Standing in the middle of the crowd, Eli Shan's gaze remained fixed on the Heaven and Earth Staircase. He saw many candidates getting fail and pass, but what shocked him was that none of them was able to perform like Hao Yu.

Until now, just two candidates were able to reach the second step of the body stair, but still, no one managed to conquer the second step of the blood and soul stairs.

As the examination progressed, almost three thousand candidates successfully completed the test and gathered in the waiting area, their eyes fixed on the ongoing trial.

Soon, it was Eli Shan's turn to take the exam.

Eyes from all around fell upon him, but looking at his slim body many of them couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

The examiner, who was overseeing the exam, looked at Eli Shan and felt his constitution was not bad, at least he would be able to pass the exam.

Without caring about others' gaze, Eli Shan moved forward with confidence in his eyes. As he stood in front of the majestic heaven and earth staircase, he felt someone's intense gaze upon him. Turning his head in that direction, his eyes met with the eyes of a beautiful girl who looked at him with a fiery passion in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

"Maybe I am just that much handsome?"

Eli Shan thought proudly and responded with a celebrity-like smile, then without getting distracted, he turned his attention back to the Heaven and Earth Staircase, his gaze burning with determination.

The girl who was looking at him was the same girl who had seen him near the lake during his wind cultivation—Feng Qiang.

Eli Shan didn't think much about her and began to extend his leg towards the first staircase of the body step.

He had a serious expression on his face because he had seen how other candidates had failed miserably.

So without holding back, he used his full strength to press down his feet on the stair.

Suddenly a pressure erupted from the staircase and enveloped his whole body as if it was checking something.

Suddenly, an unexpected event unfolded—one that Eli Shan had never anticipated.

The pressure that had enveloped him suddenly vanished in an instant as he stepped onto the stair with all his might, nearly stumbling forward due to his own momentum.

Many people were shocked looking at it but no one thought much of it, because a lot of people has managed to reach the first step but they were not able to walk any further.

Standing on the first step of the body stair, Eli Shan was also dumbfounded and didn't move for a while.

Looking at him standing motionlessly, a boy from the crowd erupted in anger, his voice cutting through the air in a shout, "If you cannot move any further then just step down, don't waste our time, move away from there if you don't want to get beaten like a shit!"

Eli Shan looked in his direction and gave him a smile "I will meet with you later... alone!"

Eli Shan's words and attitude further fueled the man's rage. Just as he was about to retort, Eli Shan paid him no attention and began moving forward leisurely, leaving the man's words to hang in the air.

Eli Shan began to extend his leg towards the second step, but to his shock, he still didn't feel any pressure from the stair as he easily stepped on it.

This time everyone was shocked. At first, looking at Eli Shan's slender body, everyone thought that he was just a waste of time, he will definitely fail the exam! But now, looking at how easily he stepped on the second step, no one underestimated him anymore. Ascending to the second step of the body was not something that just anyone could do!

Even the guy who had previously yelled at him fell into silence.

He knew that those who reached the second step were undoubtedly exceptional individuals.

But he still was a man, how could he bear to be belittled? He couldn't help but shout in a low voice again "So what, even I can reach the second ste...."

Suddenly, his voice faded into silence as his gaze fixed on an astonishing scene before him.

Eli Shan suddenly moved forward as if walking on the normal staircase and placed his feet on the third staircase without even blinking his eyes, his face completely calm.

Everyone, including the examiner, went into an uproar looking at it.

"Who is this person?"

"How strong is he?"

"Even the son of the city lord couldn't step on the third step, whose son is this brother?"

"Is it possible that heaven and earth staircase is not working well?"

Hearing all of this exclamation, the middle-aged man suddenly flew over and shouted with anger "Who dares to say ill about the sacred heaven and earth staircase? If I hear any more slander, no one in this world will be able to save you from the consequences."

Then his gaze shifted to eli shan, one could easily see shock and recognition in his eyes. He nodded at him with a smile, gesturing to continue his trial.

Eli Shan nodded back with a confident smile and again shifted his focus to the staircase before him. As his gaze remained fixed on the steps, he delved into his thoughts, reflecting, "As I thought, I don't really feel any pressure from these stairs."

