“Come, watch how I do it, and use your heart to perceive.
“Do you remember it?
“Repeat it.
“Idiot, you can’t even memorize the formula. Who should I hit if not you?
“Okay, I’ll tell you again. Listen carefully… Memorize it!
“Ah, sorry, I’m too used to it. Continue… Why are you staring at me? Are you unhappy?
“Stop flattering me, memorize it again!
“Okay, I’ll teach you the Layering Art. It’s my final trump card, so I have nothing else to teach you after this.
“You damn b*stard, today’s supposed to be a gleeful day, but you just had to embarrass me. I’ve been taking care of you for nothing!”
The voices slowly faded away and seemed to have agglomerated into an image.
Through the window gap, Ou Yangming saw the old man who was lying in bed. The familiar and old face was scarily thin, as though it belonged to another person.
This was the last image in Ou Yangming’s memory, and everything was blank after that.
An intense and unbearable sorrow burst out from the deepest part of his body like a downpour of galaxy water; it was unstoppable.
Unknowingly, Ou Yangming’s eyes were filled with tears, and due to the blurred vision, he could not see anything even in the spiritual world.
“Brother Ou, think about why you’ve come!”
It sounded like an alarm in the morning, and he was completely awoken.
‘Why have I come… Yes, why have I come?
‘I’ve come for Old Craftsman, I’ve come to prolong his life. Before I acquire the Life-prolonging Golden Pill to prolong Old Craftsman’s life, I mustn’t fall down! I mustn’t!’
As Ou Yangming’s body trembled violently, he had an upsurge of emotions, and he became high-spirited. His heavy eyelids opened up bit by bit.
A considerable amount of tears rolled down his cheeks and soaked the clothing in front of his chest, but his eyes were resolute like never before.
Ou Yangming’s body that had fallen down earlier was full of power again, and the enormous mental stress could not bother or restrain him anymore.
“Old man, you’ve done enough.
‘I’ll be filial to you in the days ahead. You’ll enjoy life in comfort.’
Subsequently, Ou Yangming stepped forward with determination, and each step taken was firm and steady.
His body was like a solitary rock in turbulent and boundless waves as he made his way to the sixth level’s platform.
‘Old man, I want nothing but you to stay alive…
‘Stay with me, stay alive!’
[1] Clothes made from various cloth strips
Chapter 117 - Finished Walking The Path
Ou Yangming swayed as if he would fall again at any time.
Nonetheless, no matter how dangerous his upper body looked, his legs were steady like rocks, and he looked like a 10,000-year-old ancient tree. Even if there was a strong and violent wind, as long as it did not overturn the Earth, it would certainly not blow him away.
With that, Ou Yangming made it through the fifth level, step by step, and arrived at the platform for the sixth level.
When Ni Jingtong and the other elders, who were on the sixth level, saw Ou Yangming’s state, they were in such disbelief that their faces took on a strange look.
Their hearts crumbled at that moment.
‘The young fella got up, he actually got up!’ ‘How did he… Get up?’ The elders had walked the Testimony Path in the past, so they knew very well how difficult the fifth level was. It was possible for one to complete it in one breath, but if one fell down halfway…
They were horrified at the thought of it, and were sure they would not have the courage to get back up again if they had fallen down.
However, an actual miracle had just taken place in front of the elders. ‘Ou Yangming. How did this young fella get up?’ “Could this fella…” Ni Jingtong mumbled, “Has his consciousness already surpassed his body?”
The other five Ni family powerhouses shivered because they were too aware of what it meant, but it was the exact reason they dared not believe it.
As Ni Jingtong and the other elders watched the seemingly exhausted Ou Yangming in disbelief, they broke out in a cold sweat. This was because they wanted to know if the teen, who had just walked the fifth level, had the remaining energy required to complete the sixth flight of stairs.
If Ou Yangming could really do it, it would mean that his quality and ability were not inferior at all to every genius in the Ni family over a thousand years. No, perhaps he was actually superior to them.
