Pursuit of the Truth

The thin Ma Fei shrank a little while she stood in the crowd and felt a cold chill on her back. She admitted that she had intentionally not told Su Ming the secret about the Striking Lands because she wanted to see him make a fool of himself. After all, she was incredibly unsatisfied with the fact that her Master had placed her beside Su Ming, preventing her from going on trips to the third plane with her friends.

And Xu Hui’s words had also made indignation rise within her, which was why she had hidden it. However, she did not expect that Su Ming would possess the golden bloodline, and that even the three Sect Masters would have to bow to him.

While in a state of nervousness, she followed Su Ming back to the continent, totally forgetting to mention the matter about the Striking Lands.

The grating laughter from the crowd continued to echo in the air. Since a rare chance for them to mock a Dynast had arrived, the people naturally did not let it pass. Their laughter grew louder and louder, and they were used it to express the jealousy and envy in their hearts.

As for Su Ming, he remained composed and not a hint of change could be detected on his face. When he heard Bei Bang and the other Dynasts’ explanation, he nodded in an indifferent manner.

However, those who knew Su Ming would definitely feel a chill in their hearts if they saw it, because Su Ming had never been a magnanimous person. He was vengeful, and being temperamental was the best manifestation of his character.

Su Ming had naturally seen the scorn from the other Dynasts and the disregard from the old man in Life Realm, and he put it to memory. Similarly, he also took note of the people who laughed the loudest and most joyfully in the crowd.

“I see, so that’s how it is. Very well. I have two hours of rest, yes? Allow me to take my leave first.” Su Ming nodded, then lifted his foot and left into the distance amid the laughter around him.

“Could it be that he felt a little embarrassed here, that’s why he left in a hurry?”

“It must be. This Dynast Dao Kong might look bright, but he actually asked such a stupid question. He was definitely asking to be mocked.”

“He might have been so angered that he went to the first Striking Lands to return to his previous rank. This person could kill more than a thousand challengers without stop, so he naturally has ability. He might be able to succeed.”

“Succeed? He only has two hours. Unless he is a powerful warrior in Solar Kalpa Realm, he will at most be able to clear the fifth stage. He won’t be able to reach his previous result—the sixth stage.”

The ten million people’s words and laughter was still echoing in the air, but at that moment, someone suddenly let out a cry of surprise.

“He really went to the first Striking Lands! He’s… so fast. This speed…” As that cry of surprise reverberated in the air, the crowd looked over. They saw a long arc travelling so fast it could slice apart the air. With a speed that could not be seen clearly with the naked eye and a loud bang that shook the sky and earth, it rushed to the first among the nine Striking Lands in the first plane.

“This speed… what level of cultivation does he possess?”

“Perhaps he is only fast. After all, how many stages could he possibly clear in two hours?” The Dynasts who had mocked Su Ming previously on the lotus platforms immediately cast each other a glance.

However, almost the moment they sent their divine thoughts to each other and the ten million cultivators cast their gazes towards the first Striking Lands, the long arc which was Su Ming had already landed in the first Striking Land. At that moment, a loud bang shook the world and caused the air to tremble.

BANG!

The sound was so loud that the hearts of all ten million people trembled. Their expressions changed drastically, for they knew that there was only one explanation to that sound coming from the first plane, right from the first Striking Lands!

It was… the sound of the rockslide crashing down from the first stage and the sound of someone successfully clearing it.

“Even if we need to begin from the start every single time we challenge the Striking Lands… what is the fastest speed for someone to clear the first stage? I remember it was seven breaths! How many breaths did he use?”

“How could he be so fast? How did… How did he go through it?!” As the ten million people’s expressions changed, the Dynasts only laughed coldly. Some of them might have also been surprised, but they were not too shocked. After all, this was just the first stage. Any one of them could easily clear it.

But the instant they laughed coldly…

BOOM!

BOOM!

Two loud bangs that shook the sky and earth reverberated in the world from the first Striking Lands. The wave of sound that was formed turned into a wave of ripples that swept through the area as if a violent gust of wind had been stirred up.

At that moment, more people sported even changes in their expressions. Even the expressions of the Dynasts who had been previously mocking grew grave.

However, before the people in the area had time to think and cause an uproar, three loud, shocking bangs suddenly rose into the air again. They sounded as if they were connected to the previous two. When their combination shook the world, the Dynasts who had previously mocked Su Ming were finally shocked as well.

“What… What is this speed?!”

“Impossible! This is the third stage! Even the person who cleared the third stage at a record time used up the span of nearly twenty breaths!”

A commotion broke out. Quite a large number of people among the ten million cultivators in the area stood up, and with astonishment looked towards the first Striking Lands. As their expressions changed, they looked as if they wanted to personally witness the sight of Su Ming clearing the area.

