"Senior Brother Pang, why do I feel more tired the farther I go, almost unable to move?" Ouyang Lie gasped and asked Pang Bo after taking a few steps.
"It’s normal. We’re at the Heaven-Ascending Ladder, where the higher your cultivation, the stronger the pressure you feel, and the greater your talent, the more intense the pressure. Perform well, the elders are watching you all. The farther you go, the more attention you’ll receive from the elders." Pang Bo explained.
They had just climbed a thousand steps, and Ouyang Lie was already gasping for breath. He glanced at Lu Yu beside him and asked puzzledly, "Why aren’t you affected at all?"
Seeing the two beside him flush in their faces, stepping hard upwards, Lu Yu also wondered and asked, "Yeah! Why am I not feeling anything? It feels like ordinary stairs, just slightly heavier."
"Wait a minute." Ouyang Lie asked strangely, "Can’t you feel the terrifying pressure from above?"
"From above?" Lu Yu looked up, all the way to the end of the steps, but saw only a grand hall, not the terrifying pressure Ouyang Lie mentioned.
"There’s nothing up there?"
"How come! Can’t you feel the pressure from directly facing the Heavenly Dao?" Pang Bo was also shocked. When he climbed the Heaven-Ascending Ladder in the past, the pressure from the Heavenly Dao almost shattered his Dao heart, losing confidence in cultivation.
Qin Feng also looked at Lu Yu in surprise. To him, even the simple action of climbing a step was tremendously exhausting. If he dared to look up at the Heavenly Dao’s pressure above, he figured he would be paralyzed on the steps instantly.
Seeing the shock on his three companions’ faces, Lu Yu suddenly realized, could it be that because he was a player, he couldn’t feel the Heavenly Dao’s pressure?
Pang Bo couldn’t explain this phenomenon either and could only continue leading the three upwards. Ouyang Lie was the first to stop, roughly around the three thousandth step. Qin Feng walked several steps further and also stopped, slightly higher than Ouyang Lie.
Seeing Qin Feng was three steps higher, Ouyang Lie was unconvinced. He steadied himself, took a deep breath, and took another step.
With a puff~, Lu Yu turned to look back, and Ouyang Lie had taken just one step but was pushed to the brink by the pressure, causing his spiritual power to backfire internally, injuring his lungs, and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Ouyang Lie still refused to stop. Although he appeared carefree externally, he was indeed a proud person within, taking a second step.
When his foot landed, all the capillaries on Ouyang Lie’s skin exploded, turning him into a blood-drenched figure. Due to chaotic uncontrollable spiritual power bursting through the blood vessels in his eyes, blood tears rolled from the corners of his eyes.
The third step, as his foot hit the stairs, Ouyang Lie’s pant leg burst open, and Lu Yu even heard the creaking sound from Ouyang Lie’s bones due to overwhelming pressure.
Stepping the fourth step, just lifting the foot...
"Enough!" A figure flew down from the grand hall above the Heaven-Ascending Ladder, taking away Ouyang Lie who was confused and disoriented due to the pressure from the Heavenly Dao affecting his spiritual power.
The elder left a sentence and then took Ouyang Lie away from Heaven-Breaking City.
"From today, Ouyang Lie is my direct disciple."
The voice was still from a female elder, but because of her swift actions, Lu Yu couldn’t see her face clearly. However, based on her figure, she was a beautiful female elder. And among female Martial Cultivators who reached higher realms, none were unattractive since they could shape their appearance.
Regarding Ouyang Lie’s actions, Lu Yu felt deeply shaken. Although he couldn’t feel the heavenly pressure others mentioned, seeing the state Ouyang Lie was in after a few steps was enough to tell the pressure was terrifying.
He was sure that if Ouyang Lie placed the fourth step on the stair, his leg would break, and he might face life-threatening danger.
