“An empress, what does that mean exactly?” asked Qiu Yue Xin . She was curious and fixedly staring at Lin Feng .
“An empress is an emperor’s wife . ” said Lin Feng with an incredible smile . Her heart started pounding . She was delighted by the idea .
An empress, what a powerful title .
“It’s starting soon!” said Lin Feng raising his head . The sun was like a fire . It made people feel determined .
“We’re almost there . ” nodded Qiu Yue Xin .
“Bzzz!” A sound spread in the air and made people’s souls shake . The atmosphere suddenly became calm . Many people raised their heads, looking solemn and respectful . They looked at the stairs which were now illuminated . They looked even more mysterious than before . Qi was flowing through the steps and appeared ethereal .
“They’re different!” Lin Feng was astonished . The flight of stairs was different, but Lin Feng didn’t know what had changed .
“Bzzz!” another sound spread in the air . People looked even more serious . In the distance, at the top of the flight of stairs, someone appeared .
They looked calm, sober . They put their palms together before him like a Buddhist or Hinduist monk .
It was a Sadhu .
“Come up!” said the Sadhu . He was surrounded by golden lights and he looked like a little Buddha .
“He looks like he can use ancient buddhist spells . ” Qiu Yue Xin was very surprised . Lin Feng frowned, he didn’t understand so he asked, “Aren’t Sadhus Buddhists? What does “ancient Buddhist spells” mean?”
“Who told you Sadhus are Buddhists?” asked Qiu Yue Xin . She then added, “Sadhus practice self-denial and apply ascetic principles . It is painful and they devote their life to this cultivation . They are pure of heart and have few desires . They shave their heads to avoid being ostentatious . They refuse fame and wealth and other material things . They don’t wear clothes for glory, they wear a kasaya . They also recognize that they have flaws . ”
“But there isn’t just one sort of Sadhu, especially in the antiquity . There are differences between Sadhus and also between the date of the teachings they received . Two Sadhus can be very different but can be very, very similar at the same time . This Sadhu’s energies are auspicious . He could make people feel calm and serene . It seems that he learnt ancient ascetic practices, that’s why I said that . ” explained Qiu Yue Xin slowly . Lin Feng nodded . He understood .
He released golden lights which enveloped the stairs . It was a celestial Qi .
Some people rose up in the air and their Qi was extraordinary . Some people looked proud, some others looked humble, but people clearly understood that they were imperial cultivation disciples, to the extent that some of them were the emperors’ direct disciples . As an emperor, other people were insects to them .
An auspicious cloud appeared and a few dozen people were on it .
“Please monitor the exam, thank you . ” said the Sadhu bowing respectfully in front of those people with his palms together before him .
“No problem . Do what you have to do . ” said the group to the Sadhu . They all knew who he was . There was only one Sadhu who followed Emperor Shi and Emperor Yu’s teachings . Their direct disciples all knew the Sadhu .
“Thank you for your understanding . ” said the Sadhu politely . He then looked at the crowd and said, “Those who are not participating, please move backwards . ”
He sounded enlightened . Many people moved backwards . The Sadhu just had to say a few words and millions of people listened to him .
Nobody dared cause trouble, after all, it was an event organized by two emperors .
Two groups of people appeared, those behind and those at the front .
The Sadhu nodded and said, “Today, Emperor Shi and Emperor Yu’s recruitment process is starting . However, there are too many people . Therefore, the emperors created that flight of stairs to do a first selection . There are 18,000 steps . Those who manage to come up to the 17,919th step will arrive in front of nine groups of nine steps . Then, there will be a key . If you manage to take the key you’ll be able to open the door to Tiantai . Only those who manage to do that will be able to move forwards and apply for an imperial cultivation disciple position . ”
The crowd thought, a key? A key?! That seemed too easy .
Lin Feng was surprised as well, he had thought the exam only consisted of that challenge . He thought climbing all the stairs would be enough to become an imperial cultivation disciple .
The first group of nine steps was already very challenging . What would the exam be like after that then?
After the first challenge, which was already extremely difficult, would it get more difficult?
“How difficult, but it’s understandable . ” whispered Qiu Yue Xin . Emperor Shi and Emperor Yu only wanted to look for the strongest geniuses .
“81 steps, nine groups of nine steps . It’s as difficult as reaching the clouds . Climbing one group of steps grants you the possibility to come to Tiantai, but not to continue through to the competition and become an imperial cultivation disciple . ” said the Sadhu explaining the rules . One group of steps, one key, without the key, nobody would be able to go up the nine groups of nine steps .
The crowd sighed . They had to go through two groups of steps at least .
“Those who manage to go through two groups of nine steps will get a different key and will be allowed to continue competing to become an imperial cultivation disciple . If you take one key, you won’t be able to get the following keys . Therefore, if you take the third key, you will lose access to the six other keys . So don’t take a key carelessly . If you can, try to go as far as you can, the more groups of steps you go through, the better key you will get . Try to take a key only if you really can’t bear the energies anymore . ” said the Sadhu slowly so that everybody could clearly understand .
The second key only allowed one to continue competing . Keys at higher levels offered more opportunities, many people were wondering what the ninth key had to offer .
Of course, many people were wondering what the pressure was like on the last level .
“Alright, start now!” said the Sadhu . Suddenly, many people started running up the stairs!
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