After leaving the Grand Jade Temple, Xuan and six other disciples were escorted down a steep flight of steps, leading all the way down to the base of the mountain.

The one leading them was an instructor he couldn’t recognize. But he wasn’t about to complain. At least this guy wasn’t being a total douchebag and was actually doing his job of leading them.

Yet the hike down took a bit longer than expected, since by the time they got down, the sun was already in the very center of the sky.

"Alright, everyone straighten out," the instructor said, puffing out his chest. "My name is Feng Xiaodong, but while I’m instructing you, call me Brother Feng or Master Feng. No other names, understood?"

"Yes sir!"

Feels like I’m in the military again, Xuan thought, rolling his eyes.

But it seemed like Feng Xiaodong noticed, as he walked over to Xuan with a deep frown on his face.

"What’s your name?" he asked coldly.

Xuan sighed. "My name’s Xuan. Got some dust in my eye, my bad."

"Dust? I see..." Feng Xiaodong chuckled, patting Xuan on the shoulder.

It didn’t seem ominous at first, but his next words made Xuan want to climb to the top of the cliff and toss him off headfirst.

"You’re going to climb to the top and down six times instead of five. If you’re the last one, you will have to climb up and down twelve times instead of ten," Feng Xiaodong announced, turning around with a confident smirk. "Next time, try to stop the dust from getting in your eyes."

"..."

Xuan wanted nothing more than to beat this guy up. He was acting the same as his drill sergeant all those years ago. Though, it wasn’t even that long.

I’m only 22 after all, only a year older than Yuelan, Xuan thought inwardly and calmed down.

The moment he had, Feng Xiaodong walked back to the front and gave the general rundown.

"You will not stop training until you’re finished. I don’t care how long it takes, nor should you care either. Don’t focus on the time, but on the outcome," he said.

Xuan was a little surprised by his professional tone. If anything, he was expecting this monk instructor to be a total bastard, at least from his first impression. But it seemed like that wasn’t the case.

"If anyone gets tired, they can cultivate for 10 minutes to restore their stamina, once per climb. That means if you choose to cultivate now, you won’t be able to do it again until you climb to the top of the mountain and get down," Feng Xiaodong added. "Anyone have any questions?"

Xuan raised his hand, then spoke.

"What about those whose Qi is sealed?"

"Sealed? Haha..." Feng Xiaodong clicked his tongue. "I don’t see where that’s my problem."

Of fucking course...

Feng Xiaodong leaned down and picked up a pebble. Then, he tossed it into the sky before turning back to the monks.

"Once that pebble lands, you may begin your climb. Good luck."

With those words, every single monk, including Xuan, waited patiently for the pebble to land.

And less than five seconds later, it did.

Xuan kicked off the ground, nearing the base of the mountain. However, the other monks were already far ahead. Even if they were weak, they could use Qi.

So the moment he arrived at the base of the mountain, the ’weak’ monks had already gone up several hundred meters as they practically glided along the mountain.

Before long, they disappeared out of sight, going beyond the clouds.

"What are you waiting for?" Feng Xiaodong asked in a cold tone. "If you’re so adamant about staying down while your fellow disciples are pouring their all into this, then you can do seven climbs! You know what awaits you if you’re last? Fourteen! Now move your ass!"

"..."

Never mind. Fuck this guy.

Xuan took a deep breath and began climbing the mountain. It wasn’t too steep at the base, so he could pretty much run up.

However, only after a few kilometers, he had to use his hands, and then when he climbed beyond the clouds, the mountain was nearly vertical.

Of course, the clouds weren’t even the halfway mark. In fact, it was barely one-fourth of the mountain. But he was surprised to see the monks striding past him from below, which meant they had already done a single full climb.

Seeing that there was nothing he could do, Xuan sucked it up and continued climbing.

.

.

.

(17 hours later, 14th climb, top of the mountain.)

Xuan stared down at his hands that were covered in blisters, and then glanced at the moon that seemed not too far out of reach. Honestly, he really hoped a stray lightning strike would hit the instructor, but alas, he could only keep his saltiness to himself.

At least until I prove myself, Xuan thought with a hum and leaned over the edge of the mountain peak.

He began free falling and immediately hit his body on a giant sharp rock. However, he wasn’t pierced, and instead, the tip of the sharp rock dulled as he continued falling.

Every rock that came into contact with him was decimated, and when he finally fell below the clouds, he let out a relieved breath.

My durability finally reached the point where I won’t die from a fall... Or did it?

To test his perfectly sane theory, Xuan kicked off the wall and aimed himself directly at the instructor, who wasn’t paying any attention to him.

Right as Xuan was about to land on the instructor, he was grabbed by the collar, and then tossed back down toward the base of the mountain.

He was slightly dazed, but when he glanced up, Xuan spotted Huizhen standing there, glancing down at him with a perplexed look.

"Are you suicidal? That is no way to act in the grace of the Grand Jade Temple," Huizhen said. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

But after he narrowed his eyes at Xuan’s injured body, he simply grumbled and turned toward instructor Feng Xiaodong.

"That’s it for today, right?" Huizhen asked. "Can he go back?"

Feng Xiaodong raised a brow, a small smirk appearing on his snake-like face.

"He tried to attack me just now... So he must do one more full climb, but since you came in last, you have to do two!"