The tenth floor was a circular room with a diameter of ten metres.
Its walls were bare, and the floor was made of brown stone that resembled wood.
Three Jade mats were placed equidistance around the room, and each was occupied by a Sea Cloud sect disciple.
Jiang Yue was one of them.
As early as the first week of the test, he had realised what he needed to do to pass the test.
However, knowing was one thing and accomplishing was another.
Although he had decided to let go of his past life, he couldn't cut off his attachment right away.
He wasn't a Buddha that had transcended desire.
Jiang Yue was just an ordinary person, and ordinary people want their fish and a bear's paw.
He wanted his career, his family, and Yu Nianzhen.
Choosing one didn't feel fair, but trying to keep it all was drawing water with a bamboo basket.
After two weeks of struggle, he chose what he didn't want to live without and immediately escaped the illusion.
When Jiang Yue appeared on the tenth floor, two people were already there.
One of them was an outer sect disciple, and the other was an odd job disciple.
The outer sect disciple was called Ouyang Shu.
He came from the Ouyang clan, which was a powerful Sect clan.
Jiang Yue knew this because Zhu Bing had previously talked about him, but he didn't know much else.
The odd job disciple was also familiar because of Zhu Bing.
His name was Kong Fan.
He had joined the sect in the previous recruitment, but his luck was not good.
Zhu Bing mentioned that Kong Fan offended someone and was directly demoted from an outer sect disciple to an odd job disciple.
Jiang Yue guessed that the ten-storey pagoda was Kong Fan's chance to turn over, but he didn't give it much thought.
His main concern was that Yu Nianzhen had yet to show up.
Days passed, and two more people reached the tenth floor.
However, Yu Nianzhen was not one of them.
Four days to the deadline, a door opened, and Jiang Yue turned to look.
Soon after, a girl walked through the door, and Jiang Yue couldn't hide his disappointment.
"I have been meaning to ask, are you waiting for someone?" Kong Fan asked.
He had noticed Jiang Yue's weird behaviour whenever someone entered the room.
"Yes."
Jiang Yue wasn't in the mood to talk, and he closed his eyes as soon as he gave the answer.
"Do you think the tenth floor is a place that anyone can enter?" Someone asked.
The voice was filled with disdain, and Jiang Yue could feel a mocking glance cast his way.
At other times, he would jump in and argue, but today was not that day.
He knew that Yu Nianzhen was struggling with something for the past two months. Because of that, he worried that something had happened.
More than passing the test, he wanted Yu Nianzhen to be okay.
In his eyes, Yu Nianzhen was the most capable person he knew. His ability didn't need to be defended to irrelevant people.
Seeing that Jiang Yue didn't argue, the person who spoke gave him another mocking look and then turned away.
Jiang Yue took a deep breath and sat cross-legged.
After passing his test, his soul had grown a lot stronger, which made his heart and mind firmer.
Rather than allow himself to fall into anxiety, it was better to take advantage of the rich heaven and earth qi to cultivate.
He lost himself in cultivation, and a day passed in this way.
However, when the door opened again, he was the first to look up.
Although his mind was firm, his eyes still betrayed a little anxiety.
This anxiety lingered until he saw the person who walked in.
'Finally.' He thought and stood up.
A brilliant smile brightened his face, and he looked more relaxed than he had been since the test began.
"What took you so long?"
His voice was filled with exasperation, but he wasn't really angry.
"Are you okay?"
Yu Nianzhen was also happy to see Jiang Yue.
"I am fine."
As soon as Yu Nianzhen entered the room, another cultivation mat appeared three metres to the right of Jiang Yue's.
Jiang Yue pulled the mat towards his own and didn't stop until they were edge to edge.
Yu Nianzhen took a seat and glanced at Jiang Yue, "how was your test?"
A complex look flashed on Jiang Yue's face, and Yu Nianzhen didn't miss it.
"Let's talk about it after we leave the pagoda."
Although he didn't mean to hide anything, Jiang Yue didn't want to talk about it in front of others.
There were a lot of things that needed to be said, and he wanted to wait until they were alone.
Yu Nianzhen nodded and understood.
