Pursuit of the Truth

It was the second day of the first stage of the test!

The moment the first rays of sunlight arrived, some of the pressure on the black misted mountain, where the Ancients sealed the strange beast, left. The moment it returned to normal, Ye Wang was the first to move.

He opened his eyes calmly and got up before moving towards the 601st step. He had no idea what happened last night. To him, who had always been prideful, there was no need to look at the plate. He still believed that there was no one who could become his opponent. The only person who could compete with him was himself.

Ye Wang walked pridefully one step at a time up the stairs. He had a resolve. He must make it to the 900th step this time during the first stage of the test this time. He could still remember clearly that the final step he took last time was when he was in the 800s. He had been exhausted and was unable to move any longer. When he had to finally give up, he lifted his head and seemed to see a strange stone statue at the summit of the mountain far away.

It was a pity, however, because he could not see the statue clearly due to the distance between them. Nonetheless, that one glance alone made Ye Wang become persistent. His pride and extraordinary talent would not let him rest. He would see that summit that no one has ever seen before!

He longed to stand there and look down towards the people beneath him.

He was prideful, and he continued walking further up the stairs within the mist in his fire-like clothes. He might not have looked at the rankings, but he knew that he was in the 1st place!

Chen Chong was gritting his teeth as he continued mumbling under his breath and climbing upwards with all his strength. He might be panting harshly, but he did not stop to rest. Instead, he would occasionally look at the plate in his hands to check Bi Su’s rank.

Bi Su was still higher than him by three steps. Both of them seemed to have made rivals of each other and were constantly competing against each other. In truth, this had already happened since yesterday, and Chen Chong absolutely refused to resign himself to losing.

”You bastard. Choose either to walk faster and widen our distance so that I won’t be bothered so much, or slow down a few steps. Aren’t you tired? Well, if you’re tired, I’m tired too!” Chen Chong was drenched in sweat. It may be day time, but he, who was currently in the 400s, could feel the pressure from the mountain beginning to suffocate him. Fatigue rushed forward through his entire body like a tidal wave.

Bi Su was also panting harshly. He may have rested for an entire night, but as he continued climbing upwards, and the pressure continued increasing, the arrogance within his heart was gradually stifled. It was especially so when he saw Ye Wang, who remained in first place, walking steadily up the stairs in the 600s. It made a bit of respect grown in him towards the man.

Without the desire to compete for first place any longer, he started directing his attention towards Chen Chong, wanting to win against him. To him, his opponent was only Chen Chong. Once he completely overcame this person, even if he lost first place to Ye Wang, his name would ring throughout all the tribes around the region.

Especially since the elder was now… Bi Su smiled coldly. There was a hint of yearning and fantasizing within his eyes.

Wu Sen’s face was pale. He may have rested for an entire night, but his condition did not become better. As time continued trickling by, the weakness brought by the loss of the Blood of Corpses from his body began revealing itself. His face was dark as he continued walking forwards. He would occasionally look at the ranks in the plate and at Bi Su, who was ranked 2nd. There was a look of discontent on his face.

He was still ranked 12th, but Wu Sen knew that he no longer had any hope to enter into the top 10. The people before him were usually no match for him in the tribe, but now...

Wu Sen sighed.

Compared to them, Su Ming was much calmer. He did not continue climbing up the mountain but was sitting cross-legged on the 249th step controlling the speed of the Qi circulating in his body to a profound state.

He was using every ounce of his abilities and the balanced pressure in this place to limit the increase and decrease of his blood veins to only one at a time.

To him, exercising fine control was very interesting. This was the same to him as when he was quenching herbs, but this time, his body was the cauldron, the Qi in his body was the flames, and his body was the herbs. He would control the strength of the fire and refine his body.

As time passed by, the hundreds of people in the field outside looked at the ranks on the eagle statues and started talking among themselves again.

”There’s no doubt that Ye Wang will be in the first place. He’s in the 680s, no one can catch up to him.”

”The second and third place are definitely Chen Chong and Bi Su. Look at them, those two are chasing after each other. I’m pretty sure they’re competing against one another.”

”It’s a pity for Wu Sen. I wonder what happened to him. I just can’t understand it.”

”It’s a pity for Mo Su too. It’s already noon, but he hasn’t moved at all. Now his rank has been overtaken multiple times, and he’s at the 47th place…”

As they were discussing among themselves, one name ranked in the 100s suddenly glowed with a gray light on the nine eagle statues. As it flickered, the name turned gray.

The sudden change immediately caught the crowd’s attention, but they were not surprised.

”Someone gave up!”

”Since the past, a huge number of abdicators will appear on the second day of the first stage of the test. They no longer have any strength to continue onwards and can no longer withstand the pressure in the mountain. If they don’t leave, then they will face the danger of their blood pressure increasing.”

