Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

East side peaks—

Wu Zetian stood on the mountaintop, facing a giant golden-winged eagle.

The Golden-Winged Eagle had a wingspan of five zhang (approximately 10 meters), its entire body covered in golden feathers. Its wingspan created a whirlwind when it flapped, and its sharp claws gleamed like iron hooks. It circled in the air, letting out a sharp cry, before swooping down, its claws aimed directly at Wu Zetian.

A demonic beast at the first level of the Grandmaster realm.

Wu Zetian held her knife in one hand, looked up at the golden-winged eagle swooping down, and smiled slightly: "Finally, someone who can fight has arrived."

When the golden-winged eagle's claws were only ten feet above her head, Wu Zetian made her move.

Instead of dodging, she slashed out with her sword.

The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, carrying an unstoppable momentum, and struck the golden-winged eagle's claws.

"when!"

The clang of metal rang out, sparks flew. A deep gash was slashed into the golden-winged eagle's claw, and blood splattered. It let out a painful cry and tried to flap its wings and take flight.

Wu Zetian gave it no chance, leaping up and slashing at its neck with her sword.

A flash of light.

The golden-winged eagle's head separated from its body, spraying blood as its massive corpse plummeted from the sky, crashing onto the mountaintop and kicking up clouds of dust.

One fatal blow.

Wu Zetian landed, shook the blood off her knife, and walked towards the stone box behind the golden-winged eagle.

Inside was a yellowed animal hide map, marking the location of a high-grade spirit stone mine.

"A spirit stone vein?" Wu Zetian raised an eyebrow. "That's an unexpected surprise."

She tucked the map into her bosom and strode down the mountain.

"Next."

West side ice lake—

Ye Xingchen stood on the frozen lake, facing a giant, snow-white frost wolf.

The giant wolf was two zhang long, covered in ice-blue fur, with deep blue eyes, and exhaling icy breath. The surrounding lake water was frozen solid, and tiny ice crystals drifted in the air.

A demonic beast at the peak of the Grandmaster level.

Ye Xingchen didn't rush to make a move. Instead, he closed his eyes, and the old man's voice echoed in his mind.

"This giant wolf's weak point is its belly, where it's not covered by ice armor. Lure it to attack first, and when it raises its front paws, attack its belly."

Ye Xingchen opened his eyes and nodded slightly.

He stepped forward, and the Frost Giant Wolf let out a low growl, opening its mouth to exhale a stream of icy breath, the cold air rushing towards him.

Ye Xingchen dodged to the side, the icy breath grazing his shoulder and freezing the lake behind him into an ice wall.

When the giant wolf saw that its breath attack was ineffective, it pounced, raising its front paws to strike him.

It's now!

Ye Xingchen flashed past the giant wolf's front paws, his right hand forming a sword-like shape, a sharp burst of true energy condensing at his fingertips, which he then fiercely stabbed into the giant wolf's abdomen.

"puff!"

The finger pierced the soft fur on the giant wolf's belly, and blood gushed out.

The giant wolf let out a mournful howl and crashed to the ground, cracking the ice surface with spiderweb-like patterns.

Ten moves, and he was killed.

Ye Xingchen withdrew his fingers, his hands covered in wolf blood. He wiped the blood off the ice and walked toward the stone box behind the giant wolf.

Upon opening it, one finds an ice-blue spiritual herb, emanating a refreshing chill.

The lowest grade of celestial spiritual herb – Ice Soul Grass.

"Not bad." Ye Xingchen smiled slightly and carefully put away the spiritual herb.

The old man's voice echoed in my mind: "This Ice Soul Grass, combined with the Silver Frost Grass from before, can be used to refine the Frost Essence Pill. The Frost Essence Pill can help you break through to the Grandmaster level."

A hint of joy flashed in Ye Xingchen's eyes: "Thank you for your guidance, senior."

"Don't thank me yet, prepare well for the third challenge. Climbing the Heavenly Ladder is the real test."

Ye Xingchen nodded and turned to go down the mountain.

Four Extremes Sword Sect—

The four sword disciples of the Four Extremes Sword Sect stood on a steep mountain peak, facing a rock giant three zhang tall.