It was worth noting that Ou Yangming only had the strength of Yin Grade Class One at the moment.
Even the three Ni family powerhouses who had completed the Testimony Path in the past had attempted it when they were at least at the peak of Yin Grade.
Therefore, Ni Jingtong and the rest had the same thought at the same time. ‘Is this young fella going to break the Ni family’s record?’
It was not a glorious thing because no disciple from the Ni family would be willing to see an outsider break their clan’s record. Nevertheless, the six powerhouses seemed to have forgotten about this because they looked quietly at Ou Yangming without wanting to disturb him.
Ou Yangming breathed heavily and instantly saw Ni Jingtong and the other elders when he looked up.
The elders were sitting in a spot furthest from the stairs, and each of them looked at him expressionlessly and with a cold look.
Ou Yangming smiled bitterly as he immediately realized that he had to walk over to them.
Despite that, he was already fearless. Unless he lost his life, he would not be taken down regardless of how difficult the situation was.
When Ou Yangming took a step out, he finally moved to the sixth level.
Although he did not know what the sixth level’s test was, he was well-prepared. He had somewhat figured out a pattern; the first three levels were related to one’s physical fitness, hence one with strong physical power and willpower could pass them.
From the fourth level onward, one’s mental state was tested.
Ou Yangming could easily pass the fourth level, but suffered terribly on the fifth level, thus the sixth level—the final level-was definitely going to be a challenge. If he was slightly careless, his previous efforts would be in vain.
He slowly took a step forward.
Ou Yangming suddenly raised his eyebrows and seemed to be in disbelief. There was neither a feeling of difficulty nor irresistible pressure. It was as though the path ahead was a flat road, and he could easily walk with big strides to the finishing point.
He had experienced the feeling once, when he was on the fourth level, and he had passed it with no surprises and at ease.
As such, when he experienced the same feeling again, he could not help but feel relaxed.
After taking two more steps, Ou Yangming had loosened up even more. An inexplicable and unstoppable feeling of delight rose from his heart, and was about to take over his other emotions.
From being extremely pressured and dispirited, he suddenly experienced a completely different emotion, and the intense impact from the instant change was vastly different.
Ni Jingtong and the other elders widened their eyes and stared at Ou Yangming. They had crumbled in the past from undergoing the drastic change of emotions, changing from being in great suffering to feeling great joy. If anyone could withstand the instant change of feelings from one extreme end to the other, it must be someone with non-human and freaky willpower. That said, a freak like that was extremely rare, so there were only three in the Ni family over a thousand years.
When Ou Yangming suddenly halted, Ni Jingtong and the rest said to themselves, ‘It’s here!’
Nonetheless, it was then that Old Craftsman’s thin face flashed in Ou Yangming’s mind.
Upon seeing the thin and unrecognizable face, Ou Yangming only had sorrow left in his heart
, and could not feel even a bit of joy.
Hence, when the emotion of wild joy had not even been brewed in his heart and spread out, it was already driven out by sorrow, so much so that none of the joy was left. Ou Yangming’s half-developed smile on his face froze at that moment, and it looked like an incredibly odd and hideous smile instead.
Following that, he curbed his thoughts and composed himself again to walk toward Ni Jingtong and the other elders step by step.
It was not a long road, so he arrived before them in no time.
After making a deep bow at Ni Jingtong, Ou Yangming asked, “Senior, did I pass?”
Ni Jingtong’s face twitched as he answered, “You passed.” “Close the formation, quickly close it!” Ni Xueshu quickly ordered as if he had just woken up from a dream.
The other elders jumped as well, and they stopped the formation around them at the speed of light.
They moved extraordinarily quickly, as though they were afraid of delaying something. In the blink of an eye, the peculiar color that filled the tower vanished.
“Ou Yangming, how did you come here?” Ni Jingtong asked after taking a deep breath. Ni Xueshu and the other elders pricked up their ears as well as they were eager to find out how Ou Yangming withstood the clash and sudden change of the extreme emotions.
