The female lead thought she had a "proud and arrogant" character script.

Luo Qingcheng swallowed hard.

"how come?"

Logically speaking, even if people were to die, the number of deaths shouldn't be too high.

Li Zhiming smiled nonchalantly and said, "As I just mentioned, the Wenjian Sect's assessments have always been known for being 'simple and effective'."

Simplicity inevitably leads to brutality.

For something to be effective, it must be rigorous.

Luo Qingcheng's expression turned serious.

Turning to look at Hongdou, who seemed oblivious to the situation, he said, "Hongdou, bring me another pot of ice water."

Li Zhiming: ...

I thought she was going to say something.

Hongdou handed over the ice water, which Luo Qingcheng took and drank in one gulp. After taking the empty pot, seeing that Luo Qingcheng looked extremely hot, Hongdou silently gathered ice elements from the air and moved closer to her.

Luo Qingcheng wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Shall we talk while we walk?"

This means we're going to the first round of assessment points.

Li Zhiming asked curiously, "Miss Luo, aren't you afraid?"

The mortality rate was so high, and she was clearly just an ordinary person.

Luo Qingcheng understood the meaning behind Li Zhiming's question and replied, "Those who have participated in the Sword Inquiry Sect's recruitment ceremony must have included ordinary people, and there must have been ordinary people who passed the assessment. Otherwise, why doesn't the Sword Inquiry Sect set up a restriction prohibiting ordinary people from participating in the assessment?"

Li Zhiming nodded.

She said matter-of-factly, "There are so many ordinary people who can pass the test, what's wrong with one more?"

It was as if having one more person pass the test was something that should be done during the assessment.

Li Zhiming: ...

but--

"That's true. I should have more faith in Miss Luo."

Hongdou goes without saying. If it weren't for the fact that Huiyin Sui advised her to solidify her foundation, her cultivation level would have already reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Of course!" Luo Qingcheng was very confident in himself.

Although she was physically weak and had no shattered spiritual roots or meridians, she was still Feng Aotian!

How could they fail even a simple entry-level test?

[Right, system?]

[Whatever makes you happy]

……

Exiting through another city gate, you can see a majestic mountain.

It was indistinct in the clouds and could not be seen clearly.

Its top reaches the sky, like a sharp sword piercing straight into it.

"Is this the Sword Inquiry Mountain?" It looks like you'd be stabbed to death if you stood on it.

“Exactly,” Li Zhiming said with emotion.

"As expected of the location of the number one sword sect, the sword intent it exudes is like a cold, concealed blade, inspiring awe in those who look upon it."

Luo Qingcheng and Hongdou secretly memorized the new term in their hearts: sword intent.

A site was set up at the foot of the mountain.

Seeing the three of them gazing at the sky at a 45-degree angle, remaining motionless for a long time, the disciple in charge of the site called out from afar, "What are you three doing over there? Come over here quickly!"

If you're going to daydream, why not find another place? Why are you blocking the middle of the road?

The disciple in charge was inwardly complaining.

Li Zhiming went up to the audience seats on his own, while Luo Qingcheng led Hongdou in that direction.

Upon arrival, the disciple in charge said, "Bring out your number plate."

The two handed over their number plates.

"The Heavenly Group has 38 members, and the Yellow Group has 250 members?"

After confirming the information, the man took out a small stamp and stamped a sword-shaped stamp on each of their number plates.

"Go wait over there."

Luo Qingcheng understood; this was a "check-in" sign-in.

She and Hongdou walked to the side. There were already many people waiting to start, because the Sword Inquiry Sect did not limit aptitude, and there were many people who wanted to try their luck.

Overwhelmed and at a loss.

There were too many people, making it difficult to breathe. His body was radiating heat from the inside out, and without Hongdou's help, Luo Qingcheng felt even worse.

"Huff, huff." She kept panting heavily, her face flushed an unnatural red.

Fearing she might have some contagious disease, those around her quietly kept their distance.

Hongdou wasn't in the same group as her, nor was she near Luo Qingcheng.

With Luo Qingcheng as the center, a vacuum zone appeared that no one had set foot in.

Just when Luo Qingcheng thought he was about to spontaneously combust—

"Dong—dong—" The melodious and resounding bell rang through the sky.

This slightly dampened the enthusiasm in Luo Qingcheng's heart.

The previously noisy crowd quieted down.

