by Feng Yise
"I think so! Look at him swaying around non-stop. Who tackles the Nine Heavens Road like that?"
"En. I heard from some senior apprentice brothers that in the past when those people challenged the Nine Heavens Road, they opened up their essence energy protection right away as if there was something terrifying. But you look at Ye Yuan. He didn't even open anything, but rather, it's like he's drunk. Why is he totally different from how others challenging the Nine Heavens Road?"
"Yeah. According to the seniors' speculations, the first 333 steps of the Nine Heavens Road might be some external force test which is extremely taxing on essence energy. Those who could walk past 333 steps would be completely fatigued. But why is Ye Yuan's perfectly fine? Could it be that what he encountered was different from the seniors?"
"This Ye Yuan is really a wonder. Whatever he does is different from the rest. It's just that if he does this, would he lose his mind within the first 333 steps?"
"I think there's really that possibility!"
"Eh? Look! Ye Yuan seems to have recovered!"
That person fixed his eyes to take a look, and Ye Yuan was indeed no longer behaving like he was drunk. He continued walking up steadily.
One look and onlookers could tell that Ye Yuan should have passed through the first barrier.
"This . . . the first round is completed so effortlessly?" Huyan Yong stared dazedly at Ye Yuan's figure with a dumbfounded face.
As an instructor in the academy, he knew much more things than the rest of the students! These things were summed up using the experience from students' fresh blood.
The first 333 steps on the Nine Heavens Road, and every 33 steps was a minor barrier.
Although it was unknown what exactly these minor barriers were, regardless of who charged through these minor barriers, it would not be this effortless!
What's more, some Essence Qi Realm students were directly annihilated at the first minor barrier!
But Ye Yuan managed to pass through it just by swaying around like that the entire way! As in a different style. Think of how the techniques of alchemy is lower in standard and different in style in the Mortal Realms than in the Divine Realm.
Chapter 94 - Crushing All Resistance
"Nine Heavens Road, 999 steps. He only crossed 33 steps by luck, the first minor barrier. Each and every one of them is behaving like he already cleared it!"
Su Yubai snorted coldly. Evidently, he was very displeased by everyone's astonishment.
The way he saw it, Ye Yuan only passed the first barrier by luck!
Furthermore, passing the first barrier did not signify anything. Many Essence Qi Realms were able to cross it.
The true terror of the Nine Heavens Road was in the last 333 steps!
"Yeah. One look and you can tell that this Ye Yuan is a slippery punk. He probably excels in exploiting gaps. Most likely he took advantage of some loophole. That's why it was so easy for him." Another elder chimed in.
"Mm. No matter what you say, the Nine Heavens Road is a death zone for Essence Qi Realm. That is the truth that nobody can alter! Looking at the past, the highest record for Essence Qi Realm was at the middle 333 steps. Even if Ye Yuan's incredibly heaven-defying, his limit will at most be at the last 333 steps." Zhang Songtao also agreed.
Unlike the other elders, Ye Yuan's performance gave Huyan Yong and Feng Ruoqing more confidence.
"The most terrifying aspect of these first 333 steps is the exhaustion of essence energy! Spirit Condensation Realms are a little better, but it's very difficult for an Essence Qi Realm's essence energy to sustain till the end. Even if they are lucky enough to bear through it, the middle 333 steps will only get more terrifying than the front part. In the end, they still die. But Ye Yuan didn't even use essence energy protection in the first round. He basically didn't expend much essence energy at all," Huyan Yong said agitatedly.
Ye Yuan can really bring people limitless surprises. Perhaps . . . he might really make it? Feng Ruoqing muttered to herself.
"Tch. That fellow is smelly and hard. It's better if he's dead!" Feng Zhirou recovered her fierce and unreasonable nature.
Feng Ruoqing smiled and said, "If he dies, you can forget about breaking through to the Crystal Formation Realm in this lifetime."
". . . Who cares!" Feng Zhirou remained stubborn, but her eyes kept following Ye Yuan on the steps.
. . . . . .
