Sometimes, raising the difficulty only made people more eager to rise to the challenge. 

That was especially true of Ember’s arrogance. Anyone who hesitated or backed down in the face of a challenge was never going to make it very far down this path in the first place. And so, Gustav’s harshness and iron-fisted methods had instead come to be seen as a rare opportunity to prove oneself. Even the fact that he had once ignored every protest and pressure from all sides and passed exactly zero candidates did nothing to change that.

Among the more than eleven hundred applicants this year, how many were simply trying their luck? And how many truly believed themselves favored by the Divine Mandate, ready to meet any difficulty head-on?

“You’ve become the peak everyone wants to conquer, my friend.” Jiang Tongguang sighed with emotion. “The younger generation is coming for you now, all scrambling to see who can reach the top first.”

Of course, gathering this many apprentices in one place came with its own problems. They came from different backgrounds, different legacies, and different factions. Quite a few of them had old grudges with one another, and some were bitter enough to border on blood feuds.

Jiang Tongguang’s eyes lit up. 

“Oh, I have an idea!” He clapped his hands and raised a finger. “What do you say we rearrange the seating and put some of them together?”

Gustav looked over expressionlessly....