A man dressed in faded disciple robes flew into the air on a sword in front of the stage.

As he channeled his spiritual energy, his clear voice traveled to everyone's ears along with the flow of that energy.

"The first round of the Sword Inquiry Sect's entrance examination is called 'Questioning the Heart.' As you can see, there are ten thousand steps in front of you. The first round of the examination only requires you to climb these steps."

He pointed to the steep stone steps behind him that seemed to have no end, his face cold and hard. He glanced at the bustling crowd below and said, "The mountain path is as steep as the treacherous path to immortality. You may all give up at any time."

Before anyone could react, he gave the order: "Begin now."

Luo Qingcheng was the first to rush out with a "whoosh".

A raging fire burned within him as Luo Qingcheng gazed at the endless stone steps before him, his fighting spirit soaring.

A piece of cake!

[etc……

Before the system could finish speaking, Luo Qingcheng had just taken his first step when he fell face-first onto the first step.

what happened?

The sudden pressure knocked Luo Qingcheng to the ground, as if his body had suddenly gained dozens of kilograms.

Her already red face became even redder due to the abrasion.

She looked up and saw that some people were easily stepping onto the steps, while others, like her, were firmly pressed down on the stone steps.

The head disciple skillfully lifted the book, took out a brush, and wrote something on it.

Luo Qingcheng had only fallen because she was caught off guard. After adjusting to the changes in her body, she stood up.

Looking at the stone steps in front of him now, the arrogance he had shown when he underestimated his opponent was gone.

She tentatively stretched out her foot and stepped onto the next step.

no problem.

So my vigilance lessened a little.

Seeing that he had been left far behind by the first group of people, he was somewhat anxious.

Just as I was striding forward, ready to catch up, the scenery around me suddenly changed—

When Luo Qingcheng came to his senses, he found himself in an unfamiliar scene.

Snowy day, dark night.

An elderly man in his seventies, dressed in tattered clothes, carried a thin-faced three-year-old child on his back with an old, dark red baby carrier.

The child's eyes were tightly closed, his face was yellowish-red, his small body was curled up in a ball, his brows were furrowed, his blood-red lips were slightly parted, and his breathing was shallow and deep, with barely any white breath coming out due to the low temperature.

The old man kept stopping passersby, his cloudy eyes filled with pleading. He treated everyone as a savior, even kneeling down, begging someone to save his grandson.

To dodge, to show disdain.

His large, gray-black fingernails were covered in mud.

again and again.

again and again.

Finally, the ragged old man knelt in the snow, his head bowed deeply to the ground, and he did not lift it for a long time, melting a patch of snow and revealing the deep earth beneath.

"Subject, what is your choice?"

The ethereal voice entered Luo Qingcheng's mind.

She caught her breath.

He walked from a distance to the grandfather and grandson's side.

But they did nothing.

I just looked up at the snowflakes falling from the sky, one by one, pile by pile.

The old man never raised his head again.

The child seemed to have stopped breathing.

Luo Qingcheng rubbed his hands, which were freezing cold.

He took a shovel out of his storage bag.

They dug holes on the spot with heavy heaves, stopping to rest when they got tired, and continuing to dig when they were rested enough, until they had dug a hole one meter wide and two meters deep, before finally climbing out of the hole covered in dust.

An elder who was monitoring everyone's progress in real time through a magical artifact watched for a long time but still couldn't figure out what Luo Qingcheng was trying to do.

Unable to resist, he pulled another elder, with whom he was on good terms, to look and asked, "What is she doing?"

Another elder scratched his head, "I have no idea either."

Faced with this challenge, some people ignored it, some helped, and in fact, there were even bizarre cases where test subjects went up and killed a grandfather and grandson, claiming afterwards that they were helping the two to escape their suffering. But no one dug a pit on the spot.

In a short time, many elders left the water curtains of the subjects they were in charge of and ran to the water curtain of this elder to watch.

"What exactly does this girl want?" The elder from Shu was anxious to return to his post while also wanting to see what would happen next.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough," the elder said calmly, stroking his beard.

"Move, move!"

Everyone looked at the water curtain.

Luo Qingcheng had no idea that so many people were watching him.

The heavy snow left her breathless and drenched in sweat.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and tossed the shovel aside.

He walked up behind the grandfather and grandson, who were already frozen stiff.

He kicked the two corpses, covered in snow, into the pit.