At that moment, another loud bang shook all the people’s hearts. This time, based on their speculations, there had to be four bangs rising into the air, but in reality… it was not just four. It was fifteen!

Fifteen loud bangs shook the sky and earth, and when the loud rumbles made the world tremble, the cultivators felt as if the world was about to stop and as if time was about to freeze. All their thoughts came to a halt, and every single sound they heard with their ears was drowned by the noise coming from below, making it the only thing the heard.

“Fifteen bangs! How could fifteen bangs ring out at the same time?!”

“This is the fourth, fifth, and sixth stages being cleared at the same time! How could this be?!”

“Unless… Unless this person isn’t going by the rules and is just clearing them with brute strength!”

The commotion took over the whole area, and the expressions of the Dynasts who had previously mocked Su Ming no longer looked like they were before. Besides the aloof young man and the gentle middle-aged man, all the others looked down with incredibly grave expressions.

Many of the ten million cultivators flew up swiftly to charge towards the first Striking Lands. They wanted to see how Su Ming did that feat from close proximity!

However, at the instant the people flew up, another fifteen bangs rose up and echoed furiously in the air. This time, even the aloof young man and the gentle middle-aged man beside him stood up to look towards the first Striking Lands. In fact, even the pupils of the old man in Life Realm shrank. The three Sect Masters all had different expressions on their faces.

The second fifteen bangs clearly represented the seventh and eighth stages being cleared instantly. While this… was not something unprecedented in Morning Dao Sect, it was still something that had not happened in over ten thousand years.

Several millions of people had flown up from the crowd. With the fastest speed they could muster, they charged towards the first Striking Lands. There was shock on their faces, along with a hint of thrill and excitement.

They were shocked by the speed at which Su Ming used to clear the stages and thrilled and excited because such an event stirred anticipation in their hearts. They were highly interested in just how many stages Dao Kong would be able to clear, since he was obviously using his actions to show how unstoppable he was.

“Could it be that there will be another person who will clear the first Striking Lands?!”

“Haha! The heavens have blessed Morning Dao Sect. There were less than one thousand people who cleared the first Striking Lands more than one thousand years ago, but in just the past one thousand years, a number of people several times the amount managed it.”

When the millions of long arcs charged towards the first Striking Lands, Su Ming had his head lifted to look at the sky in the continent. He was located in a gigantic, circular platform several hundreds of thousands of feet wide. There were circles of carvings on the platform, and they resembled annual rings. At that moment, they were shining with a powerful light. Before him was the center of the circular platform, and there was a gigantic pillar of light rising into the sky from it. There were more than one thousand names written horizontally on that pillar of light, and all of them represented the people who had successfully cleared the first Striking Lands.

And there were large numbers of dragon-like beasts surrounding the pillar of light. They were all roaring at Su Ming.

But he had an indifferent look on his face. At the instant he looked over with a cold glance, a piercing glare shone in his eyes, and the dragon-like beats around the area threw their heads back and roared. Their bodies instantly turned into gigantic meteors that fell towards Su Ming with loud bangs.

There was only one falling meteor in the first stage. Right then, the falling meteors had increased to ninety-nine. When they fell down, the force with which they crashed was equivalent to a full-powered strike from a cultivator in Solar Kalpa Realm. This was equivalent to ninety-nine powerful warriors in Solar Kalpa Realm attacking at the same time. It not something that a normal person could fight against.

In truth, people were not supposed to go through the test in the first Striking Lands through brute force. They were instead supposed to be dodging and relying on their speed. Only when they had a sufficient amount of speed and dodging abilities would they be able to gauge their potential. Figuring out this potential was the main focus of the first Striking Lands.

This test could increase a cultivator’s speed so that they could have a greater chance at avoiding an enemy’s fatal strike. After all, there were times when they would not have enough power to face off against a powerful enemy with brute strength. At such a situation, with enough speed, they could still fight in circles against them.

A cold sneer appeared on Su Ming’s lips. The instant the falling meteors formed by the ninety-nine dragon-like beasts, he lifted his right foot and stepped on the circular platform. With a loud bang, a powerful wave of impact spread out from his foot. His body shot up, and he lifted his right hand to threw a punch in the direction of the sky.

The world roared, and the shadow of a gigantic fist rose from Su Ming’s body. As it roared, it charged towards the sky. All the meteors it touched instantly crumbled to pieces.

At the same time, right when all the meteors shattered, nine loud bangs that meant Su Ming had cleared the stage rang out in the air.

It was just as what the ten million cultivators had guessed, Su Ming had completely ignored the rules of the test. He had simply decided to use his strength to clear the place through brute force!

As the world roared and the cultivators in the area were in the process of going over, Su Ming had already leaped up to change to the second Striking Lands. He could choose not to take action, but when he did… then with just one move, he would shock the world!

The pillar of light on the platform behind him had a flashing name appear right on top at that moment—Dao Kong!