Chapter 2269: Let's Go
Liu Que's eyes were still glazed over as he continued to soar through the clouds. With his notched sword on his back, he slowly rose up. He passed Nong Siniang, and then Qing Feng. He continued on and eventually passed the Celestial Frost Sect’s disciples one after another, causing each of them to show ugly expressions.
Liu Que continued without pause and eventually passed Xia Shenguang, as well as Wang Xiaofan. He was now approaching Bai Weiwei.
Virtue Archives’ students grew increasingly excited. While Liu Que had a much colder personality than Bai Weiwei and the others, the swordsman was undeniably not a part of the four ruling powers, and the students naturally hoped to see him surpass Bai Weiwei.
Unfortunately, Liu Que stopped when he was 1,000 meters beneath Bai Weiwei. He failed to catch up to her.
"What a pity. If he could challenge it again, he’d be able to surpass everyone, and he might even reach the clouds," Mr. Tang said regretfully.
Bai Su gave Mr. Tang a smile. "Professor, it seems that you don’t know much about the Sky Beyond the Sky. In truth, the last portion is the true test. Anyone who is allowed to challenge the trial is already a genius, and those who rise above 10,000 feet on their first attempt will certainly be able to rise to 20,000 feet if they are given a second attempt. The final 10,000 feet are the trial’s true test.
"Since ancient times, no fewer than 1,000 people have successfully risen above 20,000 feet, but only twenty to thirty people have had a real chance of touching the cloud canopy. All of those few dozen people have been recorded down in history."
That explanation brought an end to the challenge, and all of the youths descended to the ground.
Everyone nervously observed the youths, worried that they might show signs of insanity or bizarre behavior, but no one displayed any changes.
At this moment, Bai Su suddenly called out, "Prof. Hao Yu, would you be interested in attempting the challenge?"
Wu Yao looked over at Bai Su in surprise. Hao Yu? Had the sect decided to give him this opportunity as well?
Bai Weiwei was similarly caught off guard. She had wanted to request this opportunity, but Bai Su had suddenly offered Prof. Hao Yu the opportunity himself. It appeared that the sect was quite eager to recruit Hao Yu and Grandmaster Gu Yan.
On the other hand, the God of Food was not surprised. Yu Hao had already revealed a shockingly high Lockbreaking ability when they had visited the Wang family, and he had proven himself worthy of the four ruling powers’ attention.
Lu Yin pointed at himself. "Me? I can try it?"
Bai Su nodded, a smile on his face. "Of course, as long as you are willing."
It was not the Celestial Frost Sect making the offer to Hao Yu, but rather Bai Su’s own decision. He had come to this conclusion based on the information that he had received from Xiao Qing.
Xiao Qing had followed Bai Su’s orders and approached Prof. Hao Yu. No, she had approached Yu Hao. While nothing had come of it, the two had talked quite a bit, and Bai Su had learned from Xiao Qing that Yu Hao would likely join Shenwu's Sky, but that was because he had no choice in the matter. Reportedly, Yu Hao actually wanted to join the Celestial Frost Sect.
This was the information that had caused Bai Su to decide to make this offer. If he successfully recruited Yu Hao into the Celestial Frost Sect, it would count as an incredible contribution to the sect. Even after Bai Su stepped down as acting sect master, he would still have a much higher status within the sect than before.
Even more importantly, Yu Hao had shown himself to have outstanding support behind him, as well as exceptional personal ability. Bai Su absolutely would not suffer a loss from showing this person a bit of kindness.
Lu Yin looked over at the God of Food, and the old man coughed. "What I just said was for the sake of the students. There’s no need for you to worry about it, Professor."
Lu Yin glanced over at the students. If he did not attempt the challenge, then he would absolutely be looked down upon! While he did not care about that…
"Professor! Do your best!" Nong Siniang cheered.
Qing Feng stated in an admiring tone, "You’ll certainly climb the highest, Professor."
"Pro- Pro- Professor will be first!"
"Prof. Hao Yu, go on!"
…
Lu Yin was left speechless by the response. He had been wondering why the Seven Heroes had not challenged the Sky Beyond the Sky while observing the students. At worst, he would put on a show, so he went ahead and stepped forward. "Since the Celestial Frost Sect is offering, I’d be happy to try it."
