Pursuit of the Truth

”He failed!”

”If you fail at the seventh section, it’s the same as dying. He definitely doesn’t have any Art that can keep him alive!”

”This seventh section… the seventh section… I can’t believe it’s so dangerous. I don’t even know why he became like this. This shouldn’t have happened by how he performed at the sixth section.”

The sounds of discussing burst forth. Almost everyone stood up. Nan Tian and the others took a deep breath in disbelief.

”The seventh section might be difficult, but… he’s the person who could fight for the ancient bell with Sir Si Ma, and he failed… just like that?”

”I knew that the seventh section is mysterious, but I don’t know the details. Just what did this person go through in the seventh section…”

The discussions were endless, commotions broke out everywhere. Under everyone’s eyes, Su Ming’s foot missed the Chain of Han Mountain and he fell. His body toppled to the side, and he fell downwards!

The sight stirred up even stronger shock and cries of surprise. Nan Tian and the other three people did not hesitate one bit. They all flew up to look from midair.

In the house on the second layer of Han Mountain City, Han Fei Zi’s face turned pale under the veil. She did not move, but simply stood as she looked into the distance with a dumbfounded expression.

‘It doesn’t matter whether he is Mo Su. If he fails at the seventh section, then no one can save him…’

Han Fei Zi lowered her head and closed her eyes.

At the same time on Lake of Colors Mountain, the old woman widened her eyes. Yan Luan was also stunned by her side. Her face was filled with disbelief. This had happened too suddenly, catching them completely off-guard.

”This… This is…” Yan Luan was speechless and completely stunned.

”It’s a pity… Hmm?”

The old woman sighed lightly. She turned around and was about to leave the place. The entire day of watching the challenge with close attention had made her extremely tired, yet when she was about to leave, she saw Han Mountain City with the corner of her eyes and was suddenly stunned.

The spot that she saw was where Han Mountain Bell was located. The bell did not experience any changes and continued lying silently in the corner.

When Su Ming’s foot landed on thin air and his body fell from the seventh section, besides Lake of Colors Mountain, Tranquil East Mountain also experienced a shocking change.

For the first time, the Elder of Tranquil East stood up and took a few brisk steps to the edge of the mountain to look. He took a deep breath and his eyes sparkled with shock concealed within.

”With his power, even if he can’t make it through the seventh section, he shouldn’t have failed like that… this… this is… he’s someone who’s incredibly similar to Si Ma Xin, how could he just die like that?”

Fang Shen’s face was pale. From the moment he recognized Mo Su to be the challenger of the Chains of Han Mountain, he had been in a constant state of nervousness. That nervousness did not stem from his worry about Su Ming’s wellbeing, but his son’s injuries.

When he saw Su Ming slip and fall from the Chain, Fang Shen’s body swayed and he staggered a few steps backwards. He knew that Mo Su was dead. No one could survive if they fell from the seventh section of the Chain.

Han Cang Zi bit her bottom lip, and a baffled look appeared in her eyes. However, almost at the same instant that bafflement appeared, it turned into resolution.

”He won’t die!”

At that very moment, due to Su Ming’s surprising fall, even the man who looked like a mountain of flesh stood up on Puqiang Mountain. All on the mountain took a few instinctive steps forward, including the Elder of Puqiang Tribe. They came to the edge of the mountain and looked down.

They could still see Su Ming’s body falling downwards swiftly, and he was soon swallowed by darkness, disappearing without a trace.

”Hmph. Didn’t I say it before? This person will definitely die!”

”The seventh section of the Chain is not so easy. He was just walking to his own death!”

”It’s a pity. He sounded the bell 20 odd times, but he still died on the seventh section of the Chain, and no one can save him.”

The Elder of Puqiang Tribe narrowed his eyes and a chilling glint appeared in his eyes. He no longer looked at the canyons, but lifted his head and spoke with a surly tone. ”Send someone down and get his corpse back.”

Someone behind him immediately obeyed and quickly walked down the stairs to arrange for the task to be done.

A disbelieving look appeared on the man who looked like a mountain of flesh. He looked at the canyons and then at the seventh section of the Chain. A respectful look appeared in his eyes.

”Chains of Han Mountain…”

The crowd in Han Mountain City still had not recovered from the shock after witnessing the sudden scene. Even in the midst of all the buzzing discussions and commotion, most of their gazes would still turn back towards the seventh section of the Chain in the moonlight.

”The Chains of Han Mountain become incredibly dangerous starting from the seventh section… Ah, if even such a prodigy failed, then how can we even challenge it?!”

”Only if you walk up to the ninth section are you qualified to enter Freezing Sky Clan, but that’s just a qualification… But if you’re from one of the three tribes, then you won’t need to walk though all nine sections of the Chain, just like how Han Cang Zi did in the past.”

Time trickled by slowly, and the people in Han Mountain City gradually accepted the reality. Some of them felt that it was a pity, some of them were mocking him, some of them felt pleased with what had happened, and some were sighing deeply.

Yet no matter what, everything had ended. The person who made the bell chime 20 odd times had become something in the past. Another person failed the challenge of the Chains of Han Mountain once again. Another innocent soul died because of them.

”Hah… let’s go…”

”It has ended. Let’s go back to meditate and increase our blood veins. The Chains of Han Mountain are not something we can challenge…”

”It’s a pity. We don’t even know what that person’s name was. We didn’t even manage to see his face. Let’s hope Puqiang can find his corpse.”

