Pursuit of the Truth

The moon hung high in the sky. That day, the moon was slightly different from the other nights. There were no clouds in the sky, causing the moon to look incredibly bright. Moonlight fell on the land as if lowering a soft curtain between heaven and earth.

It may seem beautiful from a distance, but within the gigantic mountain, where the peak reached the sky and the summit was invisible to the eye, the moon turned into something terrifying!

Under the moonlight, the pressure in the mountain was continuously erupting forth at a terrifying speed that turned into an invisible typhoon and distorted the entire peak of the mountain. It caused all those within to see the chaotic state around them without even needing to lift their heads.

It was midnight. It was the time when the moonlight was the strongest. It was also the time of day when the pressure on the mountain reached its peak! If there was no mist on the mountain, and if anyone lifted their heads and looked from the distance towards the mountain, then they could see Su Ming and the other two standing at the top of the sky. If the watcher lifted its hands, they could touch it!

Those who continued upwards past 500 would seem to have entered the sky, and that was so for Ye Wang. He did not know what was happening outside, neither did he know that there were three other people fighting hard behind him. He only cared about walking slowly on his path one step at a time, panting harshly.

‘Today, I’ll make it to 803!’

Ye Wang gritted his teeth and walked forward with eyes filled with a burning pride that seemed as if it could scorch all those who looked into his eys.

No one could take more than a dozen steps on the stairs if they had no perseverance while under that pressure. Bi Su was persistent, but within that persistence was a lack of confidence, or else he would not need to look at the ranks on the plate in his hands with each step he took.

‘556, 557… Damn it, Chen Chong surpassed me, he’s at 558!’

Bi Su was vexed. He gritted his teeth and took another step, but the moment he did so, his entire body trembled. He heard a faint roar coming from the highest part of the mountain.

That roar was definitely not of man but belonging to a beast!

As the roar echoed through the air, Bi Su trembled. There was a sharp pain in his chest, and he coughed out a mouthful of fresh blood. His body swayed, and he nearly fell to the side unconscious.

His face was pale. During that instant, he felt as if the entire mountain turned into a mysterious beast whose form could not be seen.

Chen Chong also felt it. He was standing on the 558th step and was just about to take another step forward when his entire body shook viciously. He lifted his head abruptly. His eyes were bloodshot, and blood trickled down from the corners of his mouth.

Su Ming was drenched in sweat, but the determination within his eyes did not dim. Instead, it became even stronger. He pressed onward step by step. 548, 549… until he stood at the 557th step. He too, heard the faint roar.

That roar seemed to be filled with rage toward the heavens as it rushed towards him. The moment it came to Su Ming, he froze. There was a sharp pain in his chest, and he coughed out a mouthful of fresh blood. There was a pressuring might within the roar itself, as if it wanted to make all the people who heard it submit to the sound.

Yet at the moment his blood stained the ground before him red, the blood red moon in Su Ming’s eyes suddenly burned stronger with a brilliant light!

He would not yield!

Su Ming lifted his head instinctively, looked towards the top of the mountain, and let out a loud roar. The sound he made was like thunder roaring, and it echoed through his surroundings. The fire burning within his eyes seemed to be ready to spill out as he lifted his right leg and stomped fiercely onto the 558th step.

The moment his feet landed, Su Ming trembled and veins popped on his skin as all his manifested blood veins spread all over his body. The red and blue colors crisscrossing all over his body showed that Su Ming was experiencing an indescribable pain, but he did not give up!

He would make it to the 563rd step. He would reach the fine control step over there. He did not want to give up this chance. Most of all, he did not want to make the elder disappointed. If he was to make a move, then he would definitely not make himself regret his decisions, now and forever!

What he wanted to do was to have no regrets. He would give it his all and fight so that he would never regret!

559, 560, 561! Su Ming took another 3 steps. With each step he took, he could feel his body trembling harshly and letting out sounds that screamed that he could no longer continue. It was as if his flesh and bone were about to be crushed. That sort of pain was nearly unbearable for him, who was merely a teenager of 16 years of age.

‘2 more, 2 more!’ Su Ming roared within his heart.

He kept telling himself that he had to make it to the 563rd step!

Su Ming growled again. He lifted his feet and took another step! The moment he placed his foot on the ground, he felt as if the earth and mountain moved and shook. However, he knew clearly that the earth did not move, neither did the mountain shake. It was he himself that moved.

The feeling as if the earth and mountain moved made Su Ming’s face void of color instantly. He lifted his head and looked at the sky. It seemed to gradually move away from him, as if the sky itself was moving before his eyes. At that moment, time seemed to have slowed down.

Su Ming could tell that his body was falling down slowly. The earth did not move. The mountain did not shake. It was his body that had reached its limit and was falling backwards slowly.

