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Duncan made good time and within fifteen minutes he neared the region where the glint came from.

Duncan slowed his pace as he neared the region. He remembered his senior brother's words about looking for dangers accompanying an opportunity before seeking the opportunity. He didn't want to end up dead because he rushed in like an idiot.

After making sure that there was no danger in the vicinity, Duncan stepped out of the shadows and approached the region where the glint was emitting from. Going through a couple of trees, Duncan's eyes saw a large archway with paved steps leading upwards to the hilltop.

Duncan was a little intrigued by this setup. He closely examined the archway and found various depictions of strange beasts that looked like hybrids of known beasts present. After checking it for a bit, Duncan acted on an insane thought and tried to insert some of his qi into the archway.

Duncan put his hand on the archway and channeled some qi into it. The moment Duncan's qi entered the archway, the archway thrummed in response. Before Duncan could take away his hands, a large amount of his qi was sucked in by the archway.

Duncan was left gasping and feeling weak when the archway was done. The next moment, the steps leading to the hilltop started emitting strange light. The light eventually dimmed and a section of the steps remained lit. The other places turned dull and remained normal.

Duncan was a little intrigued by these lit-up sections of steps. But, his experience with the archway made him a little warier. Before this, Duncan was like a newborn calf, fearing nothing. But after suffering a little, he remembered where he was and decided to curb his erratic thoughts a bit.

Duncan picked up a twig from the wayside and threw it upon the lit section. The moment the twig crossed the lit-up area, the twig was violently pulled down and slammed into the steps. The next moment, the twig snapped in two causing Duncan's eyes to twitch.

Duncan felt that he was a little lucky that he didn't test it out with his body. Thinking a little, he picked up another twig and threw it over the normal section. The twig flew and clattered on the steps normally causing Duncan's eyebrows to raise in surprise.

It was clear that whatever was happening only occurred in the lit-up section. He could traverse the normal section easily. But, the lit-up session had some kind of phenomena that he wasn't aware of.

As much as Duncan wanted to play it safe and traverse the normal section, his curiosity couldn't help but be piqued by the lit-up section. Duncan felt that this archway and steps weren't simple and they had some use.

The reason he felt that the archway wasn't simple because, the archway had sucked in his qi and used it to light up a section of each step. If he could squint a bit, he can clearly see some squiggles etched on the steps. While they looked eroded with time, their function looked to be fine.

Scratching his jaws, Duncan tested out the lit-up section with a few more twigs. The same phenomena happened over and over. Duncan even threw a twig into the distance to see if there was any change in the function farther. The result was the same.

Having concluded that no more nasty surprises waited for him farther up the steps, Duncan then tested the normal steps. He found it no different than walking on steps anywhere else.

Duncan looked at the lit-up section seriously for a long time before deciding to give it a try as well.

Duncan steeled his heart and put one leg in the lit-up section. Nothing occurred causing Duncan to be a bit confused. Scratching his head, Duncan put his other leg on the lit-up section as well and stood on the step. He didn't feel any change. This caused him to be a bit confused.

Duncan looked down and later up, to see if the section was still lit and found them lit as it was earlier. Turning around and searching for any indication that something was wrong, Duncan found no clue. In the end, he shrugged and started walking up via the lit-up section.

The first few steps were fine. Duncan didn't feel any different. However, when Duncan was taking the ninth step, he felt a small pressure on his body causing him to frown a bit.

This pressure was nothing. It was like someone was pressing down on his shoulders. Duncan shrugged that off and continued. When he reached the seventeenth step, Duncan felt a sharp increase in pressure once more.

This time, it felt like someone was applying a little pressure to have him sit down. Duncan shrugged this off as well and continued. When he reached the twenty-fifth step, the pressure once more increased.

Only then did Duncan realize that the pressure has been growing minutely with each step. However, the increase in pressure was so slow and gradual that Duncan's body automatically adopted not giving any indication.