The topic of people’s discussions gradually started to move away from what had happened over the day, and they went back to their own houses with deep sighs.

In the sky, Ke Jiu Si and the other three people were all silent. Besides Xuan Lun, who was laughing coldly in a gleeful manner in his heart, the other three had mixed feelings in their hearts as they looked at the Chains of Han Mountain. They began to feel helpless as they were reminded of the approaching date of Freezing Sky Clan coming to take in disciples.

Strong Transcended Berserkers like themselves could go back to their own tribes and enjoy life if they were satisfied and were willing to stop with their training. That was their best choice. However, they were not satisfied, even though they had already reached the Transcendence Realm.

”I’ll go back first…”

Nan Tian sighed and wrapped his fist in his palm towards the other three people before he turned into a long arc and went back to the second layer. Ke Jiu Si and Leng Ying wrapped their fists in their palms too and saluted each other in silence before they left.

Only Xuan Lun remained standing in midair with a faint smile on his lips.

‘You overestimated yourself and challenged the Chains of Han Mountain. Mo Su, you brought about you own death!’

Xuan Lun laughed coldly. He moved, but not back to his own domain. He flew instead to Puqiang Mountain. He wanted to see whether Mo Su’s face could be seen if he was brought back. If he even had a corpse left, that is. He already had a vague guess in his heart and wanted to prove himself right.

In the house on the second layer of Han Mountain City, Han Fei Zi’s eyelashes fluttered. She opened her eyes and took a step forward silently. White clouds manifested under her feet and lifted her up to bring her back to Lake of Colors Mountain.

She was not curious about how the dead failure looked like, neither was she curious about his identity, because he was dead. To her, it no longer mattered whether this person was Mo Su or not.

‘If he’s Mo Su, then I’ll have to look for another companion… Such a pity…’

Han Fei Zi sighed and flew into the distance on the white cloud.

Yet at that moment, when Tranquil East Mountain fell into silence, Puqiang Mountain was celebrating Mo Su’s misfortune and some were even went to search for his corpse, suddenly, in the dispersing crowd in Han Mountain City, a dense boy standing beside an old man took a look at the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth stone pillars that were still underneath the Chain of Han Mountain connecting to Puqiang Mountain with uncertainty and bewilderment. Then he whispered something into the old man’s ear.

The old man was momentarily stunned, then he quickly lifted his head to look at the Chain.

”Everyone…”

The more he looked, the brighter the old man’s eyes became. However, he was still a little sceptical. After a moment of hesitation, he called out to the people around him in a low voice.

Yet no one took note of his words. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the sky. The rain became heavier.

The rain during the day might have been heavy, but people were still standing outside to watch the Chains of Han Mountain. Yet now, when the rain became just slightly heavier, these people were already walking briskly back to their houses.

”Everyone… The… The pillars supporting the Chain are still there!” the old man yelled out. His voice did not travel too far. Most of the people who heard it ignored him at first, but very soon, they jolted, then whipped their heads back to look.

The stone pillars… were still standing tall underneath the Chain connecting to Puqiang Mountain!

”Eh?!”

”The stone pillars are still there! Once anyone fails in challenging the Chains of Han Mountain, the stone pillars will all sink down instantly. This isn’t something the three tribes can control. This is the mystery of the Chains of Han Mountain!”

”How… How could they still be there?! Could it… Could it be…?”

The old man and the boy were not the only ones who noticed it. People gradually started noticing this sight in other areas within Han Mountain City. Very soon, discussions and commotions broke out once again. After a while, most of the people who heard the sounds stopped and turned to look.

”They’re right! The stone pillars haven’t sunk!”

”Could it be…?”

”He’s not dead yet?!”

Cries of surprise reverberated through the air and eventually fused together. People’s voices were like a windstorm blowing within Han Mountain City, causing all those who had originally wanted to go back to their houses to be stunned when they heard the words, and they immediately returned. As they listened to the cries of surprise around them and saw the stone pillars of Han Mountain standing tall before them, disbelief appeared on their faces!

‘Is he really not dead?!’

Nan Tian came to an abrupt pause in midair and turned around. Shock appeared on his face.

He was not the only one. Leng Ying and Ke Jiu Si similarly stopped in midair and looked towards the stone pillars.

Xuan Lun was the same. He had been laughing coldly and was just about to go to Puqiang Tribe when he heard the cries of surprise from Han Mountain City. A jolt crawled down his body and he immediately turned around to look.

”That’s impossible!”

Han Mountain City was not the only one in an uproar at that moment. The expressions of the Elder, the man who looked like a mountain of flesh, and even all the other people behind them on Puqiang Mountain all changed drastically!

They also noticed this!

The cloud underneath Han Fei Zi’s feet stopped momentarily. As she stood on the white cloud, she turned her head back and focused her gaze at the canyons underneath the Chains of Han Mountain!

”He’s… still alive?”

”He’s still alive? The challenge for the Chains of Han Mountain hasn’t ended?” The Elder of Tranquil East Tribe took in a sharp breath on Tranquil East Mountain. A rare look of disbelief appeared on his aged face.

Han Cang Zi stood not far in the distance. A hint of red finally appeared on her pale face.