Bai Su smiled and gestured for “Yu Hao” to come forward.
Just as Lu Yin was about to start the challenge, Wu Yao spoke up. "Wait a moment."
Everyone expected the man to object.
Bai Su's expression changed. If Wu Yao publicly opposed the acting sect master’s decision, then the sect would be forced to choose to follow one of the two. Bai Su already knew that it was not even a choice; he would be abandoned. If the Semi-Progenitor objected, Bai Su could only blame his own eagerness to achieve something for making him careless enough to not go over the matter with Wu Yao earlier.
The Semi-Progenitor said, "My Celestial Frost Sect also has an Envoy who would like to challenge the trial. Would you mind going together, Prof. Hao Yu?"
Bai Su let out a sigh of relief. This was fine, as he had not been stopped.
Lu Yin smiled. "Of course not."
Wu Yao nodded. His goal was to ensure that everyone from Virtue Archives was surpassed. There had been an accident with the little fatty’s success when the Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters had challenged the trial, and while Bai Weiwei had reached the highest altitude for the Enlighters, she really represented the Celestial Frost Sect rather than Virtue Archives. As for Prof. Hao Yu, he had to be compared to one of the sect’s Envoy, and he also had to be defeated.
The Envoy from the Celestial Frost Sect had an exceptionally triangular face. It was so exaggerated that the man did not even appear human at first glance.
No one from Virtue Archives recognized the man.
The Perennial World was too large. Any one of the Middle Realm’s nine districts had hidden powerhouses, and no one knew just how many Envoys there were.
Despite the fact that no one knew who this man was, the fact that Wu Yao had brought him out to compete with Yu Hao was enough to indicate that the Semi-Progenitor was very confident in the unknown man’s ability to surpass the professor.
"Gong." The Envoy spoke a single word to introduce himself.
Lu Yin replied, "Virtue Archives’ Hao Yu."
The triangular-faced man nodded and turned to look at Wu Yao. The Semi-Progenitor then said, "Let’s begin. We’ve heard of your accomplishments, especially what you achieved when visiting the Wang family, which is truly impressive. You’ve already been acknowledged as the Lockbreaker most likely to become the next Array Grandmaster, and I look forward to seeing what you can accomplish here today. I expect to see you shine brightly and shake the Perennial World, Professor."
Lu Yin gave a wry smile. "You think too highly of this junior, Senior. I’m happy to try, but my efforts might not even place me as high as the students, though I’ll do my best."
Wu Yao typically had a rather gloomy expression, but “Yu Hao’s” response made the old man smile. He gestured for the two Envoys to begin, but he was only putting on a show of being polite.
Lu Yin looked up. He had not felt anything earlier, but once he stood on the mountain that was dedicated to the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, silence filled the area. A beam of light shone down towards Lu Yin, and he felt a bit of warmth as he felt a pull upwards.
Nearby, the triangular-faced Envoy also rose into the air. He moved quite quickly, though not as quickly as Bai Weiwei. The man was a three-tribulation Envoy, but the Sky Beyond the Sky ignored the challengers’ cultivation.
Everyone stared at “Yu Hao,” waiting to see him take his first step.
Lu Yin took a deep breath, lifted a foot, and stepped upwards. As soon as he stepped into the range of a beam of light, his vision became white and he became blind for a moment. He quickly recovered, only to see that he had become a crab.
What? A crab?
…
A crab scuttled along the bottom of a dark river, dashing from one hole to another, only to reemerge as it searched for something.
A strange fish emerged from some seaweed. Its mouth was full of sharp teeth, and both of its eyes locked onto the crab before the fish shot forward like an arrow.
The crab raced to the bottom of the river, but two of its legs were snapped off by the strange fish. The fish chewed the legs as it stared at the crab with a greedy stare. It raced down to a hole in the riverbed, eager to finish eating the crab.
Soon, bits of crushed crab shell drifted up from the hole in the river bed, along with some chewed crab legs. The strange fish soon swam back out, shooting into the seaweed to hunt down its next target.
…
Lu Yin experienced life and death. He felt himself become the crab and be eaten by the fish. The sensation was unbelievable; Lu Yin was a crab, and the crab was Lu Yin. He felt himself be eaten, and even after his consciousness moved on, he still felt the feeling of being consumed. Was this the trial of the Sky Beyond the Sky?
