Su Ming opened his eyes. There were only three blood veins left on his body! He lowered his head and looked at the three blood veins on his chest before standing up.
He took a deep breath but did not rush forward. He turned his head and looked at the thick mist behind him. He could not see the ground below, but he could feel that he was standing at a very high place.
‘I might need to go to the 781st step to make the final three blood veins disappear.’
Su Ming looked at the summit, and his eyes gradually lit up.
‘Also, I want to see just how far can I go!’
Su Ming raised his foot and moved towards the 564th step. Once he stood there, he walked further upwards one step at a time without hesitation!
He moved forwards one step at a time. Su Ming no longer moved along the stairs with that maddening speed from before, where he managed to climb up around a hundred steps within the span of a few breaths. Yet there was no hint of stopping within him as he walked forward steadily at a moderate pace.
He was calm, and he exuded an air of calmness that seemed like he was the water within an ancient well that would not ripple even when stones were thrown into it. Gradually and slowly, he moved towards the 573th step, 578th, 582th… and he continued onward.
As he pressed onward, all his blood veins surfaced on his skin. A great presence of Qi exploded from his body. At the same time, as he continued steadily onward, another blood vein manifested!
This path was the path of a strong Berserker that belonged to Su Ming. It was an incredibly important stage of metamorphosis in his life! It was a change in his training and understanding of his soul!
Every step Su Ming took was turned into figures shown on the number of steps he took on the eagle statues in the field. Every single time the numbers jumped, the people who were watching would feel as if their hearts jumped along with it.
"597, 598, 599… 600! He’s at the 600th step! That was Ye w.a.n.g’s limit yesterday!"
"He’s still going on. 601, 602… Could Ye w.a.n.g not have noticed him? He may be further away, but if this continues, then before long, Mo Su will catch up to him!"
Due to Mo Su’s movements, the quiet field was gradually filled with sounds of discussion. Yet compared to the commotion on the previous night, most of the discussions were held in low voices and whispers.
Compared to the crowd that had been watching the first stage since the beginning, there were still some people in the field made up of those who were ranked within the top fifty. There were also some people who were ranked within the top ten, and they had formed their own cliques.
"Ye w.a.n.g must be feeling prideful… He always had a habit to not look at the ranking."
"Well, Ye w.a.n.g always believed that the only one who could compete against him was himself. No one else had the ability to do so."
"Haha. I wonder whether Mo Su will have the ability to become his opponent this time. He’s already at the 645th step. That Mo Su is really good, though. I can’t compare to his potential!"
"Honestly, I’d really want Ye w.a.n.g to look at the plate. I’d like to see his reaction once he knows about Mo Su following close behind his back. Would he turn his nose against him? Or will he become slightly excited?"
The two different crowds in the field talked about different things. Compared to them, there was a crowd in the field that was formed of people of even higher statuses. They were all the leaders of different tribes. Their status and power determined their social standing.
The old woman from Dark Dragon Tribe looked at Mo Su’s name on the eagle statue. Her eyes were gradually clouded with seriousness and mindfulness. She did not know who that person was, but she admired him nonetheless. From what she could presume, no matter which tribe Mo Su belonged to, it could not be from Wind Stream. If that was the case, then it would be interesting once that person appeared in the field.
‘It’s a pity he’s not from Dark Dragon Tribe, or else I’d do everything I can to aid him in his training!’ the old woman lamented, looking at Bai Ling and Si Kong beside her.
‘Si Kong isn’t the type who can take on large responsibilities. Ah, Dark Dragon Tribe is falling… As for Bai Ling, she only has a pa.s.sing fancy towards that Su Ming. She still can’t differentiate between grat.i.tude and affection. But as long as she doesn’t mingle around that rascal, then time will naturally make her forget about him.
‘What right does that Su Ming have to approach my granddaughter? Unless, of course, he is that mysterious Mo Su…’
The old woman gave a self-depreciating laugh, and a hint of mockery appeared in her eyes.
Located further away was the tribe leader from Black Mountain Tribe. His face was dark as he stared at Mo Su’s name on the eagle statue. His gaze was cold, yet at the same time, there was mindfulness and shock within his eyes.
‘Bi Su was taught by the Elder since he was young and has surpa.s.sed those among his generation by leaps and bounds. If it wasn’t because the Elder had reached a breakthrough and could now stand at the same position as Wind Stream’s Jing Nan, then he wouldn’t have let Bi Su appear.
‘But where did that Mo Su come from? Which tribe does he belong to…? I must bring him to the tribe, or else I’ll just have to kill him!’
If anyone were to compare social ranking, then no one else’s status was higher than Jing Nan’s in the field. He stood there and looked at the ranking on the eagle statue. He watched as the figures showing the number of steps taken increased continuously behind Mo Su’s name. The number had now reached 677. His pupils shrank in antic.i.p.ation, but his face remained pa.s.sive. It was as if what had happened was still not enough to shock him.
"Mo Sang, once Su Ming finishes the test, let him stay in Wind Stream Tribe… This place will be more beneficial to him," Jing Nan spoke slowly as he watched the number of steps taken change once again and become 684.
Once he heard Jing Nan’s words, Mo Sang only smiled faintly. He was also shocked inwardly that Su Ming could obtain such a great result. This had completely exceeded his expectations, but there was a reason why he told Su Ming to not worry about revealing his power in the first place.
