Boom!
A burning stream of flames burst out of Su Ping’s body. His blood seemed to be turning into a rising fire, unleashing a burst of horrifying astral power; red wings appeared behind his back.
Su Ping felt that he became faster and nimbler as he activated his constitution, filling him with strength.
Die!
Su Ping quickly gathered all his laws on his fist and punched out.
Like a burning meteorite, the punch caused a ghastly onslaught of destruction with a special torrent of flames.
The devil was instantly shattered, but it was soon reconstituted. Su Ping punched in a consecutive and brutal manner, without hesitation.
A hundred fist auras were launched, and the devil was completely obliterated. Nothing remained aside from the dense flames in the air whose heat permeated all the way to the fourth space.
Whoosh!
Su Ping climbed upwards again.
Boom!
He was suddenly overwhelmed when he barely reached the 200th handle. As in a trance, he saw countless laws and spaces spinning right before his eyes. Things that looked like particles were changing and being reassembled into something uncanny and indescribable.
Although Su Ping had never seen this before, he had a vague inkling that it was a path.
The overwhelming power of that path rushed at him; Su Ping felt that his head was shaking, making him feel that he was in the middle of a vast ocean.
…
Everybody in the outside world exclaimed when Su Ping reached the 200th handle, which was later followed by complete silence.
Everybody was completely dumbfounded.
The young man with a divine constitution was still at the 199th handle at the moment, and Su Ping had managed to reach the 200th.
He had officially reached the top position!
The contestants down below were overwhelmed by disbelief; they could not believe that Su Ping would catch up and surpass the top contender that quickly.
In the balcony—the Ascendants were shocked too. Su Ping seemed too strong for his level; he had truly worked a miracle!
He’s in first place!
Ciro held his breath and widened his eyes as he gazed at the scene.
He thought it would be really fortunate if Su Ping could make it to the top, yet Su Ping had pulled it off!
Even the revered Reincarnation Divine Constitution had been surpassed!
“This is impossible!”
At the 199th handle—the young man with divine constitution had just finished off the devil and was about to climb again, but then he saw a man one step above him. He was absolutely astounded.
Su Ping—who was parallel to him moments earlier—had surpassed him?
How long was the guy at 199th handle… he already resolved the attacks?
He suddenly blushed and trembled in fury. However, in the next moment, he stopped shaking and his eyes turned cold. His aura changed too; he was no longer as cocky as before. He thoughtfully looked at Su Ping’s back with a gaze as deep as the sea.
Then, he focused on climbing.
…
At the 200th handle—
Su Ping sensed pride and disdain rising in his head while being under the suppression of the path’s overwhelming power. The feelings didn’t belong to him; they were induced by the instincts of the Golden Crows in his blood.
The Golden Crows that would feed on dragons were too proud to be suppressed.
The flames all over Su Ping’s body became more and more exuberant; infinite flames seemed to be circulating in his head. They belonged to the path of flames in his blood, which the Golden Crows were born to control.
Phew!
A stream of golden divine flames gushed out and tore apart the path’s power.
That was the Golden Crows’ special skill.
The path’s power tore apart and flooded into Su Ping’s head, giving him a sudden epiphany. A huge river appeared in front of his eyes, with laws being mere grains of sand in it.
The scene flashed and disappeared. Su Ping returned to reality before he could further think about it.
Since he wasn’t entirely satisfied, Su Ping heaved a sigh and looked back, only to find that the young man with a divine constitution had also reached the 200th handle.
He smiled and climbed on.
At the 201st handle—Su Ping encountered another attack, which was in the shape of a sharp-pointed and long spear.
The spear seemed to be sentient. It attacked Su Ping destructively, mincing Su Ping’s secret techniques and laws the moment they were hit.
He was caught in a long battle again.
Su Ping was finally able to win the battle once half an hour passed.
He continued climbing.
Time flew.
There were only twenty minutes to go.
Su Ping had already reached the 204 handle at the moment.
