Chapter 2117 Third Try at the Stairway Alex arrived at the bottom of the stairway early morning and waited for more people to arrive. He didn't wear his sect robes, so when people did arrive, they were curious why there was a single man at the bottom of the stairs. A few more people came and soon all 256 possible new recruits had gathered. Because Alex's cultivation base was still one of the weakest even among all 256 of them, many of them did not give him a second glance even after they noticed the discrepancy at 257 total Immortals being there. The sun rose a decent amount into the sky before Elder Shang flew down from the mountain and gave the whole spiel about climbing the mountain. As always she did not mention how difficult it would be to climb the mountain as it was something the participants had to find out on their own. She pulled out the hourglass and flipped it before placing it down on the ground. "You have until this hourglass is empty to climb to the top of the mountain. If you fail, you won't get to take the exam." She turned around and flew back up to the top of the mountain. The elders that all of the participants had come with had long since left, so they were the only ones that had left behind. Many were confused, but as usual, there were a few who knew what was going on. These were people who had taken the test previously but had failed to get accepted. This time around, they came with great hope. A few ran in through the gate immediately, making their way up the stairway. Realizing what was happening, the rest began running as well. Alex had no reason to hurry so he simply took a deep breath and gathered himself physically and mentally. A lot had changed since he went through the stairway for the first time. On physical strength alone, he had gone through an entire major realm. And his spiritual energy was quite strong too, allowing him to apply a stronger Intent. He had to be careful though. While his Intent was strong, because he had less Spiritual energy than usual, he could get caught off guard rather easily. Alex walked through the gate slowly, walking one step at a time. There was no reason to hurry. He would only end up pressuring himself for no reason. The first 10 thousand steps were going to be a breeze anyway. Many of the weaker cultivators were already nervous ahead of him. Because the stairs did not care for one's cultivation base and applied an equal amount of pressure to everyone, the ones weaker were scared. They didn't fear the stair itself, but rather that they wouldn't make it up in time. They didn't know just yet that they could give up. The stairs were just a test, nothing else. It was there to test how well they did proportionate to their cultivation bases. Alex could tell them, but then it wouldn't be a test. Alex climbed calmly, his steps unwavering or slowing down. He was still at the one furthest back, which seemed to give a few cultivators ahead of him some sort of relief. Being one of the worst at something was heartbreaking, but it helped to see someone who still did worse. They could console themselves. Alex wouldn't be at the back for too long though. As his steps took him up the mountain at a steady rate, those who chose to stop to catch a breath or cultivate quickly for some Qi were left behind. He moved past one and then the other, making his way steadily up the mountain, no longer the worst. Around 5000 steps, Alex finally felt what he could consider pressure. Before this, there had been pressure but it had been negligible to the current him. It was only now that he finally felt it, but even so, it was nothing to the current him. He continued climbing, stunning the people he passed by. They were stunned to see the lack of stress on his face as he walked. They refused to believe that he wasn't being affected by this at all. The ones that started climbing the first had reached over 10 thousand steps and were finally slowing down. Of those that started later, a few were rushing to catch up to them. They didn't know that this wasn't a competition at all. Alex continued climbing, reaching 6000 steps, and then 7000 steps. Around 8000 steps, he finally felt as though he was walking with weights on him. Each step felt heavy, as though he was carrying 100 tons of weight on top of him. While 100 tons wasn't exactly a lot for him, it was still bothersome as additional weight. Alex continued walking and the weight continued increasing. A thousand steps later, the 100 tons changed to 200 tons, and a thousand steps after that, it increased to 500. The increment was disproportionate, with each step being slightly heavier than the last one. It added up rather quickly. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖 Alex had only just passed the 10 thousandth step when he heard someone far away give up. An older man had called for help around 15 thousand steps. Alex remembered the man who had cultivation in the middle Immortal Transcendent realms. 15 thousand steps should have been around 15 thousand tons of weight. It was understandable why that person had given up. The fact that he had reached there was amazing enough. Unlike Alex, that man entirely used his cultivation base to sustain that weight. A medallion flew from the top, landing directly next to the man. He wore it and felt the relief that came with losing tons of weight on top of him. He took a deep breath and thanked Elder Shang before flying to the top. That single event would urge others to do the same as well, but that didn't matter to Alex. He ignored the rest and kept on climbing the stairs.