Chapter 5 I think Level 3 tests wisdom_1

When the group arrived at Wenxin Mountain, they didn't feel anything unusual, except for Man Gu, who felt his strength declining noticeably, bringing him closer to the others' level.

The boiling blood of his Ancient Barbarian Tribe lineage within him calmed, no longer providing him with a constant influx of power.

Everyone glanced at each other before turning their gaze towards the strongest among them, Man Gu.

"I'll go first." Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Man Gu volunteered without hesitation, boldly stepping up to be the first one.

First step, second step, third step... tenth step.

Man Gu climbed the first ten steps with ease, but the pressure began to build from the eleventh one. Each step felt like he was carrying a stone slab on his back, growing heavier the higher he climbed.

But it was still within his tolerance level.

He kept climbing.

Man Gu took a few heavy breaths to steady his breathing and proceeded to the twentieth step.

Upon reaching the twentieth step, Man Gu found it increasingly difficult to move. His pace slowed, and each push off the step became more strenuous.

By the twenty-ninth step, Man Gu has broken out in sweat that soaked his clothes. He was thoroughly exhausted and had to stop, panting heavily as he sat on the steps to rest.

"Even sitting down puts pressure on me." Man Gu mumbled to himself, too tired to speak. Shifting from standing to sitting did little to recover his strength, as the draining power took its toll.

Seeing Man Gu struggling, the group realized that the mountain was not easy to climb and their hearts echoed a sense of dread.

Someone spoke up somberly, "I remember hearing our Elder talk about a similar place. This Wenxin Mountain tests the sincerity of those seeking the Dao. The purer a person's heart and the stronger their will, the purer their seeking spirit. Man Gu, being of the Ancient Barbarian Tribe and known for his straightforwardness, is finding it hard to climb, which likely means it's going to be even harder for us!"

"Will the Heart-Calming Mantra help calm our minds?" someone else suggested a strategy.

The third task only required them to reach the fiftieth step, it didn't stipulate that only the first few who made it would pass the task. They were not in competition at this point.

Everyone nodded in agreement, thinking it was a good idea. Many of them had been taught similar phrases at home to help them cultivate their character.

Lu Yang opened his mouth, he didn't know any Heart-Calming Mantra.

"Would you like me to teach you a Heart-Calming Mantra?" asked Meng Jingzhou.

Lu Yang shook his head: "Not now, I'm thinking of other methods."

Seeing this, Meng Jingzhou didn't force don the Heart-Calming Mantra on Lu Yang.

...

Meng Jingzhou woke from his meditative state feeling a sense of peace he had never felt before.

The Heart-Calming Mantra works!

Meng Jingzhou's meditative state lasted longer than most. By the time he woke up, the others were struggling between the twenty and thirty steps, drenched in sweat. They needed every bit of willpower they could muster to make their next move.

Large drops of sweat trickled down their faces, they didn't even have the energy to wipe them off.

Someone tried a different approach, thinking that the pressure only existed on the steps. They tried to climb from the sides of the mountain to reach the fiftieth step but soon discovered the pressure remained the same, with the entire Wenxin Mountain exerting more pressure the higher one went.

Others attempted to use their magic artifacts, only to find them rendered powerless, regardless of how extraordinary they usually were. Unable to activate them, their magic artifacts became nothing more than scraps of metal.

No wonder Dai Bufan wasn't worried about them using magic artifacts.

Lu Yang was the most noticeable as he lagged far behind everyone else.

He stood barefoot on the tenth step, deep in thought and holding a shoe in his hand. It was unclear as to what he was observing.

"What are you doing? Everyone else has climbed quite a distance." Meng Jingzhou asked curiously.

Lu Yang remained silent, holding a shoe in his hand.

Lu Yang threw the shoe onto the eleventh step: "Try picking it up."

Meng Jingzhou didn't understand Lu Yang's intention, but followed his instruction, soon realizing that the shoe felt heavier than usual. It was as if something was pulling it down.