While Eli Shan was lost in thought, the person who had shouted at him disappeared without a trace.

Everyone saw how powerful was the pressure of the third step when Hao Yu, the son of the city lord, just merely extended his leg toward it. Despite using his full strength, he was not even able to touch the third stair, but eli shan, an unknown guy, stood on it as if these were an ordinary flight of stairs.

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As Hao Yu looked at this scene and thought about his failure, he couldn't help but feel a mixture of shame and anger. However, what could he do about it? Nothing!

Eli Shan remained oblivious to these details as he approached the first step of the blood stairs. Much like before, he stepped onto it effortlessly, feeling no pressure at all, and thought to himself, "As expected, I don't feel any pressure even here."

With that, he began to walk on the heaven and earth stairs as if they were ordinary stairs. He again smoothly reached the third step, maintaining a proud smile on his face.

Upon stepping onto the third level of the blood stairs, everyone began to recognize eli shan and looked at him with admiration. Cheers and shouts filled the sky and many promised themselves to become the friend of this unknown guy!

Many girls couldn't help but began to shout amid all the cheers, "This guy is really cool."

"Yeah, I want to become his best friend!"

"Only best friend right?"

As the atmosphere was brimming with astonishment and cheers, Feng Qiang stood with an adorable smile on her face as she looked at Eli Shan, "As expected" she murmured.

With an air of calm determination, Eli Shan continued his ascension on the heaven and earth, again reaching the third step of the soul staircase with remarkable ease, as if the trial poses no challenges for him at all.

At that moment, the middle-aged man soared through the air with an expression of excitement and approached him, "Well done! These stairs exert pressure based on one's body's strength. If your constitution is good, you will feel a lower pressure. By reaching the third step, your constitution has proven to be even stronger than that of the city lord."

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's proclamation, everyone was left dumbfounded. Looking at the result, they knew that Eli Shan was not an ordinary person, but the idea of surpassing even the city lord himself? They couldn't even think about it in their dream!

Eli Shan responded with a modest smile and nodded slightly. However, as the middle-aged man was about to guide him to the resting area designated for those who had passed the exam, Eli Shan politely declined, "Senior, could I remain here on the field to observe the trials from here?"

The middle-aged man pondered for a moment before agreeing, "If that's what you want, then I grant you permission to stay."

Eli Shan's delight was evident as he respectfully cupped his fist, expressing gratitude. "Thank you so much, senior."

With that, he positioned himself near the heaven and earth staircase to observe the trials of others, but sensing some intense gazes fixed upon him, he turned his attention toward the crowd.

"He looked at me."

"No, he looked at me and nodded at me."

"What are you saying? It was obvious he was looking at my adorable features."

The girls resumed their good-natured argument.

Amid this chatter, Eli Shan's eyes fell on Feng Qiang, who approached him.

With a confident smile, Feng Qiang stated, "I knew you would be able to do it."

With that, she strode towards the heaven and earth staircase, leaving Eli Shan perplexed.

"Maybe she has some problem with her mind? Who is she, anyway?"

As he was thinking about her, Feng Qiang stepped on the first staircase, then the second steps, and without even trying the third step, she was transported to the blood stairs, conquering it with two steps as well. She continued her ascension and soon passed the trial by standing on the second step of the soul stair as well.

Looking at her, Eli Shan was shocked this time.

She possessed a body that was as strong as the son of the city lord!

In the eyes of eli shan, this was nothing much though, but for everyone present, it was the greatest feat after eli shan.

But still, most of the candidates tried to talk to eli shan and ignored Feng Qiang, but he dodge them all and stood at the corner of the area.

As the day drew to a close, the first exam ended, and only ten thousand students passed the first round.

Just the first round was so difficult that more than ninety percent of students already failed. One could understand how difficult would be the second test.

Suddenly, a voice floated out from an unknown origin, "Congratulation to all of you who have passed the first round of test. Now your second exam will begin tomorrow".

Suddenly, their surroundings shifted and they found themselves standing outside of the school.

Looking around, Eli Shan whispered in anger, "We passed the test and they threw us out? At least they should have given us a place to stay hmph!"

