Pursuit of the Truth

It was impossible for the crowd not to fall into silence because it had all just begun!

On the nine eagle statues and on the plates showing the rankings to the people left on the mountain, which numbered less than 20, the rank that belonged to Su Ming was rising madly with a terrifying speed!

20th, 19th, 17th, 15th, 14th, 12th, 10th!

The moment he made it into the 10th place, the ranks changed once again and he was placed 9th!

Wu Sen was struck dumb. He stood at the 457th step and stared at the ranks on his plate with a stunned expression. He could not believe his own eyes. He may have predicted that Mo Su would bring about another shocking change the moment he started moving once again, but he did not expect the level of shock that Mo Su brought would be so horrifying!

It was almost within an instant, but his rank fell from the 12th place to the 13th. There was not even time for him to counterattack. He was not given any chance to fight back or struggle.

He was not the only one who was stunned. Besides him, the others from the 11th place right up to the 20th place experienced a change in their ranks within an instant. That sort of change brought about a sense of powerlessness within them. They did not even have the time to generate the desire to fight back. What was left was only the sense of awe and shock.

Wu Sen let out a low growl and the blood veins on his face popped up. He gritted his teeth and rushed forward madly. He could not accept it! As he moved, the others who were surpassed by Su Ming in rank also rose up from their resting position and joined the chase with gritted teeth!

Those who could enter into the top 20 were not any common practitioners. Their pride did not allow them to give up so easily. At that moment, they did not care about the increased pressure during midnight. All of them moved!

Even Chen Chong, who was resting on the 547th step, trembled in shock. He stared at the plate in his hands with a dumbfounded expression and took in a sharp breath. He heard a muffled boom just now that signaled the increase of blood veins. It was the sound that he had longed for and envied just moments ago!

Bi Su, who was at the 553rd step, could hear the sound even clearer. There was only a layer of thick mist separating him from Su Ming. He could hear the sound of the muffled boom clearly and distinctly feel the person called Mo Su climbing up the stairs on the stairway by his side at a terrifyingly maddening speed!

It was not just them. The ones who were the most anxious at that moment were the five people ranked from 4th to the 8th place. These five people were all from Wind Stream Tribe. They might not be as famous as Chen Chong and Wu Sen, but they were definitely extraordinary.

Yet at that moment, their anxiety caused their hearts to pound against their chests, and they all stood up to continue climbing!

Nonetheless, it was night. It was midnight, when the pressure of Wind Stream Mountain was at its strongest. The resistance they felt as they climbed was incredibly strong. That sort of pressure that seemed like the might of heavens pressing onto them could make a normal person’s spirit break.

It was especially so when all of them stood up, yet before they even took a few steps forward, they checked the ranks on their plates once again, and the shock they felt turned into dumbfounded astonishment. All of them began to stop in succession.

Su Ming’s hair floated behind his back. Without the string made of grass tying his hair, they moved in the air even in the absence of wind. His eyes were blood red, and there was a moon burning within his eyes!

He did not stop. Once he arrived at the 471st step, his entire body started roaring nonstop as the blood veins manifested increased one by one on his body. He did not even bother to count how many blood veins had appeared, but simply continued pressing onwards.

The pressure from the mountain fell onto his body like one from numerous mountains, almost making Su Ming cave under it. He circulated his Qi around his body and surrounded it with moonlight, then continued firmly at a quick speed under the pressure!

472, 483, 494, 506… 523, 537… 546!

Su Ming only stopped when he was standing on the 546th step. He was drenched in sweat and was breathing heavily, but his eyes were filled with determination!

The booming sounds in his body continued. Once he stopped, all 87 blood veins manifested on his body. They were scattered in a disorderly manner on his body, which enveloped Su Ming with a strong presence.

4th: Mo Su, 546 steps!

There were only three people before him! Behind him were all the rest of the people left taking part in the 1st stage of the test!

He may not be at the top of the mountain looking down on the others, nor could he climb right to the top in one go, but at that moment, Su Ming was already standing among the crowd of the most powerful people of his generation!

Chen Chong shuddered. He may not be looking at Su Ming, but he could feel a strong presence rushing towards him from the plate in his hands. He could even hear the booming sounds that made him dumbfounded in his ears.

He could not see Su Ming, but the latter had a force that made him even more shocking compared to Bi Su. Perhaps it was precisely because he could not see him that the mysterious feeling around Su Ming caused Chen Chong to feel a rare sense of fear and caution.

Chen Chong may seem like an easygoing person, but in reality, there was still a sense of pride within his heart. He looked onto Bi Su with disdain. He only gave up because he was too tired and decided to let it be. He did not want to compete too much for that rank. Why should he make himself so tired? More importantly, Bi Su was not even considered an opponent in his eyes.