Why did it feel so similar to his die’s six pips: Possession?
Everyone on the ground below was watching. They had no idea what “Yu Hao” had just experienced. All that any of them knew was that he had taken a step and his eyes had glazed over. From Lu Yin’s perspective, he had spent a long time immersed in the life of a crab, but to everyone watching, only a moment had passed.
The light that he had stepped into had enveloped him and pulled him up, but it looked as though he was rising under his own power.
Lu Yin suddenly realized exactly what was happening in the trial of the Sky Beyond the Sky, and he also understood why some of the challengers exhibited such bizarre behavior. They had mentally become different creatures and had not been able to return to being themselves. It was possible that they had come to see their time as a human as just another experience of a foreign life.
Clarity only momentarily returned to Lu Yin's eyes. After just an instance to consider the revelation that had struck him, he was looking at a swallow flying in the sky. The next moment, he had already become the swallow. There were no longer any other thoughts in his head. He was the swallow, and the swallow’s life was Lu Yin’s. He repeatedly lived through the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. He lived through migrations and hunting, and ultimately, died to sharp arrows.
Again Lu Yin suffered the agony and despair of dying as a swallow. Regardless of whether it had been the swallow or Lu Yin who had truly died, the sensations were perfectly real. How many people could calmly face death? Not just approach death and flirt with it, but truly die?
Lu Yin understood why so few people were able to pass the Sky Beyond the Sky: they could not face dying. They could not endure the despair, pain, and that final moment of disappearing.
However, Lu Yin could be said to already be used to such things, and he had even committed suicide on several different occasions.
As time passed, the people observing started to feel that something was wrong, as “Yu Hao’s” speed was accelerating. He had started rising into the sky slower than the triangle-headed Gong, but after enough time had passed for a stick of incense to burn, “Yu Hao” had caught up and reached a height of nearly 10,000 feet. He passed that threshold without even slowing down, and his opponent not see it either. Gong’s eyes were still dull, and he was experiencing his own cycle of life and death, but everyone on the ground below clearly saw Gong be overtaken.
Bai Weiwei was shocked. Why was the professor rising so quickly? While Bai Weiwei could not remember what she had gone through during her own trial, she understood from others that she had risen at what was considered an impressive speed, likely comparable to even Bai Shaohong. How could Prof. Hao Yu rise up so fast? This was his first time facing the challenge.
Wu Yao's expression grew worse and worse after Gong was passed. The Celestial Frost Sect had been surpassed, and it was all because of Bai Su's interference. He just had to offer to let Yu Hao attempt the trial, but the results would not benefit their sect.
Bai Su’s face twitched. Did the reports not make it clear that Prof. Hao Yu's talent was for lockbreaking? How could he have such incredible results in the Sky Beyond the Sky trial? Wait, was it possible? Could lockbreaking give a person an edge when facing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial?
Bai Su was not the only one with such thoughts, as similar suspicions occurred to multiple observers. Lu Yin had revealed too freakish a lockbreaking ability, and he had absolutely crushed Bai Wei in a game of Stable Zone. After that, he had even designed a way for ordinary cultivators to set up a sourcebox array by simply positioning several sourceboxes and overlapping their danger fields. That was not something that Lockbreakers could learn how to do through talent or experience, as it required a healthy dose of both.
"Progenitor Wen once passed this trial, so it seems that it really is possible that lockbreaking skill can help one when facing the Sky Beyond the Sky," Mr. Tang muttered to himself.
The God of Food was quite surprised. Was that true?
Lu Yin continued to experience multiple cycles of life and death, each time rising closer and closer to the cloud canopy. He soon reached 20,000 feet, which was the height where Bai Weiwei had been stopped.
Everyone watched nervously. Would Prof. Hao Yu surpass even Bai Weiwei?
Bai Weiwei's palms had grown sweaty. Just how talented was Yu Hao? The Xia family had truly been blind. If they had realized just how talented Yu Hao was all those years ago, how could they not have offered him their greatest treasure? Instead, they had sent Xia Zhitong to destroy his family and create an irreconcilable enmity with the Yu family. The Xia family had forced themselves into a position where they absolutely had to take Yu Hao down.
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