Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Xia Jin adjusted her breathing and lifted her foot to step onto the last step.

However, just as his foot was about to land, a white figure suddenly appeared in front of him and squatted down.

The man was wearing a white robe, and his figure and face were slightly plump, giving him a somewhat honest and simple appearance.

Xia Jin raised her foot, which was suspended in mid-air, and looked ahead with a somewhat suspicious expression.

When did this person appear? How come I didn't even notice him?

Even though he was already greatly exhausted, with his current level of perception, he shouldn't have been completely unaware. Yet this person seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

The sudden appearance of this person caused Xia Jin to frown slightly.

However, before he could speak, the man who was squatting on the ground and had a somewhat simple and honest appearance spoke first.

"Hey buddy, what are you doing here? How did you get here?!"

Xia Jin thought for a moment and then said, "Isn't it said that after passing through this staircase, one can become a disciple of Yunshang Academy? I'm here to join Yunshang Academy, so naturally I have to climb this staircase first."

At this point, Xia Jin seemed to sense something was amiss, so she asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? Is there a problem somewhere?"

Upon hearing Xia Jin's words, the other person was completely dumbfounded. "I said, brother! Who... told you to climb all the steps?"

"Just now in front of the mountain gate, I met a middle-aged man carrying a broom. He pointed to these steps and told me to come here!"

Unexpectedly, after hearing Xia Jin mention the middle-aged man with the broom, the other person was stunned for several moments before coming to their senses, and then a strange look appeared in their eyes.

Xia Jin's uneasy feeling grew stronger.

"Um, let me ask you something. When you came up here, didn't you see another path halfway up the mountain?" The fat man in white stood up, hesitated for a moment, and then asked in a low voice.

"What? There's another way?" Xia Jin was taken aback.

He began to recall his initial steps up the mountain. Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock.

He remembered!

Just as he reached the halfway point of the mountain, he did indeed see a fork in the road.

It was an inconspicuous path, hidden behind the bushes beside the road, winding its way in another direction. He glanced at it then and felt that something was off about the path; it seemed to lead to another mountain peak, completely different from the main road he was on that led to the summit.

So he didn't go that way, but continued to walk up the steps.

Seeing Xia Jin's change in expression, the chubby man in white looked even stranger. He scratched his head, coughed somewhat awkwardly, and then said, "Actually... that path is the test that one needs to pass to become a disciple of my Cloud Academy."

The air seemed to freeze.

"What? I... damn it!" Xia Jin's lips twitched a few times, and the expression on her face became extremely interesting.

He took a deep breath, then another, before he could barely suppress the feeling in his heart that was like swallowing fly excrement.

"May I ask you, brother," Xia Jin asked through gritted teeth, "what about the one I'm standing on right now?"

"Don't be in such a hurry!!" Seeing Xia Jin's appearance, the other person sighed helplessly: "Actually, this... well, you could say that too."

"Hmm?" Xia Jin opened her mouth, but managed to hold back and not curse out loud.

Is this guy deliberately trying to mess with me?

The fat man in white seemed to sense the hostility in Xia Jin's eyes, and quickly waved his hand, a sheepish smile on his face, explaining, "Hey, hey, brother, don't misunderstand, I'm not messing with you. It's a long story."

Xia Jin didn't speak, she just stared at him coldly.

"Actually, you outsiders don't know that since its establishment, Yunshang Academy has always been divided into two schools of thought."

"One is the Yunshan Academy, which is what most people think of, and it's the school that most cultivators join. The cultivation methods of this school are relatively orthodox and progressive, so cultivators like you usually enter this school."

He paused for a moment, pointed to the steps beneath his feet, and continued, "The other school of thought is ours."

"Your faction?" Xia Jin raised an eyebrow.

"That's right," the fat man in white nodded, his expression becoming somewhat complicated, a mixture of pride and helplessness. "Our school... well, not many people know about it, and even fewer join. The reasons are twofold: firstly, the cultivation in our school is extremely difficult; secondly, the number of people in our school has always been small, and we don't travel around much, so our reputation is not widespread."

Xia Jin fell silent.

He hadn't expected that the Cloud Academy would have such a division within its walls.

However, this was no problem for him at all. Xia Jin pondered for a moment before making a decision.

His purpose in coming here was to join the Cloud Academy and become its disciple. Only in this way could he complete the system task and obtain the relevant rewards.

He didn't care at all which school of thought he joined or what kind of practices he took.

As long as he becomes a disciple of the Cloud Academy, the system mission will be completed, and the reward will be his. As for subsequent cultivation, with the system by his side, what is there to fear?

Thinking of this, Xia Jin's expression softened a bit.

"Hey! Brother, I've already warned you! You don't actually want to join our faction, do you?" The fat man in white, who was squatting in front of Xia Jin, asked in shock, seemingly noticing that Xia Jin's eyes were becoming increasingly determined.

Unexpectedly, Xia Jin nodded.

"That's right! After all, I've already come this far, I can't very well turn back and take another path, can I?"

Upon hearing this, the fat man in white gaped wide open.

"Say it again? You're really determined to join our faction?"

Xia Jin nodded.

The fat man in white looked Xia Jin up and down several times, as if he were looking at some rare object, while muttering something to himself.

After a long while, he took a deep breath, and his expression became serious.

"Brother, I admire your courage." The fat man in white gave a thumbs up. "But I have to warn you, this last step is extremely difficult. The steps before you, while challenging, were primarily a test of physical strength. But this last one..."

"This final level is specifically designed to target your soul."

"When you took the penultimate step, you should have felt the power that impacted your soul, right? That was just an appetizer; the real test is in this final step."

"If you cannot withstand it, your soul may suffer serious damage and it will take a long time to recover."

"So," the fat man in white concluded, "if you're not confident, it's not too late to turn back now. Taking the path halfway up the mountain will also involve some trials, but at least it won't damage your soul."

After listening, Xia Jin remained silent for a few moments, then smiled.

"Thanks for reminding me. But I'd still like to give it a try."

The other person opened their mouth as if they wanted to say something, but in the end they just sighed, took two steps to the side, and made room for Xia Jin.

"Good luck! I look forward to you taking this step. Then I'll have another new junior brother!"

Xia Jin didn't say anything more.

He faced the last step.

He lifted his foot.

The moment it landed, the whole world seemed to fall silent. At least, that was the case for Xia Jin.

Something seemed to explode in his mind.

A surge of powerful soul energy, like a tsunami, swept in from all directions.

The target was the soul at the very center of his consciousness.

As the dark golden tsunami of soul power surged in, Xia Jin's soul suddenly opened its eyes.

A flicker of horror flashed in those eyes.

"Although it's said to target the soul, it didn't say it would be this severe!" Xia Jin's soul roared inwardly.

Faced with this vast and almost inexhaustible soul power, even though his divine soul was already powerful enough among those of the same level, it was still like a small boat facing an entire ocean. He couldn't even stand firm, let alone resist.

Xia Jin's face turned deathly pale, and she felt her power being rapidly depleted.

He had a premonition that with his current soul strength, if things continued like this, there would only be one outcome: his soul would shatter and his sea of ​​consciousness would collapse!

"Damn it!"