Chapter 178: The Chains of Han Mountain
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"It’s Puqiang Tribe!"
"He didn’t choose Lake of Colors or Tranquil East, but Puqiang!"
"Puqiang Tribe has always been mysterious, and there are few who challenge the Chain of this mountain. Why did he choose that mountain? Lake of Colors and Tranquil East had clearly shown their willingness to receive him just now. Only Puqiang remained indifferent, and they were even in conflict earlier!"
As Su Ming moved forward, the entire Han Mountain City burst into an uproar. Almost everyone talked about it. They could not understand his actions.
By right, all the mountains that were connected to the Chains of Han Mountain were the same. Freezing Sky Clan did not designate a certain mountain for the challengers for when they chose disciples.
If it was anyone else, they would not choose Puqiang Tribe over Tranquil East Tribe, who sent their Chief of War over, or Lake of Colors Tribe, who had been the first to send their plate! The two of them were even in conflict just now, especially when the bell chime broke the fog protecting their mountain.
Not only did the crowd not manage to wrap their heads around it, even Nan Tian and the other three Transcended Berserkers were baffled when they saw Su Ming’s actions. Nan Tian looked at Su Ming’s figure at the summit. He could not understand why he would make such a choice.
Only Xuan Lun’s pupils shrank. He was a guest in Puqiang to begin with and was incredibly familiar with the tribe. So even though he might no longer be a guest, the friendship they had formed over the years was still around. When he saw Su Ming’s decision, he had no idea why, but his heart lurched.
‘He must have another plan!’
Xuan Lun narrowed his eyes and stared at Su Ming standing at the summit without a word.
Lake of Colors Tribe and Tranquil East Tribe were also puzzled. The Elder and the rest of the people in Tranquil East Tribe stood at the top of their mountains and looked at Han Mountain. When they saw Su Ming moving towards Puqiang’s Chain, the tribe leader of Tranquil East Tribe, Fang Shen, frowned.
A glint flashed through the Elder’s eyes before he spoke slowly."Kindred Mo seems to have another goal besides obtaining the right to enter Freezing Sky Clan…"
On Lake of Colors Mountain, a piercing glare came from the originally exhausted Elder. She looked at Han Mountain with a pensive look on her face.
Beside her, Yan Luan also frowned.
"We can give him everything that Puqiang can provide… but he still chose Puqiang. This person has a goal and has made preparations for it. He must have made his decision before he challenged the Chains of Han Mountain. His goal is not Han Mountain Bell, but… Puqiang!" the old woman said in a hoarse voice.
The light in her eyes became brighter.
The old woman fell silent for a moment before she mumbled uncertainly, "The only thing we can’t provide is the aura of death that Puqiang gathers with their unique Berserker Art…"
Puqiang Tribe was even more shocked by this compared to Tranquil East Tribe and Lake of Colors Tribe’s bewilderment. Almost at the moment Su Ming chose the Chain to Puqiang Tribe, a strange glint appeared in the eyes of the skeletal old man sitting cross-legged at the summit of Puqiang Mountain.
Seven to eight people sat behind him. There were even people rushing to him quickly from below the summit.
"Elder…" someone spoke hesitantly in a low voice beside the old man who looked like a skeleton.
"No matter. I’d like to see whether this person can make it here," Puqiang Tribe’s Elder said calmly, touching the bone bracelet on his right wrist with bright eyes as he stared at Han Mountain in the distance.
Right at the moment Su Ming’s right foot stepped on the swaying Chain battered by the rain connecting to Puqiang Mountain, muffled booms reverberated through the air and covered all voices from the people in Han Mountain like muffled rumbles of thunder. The earth also trembled as if it was shaking. Eight giant pillars of 100 feet thickness rose up from the canyon underneath the Chain.
The eight giant stone pillars, decorated by cracks and numerous green plants, rose up from the canyons with rumbling sounds and immediately supported the swaying Chain whilst dividing it into nine sections!
As the eight stone pillars rose up, dust clouds soared up from within the canyon, but the moment they appeared, they were immediately washed away by the storm. Thunder rumbled in the sky like it was showing its might.
Each of the nine sections of the Chain were very long. They connected with each other, forming a bridge-like chain path between Han Mountain and Puqiang Mountain!
Rain continued washing down the Chain, causing it to look incredibly drenched. If it was a normal person on top, they would perhaps not dare to take even a single step. Even if they did take that step, they would still fall to their deaths due to carelessness.
The loose and swaying Chain not only brought danger to a person’s body, but also shock to the soul. People would feel as if the canyon was right before their eyes and they would retreat instinctively. Even if someone pushed them from behind, they would still struggle to move backwards.
This sort of shock to the soul was hard to bear even for people who claimed to have strong willpower.
Su Ming’s right foot landed on the Chain, but it did not stop swaying because his foot landed on it. It continued swinging in the storm, causing his right foot to sway along with it.
Su Ming had an incredibly solemn look on his face. He had never underestimated the Chains of Han Mountain. The slippery feel was even clearer when he stepped on the Chain, and it was difficult for him to stand firmly.
