Chapter 4: Heartless

  It's late at night already

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  The stone steps are steep and uneven, with dangerous terrain on both sides, and a slight carelessness will lead to a fall.

  Less than half a day had passed, and Wang Lin felt his legs were like lead, sweating profusely, panting heavily, and struggling to take another step. At first glance from the foot of the mountain, this stone path didn't seem long, but actually walking on it made him realize that the path seemed endless, making him feel despair deep down.

  In front of him were a dozen robust young men, all panting and slowly climbing up. So far, not one has given up.

  Wang Lin gritted his teeth and persisted, knowing this was his last chance. His parents' expectant gaze lingered in his mind. Just then, a youth behind him suddenly stumbled, lost his footing, and fell rapidly to the side, letting out a terrified shriek that echoed through the air.

  "I give up, save me!"

  Everyone stopped in their tracks, and without exception looked down to see a dark light flashing, a Hengyue Sect disciple suddenly rushed out from somewhere, grabbed the young man who was suspended in mid-air, and gently landed at the foot of the mountain.

  Wang Lin's face was pale, and he remained silent, carefully continuing to climb upwards. Time flew by quickly, and two days later, the dozen or so young men in front of him were no longer visible.

  Wang Lin did not know how many of his companions had given up, but he knew that he absolutely could not give up. Although his legs and feet had already blistered and were sending piercing pain from the broken blisters, he still persisted in using his hands to crawl forward.

  "A child's heart is firm, but the great road is ruthless. In vain, in vain... " A long sigh floated down from the top of the mountain peak, a middle-aged man with a pale yellow face floated lightly down the stone steps, quickly passing by the side of several young men, his face filled with emotion.

  As he passed by Wang Lin's side, the middle-aged man paused for a moment. The boy in front of him was the sixth young man he had seen, but absolutely the most wretched one. His whole body was covered in blood, his clothes were soaked in blood, and his knees and toes were blurred with flesh and blood. He was crawling forward using only his hands. The middle-aged man let out a light sigh and asked: "Child, what's your name?"

  Wang Lin's expression had become blurry, and in his heart, there was only one thought: he would rather die than not climb to the top of the mountain. As for the middle-aged man's question, he hadn't even heard it; in his eyes, apart from this stone path, nothing else existed.

  The middle-aged man gazed into Wang Lin's eyes, and his heart was moved by the firmness of his thoughts. He placed his hand on Wang Lin's head and pressed down, then shook his head and muttered to himself: "His willpower is excellent, but unfortunately, his innate talent is too ordinary... no fate, no fate..." He looked deeply at Wang Lin once more before continuing down the stone steps.

  The next night, Wang Lin's hands were covered in blood and flesh, the stone steps he crawled over left a deep trail of blood. As for these things, Wang Lin was already unaware of them, now his body was being driven solely by a single thought, his breath was on the verge of collapse.

  At the moment of sunrise on the third day, he vaguely saw the end of the stone steps, but unfortunately, a ruthless voice came like thunder at this time, shocking his heart.

  "Time's up! Only three of you have passed, the rest... failed!"

  Wang Lin let out a miserable laugh, his body swayed and fell onto the stone steps, losing consciousness.

  Three days ago, a middle-aged man in black who tested Tianzi's talent stood on the mountain top, looking at Wang Lin less than ten feet away from here, with an expressionless face.

  At this time, several Hengyue Sect disciples quickly walked down from the mountain top, bringing all the young men who were still holding on to the mountain and feeding them medicine.

  "Senior brother, out of 39 test-takers, 25 gave up. Apart from the three who passed, there are still 11 people left." A female disciple of the Hengyue Sect replied in a cold tone. She had experienced such a cruel test back then and finally managed to barely pass with her perseverance, thanks to her foundation in martial arts since childhood, becoming a registered disciple after nearly ten years of hard work, but still not a true disciple until now.

  A middle-aged man in black attire, with an icy demeanor, nodded slightly and scanned the 11 unconscious youths before speaking in a flat tone: "The three qualified ones will be taken to see the Miscellaneous Affairs Department to arrange their future work. The 25 who gave up will be sent back to their respective families. As for these 11 who persisted until the end, after they wake up, they will all be sent to the Sword Spirit Pavilion to see if anyone has a destiny with the sword spirit. If not, they will also be sent back to their respective families."

  Having said that, the middle-aged man didn't even give these young people a glance and turned to leave with a flick of his sleeve.

  Three days later, inside the Sword Spirit Pavilion, including Wang Lin, 11 youths stood pale-faced to one side. Wang Lin's physical injuries had healed, but the wound in his heart was torn even wider, wave after wave of piercing pain, ceaselessly devouring his body and mind.

  The sword spirit test was not hosted by the black-robed middle-aged man, but a young stranger wearing white clothes. However, without exception, they all had an icy expression and their gaze towards them was as cold-blooded as looking at ants.

  "This is the final test, those who can enter this room are qualified." The young man's words were brief, and his face showed even more impatience.

  King Lin's gaze reached a very ordinary house, the main gate of the house was open, and looking inside, he only saw a few long and short ancient swords placed inside.

  The young men went one by one in order, walking towards the room. The first young man had just walked near the house five zhang away when he showed a struggling expression and was pushed back several zhang by an invisible force.

  "Not good enough, next one!" The young man said calmly.

  Wang Lin was the seventh one, and the previous six people were all unable to move forward at Wuzhang. He smiled bitterly, picked up the little hope left in his heart, and walked forward.

  At a distance of fifty feet, he stepped over easily. Wang Lin was stunned for a moment, his heart racing with anticipation, his mouth dry and his tongue parched, but he continued to step forward another ten feet, still feeling no discomfort.

  The young man's eyes sparkled with interest, and his expression relaxed as he said, "Don't hesitate, keep going inside. If you can enter the house and gain the recognition of the sword spirit, even if you failed the previous two tests, you will still be accepted as a true disciple!"

  The other ten young men all showed a look of admiration, and in this admiration, there was also deep jealousy.

  Wang Lin's heart was tense, his parents' expectant gaze once again entered his mind, and he took another step forward. At this time, there were still three zhang (a unit of length) between him and the main gate. Wang Lin's anxiety grew, and he took another step forward.

  At this moment, a massive force suddenly appeared and rushed towards Wang Lin crazily. His body flew backward uncontrollably at high speed until he stopped more than ten zhang away.

  The rest of the young men standing by all had a mocking look in their eyes, thinking that Wang Lin should be like themselves and have no chance at all.

  A mournful smile, Wang Lin's internally torn wound grew even larger, his parents' expectant gazes gradually dispersing from his mind.

  The young man's expression was as cold as before, and he said lightly: "Not qualified, next one."