Protective Clothes

Peak Master Lu looked down and found that the armor of most people showed signs of melting, as large areas of their skin were exposed. Especially those wearing metal boots, as they were already melted away. It also proves that melted metal has become corrosive because they were still wearing clothes under the armor, but now their clothes have also disappeared along with the metal armor. However, those people who are wearing normal clothes are not affected.

Most pitiful are the people who slipped directly to the bottom because the rain had already formed a small lake there. If they accidentally fell into it and were wearing metal armor, they would come out of the lake naked.

Soon, the Purple Cloud Palace disciple who went to Alchemy Peak returned with an old woman.

"Peak Master Lu, we, the Alchemy Peak, have already informed you about this. Please refrain from attempting to shift the blame onto us."

"When did you say anything about this? You're simply making things up."

Peak Master Lu tried to control his anger, but anyone could feel from his voice that he was not far from exploding.

"Peak Master Lu, I will repeat once more that we have informed you that these waters will cause any first-grade metal to melt. If you still refuse to admit it, then I will have to bring this to Palace Master Duan for a decision."

Peak Master Lu remembered that they had indeed told him about how these waters could cause first-grade metal to melt, but he hadn't bothered to listen and had quickly dismissed them impatiently.

"But that's not the problem here; I am talking about clothes, not armor. You only told me that it would melt first-grade metals."

"It was you who arrogantly dismissed my Alchemy Peak alchemist who came to explain this, and now you want to say that we didn't inform you about it."

If Lei Kongming were here, he would understand that Peak Master Lu is no different from those foolish buyers on Earth who throw the user manual in the trash and then complain that the product they received is broken or defective.

"The most we, the Alchemy Peak, can do is lend you protective clothes that will not be affected by melted metal, but you will have to pay the 'rent' for them."

Saying this, the old woman left arrogantly while waving her hand. Throughout the conversation, the old woman used 'we' to address herself, reminding Peak Master Lu that she was representing Alchemy Peak and advising him not to act arrogantly.

The main reason for this is that Alchemy Peak is also known as the Second Peak. Although the Second Peak Master agreed to let Peak Master Lu organize the Purple Cloud Palace selection this year, it caused a lot of dissatisfaction among the other elders of the Second Peak. Most of the benefits sent by Peak Master Lu are only for the Second Peak Master, and the other elders receive only minor benefits.

Peak Master Lu took a deep breath to try to calm himself down but was unable to do so. In the end, he asked the disciple standing beside him to go and get the protective clothes.

...….

As time passed, even Lei Kongming started struggling. He had slipped no less than 10 times and had even fallen down nearly 100 steps.

After climbing so many stairs, Lei Kongming realized that simply trying to climb higher was not enough. He not only had to properly control his body but also pay attention to where he was stepping. He found that some places on the stairs were polished to make them more slippery, while other places were normal. If he was lucky, he might find some places deliberately roughened up to provide a better grip.

"It seems that it is not as simple as just testing determination; this test also checks the observation, control, and even luck of the candidates."

Soon, Lei Kongming was lucky enough to encounter another rough spot to stand and relax a little. He then looked back to observe the other Lei Family members.

Lei Kongming found that one of the 8th-level Qi refining cultivators slipped directly to the bottom and is now struggling to catch up with them, but thankfully, he has not given up yet.

There is also a 7th-level Qi refining cultivator of the Lei family who, although didn't slip to the bottom, encountered an even more unlucky situation. For some reason, most of his clothes melted away, and now he only has small strips of fabric hanging all over his body, as if he has been alone in the jungle for months.

Lei Kongming looked around and found that many people now only had some strips of clothes on them, and some were even completely naked. Thankfully, the other two 7th-level and one 8th-level Qi refining realm cultivators looked fine without any major problems.

There are also some female cultivators who are squatting in one spot to hide their private parts, but Lei Kongming could only stop admiring their mountains and hills peeking out from the side for fear of activating his crotch cannon.

Lei Kongming then looked at Lei Longwei, who was not far behind him and was still trying his best to climb higher, feeling satisfied. He also noticed that Lei Longwei's clothes from the waist down had disappeared, leaving only some strips of cloth tied around Lei Longwei's waist like a skirt.

This time, Lei Kongming decided to look toward the top and found that five people had reached the 'top 100 stairs' mark. Not surprisingly, all five of them were Foundation Building Realm cultivators, and Ye QingQing was also among them.

Lei Kongming once again took a deep breath and continued climbing.

...

"Peak Master Lu, I have given the protective clothes to the junior brothers and sisters for distribution."

"Good," Peak Master Lu nodded and said, "Give priority to the female candidates."

"Peak Master Lu, there's no need to worry. Female cultivators typically prefer soft leather armor over metal armor, so most of the female candidates here are safe. The few who were wearing metal armor were only wearing breastplates, so they are not completely naked."

Peak Master Lu nodded in satisfaction but noticed that the disciple standing beside him wanted to say something but was hesitating.

"Don't hesitate, just tell me what you want to say."

"Peak Master Lu, I think we've been scammed by the Alchemy Peak. Now that all the melted metal is washed away, we can just distribute normal clothes. Why should we have to spend spirit stones to get protective clothes on rent?..."