Shush~
In the endless cloud world, Jiang Ye suddenly opened his eyes.
"Martial Arts Celestial Ladder."
Jiang Ye looked at the towering heavenly ladder ahead and, without hesitation, strode forward.
First Layer.
Second Layer.
Third Layer...
Soon, he reached the Fifth Layer.
"6th Layer." Jiang Ye continued to climb, the increasing pressure unable to hinder him in the slightest.
Before long.
Jiang Ye finally stood on the large platform of the 6th Layer.
[You have ascended to the 6th Layer of the Martial Arts Celestial Ladder]
[Would you like to initiate the 6th Layer assessment immediately?]
"Yes!" Jiang Ye thought to himself.
As soon as he voiced this.
Wow~
The surrounding scene changed rapidly.
"I wonder what form this 6th Layer assessment will take?" A hint of anticipation surfaced in Jiang Yeâs heart.
The next moment, his consciousness abruptly sank into darkness.
...
"Shush~"
He opened his eyes again.
Confusion filled Jiang Yeâs eyes as he looked up, only to find himself standing in a messy horse stable.
"Where is this?"
"Who am I?" Jiang Yeâs eyes were filled with bewilderment, as if an invisible hand had erased his memories, leaving him completely forgetful of his past.
At that moment.
A surge of complex information flooded into Jiang Yeâs mind.
[You are an orphan, raised in the sect since childhood. Due to low aptitude, having neither father nor mother, youâve always been a menial worker at the lowest level of the sect]
[As you grew up, you became the sectâs horse feeder slave, with an extremely humble status, an object of bullying for other disciples...]
Accompanying the information.
Images began to appear in Jiang Yeâs mind.
These images depicted the daily routine of âJiang Yeâ over countless days and nights in the sect... They were incredibly realistic, as if Jiang Ye truly experienced them from childhood to adulthood.
As these images integrated into his memory.
Soon, Jiang Ye fully accepted this identity.
He was a horse feeder slave in the sect, of incredibly low status, the lowest existence in the sect, living year-round in this stable.
"Horse feeder slave."
"Am I a horse feeder slave?" The memories in Jiang Yeâs mind were so vivid that he had no doubt.
Yet, deep down, he always felt as if something was hidden in the depths of his memory.
It was as if something was sealed deep in his mind, but it seemed infinitely distant, like it spanned two different realms of time and space.
At that moment.
[Challenge the sectâs Saintess and trample her underfoot] A piece of information emerged.
"What?"
"Challenge... the sectâs Saintess?" Jiang Yeâs spirit shuddered uncontrollably upon seeing this line of text.
The Saintess was a supremely revered existence within the sect.
He had once seen her from afar, appearing as pure as moonlight, incomparably holy and transcendent, unstained by worldly filth.
In the sect, someone like him, a horse feeder slave, even looking a moment longer at her would be a desecration of the Saintess.
Challenge the sectâs Saintess?
Any horse feeder slave, even entertaining this thought, was deserving of death.
Let alone, to trample her underfoot? This was simply incomprehensible, a sin beyond redemption.
"How could I harbor such a thought?" Jiang Ye felt sheer terror; this thought was too insane.
To trample the Saintess underfoot? Any horse feeder slave who harbored such a thought should immediately take his own life.
At this moment.
"What are you doing?"
"Not working, slacking off?" A scolding voice arrived.
Immediately, a young man in luxurious attire strode in, raising a whip abruptly.
With a âsnapâ, it lashed fiercely across Jiang Yeâs body.
Feeling the heart-wrenching pain, Jiang Ye offered no resistance and promptly started working.
He had experienced such days countless times, having long since become numb.
"Despicable slave."
"Dare to slack off again, and Iâll break your legs." The young man in luxurious clothes sneered coldly, his superior gaze akin to looking at livestock.
Jiang Ye bore no resentment, diligently laboring like an old ox.
But in his heart, a thought quietly emerged.
"Am I to live like this forever?"
In the past.
Being of menial origin, belonging to the lowest rung, he never dared to harbor such thoughts.
But for some reason, perhaps influenced by the recent information.
In Jiang Yeâs heart, an unyielding spirit quietly fluctuated.
It was as if a voice was saying that his life shouldnât be like this.
Yet, whenever Jiang Ye thought of that information.
"Challenge the sectâs Saintess and trample her underfoot?" Jiang Ye couldnât help but tremble, filled with terror.
Soon, Jiang Ye suppressed this thought, not daring to think further.
...
Time passed.
Jiang Ye continuously repeated his laborious tasks in the stable, day after day.
Just like for the past few decades.
But that piece of information remained, as if continually reminding him to challenge the Saintess.
From initial shock and fear, Jiang Ye gradually became numb and indifferent.
As time flew by, Jiang Ye gradually grew accustomed to the presence of that information.
Unconsciously.
Jiang Ye lost the past fear regarding the words "Challenge the Saintess".
When he thought of it again, his heart was filled with calm.
"Challenge the Saintess? It doesnât seem that important." Jiang Ye shook his head, already accustomed to that informationâs presence.
But at that moment.
The information quietly changed.
[Challenge the sectâs Saintess and trample her underfoot]
[Your remaining time: 30 days]
"...What does this mean?"
"Remaining 30 days?" Jiang Ye looked at the additional information, slightly stunned: "What happens after 30 days?"
"Will this information vanish?"
"Or... will I die?" Jiang Ye furrowed his brows, feeling a bit absurd.
At that moment.
"Wow~" The stable door was pushed open.