Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 331: Keep your hands off my woman

"Master, why are the participants struggling to climb these stairs?" a beautiful young girl asked as she descended moments later and arrived beside the middle-aged examiner.

"Oh? So you are curious as well, Ariana," the examiner replied, his arms folded with a proud smile on his face. "At first glance, these appear to be ordinary stairs materialised through Soulforce, but in truth, they are created using a special array."

He continued calmly, "After the first hundred steps, the pressure exerted on the participants’ Soulforce base doubles. After that, it increases by five percent for every thousand steps. Only those with a strong cultivation base can continue climbing. This trial exists to eliminate participants with weak foundations, since a cultivation base cannot be strengthened through training alone. There is no value in accepting disciples with weak bases."

"But Master, there are fifty thousand steps before they reach Heaven’s First Step," Ariana replied. "Wouldn’t it be impossible for anyone to climb such a height within half an hour?"

The middle-aged man laughed softly before replying in a low voice, "You are correct, my disciple. Even without a time limit, reaching the top is an arduous task. Even I would be unable to reach it, despite being a descendant of the Snowbanes."

Ariana grew even more confused as she wondered why her master would assign a trial that seemed impossible even for a True Sage. Before she could voice her doubts, the examiner continued, clearing her confusion.

"Haha, I lied to them about reaching the top so they would give it their all. Any participant who reaches ten thousand steps will qualify for the next trial. However, these younglings do not need to know that. Let them suffer, hahaha."

As he snickered like a devil, Ariana’s gaze shifted toward the participants below.

After a brief pause, she spoke, her voice filled with shock. "S-so does that mean those two have already qualified?"

"Huh!? It has only been two minutes since the trial began. There is no way someone has already.... reached the ten thousandth step!?"

His voice rose in disbelief as his eyes locked onto two figures on the stairs, who were leaping forward and climbing fifty steps with each jump.

His mouth hung wide open, his eyes nearly popping from their sockets at the absurd sight before him.

Not only did the young duo, who appeared to be in their early twenties, climb multiple steps in a single leap, but their expressions were calm, as though they felt no pressure at all.

"Fifteen thousand... sixteen thousand... seventeen thousand... thirty-five thousand... thirty-six thousand!?" the middle-aged man exclaimed as he counted the steps they climbed with ease.

Unable to accept what he was witnessing, he instantly appeared before the unbelievable duo and shouted, "Halt! How dare you cheat in the Trial of the Sky Mountains!"

The duo, none other than Lucifer and Ume, stopped at the sudden furious shout and turned their gazes toward the fuming examiner.

"Elder, what makes you think we are cheating?" Lucifer asked coldly, his voice carrying an arrogant tone.

"Hah! Do you take me for a fool!?" the examiner retorted. "No one except a direct descendant of the Seven Banes or an inner disciple of a renowned sect could reach the thirty-six thousandth step within fifteen minutes! You must be using an artifact to block the suppression of your Soulforce!"

"Hah... Elder, that is a ridiculous claim," Lucifer muttered with a tired sigh. "Are you prepared to take responsibility for it?"

The examiner flinched at the youngster’s words. He immediately understood what Lucifer meant. Taking responsibility meant compensating them as the examiner if his accusation proved false.

However, seeing how calm and untired the pair appeared even after surpassing thirty thousand steps, he remained confident in his judgment.

"Fine then," the examiner said sharply. "If you are truly innocent as you claim, I will allow you to directly become inner disciples of the sect that matches your attribute. However, if you fail, you will leave behind the artifacts you are using and be permanently banned from participating in the Trial of the Sky Mountains!"

The moment he announced this, the participants thousands of steps below erupted into shocked exclamations.

---

"T-they will directly become inner disciples of one of the seven great sects!? Isn’t that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"

"Hah! As if that will happen. I already suspected they were cheating when they passed me so easily. They will definitely be exposed."

---

While the participants focused on Lucifer and Ume, the duo calmly agreed to the examiner’s terms.

With an irritated snort, the examiner stepped onto the stairs. The instant he did, he flinched as intense pressure slammed down on his Soulforce.

"Give me your hand," he said, sweat already forming on his temple.

Lucifer complied and extended his hand. The examiner grasped it and began scanning his body for artifacts. The method was simple. Every artifact and living being emitted a unique Soulforce frequency that distinguished them from one another.

However, only two frequencies were detected from Lucifer. One emanated from his entire body, his unique signature, and the other originated from the spatial ring on his finger.

"N-no way!" the middle-aged man muttered, intensifying his scan.

Yet he found nothing, which only deepened the turmoil on his face.

"Sh-she must be the one carrying the artifact!" he shouted, refusing to believe the result as he lunged toward Ume.

Before he could touch her, Lucifer seized his wrist tightly and said coldly, "Keep your hands off my woman, old man."

The examiner’s troubled expression vanished and his eyes narrowed sharply at Lucifer. A chilling aura erupted from his body as he growled, "What did you just call me, brat!?"

An equally suppressive pressure erupted from Lucifer’s body, his grip around the examiner’s wrist tightening. However, the very next moment, the pressure vanished as Lucifer spoke in a gentle voice, "Elder, you are surely not considering inspecting a lady, are you?"

The young man’s voice fell like a tranquil stream upon the examiner’s ears. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself and regained his composure, finally shifting his gaze toward the woman standing before him.

With just a single glance, the examiner’s heart skipped a beat, and he found himself momentarily dazed.

He instantly averted his eyes, a faint red hue appearing on his face.

"Th-that was dangerous!" the examiner muttered inwardly. "If I had looked at her for even a second longer, an inner demon would have taken root in my cultivation. Just who is this woman, whose beauty rivals even the Sect Master of the Flowerbane Clan?"

As these thoughts churned in his mind, his disciple Ariana arrived at the scene and asked, "Master, is everything alright? You left in such haste."

"Y-yes, everything is fine," the examiner replied, snapping out of his thoughts.

Turning to Lucifer, he said, "You are an arrogant brat, but given your abilities, you are worthy of such arrogance. I acknowledge your strength, and as we agreed earlier, both of you have passed the Trial of the Sky Mountains!"

After saying that, he threw two jade tokens, one toward Lucifer and the other toward Ume, before instantly moving downward and shifting his focus to the remaining participants.

"Why did he look so flustered?" Ume asked, her voice filled with confusion.

"Hmm, I wonder why..." Lucifer muttered, clearly understanding the reason behind the examiner’s haste.

"So... do we still need to reach the top by climbing these stairs?" Ume asked.

"No, we do not," Lucifer replied. "These jade tokens are keys that allow us to directly enter Heaven’s First Step, as long as we are within the designated radius of the Hundred Sky Mountains. Pour your Soulforce into the token.

The moment the duo infused their Soulforce, they vanished from their spot and instantly appeared atop a vast circular platform, its surface etched with numerous intricate patterns.

"Oh? So two people have already cleared the Trial of the Sky Mountains," an amused voice sounded from ahead.

Lucifer and Ume raised their heads, discovering seven individuals standing before them. Each wore robes of a different colour, yet all bore the same intricate pattern designs woven across their attire.