Muscular Rabbits Legion: “No one can escape from the novice village!”
Chapter 579 - 549: Retracing the Path of Diligence

Chapter 579: Chapter 549: Retracing the Path of Diligence

No one had told him about this otherwise Rabbit wouldn’t have been startled by the sound at the beginning.

"After climbing a hundred thousand steps without seeing the peak, he must have despaired and given up, right?"

"Giving up after just a hundred thousand steps shows that Rabbit’s tenacity is as short as his tail. With such tenacity, I really can’t understand why Senior Brother Qin still instructed us to make things as difficult for Rabbit as possible." The third disciple murmured.

The first disciple was also perplexed, "Yeah, with Rabbit’s heart nature, we really don’t need to do anything."

The second disciple chuckled, "Isn’t this just perfect? The rules of Book Mountain are strict, and even if we wanted to increase the difficulty for him, we couldn’t go too far. Going too far would be our mistake, and if we were discovered, we’d inevitably face punishment.

If it’s not too much and it doesn’t work, we’d offend Senior Brother Qin.

Now it’s great, we don’t do anything, and Rabbit has turned back on his own.

Everyone’s happy."

The other two nodded slightly upon hearing this, thinking it made sense.

Just then, someone said, "Hey, that’s not right, why has he stopped?"

Everybody immediately looked over and, sure enough, Rabbit had stopped after climbing more than two thousand steps. Then he turned around, took a deep breath, and stepped back.

They all furrowed their brows.

The slightly chubby Zhao Fubing said, "Does this guy feel ashamed to descend the mountain like this and wants to try again?"

Zheng Zhisheng shook his head, "Even if he wants to try, does he need to take it so leisurely? With this pace, pausing with each step, thinking for a while, then taking another... when will he ever reach the summit? By the time he gets up there, all assessments will have probably ended."

At that moment, Liu Ximing suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Do you guys think, could he be trying to learn something from Diligence Path?"

"Impossible!" Zheng Zhisheng and Zhao Fubing immediately shook their heads in denial.

Then Zheng Zhisheng added, "Unless he’s gone mad. Diligence Path may seem to have only a million steps, but it encompasses a vast array of knowledge, increasing in complexity towards the end, incomprehensible even to you or me, like a Heavenly Book.

Moreover, its teaching method is extremely crude, just throwing information at you, and how much you comprehend depends entirely on your comprehension.

There are no teachers to answer questions...

Furthermore, the learning on Diligence Path is very intensive with no time allowed for rest.

Everyone has their limits of patience, and no matter how studious, there’s a breaking point. Once patience is exhausted, what remains is torture.

To my knowledge, among all the candidates who have reached Book Mountain throughout history, less than a hundred have completed the Diligence Path on their first visit.

And in the past thirty thousand years, none!

You don’t really think this Rabbit could do it, do you?

Even if he could, he wouldn’t have the time for it.

Unless he’s not taking part in the Heaven and Earth Association exam."

Everyone was speechless...

"He may not be capable, but those two ahead just might!"

Zhao Fubing looked towards the middle section of Diligence Path where two individuals stood. They had climbed three hundred thousand steps and were consistently side by side, on the same level.

Despite three hundred thousand steps, their steps were still light, without the slightest hesitation. It was clear they had understood the content on the steps in an instant.

Or maybe, the content on those steps was already clear to them, thus no need to learn it anew.

The former requires a terrifying level of comprehension while the latter seems more likely.

Yet even so, it’s quite astonishing.

The two occasionally glanced at each other, each able to see the competitive edge in the other’s eyes, neither conceding to the other.

These two had actually locked horns in this way.

Zheng Zhisheng shared, "I know these two. They come from Li Hailin of the Li Family and Liu Haichao of the Liu Family, both from Yangluo City in the Underground Immortal Realm.

Their families have been competing since the time of their ancestors.

This generation’s rivalry has become even fiercer.

But it must be said, the offspring of these families are geniuses, and these two are among the elite of their respective families.

It is said they both began to comprehend enlightenment at three years old, reading vividly, and never ceased day or night until recently when they emerged from retreat."

Zhao Fubing wondered, "With their abilities, they could have totally applied for Wenqu Palace, right? Why did they apply for Wenchang Palace instead? Relatively speaking, Wenqu Palace is harder to get into, but once you’re in, it’s a golden ticket.

Though the ceiling in Wenchang Palace is not weaker than Wenqu Palace, but..."

Zhao Fubing hesitated, as he himself was from Wenchang Palace.

However, everyone understood: since Wenchang Palace’s threshold is lower, even if one gets into Wenchang Palace, they don’t shine as candidates from Wenqu Palace do. This is the pro and con of applying for Wenchang Palace...

Liu Ximing said, "I’ve heard about this. It seems both are haughty individuals who believed they could pass either test. So, they flipped a coin to decide which one to take.

The result was both landed on Wenchang Palace...

Then they both thought it was too easy, and that’s how this contest on Diligence Path started."

Zhao Fubing commented, "Wow, while others are wishing for an easier exam, they are crazily raising the stakes for themselves. But, I’m afraid they might not have enough time..."

Just then, a voice announced, "The Heaven and Earth Association test will change its content effective immediately. All candidates must retake the Diligence Path. Those who reach the five hundred thousandth step may enter Wenchang Palace, and those who reach the eight hundred thousandth step may enter Wenqu Palace!"