The Strong Gale round did not pose much difficulty to Ye Yuan. The instant he crossed the 33rd step and landed on the 34th step, the scenario suddenly transformed once again, becoming a stretch of fiery sea.
The concept of fire!
This was a flame road!
The scorching flames roasted Ye Yuan until he was about to combust, but a cold smile flashed across the corner of Ye Yuan's mouth.
"I wonder what the Spirit Bristle Divine King will feel if he knew that someone was playing with fire in front of his cultivation law!"
Saying this, Ye Yuan revolved the Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art not to activate essence energy protection, but to completely release his aura to let his essence energy erupt out!
Then Ye Yuan made his strides and steadily went up. Where he passed by, the flames automatically retreated!
Playing with the concept of fire in front of the Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art was simply a joke!
The Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art was the supreme fire attribute cultivation law in the Divine Realm. It had virtually reached the limits of the concept of fire!
Back then, the Spirit Bristle Divine King relied on the Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art's ultimate technique, Nine Suns Burning Heaven, and became renown in a single battle! He used the Nine Suns Burning Heaven during that battle, and he directly burnt the numerous Divine Kings attacking him into nothingness. Since then, nobody dared to provoke him.
Even though Ye Yuan's current power was still shallow, it was still not something that a Lower Realm mortal flame could compare to.
This was like a young, juvenile dragon. No matter how little he was, he would still be the king of all beasts. All laid dormant where he passed!
Ye Yuan continued forward steadily as the flames around him automatically gave him a wide berth.
Just like that, Ye Yuan passed through the second round, Flame Sea, with unbelievable speed.
Ye Yuan had to waste around an incense of time to avoid the strong gales in order to pass the first round.
As for this second round, Ye Yuan passed it in a blink of an eye.
Third round, Arctic World!
This was a world of ice and snow, and it was extremely cold.
Yet, this sort of cold seemed to be unable to pose any form of threat in front of Ye Yuan's Spirit Bristle Nine Yang Divine Art.
Ye Yuan immediately cleared it once again!
In a blink of an eye, Ye Yuan crossed 99 steps!
Next was the fourth round, Gravity World. Fifth round, Thick Earth World. Sixth round, Water World . . . All the way until the tenth world, Ye Yuan came all the way here unimpeded.
Ye Yuan's realm was much higher than the creator of these arrays. These barriers were simply unable to cause any great difficulty for him. He did not even expend much essence energy.
"I wonder who from the Tranquil Cloud Sect created these arrays. They actually integrated metal, wood, water, fire, and earth; these concepts of five elements as well as the other five types of concepts derived from them. Truly a genius! I wonder what happened to this person afterward. Did he ascend to the Divine Realm? I've never heard of such an array formations genius before in the Divine Realm. Could it be that he had long fallen?" Ye Yuan was overcome with emotion.
The world of martial artists was filled with countless dangers. Aside from the dangers on the road of cultivation, what was even scarier was the human heart.
Since ancient times, regardless of whether it was the Divine Realm or the Lower Realms, geniuses were as abundant as the hair on an ox. However, only a remarkable handful was
able to truly m.a.t.u.r.e.
Which of the figures standing at the pinnacle of the Divine Realm did not tread over countless corpses of geniuses to attain their current position?
Even a peerless genius like Qingyun Zi plummeted after being harmed while in the process of maturing; let alone the others.
. . . . . .
Ye Yuan's speed of clearing the rounds caused a huge uproar in the outside world!
He was too fast!
From the first step to crossing the first 333 steps, Ye Yuan spent less than two hours. This was simply too harrowing!
One student rubbed his eyes and asked in disbelief, "Do I have something wrong with my eyes? Since when did this Nine Heavens Road become so easy to pass?"
"Does your brain have holes? Why don't you try it, if it is easy to cross! I think you won't even know how you die!"
"But Ye Yuan is only at the Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm. How could he possibly be this fast?"
"I heard that this Nine Heavens Road is not a place that tests strength solely. What the test placed emphasis on, is potential! Looking from that perspective, this Ye Yuan's talent is truly so monstrous that it's inconceivable! But I don't know if he can cross the later 666 steps or not."
