The burden from the Temporal Steps of Heaven Ascension wasn't generalized, but rather, made specifically for each challenger, based on their strength. In Quinlan's case, being a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, his initial burden was roughly half a ton.
Now that he was at the 306th step, with the burden spiking to 20 times, it was now equivalent to having his body placed under 10 tons of weight!
This time, however, his weakness was a blessing in disguise. As his initial burden was low compared to others, that means his challenge had the lowest difficulty among all other challengers, giving him an edge against them!
Of course, that comes with a prerequisite: will he be able to reach the top? He was just a third of the way up, and he was already tired beyond imagination!
"Phew..."
Still, his fatigue had nothing to do with his cultivation speed.
