Chapter 53 – The Secret of the Six Numbers
The hundreds of people on the plaza stood staring at the nine statues, on each and every single one of them the rankings were the same, as the watched, the plaza buzzed with the voices of their discussion.
Occasionally there would be people’s names which shot up to everyone’s excitement, then there were also people’s names which fell which earned them the crowd’s pity.
The festival in the Feng Zhen Tribe can already be sidelined by this test, where most people’s attention lied. The hundreds of people here were not necessarily just the people of the Feng Zhen Tribe, there were also many people of the other tribes, in fact it can be said that the visiting people of the nearby tribes were all gathered here.
They would also bring the rankings of these three tests back to their own tribes to let everyone know about them.
This practice had been the same for all the previous years as well.
As time passed, the first placed Ye Wang had already reached the three hundred and forty-fifth step, as he gradually started to slow down.
Following behind was Chen Chong who managed to walked up to the hundred and eighty-ninth step, while Wu Sen who many expected to do extremely well somehow ended up at the ninth position, only able to reach the hundred and twenty-seventh step so far.
Rather the person called Bi Su gotten the attention of the crowed as he somehow had managed to get third place at the hundred and eighty-eighth position.
“Who on earth is this Bi Su, he is so talented!! This is is first time in this test yet is already blazing ahead!!”
“This is really going to be interesting, it has been such a long time since an outsider reached the top ten positions, in fact it has also been a long time since an outsider even reached the top thirty.”
Under the crowds discussion, the Hei Shan Tribe Patriarch stared at the rankings of the nearby statue, revealing a content smile, before sweeping his gaze towards the Wu Shan Tribesman.
At the Wu Shan Tribe’s area, Shan Hen sat cross-legged, his eyes closed as if he was not interested in the rankings at all, while the Marksman’s brows were furrowed with anxiety.
He gazed at the rankings on the statues, seeing the ranked fifty-seventh Bei Ling, and the ranked seventy-third Lei Chen as well as the ranked ninety-first Wu La.
The Wu Long Tribe’s old lady as well as a few other tribesmen were also watching attentively, their expression not changing much, as the tribal leaders they were all able to hide their emotions well. Unless there was too huge an upset, their emotions will rarely be shaken. As for the Wu Shan Tribe’s Marksman, if it was not for Bei Ling, his expression would not be that anxious.
In contrast to the atmosphere at the plaza, the people currently on the many small paths participation in this test all felt as if they were alone on this mountain.
That thick mist constantly obscuring their vision, and the vision of the people outside, even the Feng Zhen Tribe Mán-Elder would not be able to see through this sealing mist, to the incidents happening inside, he is unable to make any proper judgement.
But this test was also not filled with danger, after all, such a test had already been carried out many times.
Bai Ling bit her lower lip as sweat rolled down her forehead, as she progressed upwards, the steps in front of her continued onward with no end in sight, making the person walking on it lose track of their perception, in addition to the growing pressure made them all feel rejected as if there were countless voices telling them to give up.
Not far from Bai Ling, Lei Chen was constantly growling, his hide shirt ripped up revealing his strong muscular upper body which was covered with beads of sweat, making his tired expression all the more ferocious as he advanced step by step looking like a frenzied mad man.
Further in the distance, Bei Ling’s face was pale, these days he had sacrificed too much blood to Wu Sen, making his body weak, according to their agreement he was going to receive some of Wu Sen’s Mán-Blood for the third test, but currently he was very distraught as he was unsure if the agreement was going to proceed as normal.
Gritting his teeth, Bei Ling did not want to completely be defeated, so step by step he advanced carrying with him all the pride of the Wu Shan Tribe.
Compared to their difficulties, the genius of the Feng Zhen Tribe dressed in red had a much more normal expression, with his hands by his back, he advanced step by step unhurriedly, this was after all not his first time on this path, rather it was the third.
He could still clearly remember, previously he had managed to reach past the eight-hundredth step, this time, his aim was the nine-hundredth step.
“Grandpa once said, this mountain looks very tall but there are only nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, this was constructed by some strange power which was even able to change how the world works.
Where you are able to reach also signifies the number of blood veins you will finally be able to achieve.”
“Next time I must eat less, sigh, I must eat less……” On a path behind Ye Wang, Chen Chong breathed heavily as he muttered, as he walked up, his excess baggage seemed to shake with him as he climbed. His gaze staring at the tablet in his hands, by focusing he was able to see the rankings of the people from it as well, as such he knew that there was a person called Bi Su following closely behind him.