"Maybe he can really cross it?"
The two exchanged glances. They were both frightened by this thought!
Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm passing the Nine Heavens Road?
This was impossible! Absolutely impossible! The Nine Heavens Road was a forbidden ground for Essence Qi Realm martial artists!
They did not know why either, but once this thought arose, it was like a seed, buried at the bottom of their hearts. It grew roots and sprouted, and it could no longer be stopped!
On the other hand, when Ye Yuan passed the first 333 steps, Su Yubai jumped to his feet. He looked at Ye Yuan who was halfway up the mountain similarly with incredulity.
One could not blame him for being so shocked. Ye Yuan's speed in passing the rounds was too quick!
He crushed all resistance along the way without any delay!
There were only that few students who passed through the Nine Heavens Road. Their performance was not kept a secret. As the Disciplinary Hall's First Elder, Su Yubai was naturally very clear on that!
However, nobody among those who challenged the road had Ye Yuan's crossing speed, including those Spirit Condensation Realm students who passed!
Even the Mo Yuntian who was brimming with talent spent an entire day to pass the first 333 steps!
But Ye Yuan only took two hours!
Doesn't that mean that the degree of Ye Yuan's genius was several times, even tens of times that of Mo Yuntian's?
Su Yubai did not dare nor was he willing to believe this thought!
Chapter 95 - Long Tang’s Transformation
"Huuu . . . I really don't know what to say about this Ye Yuan. Other people are filled with fear and trepidation before challenging the Nine Heavens Road, and he cleared it so effortlessly. Is there nothing that can stump him?"
Zuo Bugui looked at Ye Yuan halfway up the mountain and was likewise completely stunned.
The shocks that Ye Yuan brought him these few days was simply too many.
Jumping ranks and killing Fei Qingping. Consecutively breaking through five realms within a month. Becoming an Alchemy Master with a Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm cultivation. Leaping across a major realm to kill Lin Tiancheng. Each one of these matters, when placed on a single individual, was an impossible task.
But Ye Yuan did them all!
Now, was Ye Yuan going to clear the Nine Heavens Road, which no Essence Qi Realm had ever passed through before? This was also simply inconceivable!
Even if he could not clear it, just based on his speed in the first 333 steps, it was sufficient to look down on all genius students!
"Yeah. There's really nothing that he can't do, and nothing that he doesn't dare to do. Compared to him, we're all self-boasting geniuses. Such a joke!" A deep shock was also plastered all over Long Tang's face.
"Old Long, I've never denied that I'm a genius. At least that's the case within the territory of the State of Qin. However, the degree of Ye Yuan's genius has already vastly exceeded the domain of genius." Zuo Bugui sighed in admiration.
All this while, only Long Tang could steadily suppress Zuo Bugui's arrogance. But now, his arrogance was shattered by Ye Yuan's performance.
The dazed look in Long Tang's gaze vanished, and what replaced it was incomparable determination!
He shook his head and said, "I'm not talking about his talent, but his heart of a powerhouse! Compared to Ye Yuan, what we lack the most is still the heart of a powerhouse! What a joke. I, Long Tang, have always prided myself on being able to look down on all experts. But in reality, I'm just a coward! Ye Yuan, thank you!"
Zuo Bugui was somewhat confounded by Long Tang's words. However, he could clearly sense some sort of transformation taking place in Long Tang's body.
Like the feeling of . . . enlightenment!
"What are you talking about, Old Long? Heart of a powerhouse? Even though we aren't as monstrous as Ye Yuan, our d.e.s.i.r.e to become strong has never changed all this while right?" Zuo Bugui asked in puzzlement.
Long Tang did not look at Zuo Bugui but stared at Ye Yuan who was halfway up and gave a confusing answer. "Powerhouse? A true powerhouse is not about how strong his strength is but how powerful his inner heart is! Zuo Bugui, after this matter is settled, I'll also challenge the Nine Heavens Road!"