Just as he was about to go back to a secluded place to rest, a girl suddenly approached him.

Eli Shan looked at this girl and recollected that this was the girl who passed the exam with remarkable results.

Feng Qiang stood before him and grinned, "Are you going to find an inn to stay in? My dad is a businessman and he owns an inn in this city, if you want, you are welcome to stay there as a guest, you don't need to pay".

Upon hearing her, Eli Shan's expression changed into astonishment and he asked with a note of delight, "Really? Are you sure about this? And why would you do it?"

Feng Qiang didn't hide anything; she explained everything about what she had witnessed near the lake and her intention to befriend him since that encounter.

Eli Shan realized, "At least she doesn't have any ulterior motives, so it's not bad to stay in an inn for free."

"Okay, I agree."

Feng Qiang's expression lit up with happiness at his agreement, she held eli shan's arm around her hands and said "Then, let's go."

Eli Shan's face turned red as he swiftly withdrew his hand and exclaimed in embarrassment, "W-What are you doing?"

Feng Qiang chuckled, putting her palm to her lips, and smiled playfully. "You're quite innocent. Come on, follow me."

Eli Shan nodded, his cheeks still flushed, and followed her.

After walking for a while, they arrived in front of an inn that looked as majestic as a castle – The Celestial Tranquility Inn.

As Eli Shan gazed at the Celestial Tranquility Inn, a shy smile appeared on his lips as a memory from the past resurfaced. "Isn't this the place I visited a few days ago?"

Feng Qiang didn't know what he was thinking, but looking at him standing motionlessly, she thought he has changed his mind to stay here and gave him more offer, "Here you can eat the most delicious food of this city, and you can have all those for free just for today, how does that sound?"

Upon hearing her words, Eli Shan suddenly remembered that he hadn't eaten anything for ages, and readily agreed.

As he entered the inn, the receptionist recognized eli shan's adorable face and greeted him with a friendly smile, a smile that was saying that "Ohh, you are back with your friend so fast?"

Looking at her, Eli Shan felt even more embarrassed and wanted to find a hole to hide his face.

Feng Qiang didn't notice anything and led Eli Shan to the second floor and handed him a key to a luxurious room. "You can stay here for the day, and your food will be brought to your room," she explained, leading him inside.

Eli Shan looked around the room, amazed by its grandeur. "Am I inside a palace? No wonder the price was so high."

Suddenly, Feng Qiang reached out and held Eli Shan's palm into her palm and asked with excitement in her eyes, "Hey, hey, how did you learn to control the wind? And how strong are you really? Even today, you didn't break a sweat when you reached the third step."

Eli Shan's cheeks turned a shade of red, and he instinctively took a step back and replied, "I am nothing but a member of a countryside clan, and while coming here for the school entrance, I just got some enlightenment and nothing else".

Feng Qiang also blushed this time, they were inside a room and no one was around. She realized something and took a step back too.

However, she didn't believe his answer and thought that he wanted to hide about his strength, so she didn't ask any further, "Alright then, you can rest now. I'll be in the next room, so if you need anything, feel free to come to me. Let's meet again tomorrow."

With that, she left the room and eli shan sighed.

After a while, someone entered the room and brought some delicious food which eli shan ate like a hungry beast.

After eating a lot, Eli Shan went to his work to pass the time... sleeping!

The next morning, Eli Shan was dressed in a black long coat when he heard a knock on his door. Opening it, he found a beautiful young girl standing there with a bag in her hand. Meeting her gaze, he greeted her with a smile, "Good morning."

Feng Qiang greeted back with an adorable smile, "Good morning, it's time to go to school, shall we go together?"

Eli Shan nodded, fetched his bag, and confidently responded, "Let's go."

They set off, with Eli Shan leading the way and Feng Qiang following behind.

Eventually, they reached the school and found a crowd gathered by the grand entrance.

Eli Shan turned to Feng Qiang and said with a playful grin. "Why are you following me?"

Feng Qiang huffed, "I was coming here too, hmph."

Eli Shan chuckled. "Just kidding, don't be serious."

As they were arguing, a voice cut through the air, audible to everyone. "All students who passed the first test and wish to proceed to the second test, please enter the school."