However, after every eight steps, there is a sharp increase in pressure. That was the time someone would feel a bit different. Having figured out the mechanism, Duncan understood that this was a test of some sort.

Duncan was elated to know that. From what his senior brother said, these tests will have rewards at the end if he passed. Duncan was curious to see if he had a chance in passing this test. The best part was that anytime he felt unable to bear the pressure, he could step sideways and enter the normal region making it easier for him to escape.

With a bright smile, Duncan continued to walk upwards. By the time he reached the eightieth step, Duncan was beginning to realize that the increase in pressure with each step was getting harder to bear.

However, he wasn't at the end of his rope yet. So, Duncan decided to continue further. After all, he could already see the end of the archway ahead. There were only about forty more steps left. The biggest reason for Duncan's confidence was that he had yet to use his cultivation to resist this pressure.

So far, Duncan had been bearing the pressure with his physical body alone. So, Duncan felt that he could pass this test easily if he could unleash his cultivation to bear the pressure.

However, the reality gave a huge blow to Duncan's thoughts in the next step.

The moment Duncan stepped foot on the eighty-first step, immense pressure assaulted him. It felt like someone strong was forcefully pressing him down to kneel. Duncan realized that this was the beginning of the next set of eight and the pressure would increase drastically at this moment.

Duncan decided to unleash his cultivation and bear the pressure. The next moment, Duncan's eyes bulged in astonishment as he could not unleash his cultivation at all. He could feel that his cultivation wasn't gone. He could feel it deep within him, But, he couldn't just unleash it.

Duncan felt that there was a restriction on his body causing his cultivation to be sealed. He didn't know when it appeared. But, he figured it was there from the moment he stepped foot in the lit-up area. As only that would make sense.

Gritting his teeth, Duncan pushed himself straight and placed his other leg on the eighty-first step as well. Duncan's body endured the pressure as he struggled to stand straight.

For a moment, Duncan thought about giving up by stepping to the right and ending his torment. But, he looked up to see the remaining forty or so steps and the end in his sight.

Closing his eyes, Duncan decided to see how far he could go.

Duncan opened his eyes, let out a small shout, and took a step forward. The pressure increased slightly. Hunching his shoulders and gritting his teeth, Duncan started ascending the steps slowly.

Until now, it felt like a leisurely stroll for Duncan. However, right now, he felt like walking through mud. However, Duncan felt that he could walk a bit more. So, he slowly ascended the steps, one foot in front of the other.

When the next checkpoint came, Duncan almost got down on his knees. This made Duncan a little angry. Roaring at the sky, Duncan pushed against the pressure with all his might and straightened his body.

Slowly, he took one step after the other. The increase in pressure felt drastic with each step he ascended. Duncan wondered why each step now had a tremendous increase in pressure. But, deep down, he knew that the pressure was just increasing gradually and it was his body that could not withstand the pressure.

Duncan's posture was no longer straight. His shoulders have turned inward and his body had contorted a little to better withstand the pressure. His back was no longer straight. And his legs were bent at the knees as well.

However, Duncan didn't pay attention to any of this. He just wanted to ascend as many steps as possible and see how far he could go. He wanted to at least complete three-fourths of the way before he gave up.

But the reality was brutal.

When the next checkpoint came up, Duncan's leg buckled and he landed hard on his knee. The pressure on his back was so huge that he almost felt suffocated. Duncan wanted to escape from the pressure by moving sideways but felt his body was rooted to the spot in the undignified posture he was in.

Duncan felt shame welling up in him as he grit his teeth. The pressure was pressing him ever downwards as if it wanted to push him down until he prostrated in surrender.

Duncan could handle being unable to pass this test, but he didn't want to prostrate and end up shamed like this. With an unwilling roar, Duncan pushed with all his might and rolled sideways.

The moment Duncan's body exited the lit-up section, the pressure vanished, allowing him to breathe normally.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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