"What?! You want to challenge the Nine Heavens Road? Are you tired of living?" Zuo Bugui jumped in fright as he exclaimed.
However, Long Tang just smiled lightly as if he had seen past life and death. "If I can't even pass through a tiny Nine Heavens Road in the State of Qin, how can I talk about becoming a powerhouse? What qualifications would I have to look down upon this Endless World and ascend to the Divine Realm?"
This place Ye Yuan reincarnated in was called the Endless World.
Endless World was named after the Endless Forest. Because it was truly endless and limitless, separating the Endless World into the North and South domain.
"Mad! Completely mad! No matter how powerful you are, Old Long, are you more powerful than Mo Yuntian? You will die if you attempt the Nine Heavens Road! What will you have to look down on the Endless World if you lose your life?" Zuo Bugui was ruffled.
Ye Yuan was a madman, and now, even the rank one on the Martial Roll of Honor, Long Tang, also went crazy along with him! Just what was happening to this world?
Long Tang, on the other hand, was unmoved. Incomparable resolve could be seen in his eyes.
"Why should martial artists regret death? How can one talk about becoming a powerhouse without the realization of going to die?" Long Tang said casually.
"But even when martial artists die, they have to die with significance! What's the point if you challenge the Nine Heavens Road just to die?"
Zuo Bugui was still unable to figure it out. The way he saw it, the Nine Heavens Road was just a large scale array. Dying inside the array was something utterly meaningless.
"What kind of death holds meaning? Only now do I understand that victory and defeat lie in one thought. Strong and weak . . . also lies in a single thought! Zuo Bugui, you and I are ultimately not from the same world." Long Tang finally looked at Zuo Bugui. The expression in his eyes was something which he had never seen before.
Zuo Bugui was rank two on the Martial Roll. Apart from Long Tang, he was invincible in the academy. Even Feng Zhirou could not defeat him.
Even when facing Long Tang, the disparity with Zuo Bugui was actually not that large.
But now, Long Tang actually said that they were not from the same world? How could Zuo Bugui feel comfortable?
"What you meant is that you and Ye Yuan are people from the same world? Aren't your words too conceited, Old Long?" Zuo Bugui kept away that trademark cynical smile and said somewhat unhappily.
However, Long Tang
shook his head and said, "Ye Yuan . . . I'm afraid I have no opportunity to catch up to him in this lifetime. He and I . . . are also from entirely different worlds."
After saying that, Long Tang kept silent and simply watched Ye Yuan halfway up patiently.
Zuo Bugui also fell silent and started to muse.
He felt that some sort of transformation had taken place in Long Tang's body. It was just that he could not understand what this transformation was even after cracking his head open trying to figure it out.
Except . . . could this transformation separate both of them into two different worlds? How was that possible?
Just because Long Tang was going to challenge the Nine Heavens Road?
Why don't I also try taking on the Nine Heavens Road?
Zuo Bugui swiftly rejected this idea. He was indeed strong, but he did not even have 10% confidence for him to challenge the Nine Heavens Road successfully. It was indeed almost certain death!
Although Long Tang was stronger than him, he was not that much stronger. That was to say even if he went, it would be virtually certain death!
Just what did this fellow come to realize?
Such a low survival rate and he still dared to try it? Wasn't this courting death?
Yes. Long Tang had truly been enlightened!
He saw what was called the heart of a powerhouse from Ye Yuan.
Ye Yuan's chances were actually not that great when he challenged Lin Tiancheng. But he went to do it.
Ye Yuan's chances were even much lower than imagined when he went to take on the Nine Heavens Road. But he did it anyway.
Even though he clearly understood that killing fellow disciples would result in the death penalty, Ye Yuan still did it without looking back.
Even though he was clear that the Nine Heavens Road was certain death, he still did it without hesitation.
Breaking the rules, challenging oneself, and surpassing oneself.
This was the heart of a powerhouse!
For a martial artist to cultivate was originally already going against the heavens. Without the consciousness of death, how could one sense the unparalleled Heavenly Dao and reach the paramount Deity Realm?