‘No wonder He Feng always took a few steps in one go at that time, even if he stopped, he would wait until he was steady on his feet before he…’
Su Ming was not the only one serious. At that moment, almost all of the people in Han Mountain City were the same. They looked at the figure in the rain and looked at the swaying Chain underneath his foot. They could not help the nervousness growing within them.
"Just how far… can a person who struck the bell 20 something times go?"
"He chose the wrong time. The Chains of Han Mountain are much more difficult in the rain."
"It’s not a problem of timing. It’ll continue raining in this season. No matter which day he chooses, it’d still be the same."
The sounds of discussions gradually grew louder as the people’s breathing quickened.
Su Ming could not hear any of it. He lifted his left foot, and the moment he steadied his right foot, he took a step forward.
This step might have seemed small, but it meant that both Su Ming’s feet had left the ground and left Han Mountain. At that moment, it could be said that his entire being was standing on the Chains of Han Mountain!
The mountain gust whistled in the air and blew past Su Ming’s body as if it wanted to push him off the Chain. It caused Su Ming’s robes to flutter and made the Chain sway even more.
Even breathing was difficult in this windstorm. Su Ming lifted his head and looked at Puqiang Mountain located in the distance. Even his vision started swaying as he stood on the Chain.
‘If that’s the case, it’s not really that difficult.’
A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes and he stood straight before he moved forward. Each step he took landed squarely on the swaying Chain. No matter how much the Chain moved, it would seemingly move under his feet on its own to allow him to step on it.
He moved forward steadily. Gradually, half of the first section of the Chain was traversed. 2,000 feet away from him was a pillar of 100 feet that symbolized the end of the Chain’s first section.
The people in Han Mountain City were all staring at Su Ming with utmost attention as he traversed half of the first section in midair, walking towards the first stone pillar.
"We might not be able to see his face, but his footsteps are very stable. The first section shouldn’t be much of a problem for him."
"That’s right. But there’re nine sections to the Chains of Han Mountain. The farther you go, the stranger the Chain will be, or else it wouldn’t be so famous, neither would it be used as the test for Freezing Sky Clan to choose their disciples."
"I wonder how many sections this person will manage to conquer…"
The sounds of discussion gradually calmed down and numerous pairs of eyes focused on Su Ming’s body up above. It was not just the people of Han Mountain, the tribe members and leaders of the three tribes were also looking at him. Due to Su Ming’s appearance, the day where morning had passed by in the rain became different.
Su Ming completed the first section of the Chain with a nonplussed attitude. When he was at the end of the first section and was about to land on the first stone pillar, he suddenly trembled.
The moment he trembled, his body started swaying. The sudden scene immediately made all the people gathered below cry out in surprise.
"This… This is just the first section, and he can no longer handle it?"
"Impossible! He made the bell chime 20 something times, how could he not be able to handle the first section?!"
"That’s impossible, unless…"
Cries of surprise rose and turned into an uproar in an instant.
Even the people from Lake of Colors Tribe and Tranquil East Tribe had their full attention immediately captured by what they just saw.
A glint appeared in Yan Luan’s eyes and she spat out coldly, "Cur!"
The old woman by her side did not speak. Instead, she looked towards Puqiang Mountain.
On the summit of Tranquil East Tribe, the Elder of Tranquil East also cast a profound gaze towards Puqiang Mountain. He smiled faintly and did not speak. However, behind him, a piercing glare appeared in Fang Shen’s eyes.
"Since when did Puqiang become so petty?"
There were dozens of people sitting on Puqiang Mountain. The Elder sat at the top amongst those people, and they were all silent.
"Give me a reason," the Elder of Puqiang Tribe said languidly.
Su Ming lifted his head swiftly. At the moment his foot landed, a strong wave of power instantly appeared from the chain and surged into his body from his right foot without warning. That power was filled with the aura of death, as if it wanted to freeze his Qi. However, Su Ming had already obtained 979 blood veins. It would be difficult to freeze his Qi even for a normal Transcended Berserker!
He let out a cold harrumph. He did not lift his right foot, simply taking another step on the Chain with his left foot. At the same moment, the full force of all the Qi from the 979 blood veins in his body spread out abruptly and fused into the Chain, crashing into the incessant waves that kept charging towards from him hundreds of feet away.
The first stone pillar was in between the two waves of power. The stone pillar shuddered and a large amount of debris fell off, but the pillar stood tall and did not fall.
Su Ming noticed it before. There was a strange force on the pillar that strengthened it. This force was rather familiar to him. It was the presence of Han Mountain’s ancestor.
Even if the presence was faint, and even if Han Mountain’s ancestor had died, but the presence that was left behind on the pillar could still make sure it did not shatter.
The two forces of power crashed into each other and formed a muffled sound that was covered by the rumbling thunder, causing the other people to be unable to hear it clearly. On Puqiang Mountain, a middle aged man shuddered among the dozens of people sitting on the summit. Blood flowed down the corners of his mouth and he looked at the Elder of Puqiang Tribe.
"He touched the treasure left behind by Sir Si Ma in this place. Sir Si Ma may not think it’s worth it to be bothered by the likes of someone like him, but he has committed an offense and must be punished!"
"You bit off more than you can chew…" the Elder of Puqiang Tribe said calmly.