"Ai~ Junior Brother Ouyang was too impulsive. The Heaven-Ascending Ladder is no joke; carelessness might lead to fatalities." Pang Bo recalled the moment he almost lost his will to cultivate due to the Heavenly Dao’s pressure.
However, after regaining himself, his realm increased significantly, and his cultivation speed accelerated greatly.
After Ouyang Lie was taken away, Qin Feng also walked up two steps but was halted before taking the third.
"Stop, don’t act recklessly. The height reached on the Heaven-Ascending Ladder doesn’t determine your achievements in the future. Over-pursuing visible heights will only destabilize your Dao heart."
The voice came from the grand hall above, followed by a rainbow glow landing on Qin Feng, taking him away.
Currently, the wide and long Heaven-Ascending Ladder only had Lu Yu and Pang Bo left. Lu Yu blinked at Pang Bo and asked, "Why didn’t any elders choose me?"
Pang Bo said awkwardly, "I’m not sure either, let’s proceed upward; your condition might be too unique."
With no choices left, Lu Yu could only continue and finish the remaining section. Originally, completing the Heaven-Ascending Ladder would cause a major commotion in the Divine Weapon Pavilion, attracting attention from the Pavilion Master. However, for reasons unknown, upon arriving at the Heavenly Dao Hall at the end of the ladder, only one elder was waiting for him.
"Pang Bo, you may leave. Lu Yu, follow me."
"Yes, Elder Li." Pang Bo saluted Elder Li before leaving the Heavenly Dao Hall.
Following Elder Li into the Heavenly Dao Hall, Lu Yu felt a tinge of anxiety.
Noting the anxious expression on Lu Yu’s face, Elder Li said, "Don’t worry, the Divine Weapon Pavilion won’t do anything to you. There are two other disciples like you who cannot sense the Heavenly Dao; you all are my registered disciples."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief and then realized besides himself, there were two other players who became disciples of the Divine Weapon Pavilion.
Leading Lu Yu through the Heavenly Dao Hall, Elder Li waved his hand, a rainbow light enveloped Lu Yu, and soon Lu Yu watched the scenery around him flash past quickly and realized he was flying.
When the rainbow light landed in front of Elder Li’s cave dwelling, Lu Yu steadied himself, and Elder Li flicked his sleeve, a storage bag appeared in Lu Yu’s hand, "Inside are daily necessities and regulations concerning the Divine Weapon Pavilion, familiarize yourself."
"Find a place to stay below the mountain, every first and fifth day of the week, I will lecture in the cave dwelling. If you have any questions about cultivation, you may ask then. If you have queries at other times, you can also come here, I might not be present."
"I manage my disciples loosely; as long as you don’t violate the Pavilion’s regulations, you can do as you wish."
After finishing, Elder Li went inside the cave dwelling, and Lu Yu bowed in respect.
Holding the storage bag, Lu Yu scratched the back of his head, wondering if he joined too hastily?
Leaving the cave dwelling and heading down the mountain, after a few steps, he saw several cottages nestled within the bamboo forest. Judging by the number of cottages, Elder Li’s registered disciples would be no more than ten.
Previously, when Pang Bo led the way, he explained the ranks inside the Divine Weapon Pavilion to Lu Yu and the others.
The lowest are ordinary disciples residing in Heaven-Breaking City. They may attend public lectures by elders and can ask questions then, but whether they receive answers depends on luck.
Above ordinary disciples are registered disciples who reside with their masters and can seek answers when faced with issues, enjoying considerably better treatment than ordinary disciples. Lu Yu’s current status is a registered disciple.
Higher still are direct disciples who receive genuine teachings from their masters, without worrying about cultivation resources. Ouyang Lie, due to his reckless impulsiveness, was fortunately taken in as a direct disciple by an elder.
Lu Yu chose an unoccupied cottage, using his identity card to activate the array, binding his coordinates there.
Temporarily, Lu Yu was the only one in the bamboo forest; it seemed it wasn’t time for lectures yet, as others hadn’t entered the secret realm.