Pressure mounted, and the peculiar bursts of energy formed by wind, snow, frost, and lightning swirled around Ye Chuxiao, persistently entangling him, refusing to dissipate.

The surrounding view had become completely blurred, and even the path under his feet was no longer visible.

Without railings or handrails, even a slight misstep could send him tumbling down the spiraling, narrow staircase.

Falling wouldn't necessarily turn him into mincemeat; a cultivator with the ability to float could save himself.

But that would mean starting all over again.

Ye Chuxiao summoned the Ice Lotus to protect him, isolating the raging energy.

Then, wielding his saber, he shattered large amounts of the turbulent energy. Using his Talent of Shaping, he swayed his spiritual root, harnessing this vast energy and transforming it into freely flowing saber light.

Step by step, Ye Chuxiao walked with exceptional determination and steadiness.

As a trial, there would naturally be gains.

But these gains alone were far from enough to bridge the gap between the Transformation Realm and the Wisdom Realm.

Ye Chuxiao needed to accumulate more, think more, and transform more.

The mental pressure and the attacks from the baleful souls and changgui (伥鬼, drowned ghosts forced to lure others to their deaths) never ceased.

They were unique products formed in areas of concentrated energy, not truly living beings, but possessing a certain degree of sentience. So, even though their gathered power was not as great as those terrifying energy bursts, they posed a greater threat to Ye Chuxiao than those mindless bursts.

Swinging his saber until he was numb, blocking and repelling attacks from all directions gradually became instinct.

Ye Chuxiao was also injured at times, but with the Talent of Strong Life coupled with the Nine Deaths Demonic Art, the damage he sustained was always repaired in an instant.

The rich energy environment around him also allowed Ye Chuxiao to thrive.

After about an hour, Ye Chuxiao finally climbed to the top with considerable difficulty.

Three figures were already standing on the roof of the Wen family's building.

They had reached the summit even earlier than Ye Chuxiao.

However, upon closer inspection, it could be seen that their clothes and accessories bore the Wen family's mark.

Clearly, these three were all Wen family disciples; this was their base camp, after all, so it was normal for them to be faster.

In terms of difficulty, if the difficulty Ye Chuxiao faced was ten, then the difficulty they faced was probably less than five.

"Finally, someone else has come up. We were just betting that no outsider could reach the summit before dawn," one Wen family disciple said to Ye Chuxiao with a smile.

"I know him! He's Xiao Ye, the guest that Seventh Miss Wen brought back. He once defeated Little Donghou Guan Ao and Fissuring Sky Swordsman Gu Yuhun," another Wen family disciple said.

As soon as these words were spoken, the gazes of the three Wen family disciples toward Ye Chuxiao became filled with a desire to challenge.

"There's still time, why don't we have a match here?" the last Wen family disciple said.

Upon hearing this, the Wen family disciple who had first revealed Ye Chuxiao's identity showed a somewhat conflicted expression.

Ye Chuxiao was also well aware of the challenger's intentions.

This was the Wen family disciples' home ground, and the pressure from the Wen family's divine weapon was at its strongest at the summit.

This pressure was probably only two or three points when applied to the Wen family disciples, but it was a full ten points when applied to Ye Chuxiao.

The other party was challenging him under these conditions, obviously wanting to use this home-field advantage to defeat Ye Chuxiao and steal his reputation.

For the cultivators in the Wilderness Battle Realm, eternal life was an unattainable fantasy. The fame, money, power, and beauties that were close at hand... these were the goals worth fighting and struggling for.

And sometimes, fame was equal to money, power, and beauties.

If they defeated Ye Chuxiao and seized his reputation, they would also gain more support and training within the Wen family.

And to the outside world, they would also gain more admiration and respect from other cultivators.

As long as they blurred the details, who would care that they had used dishonorable means?

"As long as you agree to our challenge, if you win, we will let you be the first to pass the first test," another Wen family disciple said, offering Ye Chuxiao a tempting bait.

Seeing that Ye Chuxiao did not object, the Wen family disciple who had revealed Ye Chuxiao's identity earlier, and who was now somewhat embarrassed to take advantage, also revealed a look of joy. He quickly said, "It seems you don't object, then we can let you choose who to fight first."

Ye Chuxiao leaned on his saber, the long wind blowing through his long hair and clothing.

"Come at me together!" Ye Chuxiao said.

The Wen family disciple who had first proposed challenging Ye Chuxiao turned red in the face upon hearing this: "Arrogant!"

After saying that, he took the lead in raising his spear and thrusting it toward Ye Chuxiao.

The Wen family's inherited divine weapon was a heaven-reaching long spear, and naturally their core family inheritance was the spear technique in martial arts.