Su Ping was ready to climb again after finishing the battle. He thought of the young man with a divine constitution and found that he was still at the 200th handle. He was greatly relieved, as he wouldn’t need to expose more of his trump cards to win the championship.
“They’re already in the Path Section, a place where even Star Lords have to exert their utmost. What two monsters…”
In the balcony—the Ascendant experts had passionate looks, all glittery eyed. This time, they fixed their attention upon Su Ping instead of the young man with a divine constitution.
There was a chance that Su Ping would also have one of the nine divine constitutions too, or something even rarer, able to surpass the Reincarnation Divine Constitution!
After all, anything that could make up for the gap between him and the divine constitution had to be very precious!
“He’s firmly set in the top position…”
Ciro became completely relaxed upon seeing that; he then wore an excited smile, he almost couldn’t wait to send the news to Lord Hai Tuo.
“He’s… the number one at the top now.”
The other contestants were stunned too, feeling how surreal everything was.
Su Ping had jumped all the way to the top from the former 110th handle, in only five hours!
Probably no one would be able to look at his back from up close again!
“Horrifying! Is this his real combat ability?”
“I didn’t know he was strong. No wonder I was defeated so easily; it isn’t embarrassing to be enslaved by him, is it?”
“Does he have a rare constitution?”
The other geniuses with Ascendant potential had glittering eyes. Su Jin’er was squinting; there was no telling what was on her mind.
Twenty minutes passed quickly, and Su Ping eventually stopped at the 205th handle.
The young man with a divine constitution, on the other hand, lingered at the 200th handle; he was still unable to resolve his opponent there. All the illusions were gone once the competition ended, and everybody went back to the Heavenly Path Mountain.
The young man with a divine constitution snapped back from his stupor, then he looked up; he instantly narrowed his eyes.
The 205th handle!
The man was five handles ahead of him!
He clenched his fists and looked awful.
Su Ping’s head became clear again; he then lowered it and found that he was still at the top. He felt relieved, and then eager to find out what Lord Supreme’s prizes would be.
“The trial is over.”
Whoosh!
A majestic shadow appeared; he was an Ascendant State cultivator from the Celestial Court. His face was concealed; only his glittering armor was visible. He looked like a god.
“The champion of the Golden Star Zone this year is… Su Ping of Silvy.”
“The second is Diaz of the Wudi Galaxy!”
“Third place is William VII of the Blood Shadow Galaxy!”
The Ascendant cultivator announced their rankings until the tenth. The following rankings would be announced elsewhere; still, they weren’t as important.
Bzzing~!
Suddenly, the void trembled.
To be more precise: the entire universe—including the deeper spaces in the region—was trembling.
Next, everybody saw something they would never forget for the rest of their lives. A splendid figure emerged at the sacred Celestial Court; it was an illusion as big as dozens of planets.
The illusion was a solemn yet peaceful middle-aged man who wore a golden robe and a crown; he looked both like an emperor and an ancient god.
“It’s Lord Supreme!”
In the balcony—the Ascendant cultivators wore slightly changed expressions, not daring to sit any longer.
All of them bowed in the direction of Lord Supreme.
The contestants climbing the mountain looked at the scene with unmasked dumbfoundment. Is that the aura of the Celestial State?
Su Ping’s eyes glowed. Is that man on par with the Superior Gods, who were stronger than Joanna’s original self?
The man would have been an elder among the Golden Crows.
He doesn’t feel as suffocating as the Chief Elder, Su Ping thought. He wasn’t really anxious; after all, he had seen a lot of creatures that were even more horrifying.
The Celestial State illusion slowly opened his mouth.”You’re all geniuses of the Golden Star Zone. Many of you are endowed with Ascendant State potential; I hope you can reach that step.” His gentle voice echoed in the universe.
Su Ping detected that his voice had penetrated deeper spaces; no wonder the whispers of ancient creatures had been left in the fifth and sixth spaces. It was impossible to contain the will of such an extraordinary being in the primary surface.