He hadn't told Jiang Yue about the trepidation because he couldn't understand it and didn't know how to explain it.
Now that he had figured it out, he naturally wanted to speak about it.
However, their current location wasn't the best.
"Is this the friend you were waiting for?" Kong Fan asked.
Jiang Yue looked around and saw that everyone's attention was on them.
There were now seven people in the room; four men and three women.
Each of them had a look of interest, but under the interest, their emotions were very complex.
The seven people in the room were the most capable outer sect, odd job, and new disciples.
They were comrades of the same generation, but also each other's fiercest competitors.
In normal recruitment tests, new disciples could only become outer sect disciples or odd job disciples.
Even if they joined a peak, they would remain in the outer sect until they broke through to the origin forging realm.
However, the pagoda test was different.
Those who reached the tenth floor could become personal disciples of sect elders.
In that case, they could join the inner sect ahead of time and didn't have to wait until they became origin forging realm cultivators.
As such, the more people that reached the tenth floor, the fiercer the competition for discipleship.
"His name is Yu Nianzhen." Jiang Yue introduced.
He then cast a contemptuous look at the person who had previously mocked him.
"What are you proud of? He only arrived..." The person stopped talking before he finished his words.
"Why don't you continue?"
Jiang Yue was filled with disdain.
He knew that the person wanted to ridicule Yu Nianzhen for arriving late.
However, the person had arrived later than Jiang Yue and could not take the high ground when facing him.
After that, everyone introduced themselves and then fell into silence.
They weren't friends, and no one wanted to make friends.
Instead, they all sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
"Let's talk later."
Yu Nianzhen rubbed Jiang Yue's hair, and both began to cultivate.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
No one else arrived in that time, and most of the seven were relieved.
"It's a pity that Zhu Bing didn't make it."
Jiang Yue frowned but didn't dwell on it.
Although they had a friendly relationship, everyone had their own path and struggles.
It was enough that he and Yu Nianzhen had passed.
When the deadline came, the pagoda underwent a change.
The sound of gears turning could be heard on all floors, and a layer of aura enveloped the pagoda.
The aura was a white light that had an ancient breath and a sacred feeling.
It coated every inch of the pagoda as if to isolate it from the world outside.
After a while, the aura released a white radiance. The radiance penetrated into the pagoda, covering all the disciples within.
When the light dissipated, everyone discovered that boxes had appeared in the void in front of them.
The boxes were of different sizes and were made of different materials.
In front of Jiang Yue was a wooden box that was less than thirty centimetres long and fifteen centimetres wide.
The lacquered box looked new, but it had an ancient feel that gave the impression of majesty.
Contrary, Yu Nianzhen had a jade box.
The box was made of green jade and was only a hundred square centimetres.
"Are these the rewards for passing the pagoda test?"
Jiang Yue was excited, and he wasn't the only one.
Everyone was looking at their reward boxes with deep fervour and anticipation.
They had all heard about the pagoda rewards.
Although people like Ouyang Shu did not lack treasures, pagoda rewards on the tenth floor were ancient treasures.
If someone was lucky, they could even get a heaven and earth treasure, an extinct resource, or a lost art.
The seven were eager to check their spoils, but everyone hesitated before reaching for their boxes.
They looked at each other suspiciously, and the previous excitement was tamped down.
At that moment, they were all thinking the same thing.
Even if they were dying to see what was inside, did they dare to look in front of others?
What if their rewards were coveted by the others?
No one wanted to take that risk, and they all turned solemn.
'It won't be too late to look at it when we leave this place.' Jiang Yue thought and then reached for his box.
However, something happened as soon as he touched the box
An array activated, and an invisible wall appeared around him. He vaguely understood that the array was an isolation array which meant that the others couldn't see him.
When the others saw what happened, they didn't hesitate any longer.
They grabbed their boxes, and soon after, the room looked empty.
Everyone felt like they were alone in the room and no longer had scruples about opening their boxes.
Within the individual arrays, seven disciples opened their boxes, and six of them were filled with excitement.
The only person who was confused rather than excited was Yu Nianzhen because he couldn't open his jade box.