This Wen family disciple's spear technique had an extremely solid foundation. This thrust looked ordinary, but in fact, it contained many changes.

However, facing such a solid thrust, Ye Chuxiao only needed one saber... faster! More ferocious! More violent! He could easily disintegrate and shatter its offensive.

With one saber strike, the opponent's courage was shaken, and he froze for a moment.

In an instant, Ye Chuxiao's saber had already knocked the opponent away.

If his companion hadn't waved his hand and used a magical treasure, the Bright Gold Rope, to bind him and pull him back, this person would have already fallen off the top of the building.

Covering the saber wound on his chest, the Wen family disciple, still in shock, said with a pale face: "Be careful, he's very powerful. A well-deserved reputation, attack together."

At this time, he no longer had the intention to win, only to avoid defeat.

Otherwise, if the battle today were to spread, he would be laughed at.

In a flash, the three men stood in a Three Talents formation, attacking Ye Chuxiao from all directions at the same time.

At this time, none of them held back.

Not only did they use their spear techniques, but they also used their respective magical treasures.

The Bright Gold Rope, the Shaking Light Drum, and the Soul-Suppressing Trumpet attacked at the same time, effectively interfering with Ye Chuxiao and disrupting his original, smooth saber techniques.

The Ice Lotus swirled around Ye Chuxiao, firmly holding off the three magical treasures.

At the same time, Ye Chuxiao's saber also landed on the three long spears.

The saber's edge swept across, and the originally cold, snow-like saber technique instantly melted into a surging river.

The river was turbulent, with hidden currents surging. Wherever the saber's edge passed, the three spears each went astray, actually interfering with each other, making it difficult to form an effective attack against Ye Chuxiao.

However, Ye Chuxiao did not simply knock the three of them away. Instead, he continued to exchange moves with them, engaging in entanglement.

The three men thought that their cooperation was limiting Ye Chuxiao's performance.

In reality, Ye Chuxiao was intentionally testing their moves.

Ye Chuxiao hadn't forgotten that the second test was to fight Wen Liangyu.

He hadn't been 'brainwashed', and Wen Liangyu would definitely go all out, intending to eliminate him within ten moves.

And Wen Liangyu himself was a cultivator in the Wisdom Realm, a major realm higher than Ye Chuxiao. Ye Chuxiao's Tower Climbing Secret Art cultivation was limited, and it was not enough to easily fight across realms.

At this time, the more he understood and grasped the Wen family's spear technique, the more confident and assured he would be when fighting Wen Liangyu.

After about a hundred rounds of exchanging moves,

In the distance, the horizon had begun to show a hazy light.

Dawn was coming!

And the three Wen family disciples also suddenly woke up.

"He's testing our moves!" one Wen family disciple said.

The remaining two were silent with frustration.

They had guessed Ye Chuxiao's intentions, but they felt even more humiliated and ashamed.

They could only work harder to wield the long spears in their hands and summon magical treasures to interfere, wanting to forcefully save face by defeating Ye Chuxiao.

But the gap between them and Ye Chuxiao was constantly widening, not narrowing.

As Ye Chuxiao gradually mastered the details of their moves, although he still didn't know the specific ways in which they changed their internal strength and true qi when circulating their energy, and how they vibrated and mobilized the energy of heaven and earth, he had become very familiar with the effects presented in each move and the way they attacked.

On the contrary, although Ye Chuxiao's saber techniques were just a few moves back and forth, the inner workings were ever-changing in the eyes of the three, and there was no pattern to be found at all.

"Release!" Ye Chuxiao said lightly.

The long spears in the three men's hands flew out at the same time.

At the same time, under the impact of the powerful force, the three men's wrists were dislocated at the same time.

They had lost without any argument.

Not only had they lost, but the cultivators who had climbed up later had already arrived near the top floor.

Their defeat had fallen into the eyes of more people.

This even left them with no room to deny it.

"Thank you for giving up your positions. I'll take the title of first place in the first test!"

"Do you have any objections?" Ye Chuxiao asked.

The three Wen family disciples were so angry that their faces turned green, but they could only grit their teeth and admit Ye Chuxiao's claim.

As time passed, more and more cultivators stood at the top.

By noon, there were already twenty or thirty people standing on the top floor.

And the top floor door, which had been closed all the time, also opened at this time.

The group took the elevator back to the original banquet hall.

At this time, the tables and chairs in the hall had been removed, replaced by two arenas that were firmly locked by formations.

Wen Liangyu and Wen Liangjue were sitting on the two arenas, respectively.

Obviously, the cultivators who had passed the first test could freely choose to challenge either of the two.

As long as they withstood ten moves, they could pass the second test.

This choice still looked simple, but in fact, it contained hidden tricks.