All the contestants were in awe, they were very respectful after hearing that.
Even the geniuses with Ascendant potential were acting obediently.
Their potential had made them act proud, but none of them would dare to put on airs before a Celestial.
After all, there were only a few Celestial experts in the entire Federation.
“You two have entered the Path Section as Fate State cultivators. This shows how gifted you are; there’s even a slim chance for you to enter the Celestial State. Human beings have dominated the universe for many years, but many aliens invade us every now and then. Our country will be at peace if we have a few more Celestials!”
The illusion smiled and said, “Here’s a little something for you. I hope it can help you grow faster.”
Pills emerged from deeper spaces right before Su Ping and the young man with a divine constitution, named Diaz.
Each received five pills; they were black-colored, and gave a refreshing feeling.
“Path Pills!”
Diaz seemed shocked, not expecting Lord Supreme to be that generous. Path Pills were so precious that they could allow advanced Star State warriors to break into the Star Lord State!
Every pill contained a complete path.
The five pills equaled five paths; both contestants merely needed those pills to break through. After all, normal Star Lords only had one perfect path.
In addition, there was a strange stone next to the pills. It was red-colored, with black patterns on the surface.
Many Ascendants in the balcony showed faces with shock and greed.
“The Blood Source Stone!”
“Both were rewarded with a Blood Source Stone, which can lay a solid foundation on a small world!”
“It can strengthen them significantly when they reach the Ascendant State. This is such a generous reward!”
Some Ascendants were indeed greedy.
The treasure was still unusable for Su Ping and Diaz. It had to be noted that it was normally used by Ascendants.
Lord Supreme had obviously given them such a prize because he was certain of their advancement to the Ascendant State, unless they died by accident.
“Well…” Ciro had a lot of mixed feelings too. He took a deep breath and also became greedy, but he soon let go. After all, nobody would dare steal Lord Supreme’s gift. Even if someone assassinated those two kids, nobody would dare to take the stone away!
At that moment—the illusion of Lord Supreme asked again, “Would you like to respect me as your master?”
Wow!
In the balcony—everybody looked at each in bewilderment, not expecting such a development.
They knew that Lord Supreme’s disciples would surely reach the Ascendant State as long as they weren’t downright stupid.
Su Ping and the other geniuses had Ascendant potential, but many geniuses such as them had died by accident during their growth.
Becoming Lord Supreme’s disciple would mean to receive his protection; they would be able to reach the Ascendant State in a safe and steady manner.
They could hardly be killed, as long as they weren’t too reckless.
Su Ping was somewhat at a loss. Another disciple seeker?
He hesitated. It wasn’t bad to take a Celestial as a master, but he didn’t want to expose the system, nor his store.
At the 200th handle—Diaz replied excitedly, “Yes!”
His eyes were full of passion; he didn’t want to let go of such a rare opportunity.
His goal was to reach the Celestial State, but he had to reach the Ascendant State first, to ensure that his life wouldn’t be threatened. Then, he would have the hopes of cultivating all the way to the Celestial State.
“Sure.”
Lord Supreme nodded and then looked at Su Ping with a smile.
After hesitating for a moment, Su Ping asked prudently, “Lord Supreme, what will I need to do as your disciple?”
Everybody became silent after hearing that.
The excited Diaz, was also in a daze. He looked at Su Ping. You still have concerns when a Celestial is willing to take you in?
The other Ascendants thought the same, as they were lost for words. They found the kid was truly unusual; even they felt tempted by such an opportunity.
After all, becoming Lord Supreme’s disciple would mean to gain access to the top secret techniques in the Ascendant State!
Lord Supreme seemed to have noticed Su Ping’s concerns. He thoughtfully said with a smile, “All you need to do is cultivate; I won’t impose many restrictions on you.”
Su Ping thought for a moment, realizing that he had to accept it after hearing such conditions.
He felt that it would look too weird if he rejected the offer.