"Don’t be anxious. We can talk about this once the test ends," Mo Su spoke unhurriedly. There was love and kindness within his eyes as he looked at Mo Su’s name on the eagle statue.
When he saw that Mo Sang did not immediately reject his proposal, a flash pa.s.sed through Jing Nan’s eyes. With his level of intelligence, it was only natural that he knew that the conditions he proposed to obtain Su Ming would not be enough.
"If he can go past 750 steps, then I will give him the treatment only the son of a tribe leader deservers in Wind Stream Tribe like Chen Chong and Wu Sen. If he can go past 800 steps, then he’ll become a candidate for my Berserker’s Son!" Jing Nan spoke slowly.
"What if he goes higher?" Mo Sang turned around and looked at Jing Nan.
"Higher? Alright. If he can climb more than 850 steps, then I’ll give him the same privileges and help I provide for Ye w.a.n.g. If he can go to the 900th step, then if he agrees to join Wind Stream Tribe, between him and Ye w.a.n.g, I’ll elect whosoever reaches Awakening Realm first as my Berserker’s Son!" Jing Nan fell into momentary silence and looked at Mo Sang before he spoke slowly.
"He’s already at the 700th step." Mo Sang smiled faintly.
700! Su Ming panted harshly as sweat fell continuously off his body onto the stairs. He stood on the 700th step. Dawn was about to arrive, and the moon was starting to darken. Moving forward under this pressure was incredibly hard.
A few more blood veins appeared on his body once he arrived at the 700th step. Su Ming did not see how many blood veins had emerged. There was only one thought in his mind, he would continue walking forward until he reached his limit!
He let his breathing calm down a bit. Su Ming lifted his foot once again and moved towards the 701st step.
Ye w.a.n.g was sitting on the 803rd step unmoving at that moment. The entire mountain was very quiet. He was at the southern side of the mountain while Su Ming was at the northern side. They were on two different parts of the mountain.
When dawn was about to arrive and the moon started to darken as if daylight was about to arrive at any moment, Ye w.a.n.g opened his eyes and looked at the moon.
"Once daylight is here, I’ll begin my last charge. This time, I’ll do my best to get to the 900th step!" Ye w.a.n.g mumbled as a confident smile appeared on his lips.
‘I’m pretty certain that there aren’t many people left on the mountain. There should be less than ten, not including myself. I wonder if there’s anyone who managed to make it through the 562nd step. But there shouldn’t be any!’
There was a calm pride on Ye w.a.n.g’s face, but after a moment of silence, he still chose to take out the plate and look.
He had initially planned to just take a glance at it to see how many people were left on the mountain. It was just an action of someone who was looking down on other people’s actions as he waited for daylight to arrive.
His face was calm as his gaze fell upon the plate. He was just going to take a glance. Yet just as he was about to avert his gaze, he was suddenly stupefied. He looked at the plate once again, this time with concentration.
2nd: Mo Su, 716 steps.
‘Mo Su… he’s walking at night? What an idiot!’
Ye w.a.n.g was quiet for a while, then he looked away from the plate. He closed his eyes and continued meditating calmly as he waited for daylight to arrive. There was not an ounce of panic within him, but there was a light and almost unnoticeable tremble on his eyelids, almost as if they betrayed that it was difficult for him to truly calm down.
Mo Su’s breathing was rapid as he continued walking forward. His mind was blank, and there was only a sort of willpower pus.h.i.+ng his body forward, making him continue to walk forth. The blood veins on his body gradually increased. With the addition of each blood vein, he would have additional strength to go on.
With that frenzied pace he put on, he walked past the 725th step, 738th step, 751st step, 763rd step, 779th step…
The thunderous roars continued with no signs of stopping in his body, but his legs were trembling, and his body seemed to be swaying. It was especially so for his feet, which seemed to have gotten glued to the mountain. Every single time he lifted his legs, pain would shoot through his entire body.
He gritted his teeth and let out a low growl. Su Ming lifted his leg once again and moved towards the 780th step. There was only one more step away from his target this time – the 781st step!
His eyes were bloodshot. The red within his eyes was like a fire burning and crackling, as if it was about to burn Su Ming’s entire body to ashes. There was only one more step left right before his eyes. All the blood veins started circulating within Su Ming’s body with a loud sound and squeezed out a bit of strength for Su Ming to lift his leg and move to the 781st step.
The moment his feet were about to land on the step, his body seemed to be unable to bear the pressure any longer. Just as he was about to break down, Su Ming lifted his head and roared towards the sky. He must make it there! He had to!
He lifted his right hand and bit into his index finger. Fresh blood flowed out of the wound, and he swiped it on his eyes abruptly. He will begin the third burning of his blood here, the one that he had not managed to complete successfully!
The moment the blood on his index finger touched his left eye, the entire mountain seemed to move as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had been split apart! At that instant, the roar from the beast suddenly reverberated from within the black mist on the mountain!
Ye w.a.n.g, who finally calmed down on the 803rd step, jolted at that moment. He heard the roar from the top of the mountain and felt the entire mountain shaking and roaring as well. An unbelievable change had happened.
He opened his eyes abruptly, and his pupils shrank instinctively. He had a feeling that the mountain’s sudden change was linked to that person called Mo Su!
Without any hesitation, he immediately took out the plate and took another look at it. The moment he read that Mo Su had taken 781 steps, Ye w.a.n.g’s expression changed and he stood up abruptly!