As the elders worried about the student intake of the Ling Xiao Sword Sect, people continued their ascent up the staircase.
The staircase before the mountain gate comprised nine hundred and ninety-nine steps. Some had already reached halfway and were continuing upwards.
However, many more were resting on the spot. Those who had chosen the Ling Xiao Sword Sect already possessed great willpower; otherwise, they would have opted for other sword sects.
It was estimated that their talents were not particularly outstanding. Although they were happy to have chosen the Ling Xiao Sword Sect, the thought of their talents and abilities made them worry about the future of their sect.
The young man they had just noticed had climbed over six hundred steps and appeared to still have strength to spare. This drew even more attention to him.
The young man had already far outstripped everyone else, positioning himself in the leading group. Ahead of him were only a few youths at the Qi Refining stage.
The fact that these youths could begin cultivating before their official entry into the sect was proof of their deep family heritage. This young man, possessing no cultivation himself, could keep pace with them, which was truly remarkable.
"He will surely become a disciple of some elder," one disciple murmured, looking at the young man with admiration.
"That's a given!" another disciple chimed in. With such talent, this junior disciple would undoubtedly be highly regarded by all the elders.
"I wonder if the Sect Master will take any disciples this year. If the Sect Master were to…" The rest of their words went unspoken, but everyone understood the implication.
If the Sect Master truly were to take disciples this year, this junior brother would likely be the lucky one.
It was truly enviable; to enter the sect and immediately gain access to the higher echelons, guided by the Sect Master himself, his progress would undoubtedly be swift.
"Do you think this junior brother can surpass our Senior Sister?" one disciple suddenly asked.
The others fell silent at his remark. No matter how outstanding this junior brother might be, how could he compare to the Senior Sister?
They immediately shifted their attention back to the youths on the staircase.
The hardworking young man on the steps was none other than our protagonist, Wan Si Rui.
He looked at the people ahead of him, feeling a surge of defiance. Clearly, they were no match for him. It was merely because they hailed from cultivation families that they could obtain cultivation techniques before their entry, and even with lesser talent, they could now far outpace him.
He felt a profound sense of injustice. Did one's background truly determine everything? He lowered his head and moved his steps forward, one by one. Sooner or later, he would trample these so-called scions of noble families beneath his feet.
Sweat dripped onto the steps, each drop a testament to his struggle. His legs felt as heavy as lead.
But he could not give up. He had to reach the highest step. More than that, he intended to surpass all these scions of noble families and be the first to reach the summit.
Step by step, he ascended. As he stepped onto a certain level, he suddenly felt a wave of lightness. He immediately took several more steps, swiftly overtaking the few individuals in front of him.
He was now only a few steps away from the first position. He felt his body fill with power, and he was certain he could reach the final step!
"A breakthrough? Did I see correctly? He's never cultivated before, has he?"
"My heavens, he truly is a genius! Never having cultivated, yet directly breaking through to the first level of Qi Refining. Just how strong is his talent!"