In the past, Ni Jingtong had also asked the third great ancestor the same question when he finished the path, but even after pondering for a long time, the great ancestor said that he had no idea how he did it. As a result, Ni Jingtong was mad.
This time, since someone had completed the entire path again, he was obviously going to ask the question again. Ou Yangming wondered in all seriousness, then replied to Ni Jingtong hesitantly while everyone watched him with anticipation, “I… Walked here.”
“Walked here?”
The elders were stunned, and they could not help but curse.
‘You don’t say. If you didn’t walk here, did you fly here?” However, they did not know that Ou Yangming had indeed flown his way past the third level.
Ni Jingtong twitched his mouth and said, “I was asking how you managed to mediate the two emotions.” “Emotions?” Ou Yangming was stunned, and he asked probingly, “Senior, are you asking about the strange emotion of joy?”
“That’s right.” Ni Jingtong’s eyes lit up as he asked with a deep voice, “How did you overcome it?”
Ou Yangming spread out his hands and answered honestly, “The feeling of joy came too suddenly, but I was only concerned about my senior and could not be happy at all, so the emotion disappeared by itself.”
He finally realized that the sixth level’s test was the feeling of joy that appeared without warning.
If a normal person had undergone the same situation, it was actually possible for one to go mad. In fact, even a Yang Grade powerhouse could not avoid the mental impact.
That being said, all things in the world were restricted by something.
Nothing could be done if the emotion of joy clashed with deep sorrow. “Is… Is that even possible?” Ni Xueshu mumbled.
The other elders looked at each other too. They either pondered or discussed with each other, but they soon had a strange look in their eyes.
Before this, they had cultivated their Qi before walking the Testimony Path to be fully mentally prepared. During that time, they cast away everything that would distract them.Therefore, their energy was fully focused when they attempted the path, and they stressed on being emotionless to be in their best state.
Nevertheless, under that state, if one was suddenly surprised after experiencing hardships, one’s situation would be placed in jeopardy. On the contrary, Ou Yangming was already inconsolable, and even gained superb power during a difficulty, which allowed him to complete the fifth level in one vigor. On the sixth level, the emotion of being wild with joy could not compete with Ou Yangming’s concern and sorrow for Old Craftsman, thus he could not be happy at all.
Ni Jingtong cleared his throat and said, “Let’s ponder upon this in the future. Ou Yangming… You’ve passed the test, so please go rest, and I’ll send you into the Chaos Cave tomorrow morning.”
Ou Yangming responded to him. He was starting to feel exhausted too.
When he turned to leave, it was already bustling outside the tower. Whether it was Ni Yunhong and his younger sister or the skinny Ni Xueming, they all flashed smiles at him.
In particular, when Ou Yangming exited the tower, everyone was generous in giving him words of praise.
Ou Yangming smiled faintly at everyone, then suddenly went forward to give Ni Yinghong a big hug while the others watched.
“Thank you!”
Chapter 118 - The Big Yellow Dog Visits
Ni Yinghong suddenly froze.
Apart from her, the other people around were also dumbfounded, and the atmosphere changed from a lively one to an extremely quiet one in an instant.
These were two extremes too; extremes that gave people faint chills.
Ou Yangming let go after giving her a tight hug, and smiled sincerely as he said, “Thank you.”
Ni Yinghong was usually quirky, but could always make the most appropriate decisions in the shortest time, no matter the issue, so she was deeply doted on by the three great ancestors and the other elders.
However, now that she was being stared at by a crowd of people, her quick wits seemed to have flown away, as though they had grown wings.
When Ni Yinghong sensed the strange and quiet looks around her, she was so ashamed and angry that she suddenly kicked Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming held his ankle and cried in pain, whereas Ni Yinghong escaped like a frightened snowbird.
On the other hand, Ni Yunhong twitched his mouth and commented while being in a daze, “Brother Ou, you’ve gone too far!” Ou Yangming knew that he was in a bad situation, but he had thought about the fifth level in the tower when he came out.