In a distance, that Hei Shan Tribesman, the mysterious youth in black’s expression was as usual, where he was right now was still very relaxing for him.
“This is my first time here, I am not here to lose, since I came, even if it was that Wu Sen or that Chen Chong or even that Ye Wang, they will all eat my dust!
This time, I will let everyone know that I, Bi Su, am the one true genius in these lands!!” That youth with half his face obscured had his eyes burning with a certain fanaticism.
Compared to these people, the current Su Ming had already been left far in the back, he had advanced very slowly, currently he was only at the thirty-second step.
At the thirty second step, Su Ming actually did not continue forwards, rather he lowered his head in deep thought as he gazed at the step before him, as something seemed to flash in his eyes.
“Grandpa told me about the six numbers…… the first number was thirty-two…… could it be he was talking about this thirty-second step!” Su Ming slowly raised his feet towards the thirty third step, after landing on it he did not feel anything different, the pressure seemed to be the same.
“There was nothing special ah…… it felt the same……” Su Ming’s brow furrowed as he walked onto the thirty-fourth step, the moment his feet descended he instantly felt his body tremble.
“The same…… the same…… no!” Closing his eyes, his right feet landing on the thirty-fourth step, carefully feeling the increase in pressure.
Blinking his eyes a few times, he quickly walked back to the thirty-first step, lifting his feet and stepping onto the thirty second-step then the thirty-third step, understanding flashed in his eyes as he let out a deep breath.
“So it’s actually like this, from the thirty-first to the thirty-third step there would be an increase in pressure, but this thirty second step is strange, standing here, regardless of whether I advance or retreat, the pressure seemed to be the same, as if…… this thirty-second step did not exist, even if this thirty-second step did not exist, everything would have been the same.”
After thinking awhile, Su Ming did not continue advancing, rather he stopped and sat down cross-legged on this thirty second step, feeling the two different pressures surrounding this step, as he was feeling uncomfortable, forty plus blood veins surfaced on his body.
When these blood veins appeared, the pressure on Su Ming’s body instantly reduced greatly, such that it practically completely disappeared, making it very hard to detect.
“On this mountain, on every step I can feel two different pressures, one from above, one from below…… only on this thirty-second step do the two forces reach an equilibrium…… the six numbers Grandpa told me about, should definitely refer to the six placed on this mountain like this!”
“Perhaps, this is his secret from his experience when he participated in this Feng Zhen Tribe’s test in the past……” Su Ming sat cross-legged slowly closing his eyes, circulating his blood qi, only after some time passed did Su Ming open his eyes as he furrowed his brows.
He did not feel the slightest benefit, even when he circulated his blood qi, it felt the same, as if nothing had changed.
As he pondered, Su Ming could not figure it out. Only he was sure that Grandpa did not tell him those words for nothing, there must be some undiscovered secret here.
But…… Su Ming scratched his head, since he was young, Grandpa always like to let Su Ming figure things out by himself, if he got it then that’s good, even if if he didn’t Grandpa would rarely give him an answer.
After thinking for awhile more, Su Ming sighed, looking at the forty-nine blood veins on his body, their presence made the pressure he faced seem completely negligible.
“This Grandpa……. Just telling me directly would have been fine……sigh, just what secret lies here……” Su Ming unwilling to give up, continued sitting there in deep thought.
“Pressure…… two different pressures……. Originally could have been felt here, but sitting here under the pressure, the blood would naturally circulate faster, naturally countering the pressure once the blood veins appeared……this……” Su Ming’s mind suddenly flashed with ideas, but somehow felt that he was still lacking something.
His eyes widened as he took a deep breath, gazing at the forty-nine blood veins on his body.
“Could it be the secret behind Grandpa’s words is the method to control the blood veins of the body, letting them appear and disappear one by one…… by using the difference in forces here which do not exist outside to do something that could not be originally done……” Su Ming’s body trembled.
“The purpose of this would be to improve the flexibility and control of my blood veins, such that in one punch I would be able to control the amount of blood veins used allowing me to strike with sufficient strength while not wasting any excess force……” Su Ming bit his lips and shut his eyes, slowly he tried to control the blood veins on his body, making them slowly fade away, not all at a time but rather one at a time.