Chapter Four: The Bone Refinement Cliff

Chapter Four: The Bone Refinement Cliff

Hall Master Yue stood before the group and announced loudly, "Listen carefully. If you follow the small path through the bamboo forest, you will reach the Mystic Gate's Bone Refinement Cliff. The first part of the path goes through the bamboo forest, followed by a rocky area, and finally, a cliff. Only those who reach the top of the cliff can enter the Mystic Gate. If you cannot reach the top by noon, although you won't become a formal disciple, if you perform notably, you can still be taken on as a registered disciple."

Eli didn't quite understand what a "registered disciple" meant; he only knew he had to keep moving forward and climb the mountain.

Looking ahead, he saw a slope covered with thick bamboo, not particularly steep. It seemed manageable.

Eli looked at the other children; he certainly didn't want to fall behind his peers. Suddenly, the atmosphere among the children grew tense.

Hall Master Yue glanced at the rising sun and said, "It's about time to start. Don't be afraid; your senior brothers will protect you from behind. They won't let you face any dangers."

Eli turned to look at the young men behind him, realizing they were called senior brothers—probably former disciples of the sect. If he could join, perhaps he could wear the same impressive uniforms.

While he was lost in thought, Eli noticed that the other children had already rushed into the bamboo forest. He hurriedly followed.

The bamboo forest must have been vast because as soon as the thirty or so children entered, they immediately spread out. Eli was closely followed by a tall, thin senior brother who wore a stern face and remained silent, closely trailing him. Eli felt a bit scared and dared not speak to him; instead, he quickened his pace and kept his head down as he slowly moved forward along the slope.

The bamboo forest seemed unremarkable at first, but as time passed, walking became increasingly difficult. Eli's legs grew heavier and heavier, and eventually, he had to use one hand to pull on the bamboo stems to help himself move forward with less effort.

After struggling for a long time, Eli was utterly exhausted and randomly collapsed on a mound of dirt, panting heavily.

Eli took a moment to look back at the tall, thin senior brother. Despite the steepness of the ground, the senior brother still stood motionless and as upright as the bamboo, watching him from not too far below.

Eli, feeling the cold gaze of his senior brother, turned his head back quickly, hearing the heavy breathing of those ahead who were also resting. After staying in place for a while, Eli hurriedly continued upward.

The slope became even steeper, and Eli's strength was fading. To avoid falling, he bent over, using both hands and feet to move forward. Fortunately, his clothes were durable; otherwise, the joints at his elbows and knees would have been worn through.

Finally, he was about to leave the dense bamboo behind, but the last stretch of the path became increasingly difficult. The ground grew rockier, and the bamboo thinned out.

Eli could no longer rely on pulling himself up with the bamboo. This last part of the journey felt like inching forward.

As he emerged from the bamboo forest, a wide expanse opened up before him. Directly ahead was a massive rock face, with several thin figures slowly climbing up. They were followed by senior brothers dressed like the one behind Eli. Without hesitating, Eli hurried towards the giant rock face.

This rock face was composed of layers of sedimentary rock, severely weathered, with some parts crumbling upon touch. Of course, there were also many sharp, sturdy fragments of rock. In just the time it took to eat a meal, Eli's hands were covered in cuts, and his elbows and knees were torn, with small pieces of rock embedded in the wounds, adding to the pain.

The few children ahead were climbing further and further away. Eli thought of his family and Uncle Thomas's instructions and gritted his teeth, continuing to climb.

Before setting off, Eli's father and Uncle Thomas had warned him that the entrance test would be challenging and that failing to persevere would make it impossible to join the Mystic Gate. At this moment, Eli no longer cared about entering the Mystic Gate; he was driven by a stubborn determination to catch up with the others.

Eli looked up with difficulty; the person leading at the front was Rocky. It was not surprising that Rocky, who was older than Eli by more than a year and had some martial arts training, was ahead of the other children.

Eli glanced

 back briefly and saw several figures still moving behind him. He took a deep breath and accelerated.

Despite exerting all his strength, he still couldn't close the distance with the leading group. His body felt heavier and heavier, and seeing the sun gradually reaching the middle of the sky, while Rocky had already climbed to the end of the rock face, made him feel disheartened.

Ahead was a vertical cliff over thirty yards high. From the top of the cliff hung several hemp ropes with knots the size of fists. Rocky was now climbing one of them, slowly moving towards the top of the cliff.

Eli watched Rocky in the distance and felt disheartened. He knew he couldn't catch up with the leaders and that there wasn't enough time left.

This realization suddenly made the pain in his elbows and knees flare up, and his limbs felt weak. His grip loosened, and his body slipped downward. Startled, Eli's heart pounded wildly as he pressed himself tightly against the rock face, daring not to move.

After a while, when he calmed down, he grabbed a protruding rock corner, tugged on it a few times to ensure it was stable, and then felt reassured.

Eli glanced back subconsciously and saw the tall, thin senior brother crouching with his arms open in a protective stance. Seeing that Eli was safe again, the senior brother slowly stood up.

Grateful that he hadn't fallen, which would have made all his efforts in vain, Eli rested for a moment before slowly moving forward again, heading towards the hanging hemp ropes.

Finally reaching one of the unoccupied ropes, Eli noticed the sun was almost directly overhead, with less than half an hour until noon. At this moment, Rocky had already reached the top of the cliff and was looking down. Eli saw him raise his arm, flick his little finger towards those below, laugh heartily, and then leave.

Angered by Rocky's gesture, Eli grabbed the rope and began to climb.

However, Eli was completely exhausted. He could barely hold onto the knots.

After a tremendous effort, he reached the last knot and sat on it, feeling utterly drained, unable to move even a finger. Looking back, he saw other children sitting on the rock face, panting heavily, seemingly having exhausted their last bit of energy like him.

Eli could only laugh bitterly at himself. He had underestimated the test. At least he wasn't at the very back. He glanced again at the cold senior brother, hesitated for a moment, then decided to muster his strength and climb higher. Although he knew he couldn't reach the top before noon, it seemed too embarrassing to stay motionless.

Eli stretched his stiff hands and used the little strength he had recovered to slowly move up along the knots. But at this point, his hands were completely unresponsive, unable to grip the rope. After struggling for a while without success, he finally gave up.