The essential purpose of the three tests was for the Wen family to use the Nanshan Studio's Notes as bait to select talent for the Wen family.

And the ultimate destination of the talent was linked to the internal power struggles of the Wen family.

Choosing Wen Liangyu or Wen Liangjue was actually a question of choosing who to support.

Surrendering to the Wen family and choosing to challenge either of them, if they successfully passed the second test, they would need to accept the favor, which was equivalent to joining their faction.

And as the 'first person' to reach the top, Ye Chuxiao naturally attracted the attention of Wen Liangyu and Wen Liangjue at the same time.

They had long known that there was a person named 'Xiao Ye' in Wenjia Mountain City.

What's more, they knew that 'Xiao Ye' had a magical treasure that chased after the aurora.

For the sake of reputation, they couldn't resort to coercion in Wenjia Mountain City to obtain it.

But at this time, whether it was Wen Liangyu or Wen Liangjue, they both wanted to recruit this 'talent' Ye Chuxiao, not only because of his personal ability and reputation, but also because of the Ice Lotus magic treasure in his hand.

Two gazes fell on Ye Chuxiao's body.

But Ye Chuxiao was calm and collected.

Unlike many cultivators who planned to rely on the Wen family,

Ye Chuxiao was considering which one, offending Wen Liangyu or Wen Liangjue... would make it more difficult for him to live in Wenjia Mountain City.

"It's a pity that I didn't ask Wen Tingting for more information before."

"I only know that on the surface, Wen Liangyu is the Great City Envoy, and theoretically, he has the best chance to become the Wen family's patriarch in the future, and also serve as the City Lord of Wenjia Mountain City. And Wen Liangjue is slightly higher than Wen Liangyu in terms of cultivation, and is more liked by the current Wen family patriarch." After thinking about it, Ye Chuxiao had an answer.

Moving his feet, he stepped onto Wen Liangjue's arena.

A smile appeared on Wen Liangjue's face.

And Wen Liangyu's face was tense, obviously in a very unhappy mood.

"The correct choice, make your move!"

"You are a junior, I can let you make the first three moves." Wen Liangjue said gently to Ye Chuxiao.

This was undoubtedly the meaning of letting him make the first three moves.

There was originally only a limit of ten moves, and letting him make the first three moves was almost like directly letting Ye Chuxiao pass.

But Ye Chuxiao said: "I don't need you to let me!"

"I only want to see the Nanshan Studio's Notes, but I have no intention of joining the Wen family."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the audience.

No one had thought that Ye Chuxiao, who was the first to pass the first test, hadn't been brainwashed and become a supporter of the Wen family.

This also showed that the pressure he had endured to get to this step was several times that of others.

Wen Liangjue's face darkened instantly.

On the other side, although Wen Liangyu wasn't necessarily happy, the grudges in his heart towards Ye Chuxiao had been reduced a lot.

As for the reason why Ye Chuxiao chose to challenge Wen Liangjue, it was very simple.

After all, Wen Liangyu held more and greater power on the surface. Ye Chuxiao didn't need to worry about what would happen in the future.

He only needed to gain a foothold in the Wen family temporarily and accumulate enough gains.

In another half a year or so, the other 'major event' that Ye Chuqi had reminded him of would be ready to start.

At that time, Ye Chuxiao would naturally leave Wenjia Mountain City and begin the next journey.

"Good! Very good!"

"Young people have arrogance, worthy of praise!"

"Then I won't be polite to you either!" Wen Liangjue said with a dark face.

Then, with a wave of his sleeve, a light cyan short spear flew out of his sleeve.

Looking at its shape and length, it was clearly different from the long spear commonly used by the Wen family.

Ye Chuxiao also tensed up, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

When cultivators entered the Wisdom Realm, they had to condense their own wisdom and walk their own path.

Therefore, even if Wen Liangjue's spear technique was derived from the Wen family's spear technique, there should be a big difference in the specific execution and use.

As expected, when Wen Liangjue attacked, Ye Chuxiao fully felt the difference between his spear technique and that of the previous three Wen family disciples.

The Wen family spear technique used by the three Wen family disciples was powerful and fierce, like the spear used by a fierce general on the battlefield. If one's courage was insufficient and one's killing intent was not strong enough, it would be difficult to master the true essence of it, and the effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

The spear technique used by Wen Liangjue, although the moves seemed similar to the Wen family's spear technique, but the long spear had changed into a short spear, which was more flexible, like a poisonous snake, which would bite the vitals at any time and take one's life.

At this time, Ye Chuxiao could no longer rely solely on the Nine Saber Styles.

He also needed to use the Death Qi Perception of the Longevity Saber to narrowly avoid fatal attacks, in order to seize his own counterattack rhythm under Wen Liangjue's offensive.