‘The 562nd step is a test…’

A bitter smile appeared on Su Ming’s lips.

‘The earth does not move. The mountain does not shake. Even if you move, none of this changes…’

”Elder, why is it that when I run, it seems like the trees around me are moving? I don’t understand. I don’t know whether it’s my body that’s running, or if it’s the trees that are moving backwards. Elder, just what is happening?” As he was feeling bitter about the situation, a memory of his younger self asking the elder that question surfaced in his head.

”Your eyes will lie to you. La Su, once you grow up, you’ll understand. What you see might not be real. Perhaps your eyes are deceiving you. Look at that tree, is it really moving? Is your body moving or the tree moving? Or is it… something else?”

Su Ming remembered that he was still slightly confused and could not truly understand the elder’s words when he heard the answer. Yet now, as he recalled it, he was stunned.

‘The one that changed is not the earth, nor the mountain. Because the body moved, that’s why everything seemed to have moved… But in truth, the earth did not move, neither did the mountain move… The one that moved…’

Su Ming widened his eyes. He felt that he had grasped onto a line of thought.

‘The one that moved is my mind! [1]

‘When I ran, my body moved, but the trees didn’t move. Yet what my eyes saw were the trees moving, that’s because my mind… my mind was tricked by my eyes, and it’s my mind that moved…

‘Even if my body moved, but if my mind didn’t move… then the land, the mountains, the trees, everything wouldn’t move! Even my body might be deceived. My eyes, my body, everything can trick my mind and make it seem like I’m moving…’

Su Ming shivered. Once he understood the concept, there was a roar in his head. The strength of the roar made him feel faint. When the dizziness gradually disappeared, Su Ming stood there, stunned.

He lowered his head and looked at the steps underneath his feet, then looked at his surroundings. He was still standing on the steps. His right foot was on the 562nd step, and his left foot on the 561st step.

In reality, his body never experienced any change.

Su Ming silently lifted his left foot and went to the 562nd step. Once he did so, he took a deep breath and understanding appeared in his eyes.

”I get it… If my mind doesn’t move, then nothing will move! This is the meaning of fine control…” Su Ming mumbled as he walked towards the 563rd step. He stood there, and a faint smile appeared on his pale face. He slowly sat down in a meditative position and began the first true fine control after he understood the meaning behind it.

It was different from the previous four times. Before, he had only performed it with ignorance. All his strength was placed in controlling the speed of his Qi. This was just relying on external strength!

Now that he finally understood, he knew that true fine control did not rely on external strength to control the speed of Qi circulation, but on the mind!

Qi will only move when the mind moves. If the mind does not move, then Qi will also remain still!

At the same time Su Ming sat down, Bi Su let out a frustrated roar. His right leg trembled and hung above the 562nd step. Yet no matter what, he could not place it down. He had a strong feeling that if he placed his foot down on the step, his body would not be able to bear it. The feeling was extremely powerful. It was so real that he had no choice but to believe in it. Slowly, he chose to stop with a pained expression. He… did not dare to take the risk!

Chen Chong had a grave expression. It was an expression that was rare on him. He stood at the 561st step and looked at the 562nd step. He was silent for a long time. Some time ago, he had heard of the story regarding this step…

After a moment, Chen Chong gritted his teeth and walked towards it. Yet the moment his feet landed on the step, his entire body seemed to freeze and he stood there, dumbstruck. His eyes were empty and blank. Time passed by, and after seven breaths, Chen Chong coughed out a huge mouthful of blood and fell between the 561st and 562nd step. In the end, he did not manage to pass the test of the heart that existed on that step.

Yet compared to Bi Su, Chen Chong had the heart and mind that could turn him into a powerful Berserker!

The field was in dead silence. There were no discussions, no commotion. All of the people were breathing rapidly as they looked at the ranks on the eagle statues. The shock in their hearts replaced all thoughts in their minds.

1st: Ye Wang, 803 steps.

2nd: Mo Su, 563 steps.

Those two lines garnered all their attention. Mo Su was just a normal name that no one had heard before the test. Yet now, his name was famous!

Time passed by gradually. That night was bound to be extraordinary. It was bound to be even more stunning than the previous night. That night was bound to belong to the two people in the mountain for their final battle!

There was no one who was growing impatient in the field. In the midst of their silence, they waited. They waited for the moment that the both of them would move! When midnight passed by and there was only a small amount of time left before dawn, the number of steps behind Mo Su’s name on the nine eagle statues changed!

The weather did not change, neither did the wind blow once he moved. Yet the moment he did so, his movements turned into a storm that raged within the hearts of all those who were watching!

Translator Notes

[1] The one that moved is my mind! : In this case Su Ming is describing an optical illusion and perspective here, but since it’s impossible for them to know what an optical illusion is, the word is not included