Chapter 434 - 234: Divine Soul Trial! Jiang Che Ignites the Arena! The Final Trial Begins

The next day, the sky was clear and the air was crisp.

On Xuanwu Plaza, the atmosphere was even more solemn than the day before.

Today was the second trial—Heart Inquiry!

In the center of the plaza, the enormous Heaven-Reaching Stele had been removed.

In its place was a magnificent Celestial Ladder, carved entirely from White Jade, that floated in mid-air!

The Celestial Ladder had a hundred steps and reached straight into the clouds.

Complex and obscure array runes were inscribed on every step, faintly emitting a strange fluctuation that pierced one’s very Divine Soul.

"So this is the Heart Inquiry Celestial Ladder..."

Many disciples looked up at the long flight of stairs and felt a wave of dizziness. Before they had even set foot on it, their Divine Souls were already feeling oppressed.

At the presiding official’s command, the trial officially began.

The disciples still proceeded in order of their State Mansions.

Taking the stage first were, once again, the disciples from the remote Small State Mansions.

Most in this first batch were at the Refining Organ Realm in their Cultivation, and the vast majority had not yet begun the path of Refining Spirit.

The moment they stepped onto the first tier, their bodies swayed and their faces turned pale.

It was as if an invisible sledgehammer had brutally struck them inside their minds!

"Ugh..."

Many gritted their teeth and struggled to take a second step, then a third.

However, upon reaching the third tier, the pressure on their Divine Souls suddenly multiplied!

THUD! THUD!

One dull thud echoed after another.

The vast majority of Refining Organ Realm disciples who had not yet started Refining Spirit couldn’t even make it past the third tier. Their eyes rolled back in their heads as they fainted and tumbled down!

Fortunately, the fall from such a low height was harmless to experts of the Refining Organ Realm.

It just looked quite embarrassing.

The crowd below erupted in an uproar. Only then did everyone truly realize just how difficult this trial was!

"Without a developed Divine Soul, it’s impossible to take even a single step..."

Xu Qingshan couldn’t help but sigh as he watched from below.

Next, the disciples at the Peak of Refining Organ Realm who had begun Refining Spirit—some having even opened several acupoints—performed much better.

Although they also struggled, with cold sweat beading on their foreheads, they relied on their nascent Divine Thought to grit their teeth and push through the first few tiers.

Among them, a few experts who had opened eleven acupoints and were just a step away from the True Master Realm gave it their all, finally stopping at around Tier Ten.

This, it seemed, was the limit for the Refining Organ Realm.

Afterward, it was the turn of the State Mansions with True Master Realm experts.

The scene instantly changed.

True Master Realm powerhouses, having been baptized by the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism, had already formed their Divine Souls. They were far beyond what those in the Refining Organ Realm could compare to.

After stepping onto the Celestial Ladder, the young talents at the First Layer of True Master Realm traversed the first ten tiers as if walking on flat ground.

Their pace only slowed after they passed the fifteenth tier.

In the end, most cultivators at the First Layer of True Master Realm finished at around the twentieth tier.

Occasionally, a few with exceptional Talent or some Demon Fiends who specialized in Divine Soul Secret Techniques managed to grit their teeth and push to the twenty-fifth tier, drawing waves of cheers from the crowd.

"Guo Yifan of the Divine Moon Sect from Youzhou!"

As the presiding official announced his name, all eyes turned to him.

After all, he was the first True Master to take the stage yesterday.

Although his rank was later pushed so far down it vanished, he was still a True Master.

Guo Yifan straightened his clothes, his face still wearing that arrogant expression, and strode onto the Celestial Ladder.

He was steady enough for the first few steps.

But when he reached Tier Ten, his expression began to sour.

His once-ruddy face instantly turned deathly pale, large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his legs began to shake uncontrollably!

"What’s going on? Isn’t he in the True Master Realm?" someone in the crowd asked, confused.

Guo Yifan clenched his jaw, desperately trying to take another step.

However, his bloated and unstable Realm, which had been forcibly built up with Elixir Pills, was completely exposed at that moment!

His Divine Soul was as fragile as a candle in the wind!

When he barely managed to set foot on the twelfth tier, he could no longer hold on. With a miserable shriek, he was thrown off by the Array, tumbling down in a pathetic heap!

"Tier twelve?!"

"This... is also a True Master? He’s barely any stronger than those at the Peak of Refining Organ Realm!"

"Haha, looks like he’s all show and no go!"

Instantly, a wave of undisguised ridicule swept across the plaza.

The jeers from the Cangzhou Prefecture waiting area were particularly loud.

It was even mixed with some vile curses.

Guo Yifan scrambled to his feet, face covered in dirt and shame, and glared fiercely at several Cangyun Sect disciples who were jeering the loudest.

However, his action instantly drew even more laughter and scorn from the crowd.

"Oh, look! He’s got no Ability, but he sure has a big temper!"

"Don’t laugh at him! Be careful, or he might pounce on you, scratch your face, and pull your hair!"

Guo Yifan looked around and saw nothing but mocking faces. He began to tremble with rage, his face flushing crimson.

But there was nothing he could do. He could only slink back into the crowd under the ashamed gazes of his fellow sect members.

Thanks to this little interlude, the tense atmosphere seemed to lighten considerably.

In the tests that followed, some truly formidable individuals began to emerge.

Experts at the Second Layer of True Master Realm, whose Divine Souls were more condensed, were generally able to climb steadily to around Tier Thirty.

A few with exceptionally resolute wills could even touch the threshold of Tier Thirty-Five.

And when the top prodigies at the Third Layer of True Master Realm took their turn, they left everyone else in the dust!

Their steps were steady and their breathing even as they advanced with unstoppable momentum, breaking right past the major milestone of Tier Forty. A select few even reached a position around the forty-fifth tier!