So what if he surpassed him? Without that sort of presence that would make people shiver, it was all empty-talk. To Chen Chong, only one person had that sort of presence, and that person was Ye Wang!

Yet now, he was shocked as he found that same presence that was supposed to be unique to Ye Wang on Mo Su’s name! Chen Chong became serious. He no longer continued to mumble, but instead gradually revealed the presence of a powerful Berserker on his person.

He stood up and looked towards the deeper parts of the mist. It was faint, but he saw the silhouette of a person standing on the 546th step on a stairway somewhere with his head tilted towards the sky. There was an oppressive might on that person that caused Chen Chong to pay extreme attention towards him.

Compared to Chen Chong, it was obvious that Bi Su could not compare to him in that field. There was a vicious look on his face at that moment, which caused him to look ruthless. He was glaring at the mist. He could even hear the faint sounds of the person breathing behind the mist.

”No matter who you are, it’s impossible for you to overtake me!” Bi Su growled lowly towards the mist. His words spread into the mist and scattered gradually into nothingness.

At that moment, the tribe member of Wind Stream Tribe placed last among those still left within the mountain fell into a brief silence and chose to give up. He chose to leave.

He knew that there was no need to wait for daylight, the final battle for the first stage of the test had begun. Yet he did not have the ability to participate in this battle. The mountain only belonged to a limited amount of people. He did not want to become a mere useless decoration for them. That was why he would rather leave than stay.

Understanding their own limits and knowing when to step down was something that was not seen on most people. Still, most of the prodigies within the top 20 still understood that concept.

Most of those who were powerful would usually respect each other, even if they were not within the same tribe. As the person left, besides Wu Sen and another two people, those ranked after the 4th place gave up and left the mountain for the four people who stood at the top.

They left the place for them so that they could have the battleground for themselves!

Wu Sen struggled for a moment, then let out a long sigh. He chose to surrender and left as well. The other two seemed to not want to surrender, but when they saw the rest leaving, after a slight hesitation, they chose to yield as well.

As the wisps of black smoke appeared in succession in the quiet field in the middle of the night, no one spared a glance for them. At that moment, all the people on the field were looking at the ranks on the eagle statues with rapid breathing.

The old woman from Dark Dragon Tribe had already stood up with a grave face. The strong man beside her did the same thing. They were not the only ones who did so. All the other members of the other tribes did the same thing.

No one continued sitting down. Even the tribe leader of Black Mountain Tribe was glaring at the ranks on the eagle statue with a dark face.

Bei Ling, Si Kong, Bai Ling, Lei Chen, Wu La… and the rest of them were all looking at the ranks silently.

Even the prodigies who returned to the field did not mind that they were not given attention when they returned. Instead, they all turned to look at the statue and at the only four names that were still lit on the ranks when all the other names had turned gray.

Mo Sang was looking at the ranks with a serious expression on his face. Jing Nan was also looking at the ranks, though his face did not betray his thoughts.

Su Ming stood at the 546th step and took a deep breath. The pressure at that place was incredibly strong. It was difficult for him to move forward with his previous speed. He lifted his leg and stood on the 547th step, then continued moving forward one step at a time.

His pace was not quick, but it was steady.

He could hear faint sounds of roaring, as if someone was saying something, but he did not pay any attention to it. He simply continued onward and moved up one step at a time.

Chen Chong’s face was serious. He no longer mumbled under his breath and no longer looked at the ranks on the plate. Instead, he tore away the shirt on his person with a grave face and exposed his slightly plump upper body as he too walked forward one step at a time.

As for Bi Su, his face was twisted viciously. He gritted his teeth, took on the incredible pressure on his body, bore through the pain that was brought by the oppressive might, and continued onward. Every single time he took a step, he would look at the rank on the plate!

1st: Ye Wang, 791 steps.

2nd: Bi Su, 554 steps.

3rd: Chen Chong, 548 steps.

4th: Mo Su, 547 steps.

Only Bi Su was looking at the ranks among the four of them. The other three did not. For Ye Wang, it was because he did not care about any changes. Right from the start, he believed that the only opponent for him was himself.

For Chen Chong, it was because of his pride. The faint presence of Su Ming’s aura had caught his attention and made him pay great importance to it. That was why he decided not to look at the ranks to avoid affecting his state of mind.

Su Ming also did not look at the ranks. He was only looking at the steps on the stairway and walked forward one step at a time. With each step he took, Su Ming’s entire body would tremble and a huge amount of sweat would appear as he felt the exponential pressure on his body. Yet, his unwavering determination and the indescribable resolution within him allowed him to persevere under the pressure like a small tree in a storm!

‘Among all those living on the land, who will be able to see the end of the horizon..?’

Su Ming looked at the sky and mumbled as he continued walking