On the Stairway to Heaven, watching Xu Jin step onto the one hundred and ninety-fifth step, Meng Qingqiu seemed to be spurred on.
She gathered her remaining courage and flipped up.
But before she stood straight, she fell again.
In the next instant, Meng Qingqiu struggled tremendously to climb upward.
It took three whole breaths for Meng Qingqiu to finally make it onto the hundred and ninety-fifth step.
After reaching the one hundred and ninety-fifth step, Meng Qingqiu turned sideways with difficulty to look at Xu Jin, only to find that Xu Jin was no longer in sight.
When she looked up again, she saw Xu Jin sitting cross-legged on the one hundred and ninety-sixth step, looking down at her.
In that instant, in Meng Qingqiu’s eyes, Xu Jin was like a peak, a mountain, a sea!
The next moment, having felt like she had reached her limit, Meng Qingqiu quickly activated the Star-picking Order and silently whispered to leave, instantly dispersing into starlight and vanishing.
If she didn’t leave then, her Divine Soul would have suffered under that terrifying pressure.
Inside the Autumn Examination Secret Realm, there was yet another stir.
With Yan Chen and Meng Qingqiu leaving one after another, it meant that Xu Jin had already secured first place in the fourth challenge.
As for Ji Hongli and Yuan Feiqing, although they were still holding on, it was clear that they had no strength left to climb any further steps.
Xu Jin from Jinshan Taoist Institute, remarkably, had taken the first place in the fourth challenge.
The high-level officials from the Dachen National Taoist School on the Martial Observation Platform were all astonished.
Even National Master Cheng Yuxiao couldn’t help but turn his gaze towards Dong Zhao.
Seeing that Dong Zhao was also shocked, it was apparent that he had no idea Xu Jin’s Divine Soul talent was so strong.
But this explained why Xu Jin, a disciple from the County Taoist Institute, could outperform many geniuses and take first place in both the second and third challenges.
With a strong Divine Soul Power, the foundational power of Star Skill would also become very strong.
Everything made sense now.
Lu Chenfeng, the Dean from Yan State State Taoist Institute, also turned back to look at Dong Zhao.
Seeing the shocked expression on Dong Zhao’s face, Lu Chenfeng began to ponder if he had really made a mistake this time.
Now, it seemed that Dong Zhao might no longer threaten his position because Dong Zhao was about to receive two A+ results.
Two A+ results, along with the previous Great Merits, meant Dong Zhao could very likely jump three tiers, bypass him, and return to the National Taoist Institute.
But previously, Lu Chenfeng’s consideration was that Dong Zhao, having established Great Merits twice and Special Merit once, if he got one A result, then he would jump two levels.
Where would Dong Zhao, the Mountain Master, jump to if he jumped levels twice?
There was a very high likelihood that he would jump to the position of Dean at the Yan State State Taoist Institute, which Lu Chenfeng currently held.
Because Lu Chenfeng had already been reprimanded twice, if Dong Zhao performed spectacularly and his own results were poor, according to the National Taoist Institute’s tradition, he would be demoted one level, and Dong Zhao would jump two levels to his position.
Under this calculation, Lu Chenfeng had planned to target Jinshan Taoist Institute.
Among his twelve County Taoist Institutes, sacrificing one, Jinshan Taoist Institute, would not affect his results at all.
But the outcome would completely change.
His results would remain the same, but Dong Zhao’s performance was decent, his results would be B, or even C, the other County Daoist Institute deans could at most be promoted one level and would pose no threat to his position, Lu Chenfeng.
At that time, he would still be the Dean of Yan State State Taoist Institute, and Dong Zhao at most would be promoted one level to be his deputy.
That had been Lu Chenfeng’s wishful thinking.
Unfortunately, man’s calculations are no match for Heaven’s.
After much planning, it all ended in vain.
Who would have thought that Dong Zhao’s counterattack would be so sharp and ruthless?
He directly ordered Xu Jin to go on a killing spree, completely destroying their Yan State’s results this year, putting him in an absolutely dire situation.
Looking at it now, his scheming was in vain, and he would be demoted and removed from his position, while Dong Zhao was very likely to achieve a triple jump back to the National Taoist Institute!
"It’s all Dong Zhao’s and Xu Jin’s fault!" Lu Chenfeng cursed inwardly.
In the spectator area of the Dachen National Taoist School, Lv Kun was so frustrated he wanted to kill someone!
What the heck is this reasoning!
This Xu Jin, not to mention the second and third challenges, but this fourth challenge, how could it be possible!
For a moment, Lv Kun even thought that today’s Stairway to Heaven was rigged.
Otherwise, how could Xu Jin get the first place!
Lv Kun was furiously agitated, from youth, he had never felt so miserable and stifled!
On the Martial Observation Platform, the high-level officials of the Dachen National Daoist School were watching Xu Jin, who sat on the one hundred and ninety-sixth step, all eagerly anticipating Xu Jin’s next move, eager to see where Xu Jin’s limit was.
But for a long time, there was no movement.
"National Master, gentlemen, why do I feel like Xu Jin is hiding his clumsiness? I just saw him climb up to the one hundred and ninety-sixth step quite easily?" Right Libationer Song Bing suddenly spoke, "How about we test him once more?"
Dong Zhao, upon hearing this, appeared thoughtful and then replied, "Hiding his clumsiness? Not likely! I feel that Xu Jin’s limit is pretty much here."
"Test him once more?"
Supervisor Chen Liao suddenly laughed, "What, Right Libationer wants to add another test? Why don’t you take out a valuable Star Pattern as a prize to set a bounty for the lad, give the lad an incentive, and maybe he can climb another two or three steps?"
Upon hearing this, Right Libationer Song Bing snorted coldly and stopped talking.
Having previously been trapped by Dong Zhao and losing a foundational Rain Curtain Star Pattern, it had been troublesome enough.
To take out another, he wasn’t foolish.
What if this lad really made it?
Wouldn’t that be aiding the enemy?
National Master Cheng Yuxiao also watched Xu Jin, to be honest, Xu Jin’s performance looked difficult, but compared to others, who seemed strained from start to finish and oozed difficulty from every pore, it was significantly less.