didn’t look at him anymore, but continued proceeding forward. Su Yu also turned a blind eye to her as he continued moving forward steadily.

During the past two tribulations, the power of Su Yu’s body and soul had risen drastically, both reaching the Level Three Fairy Realm. Such a swift increase in his power had both its advantages and disadvantages.

The disadvantage was that this fast increase in power would cause his foundation to become unstable, meaning that his body’s power would be high at times and low at others. His soul also fluctuated at such a time.

The heavy water before him could repress both his body and soul, and this was a great place for Su Yu to consolidate his power. Thus, he didn’t move forward too quickly, but proceeded at his own pace, methodically taking one step after another.

As Palace Mistress Kong Chan’s eyes opened slowly, she first noticed Shao Li. She then looked at Su Yu, a slight expectation appearing in her gaze.

Back in the Shangguan family’s place, Shangguan Yunque furrowed his brows slightly as he looked at Su Yu and said, “With how powerful Brother Su’s body is, he shouldn’t be this slow! At the very least, the first ten steps should be easy for him!”

The gaze of Shangguan Qinger, who was next to him, flickered as she said, “Brother, you don’t understand! The way that Su Yu is progressing now is the most suitable way.”

She then added, “The outer sanctum’s test participants just saw the Carp Leaping Over Dragon Gate test as being a deadly and cruel trial. They don’t know that, in inner sanctum disciples’ eyes, it’s a rare training opportunity. Moreover, if they want to use the Carp Leaping Over Dragon Gate, they must pay ten thousand merit points each time.”

Envy appeared in Shangguan Qinger’s eyes as she then said, “If I wasn’t already an inner sanctum’s disciple and could pass the test once again, I would also want to enter the Carp Leaping Over Dragon Gate.”

Although Shangguan Yunque was also in the inner sanctum, he wasn’t a true inner sanctum’s disciple. So, he didn’t know much about it and couldn’t help but ask in wonder, “Why is that?”

Shangguan Qinger replied, “The heavy water has an unimaginable constrictive affect one’s body and soul, and the more one ventures into it, the greater the effect will be. As long as one surpasses a certain critical point, both his soul and body would be greatly tempered.”

She then added, “Moreover, most of the souls’ tempering methods were lost in ancient times. In fact, they almost disappeared completely. This helps to explain why the Carp Leaping Over Dragon Gate’s soul tempering is so precious.”

She paused to take a breath, then said, “According to what I know, all of the inner sanctum’s disciples who care about soul cultivation are striving hard just to get an opportunity to use the Carp Leaping Over Dragon Gate. As for the outer sanctum’s disciples, they only see it as a burden, clearly unaware of how precious an opportunity it is.”

Shangguan Qinger looked at Su Yu with a serious gaze, then continued, “Su Yu took each step steadily as he went through each step’s tempering, and it’s only in such a way that he was could get all of its benefits. As for Shao Li’s actions, they seem clever, while in fact, they are really stupid!”

Shangguan Yunque smacked his tongue when he heard her. In the past, he had depended upon his younger sister’s status as Mo Tianxuan’s unofficial disciple in order to be spared from having to pass the test. He didn’t know then that the Carp Leaping Over Dragon Gate had such amazing effects.

Time passed slowly, while more and more disciples attempted to successfully pass the trial. Many of them failed, but some of them actually managed to reach the tenth step.

The ones that did so all rejoiced over their success, but didn’t dare proceed any further. Instead, they immediately left, as to try to go any further in such a trial would be incredibly dangerous!

After all forty people had already gone through the test, Su Yu and Shao Li were still on the flight of steps. Shao Li had already reach the 20th step. Her whole body was drenched in sweat and she was constantly gasping for breath. Her speed was also extremely slow.

Although her body could still persist and move onward, her soul had taken a great toil. At present, this trial was almost unbearable for her. Her body swayed on the step, and she had almost reached her limit.

However, when she looked back and saw that Su Yu was still just on the 13th step, she heaved a sigh of relief. Since she had crossed seven more steps than him, she would get seven thousand points more than him! This meant that she would obviously win the first position in the second test!

However, what worried her slightly was that Su Yu’s pace was steady, not changing at all. The latter ten steps were more difficult than the former, yet Su Yu’s pace still never changed. As she was clearly worried about this, she grit her teeth and decided that all she could do was to continue preserving and advancing forward.

After two hours.

Shao Li finally managed to reach the 25th step with great difficulty. Upon arriving there, she crouched down on it, then sat there motionlessly.

It was difficult for her body to bear this step’s heavy water. In fact, she had already reached her limit, so it was impossible for her to continue proceeding forward.

“The first position should be mine, obviously.” She forced herself to reveal a faint smile as she spoke, while looking back at Su Yu. However, when she turned around, she didn’t see Su Yu at all!

Did he fall down? Shao Li wondered, clearly startled. Then, a smile spread across her face, and she looked as if she had just been relieved from carrying a heavy burden.

She had seen Su Yu as a great rival for quite some time. But, just when she was thinking that he had given up, she noticed out of the corners of her eyes that many people were gazing up, looking at something intently.

She saw that they weren’t looking at her, but at the stone pillar. Moreover, Su Yu was on that stone pillar!