If he had not suddenly thought about Ni Yinghong’s reminder then, he would have passed out long ago, and would not have successfully finished the Testimony Path.
Therefore, as soon as Ou Yangming came out, he was just so grateful that he revealed his true sentiments.
Nonetheless, after being kicked by Ni Yinghong and sensing the strange situation around him, he knew that he had gone overboard, but even then, he could not admit it.
Ou Yangming grimaced in pain and asked with an innocent look, “What do you mean that I’ve gone too far?”
“You, you, you…” Ni Yunhong pointed at Ou Yangming, but could not utter a single word even after a long time.
‘How can I explain? Should I tell him that Ni Yinghong is actually my younger sister and not my younger brother? I can’t bring myself to say that…’
“Hehe… Ou Yangming, you’ve just finished the Testimony Path, so you should be quite tired. Come, come, I’ll bring you to rest, perhaps you’ll have to go into action again very soon.” Ni Xueming suddenly laughed, then gave Ni Wangyang a look before pulling Ou Yangming away.
Ni Yunhong stamped with fury. He wanted to stop them, but Ni Wangyang blocked him and comforted, “My good nephew, don’t be mad.” ‘Yes, Yunhong, don’t be mad. He probably did it unintentionally.’ This was Ni Yunhong giving himself a piece of kind advice.
“That’s right. Even if you want to mess with him, you should wait until he’s out from the Chaos Cave.’ This was him wanting to plan an act of revenge.
Nevertheless, be it a good intention or an ill intention, his central idea remained the same; this was not the right time to take revenge on Ou Yangming
Hence, Ni Yunhong could only angrily put this aside for now, but deep down he was not as furious as he seemed. In fact, he vaguely had a thought, ‘It’s true that that fella doesn’t have a good background, but he’s quite capable. Even if he’s matched with Yinghong… Maybe-just maybe-he’ll be a good match!’
The situation below the tower could not be hidden away from the elders at the top of the tower. When they looked
down at the other people, everything was clearly visible to them. Ni Xueshu and a few elders exchanged glances and said, “Great Ancestor, look…”
“Ou Yangming is about to enter the Chaos Cave to search for our ancestor’s legacy, and it’s our clan’s top and unshakable priority,” Ni Jingtong responded.
“Yes,” the elders replied to him.
“But the Chaos Cave is the Ni family’s forbidden area, after all. Outsiders aren’t allowed to enter.” Ni Jingtong suddenly sounded very cold.
“Great Ancestor, you’re saying…” Ni Xueshu looked up and asked softly while making a gesture of swinging a saber.
“The young fella was able to complete the Testimony Path, and he also comprehended the integration of Heaven and man. He has a very promising future,” Ni Jingtong shook his head and explained, then added after a pause, “A talent like him is what the Ni family needs.”
One of the elders stood up and remarked, “Great Ancestor, you’re right. I heard from Yunhong that he wants to acquire the Life-prolonging Golden Pill for his senior, so it’s clear that he values his family and close friends greatly. If that’s the case, he’s worthy of being roped in.”
The other three elders nodded. Even if a clan wanted to rope in a master from the outside, they had to consider the price to be paid and that person’s character.
If that person had a great reputation, the clan was obviously willing to pay a higher price, but if that person would break promises and had a terrible reputation, they would not consider him even if it would cost them very little.
“Don’t meddle in this. Since he was brought here by Yunhong and Yinghong, let them handle it,” Ni Jingtong ordered. Ni Xueshu and the other elders bowed and responded to him, but said to themselves, ‘Great Ancestor still favors the siblings the most, he always leaves the best for them.
Under Ni Xueming’s company, Ou Yangming returned to the side room that he was temporarily staying in. Ni Xueming had a friendly smile on his thin face as he said, “Look, are you comfortable staying in this room? Let me know if you’re unhappy about anything, and I’ll ask them to change you to another room.”
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