The air suddenly twisted, soon followed by a wisp of mist coming from the mountain towards the field. Once it disappeared, a young man around 20 years of age staggered and almost fell onto the ground with a pale face. It was clear that he was forcefully transported out.

It was as if he felt uncomfortable with the gazes of the people on him. He lowered his head and quickly went to his tribe located in the distance. He sat down quietly with disappointment.

The number of people who gave up like him increased in the afternoon. The names that turned gray, and the black mist that transported the people out of the mountain from the twisted space became the spectators’ main attraction on the second day.

The people who gave up would mostly sigh in disappointment and return to their tribes. There were quite a number of them who came from Wind Stream Tribe.

”Those ranked in the 100s have all given up. Hey, look. By tonight, all those ranked below the top 50 will give up, and by midnight, there’ll also be a number of people who will give up. After all, even if they don’t move forward during midnight, they won’t be able to resist the incredible pressure in their exhausted state.”

”Every single time during the first stage of the test, the rankings are not the only entertainment. Looking at the people who gave up is also a form of entertainment.”

”Isn’t it? It’s especially so for those who got a pretty good ranking and gave up. Those looks of anxiety and fear that someone else will overtake them are really interesting.”

Just as the sounds of discussion echoed in the air, a person’s face suddenly lit up in excitement as he looked at an eagle statue.

”Mo Su moved!”

The moment the words were spoken, it immediately caught almost everyone’s attention. Numerous eyes fell upon the statues and on the line that belonged to Su Ming.

Su Ming opened his eyes. After spending half the day exercising fine control, the blood veins in his body had reduced to 21, and he could no longer continue decreasing the number. Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the stairs shrouded by mist before him. He slowly stood up.

He did not know that he was under the scrutiny of a lot of people. As of then, he only had two thoughts in his mind. Besides using this place to exercise fine control and train, he also did not want to let the elder down.

‘I’ll do my absolute best and give it my best shot!’

Su Ming was, after all, still a teenager. He had a teenager’s spirit and determination.

There was a flash in his eyes before he took a quick one step forward and landed on the 249th step. An incredibly strong amount of pressure pressed against him, causing Su Ming to tremble.

‘What great pressure!’

Su Ming’s face was pale. He felt as if there was a ferocious mythical creature roaring towards him down the stairs.

Su Ming’s eyes were firm. As the pressure came forth, he activated and circulated the Qi in his body until all 59 blood veins appeared, then he rushed forward.

251, 255, 258… Su Ming took a deep breath and continued taking 20 something steps. When he stood at the 270th step, only then did he exhale slowly.

There was sweat beading on his forehead. Without the help of the moonlight, walking on the stairs during the day to Su Ming was more draining. Yet the more it was so, the more firm he was in his resolution. More importantly, as the pressure increased on his body and lashed against the 59 blood veins on him, it made Su Ming feel as if his blood veins were about to increase once again.

He knew that this was all due to him being able to discover the secret of the six numbers and continuing to exercise fine control over the circulation of his Qi. Because of this, not only did he gain precise control over his Qi, the potential within him was also forced out due to the fine control.

It was especially so since the elder used the True Awakening on him and Su Ming obtained a drop of Berserker Blood from him. Those gifts given to him by the elder were truly absorbed into himself once he practised fine control multiple times on the mountain and was aided by the pressure as he continued climbing upwards.

Su Ming gritted his teeth once more and continued moving forwards quickly. Muffled booming sounds echoed within his body as he continued moving ahead, and the 60th blood vein immediately manifested on his body!

61 blood veins, 62 blood veins… The moment Su Ming landed onto the 301st step, the 67th blood vein manifested itself with an explosive force on his body!

The 67 blood veins surrounded Su Ming’s entire body and made him feel as if he had an unlimited amount of energy. He may be drenched in sweat, but the unwavering determination in his eyes became even stronger.

Su Ming did not know the amount of shock he brought onto the hundreds of people in the field the moment he moved from the 248th step to the 301st step!

The tribe leader of Black Mountain Tribe looked towards the statue abruptly. There was a rare serious look on his face.

”60 steps again! When that Mo Su doesn’t move, he’s unassuming, but the moment he does, he shocks the world!”

”Haha! I was waiting for him to move all this while. He didn’t let me down. Mo Su, get into the top 30! Even better, get into the top 10!”

”He didn’t move for the entire day. Even if he did now, he’s only placed 36th, unlike yesterday…” There were hints of jealousy within the voice of the person who was pretending to be speaking in disdain among the sounds of discussion. That person who spoke suddenly widened his eyes and swallowed down the words he was just about to speak.