Upon hearing this, all three were taken aback.

"Five hundred thousand steps to enter Wenchang Palace, eight hundred thousand to enter Wenqu Palace? This..."

Zhao Fubing clicked his tongue, "The difficulty of this Heaven and Earth Association exam has increased way too much, right?"

Liu Ximing said, "Indeed, five hundred thousand steps. It may be feasible for those two freaks, but it’s too hard for those slackers.

And Wenqu Palace demands eight hundred thousand steps, which is practically insurmountable!"

This...

I wonder if those two can actually make it to the top."

Zheng Zhisheng spoke with a grave expression, "It’s difficult... Although both individuals are supreme geniuses, and they still seem at ease now, the difficulty of the Steep Staircase increases as one ascends, sometimes by geometric multiples.

With eight hundred thousand steps, throughout ancient and modern times, few have completed the ascent, and those who have, their future achievements have become legendary, with their names engraved on the stone cliffs above the Sea of Learning!

That is the utmost honor...

As for the five hundred thousand steps, even the Great Scholars within Wenqu Palace are few and far between in achieving such feat, right?"

Zhao Fubing nodded, "Although they are geniuses, I’m afraid it might be too hard for them. As for the rabbit?"

Liu Ximing and Zheng Zhisheng laughed in unison, "That one? A rabbit that hasn’t even transformed, how much Comprehension could it possibly have? A hundred thousand steps might already be its limit."

"Perhaps, it will give up shortly..." Zhao Fubing said with a not-so-kind smile.

The three burst into laughter once again.

While they laughed, the mountain was filled with wails.

The candidates from Wenchang Palace who had arrived early had never expected the test to be the ascent of the Steep Staircase.

Before coming, they all had done their homework and knew the difficulty of the Steep Staircase, so almost none of them listened to the sounds of the Steep Staircase, instead they all charged straight ahead, aiming to reach the peak in one go.

Initially, everyone’s mood was still quite good, sitting on the mountain, enjoying the breeze, almost feeling like they could look down on all mountains from above, under the illusion that everyone else was illiterate.

However, this one sentence brought everyone back to reality.

But there were also some who truly had knowledge and skills; although they frowned deeply, hearing that ascending just five hundred thousand steps could allow entry into Wenchang Palace made them breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Then someone took the lead and headed back down the mountain, and the others, having no choice, followed suit.

In the distance, the Wenchang Star Lord watched Li Hailin and Liu Haichao walking up the steps with a smile. "I’ve already got two reserved slots," he said, "and you... Hehe, you don’t seriously think that rabbit can reach eight hundred thousand steps, do you?

To be honest, I just can’t understand why you chose the Steep Staircase as the test content. Isn’t that just handing me a victory on a silver platter?"

The Wenqu Star Lord watched the rabbit on the mountain path, returning to the starting point and heading up again in silence, saying nothing.

The Wenchang Star Lord said, "Hm... or are you also gambling?

Gambling that the ignorant rabbit can ascend the eight hundred thousand steps amidst that tedious study and comprehension?

Honestly, this isn’t gambling, you’re just giving it away."

The Wenqu Star Lord remained silent.

The Wenchang Star Lord, with his hands behind his back, lamented, "It’s no fun, no fun at all, this victory has no excitement whatsoever!"

Having said that, he sat at the top of the mountain, took out a book, and began reading quietly.

...

Elsewhere, Yi Zheng was on his way up the steps, when suddenly he heard a stream of grumbling and swearing coming from above. Looking up, he saw two to three thousand people running down the mountain, cursing as they ran.

"Damn it, who set this question?"

"To climb the Steep Staircase again? Is that even meant for humans? I’m giving up, I’m done!"

"I’m out of here too!"

"Together?"

"You go first."

"No, you go first!"

"Actually, you go ahead?"

...

Watching this group of people, saying they would leave but rushing down, Yi Zheng shook his head.

This kind of scene, during his school years, he had seen plenty.

Especially before exams, which academic overachiever didn’t claim they hadn’t studied, forgetting to look at the exam questions?

In the end...

Yi Zheng sighed, ignoring these people and continued waiting for the steps.

However, it wasn’t long before he heard those two familiar voices behind him again.

"Damn, weren’t you leaving?"

"Didn’t you say you were leaving too?"

"You liar!"

"You’re the liar!"

...

Yi Zheng watched these two jokers overtake him, unconcerned, and continued walking slowly.

Then, one candidate after another passed by Yi Zheng, but he didn’t care.

He was just climbing the steps at his own pace, stopping with each step, listening carefully to the voice, practicing the pronunciation. Whenever it wasn’t precise, he would step back and try again.

At the same time, he observed the exploded character in his Sea of Consciousness, and gradually came to realize that the character had not simply exploded, but had been written by someone in an extremely brief span of time.

With strokes, with sequence...

The more carefully he observed, the more amazed and shocked Yi Zheng became at the writing details.

Every stroke, every pause, every flick of the brush carried a sense of nonchalance that seemed to baptize his soul with an invisible power, indescribably comfortable.

Most importantly, when the fireworks finally exploded completely, amidst the scattered points of light, Yi Zheng found something even more magical – those were unmistakably numerous fragmented Rune Fragments!