As Shao Li raised her head, her whole body shivered. She then cried out, “That’s impossible!”

The reason why she didn’t see Su Yu earlier was that he had already surpassed her! Now, he was standing on the 29th step!

Just a moment ago, he was still behind her, trailing her progress by seven steps. Yet now, he had surpassed her by five steps… In just two hours!

If someone observed Su Yu carefully, he would discover that, even though Su Yu’s current pace was slower than his previous pace when progressing through the first twenty steps, is speed was still far faster than Shao Li’s. Thus, he had managed to surpass her!

“How is this possible?” Twenty-five steps are my limit, so how can Su Yu be even better than me?” Shao Li couldn’t understand it, and she had to wonder… Is Su Yu’s fleshly body more powerful than me, a Level Five Fairy?

On the boulder.

“We haven’t seen any juniors who could reach the 29th step in the outsiders’ recruitment for many years. The thought that such a talented child would appear in this year’s recruitment is amazing.” An old man, who wore hemp clothes and held a walking stick, sat beside Palace Mistress Kong Chan. He had appeared there at some unknown time.

Respect appeared on many of the family members’ faces when they saw him. The old man in was none other than one of the two Lesser Palace Masters, Palace Master Hua!

Palace Mistress Kong Chan looked at Su Yu, expectation appearing on her aged face as she said, “It’s still too early to judge him, as the first thirty steps are just used to allow the participants to familiarize themselves with this test. The following thirty steps are the true test.”

Shangguan Qinger’s pretty eyes flickered as she said, “That’s amazing! The Carp Leaping Over Dragon Gate is, in fact, testing a person’s aptitude and talent, and according to what I know, almost all of the inner sanctum’s disciples successfully passed the first thirty steps.”

She then added, “If he can reach the 40th step, he’ll then be among the outer sanctum’s elite, and if he can reach the 50th step, he’ll be a devilish talent within the outer sanctum! Then, if he can reach the 60th step, he will be considered an elite even in the inner sanctum!”

Expectation appeared in Shangguan Yunque’s eyes as he asked, “Which step do you feel that he can reach?”

Shangguan Qinger rolled her eyes at him and replied, “How should I know? Besides, you are the one who invited him!”

Then, Shangguan Qinger looked at Su Yu and said, “However, the Demon Mountain’s four great demons also went through the Carp Leaping Over Dragon Gate in the past, and they only made it to the 50th step, while their head, Bing Wuxin, only reached the 57th step. Even if this Su Yu is indeed amazing, can he surpass those four demons?”

She shook her head, then added, “Since the four demons were all peerless geniuses, an exception was made for them and they were allowed to join the inner sanctum directly. After this, they had great fame, even in the inner sanctum, which had countless experts within it.”

Shangguan Yunque’s face shivered when he heard the four demons mentioned. “Of course,” he said.

Shangguan Qinger also recalled something, which caused her face to darken. She then clenched her fist, which made her look like she was greatly infuriated.

In the past, a demoness from the four demons came to the Shangguan family as an envoy and was displeased by them. Thus, the following day, all of the Shangguan family members suffered from diarrhea and vomiting nonstop. Even the servants were plagued by the sudden sickness!

This was obviously done by the lawless demoness, yet Shangguan Qinger, who was Mo Tianxuan’s unofficial disciple, still didn’t dare to direct her anger at the demoness. From this alone, it could be seen how ominous and intimidating the four demons were.

All of the families’ masters were greatly shocked. In fact, they were left speechless. All they could do was watch Su Yu as he strode onto the 30th step.

Rumble!

A muffled sound echoed out. It seemed like a muffled clap of thunder had just echoed out from the stone pillar.

Madame Situ’s body shivered, and she almost couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed as she exclaimed, “The 30th step! He stepped onto the 30th step!”

This feat demonstrated that Su Yu’s potential was great enough for him to reach the Divine Master Realm in the future, then join the inner sanctum!

A gratified look appeared on Palace Mistress Kong Chan’s face as she said, “The Situ family has done us a great service by recommending him. As such, it will be awarded jurisdiction rights over the Sky Castle for 20 years, as well as 10 Body Consolidating Root Nourishing Pills. I hope that you can continue to train outstanding juniors and dedicate your services to the development of the Red Blood Palace.”

Delight appeared on Madame Situ’s face. She could barely believe that they could really get an additional reward if they recommended an especially outstanding person!

In the past, twenty years jurisdiction rights was something that the Situ family could only get in the past by paying ten years of its income. Such a reward was tantamount to being spared from paying anything for ten years!

As for Body Consolidating Root Nourishing Pills, they were fifth grade spirit pills that only the Red Blood Palace had access to. They were among the best low-grade spirit pills that were specially made for Half Fairies’ consumption.

These pills could help the Fairies stabilize their foundations in cultivation and stimulate their potentials. It was even rumored that should a mediocre person consume them, he would gradually become more talented. Hence, these pills were extremely precious.

“Palace Mistress Kong Chan, thank you for this reward!” Madame Situ said.

At that time, the eyes of many families’ members turned red from jealousy. They all envied her immensely.

After Su Yu stepped onto the 30th step, he immediately felt the pressure that was on him becoming stronger by one fold. But, he wasn’t worried. Instead, he rejoiced and continued proceeding forward.