The first hundred steps were easy.
Children laughed as they climbed, talking excitedly about the lives they imagined awaited them atop Azure Cloud Mountain. Some boasted about becoming famous cultivators. Others spoke of wealth, glory, and long life.
Ye Chen said nothing.
He climbed at a steady pace, his breathing slow and even.
The lessons of the past year echoed in his mind.
"Do not waste your strength trying to impress others."
The elderly physician had repeated those words countless times while they gathered herbs in the mountains.
Today, Ye Chen finally understood why.
By the two-hundredth step, the laughter had faded.
The staircase became steeper.
The mountain air grew thinner.
Sweat soaked through the expensive robes of several noble youths, while those who had rushed ahead now leaned heavily against the stone railings, struggling to catch their breath.
A boy in embroidered silk glanced back at Ye Chen with disdain.
"You'll never reach the top walking that slowly."
Without waiting for an answer, he hurried onward.
Ye Chen merely watched him disappear around the next bend.
Then he continued climbing at exactly the same pace.
The three-hundredth step marked the first cries of frustration.
A young girl stumbled and scraped her knee against the stone.
Another candidate threw down his backpack in anger.
"My legs are numb!"
"No one said it would be this hard!"
An elderly sect disciple standing beside the staircase remained expressionless.
"No one forced you to come."
The boy gritted his teeth and continued climbing.
Ye Chen silently observed everything.
Every complaint.
Every expression.
Every decision.
He realized that the examination had begun long before anyone reached the summit.
Several hours passed.
The sun climbed higher.
The air became warmer.
Many candidates had begun carrying one another's bags or sharing water.
Others selfishly refused.
The mountain quietly revealed everyone's true nature.
Near the five-hundredth step, Ye Chen noticed an elderly porter struggling beneath two enormous baskets tied across his shoulders.
The old man was not a candidate.
He simply carried supplies toward the upper pavilions.
His breathing was labored.
Each step looked painful.
Several candidates brushed past him impatiently.
One even muttered,
"Move aside."
The porter apologized repeatedly, trying his best to make room.
Ye Chen slowed his pace.
He remembered his father carrying sacks of grain after harvest.
The same bent back.
The same tired eyes.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
"Grandfather."
The old porter looked up in surprise.
"May I help you?"
Before the man could refuse, Ye Chen lifted one of the baskets onto his own shoulder.
It was astonishingly heavy.
Far heavier than it appeared.
The weight nearly forced him to one knee.
The porter hurriedly reached out.
"You'll miss the examination!"
Ye Chen adjusted the basket.
"We're going the same way."
They continued climbing together.
Some candidates laughed.
"Idiot."
"He can't even pass the examination, and he's helping someone else."
Ye Chen ignored them.
Every step hurt.
His shoulders burned.
His breathing became increasingly difficult.
Yet strangely...
His heart felt lighter than it had all day.
High above, inside a quiet pavilion overlooking the staircase, several elders watched the examination unfold.
One elder pointed toward Ye Chen.
"Interesting."
Another frowned.
"He'll exhaust himself before reaching the summit."
A third elder shook his head.
"Kindness has no place in cultivation."
Only Elder Han remained silent.
His gaze followed the young farmer's son.
After a long moment, he quietly spoke.
"No."
The other elders turned toward him.
"He is not helping because he expects a reward."
"He is helping because..."
A faint smile appeared.
"...he cannot pretend not to see another person's burden."
No one responded.
By late afternoon, many candidates had already given up.
Some sat crying beside the staircase.
Others descended silently with defeated expressions.
The sect disciples neither mocked nor comforted them.
The mountain treated everyone equally.
Near the seven-hundredth step, Ye Chen's legs finally gave way.
He carefully lowered the basket onto the ground.
His vision blurred.
The old porter immediately offered him water.
"You've done enough."
Ye Chen smiled weakly.
"I only carried it halfway."
The old man laughed softly.
"Half a burden shared..."
He lifted the basket onto his own shoulder once more.
"...is still half a burden less."
Ye Chen watched the elderly man continue climbing.
Then, after taking a deep breath, he stood again.
His legs trembled.
His muscles screamed in protest.
But he took another step.
Then another.
And another.
As evening approached, the clouds surrounding Azure Cloud Mountain slowly turned crimson beneath the setting sun.
The summit was finally visible.
Only a few hundred steps remained.
Among the hundreds who had begun the examination that morning...
Less than eighty were still climbing.
Ye Chen was one of them.
Hidden among the spectators stood the mysterious old wanderer—the same man who had met Ye Chen in the forest months ago.
No one noticed his presence.
He watched silently as the young boy struggled upward.
Then he smiled.
"The body tires..."
he murmured.
"...but conviction remembers why it started."
At the highest pavilion, Elder Han suddenly turned his head.
For the briefest instant...
His eyes met the old wanderer's.
Neither man spoke.
Neither acknowledged the other.
Yet both understood.
This ordinary examination...
Was being watched by people far beyond the understanding of any disciple on the mountain.
And for reasons still hidden beneath the flow of fate...
Ye Chen had unknowingly stepped into their sight.