Even though the pressure had increased Zhao Luo's pace was the same as before.
Slow yet each step of his had his whole strength behind it. With each step, Zhao Luo covered two feet and slowly closed on the remaining fifty feet that were left between him and the platform on which stood the mysterious man with his back towards Zhao Luo.
'He sounds familiar.'
Zhao Luo only had this thought since the start. Except for the sound of the man, he couldn't connect anything else, especially the back. He had never seen any elder with such a perfectly straight back with broad shoulders.
A minute later, the two were only twenty feet apart.
'AGH~'
'Ten steps more.'
Zhao Luo groaned but even though the pressure had doubled again, Zhao Luo's step was steady enough to surprise the man in front of him.
'I should turn around.'
'Or, let's see if he can reach the last step.'
The man mumbled to himself before deciding to be patient with this test that this disciple behind him was going through. But it was hard for him to stay still.
While the man with the familiar voice had it hard to curb his interest in the disciple behind him, Zhao Luo was going through hell.
The pressure had first increased when he was a hundred feet away from the platform, the man was on. The second time was when the pressure had doubled when Zhao Luo had closed by another fifty feet. Then at the twenty feet, with each step, the pressure doubled.
Now the pressure was eight times as Zhao Luo took his first of the remaining ten steps towards the platform.
'Boom.'
Zhao Luo took another step forward.
His hands were tightly closed into fists while he had his jaws clenched harder than ever before.
'Seven more steps.'
Zhao Luo told himself.
After seven more steps, he would be standing on the last step, and that was right before the platform.
"Boom."
Zhao Luo took another step and blood started dripping out of the sides of his hand as his fingernails dug deeper into his palm.
The pressure kept on increasing by two folds with each step so did Zhao Luo's stubbornness to reach the last step.
A minute later.
Zhao Luo was standing on the second last step as his eyes trembled.
The pressure on Zhao Luo was so much that some of his organs were almost crushed, and blood was pouring out of his mouth.
Zhao Luo's silver hair swayed right in front of his eyes as he looked haggard and confused with all the pressure he was withstanding at the moment.
'Ah, wasn't I here to take a lecture? Then, why am I suffering like this? Can't this elder just turn around?'
Zhao Luo couldn't help but go over everything and think of this as torture. He looked at the platform and then the step between it and him.
'Should I take it?'
He had always tried his best to face every challenge at the best of his ability since waking up from his century-long slumber. But this was too much.
'Gah~'
A hoarse crying sound came out of his mouth but it wasn't that Zhao Luo was crying, but instead, his windpipe was under so much pressure that even when he breathed it sounded like the coming of a devilish ghost.
His breathing had turned so horrifying when Zhao Luo had taken his fifth step of these last ten steps and at that time even the man on the platform had quivered.
'Will he take the last step?'
Even though he wanted to turn, he didn't since Zhao Luo hadn't said anything to him from the start.
Zhao Luo raised his head a little more and with his shaky and tired eyes, he looked at the back of the man.
For some reason, Zaho Luo could feel that he was being cheered on by the man in front of him.
He looked down at the last step and took a deep breath.
"Fuck it."
He cursed loudly which caused the man to turn around whilst Zhao Luo took the last step.
"BOOM."
His step touched the ground and the blasting sound made it sound like a giant was running a marathon.
'Huff.'
The pressure on Zhao Luo disappeared instantly as his feet landed on the spot right before the platform.
The other thing that changed along with the pressure was the disappearance of the lively dragons from the walls of the hall.
The light of the hall dimmed down while Zhao Luo fell on his knees, tired to the extreme.
"Hah, so it was you."
The voice entered his ear and Zhao Luo looked up slowly with the devastated state of his body.
The man in front of him had a handsome face that he had obviously seen many times before.
His long hairs were tied back and he looked majestic.
"Sect Leader?"
Zhao Luo couldn't believe that he was in the presence of the Sect Leader.
"Who knew out of thousands of disciples, you would be the one with the black core?"
Xin Wang walked towards Zhao Luo while flipping his hand.
There was a golden spatial ring on his index finger and Xin Wang had taken out a brown pill.
Zhao Luo could only make out a few things in front of him in his exhausted state.
'Why is he holding a round poop in his hand?'
Zhao Luo's swaying silver hair covered half of his sight while with half of his sight he could only mistake a brown pill for a round poop biscuit.
Xin Wang jumped down from the platform and landed next to Zhao Luo before helping him up.
"Eat this Elder Gay's special..."
Xin Wang shoved the brown pill in Zhao Luo's mouth while Zhao Luo had a horrified look on his face.
'Did he just put Elder Gay's poop in my mouth?'
Zhao Luo stumbled backward while feeling that death was closing in on him both mentally and physically.
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