The rock giant was made entirely of hard rock, with arms as thick as tree trunks and fists larger than a human head. Its body shimmered with an earthy yellow light, and the ground trembled with every step it took.

A demonic beast at the first level of the Grandmaster realm.

Xie Changkong frowned as he looked at the rock giant: "This guy has extremely high defense; it'll be difficult for one person to break through it. Let's attack together."

Ye Guhong nodded: "I'll attack the left arm."

Meng Hanshuang coldly replied, "I will attack the right arm."

Ouyang Xue raised her hand: "I'll attack... the back? The back doesn't seem to have any weaknesses."

"You're in charge of holding it back," Xie Changkong said. "Don't let it attack us. Leave the rest to us."

"clear!"

All four attacked at the same time.

Xie Changkong unleashed the Azure Wood Sword Technique, his sword energy ceaseless, thrusting straight at the rock giant's chest. The sword light, like spring rain, flowed continuously, leaving cracks in the rock.

Ye Guhong unleashed the Gengjin Sword Technique, its sword light incomparably sharp, slashing directly at the rock giant's left arm. Each strike cut into the rock's texture, chipping away pieces of it.

Meng Hanshuang unleashed the Blazing Fire Sword Technique, the sword light blazing like fire, burning the rock giant's right arm. The intense heat caused the rock surface to crack, becoming brittle and fragile.

Ouyang Xue unleashed the Xuanbing Sword Technique, its chilling aura freezing the rock giant's legs and slowing its movement.

The four worked together seamlessly, like a sophisticated killing machine.

The rock giant roared repeatedly, pounding its fists wildly, but each time it was blocked by Ouyang Xue's ice wall, and its speed became slower and slower.

After a hundred moves, the rock giant's left arm was severed, his right arm was burned, his legs were frozen, and his chest was pierced.

It crashed to the ground, turning into a pile of rubble.

The four swordsmen sheathed their swords, their breathing somewhat rapid, but their eyes were full of satisfaction.

They opened the stone box behind the rock giant, inside which were four high-grade spiritual swords, each engraved with a character—wind, flower, snow, and moon.

"Exactly one for each of you." Xie Changkong picked up the "Wind" sword and handed it to Ye Gucheng. "Flower"? No, this should correspond to Ye Guhong, Meng Hanshuang, and Ouyang Xue respectively. According to the setting, Xie Changkong is at the eastern pole, Ye Guhong at the western pole, Meng Hanshuang at the southern pole, and Ouyang Xue at the northern pole. The four swords could be "Spring," "Summer," "Autumn," and "Winter," or "Wind," "Flower," "Snow," and "Moon." We'll keep the original text "four high-grade spiritual weapon longswords" and don't need to give them specific names.

Ouyang Xue hugged the new sword with great delight: "This sword is so beautiful, much better than my old one."

Meng Hanshuang rarely showed a smile as she gently stroked the sword.

Xie Changkong said, "Let's go, the second trial is almost over. Let's prepare for the third trial."

Murong Qiudi——

Murong Qiudi entered a dark cave, which was filled with a fishy and foul smell.

Deep inside the cave, a giant venomous scorpion lay there, its entire body pitch black, its tail raised high, and its stinger gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light.

A demonic beast at the peak of the Grandmaster level.

Sensing the intruder, the scorpion let out a sharp hiss and its tail shot towards Murong Qiudi like lightning.

Murong Qiudi smiled slightly and flicked her fingers lightly.

A silver needle flew out silently and accurately struck the base of the scorpion's stinger.

The scorpion's body stiffened abruptly, its stinger drooping limply. After a few breaths, it began to convulse violently, venom seeping from its body, before finally becoming completely still.

The poison on the silver needle is ten times more potent than the venom of a scorpion.

Murong Qiudi walked over, opened the stone box, and inside was a bottle of pitch-black venom that emitted a pungent odor.

"Bone-dissolving venom." A hint of satisfaction flashed in her eyes. "One drop, and bones turn to water. Good stuff."

She tucked the venom into her sleeve, turned, and left the cave, her smile still sweet.