Understanding dawned upon Meng Jingzhou. He threw the shoe onto the twelfth step and found that the speed of the shoe's fall was the same as it was on the eleventh step, but picking it up was even heavier.

"Did you notice any pattern?"

Meng Jingzhou furrowed his brow, "If an object doesn't make contact with the ground, it won't sense the pressure. Only when an object makes contact with the surface does it experience additional pressure?"

"Exactly." Lu Yang hit his palm with his fist, feeling unusually pleased to find someone with similar thoughts.

Meng Jingzhou thought carefully, his mind working quickly in his calmed state: "The steps are inclined, and there are so many trees here. We can build a '7' shaped ladder. One end of the ladder can be buried in the ground and the other end can reach the fiftieth step."

Lu Yang replied with certainty, "Yes, this third test should be testing our wisdom. This is the standard solution!"

Understanding Lu Yang's thoughts, Meng Jingzhou quickly came up with another question, "How are we going to chop down the trees?"

They didn't have axes or saws. How were they supposed to cut trees and make a ladder?

"Do you have any sharp magic artifacts on you?" Lu Yang had anticipated this question.

He had considered teaming up before, but unfortunately, the others couldn't understand his idea.

Meng Jingzhou took out a dagger, "This was given to me by the tribe's elder for self-defense. It can be mentally controlled and it's as fast as someone at the Golden Core Stage, but it can't fly here on Wenxin Mountain."

"That's fine. As long as it's sharp." Lu Yang smiled. The magic artifact forged by the Meng Family was superbly made; even if it lost its power here, its sharpness still surpassed any common axe or saw.

Perfect for cutting trees.

"Come look, I've designed a blueprint while you were meditating."

Lu Yang led Meng Jingzhou to a soft sandy area where Lu Yang's design blueprint was drawn - it was indeed a '7' shaped ladder.

After briefly discussing, the two set out to work.

As expected, the Meng Family's dagger was sharp. The large trees were like paper before it, and they were quickly reduced to oddly shaped planks by the two of them.

The trees that could grow here on Wenxin Mountain where cultivators had the same strength as ordinary people were naturally the most common kind.

Soon, Meng Jingzhou discovered another problem.

"How can we connect these two planks? Not to mention that we don't have nails, even if we did, we wouldn't be able to join such thick planks together."

"Have you heard of mortise and tenon joints?"

"No."

Lu Yang helplessly received the dagger from Meng Jingzhou and began to cut the planks into mortise and tenon joints while explaining to him about the wisdom of the mundane world.

"This protruding part is called the tenon, and this recessed part is called the mortise. Combined, they form a mortise and tenon joint. The biggest characteristic of a mortise and tenon joint is that even without using nails in an object, it's exceptionally sturdy."

Meng Jingzhou listened carefully. The Meng Family used spiritual energy to refine their artifacts, bypassing the need for mortise and tenon joints.

The group of climbers on the stairs was dripping sweat, gasping for breath, all for the mission of reaching the fiftieth step and being the first to pass the test.

They speculated that being the first to pass might earn them recognition and special attention from the Seek Dao Sect.

Everyone also began to understand why there was no time limit. Climbing was a significant drain on their physical strength. If they stayed for too long, they would be too hungry to stand, let alone climb.

Meanwhile, the pair working at the bottom of the stairs were also drenched in sweat and panting heavily. Having exerted much effort, cut down countless trees, and with numerous trial and error, they finally completed the ladder.

The ladder was oddly shaped, thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top, and also bent at the corner. It looked more like a gigantic number '7' rather than a ladder.

The surrounding area was bare, as if a huge wild boar had taken a bite out of it.

A disciple from the Seek Dao Sect threw a covert glance at Dai Bufan. They remembered how their Senior Brother Dai Bufan loved boasting about his lush Wenxin Mountain.

Dai Bufan's face twitched, his fist unconsciously clenching.