novelA Truly Demonic Obstacle
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....
As Fang Zhengzhi was mulling over his interpretation of the splash-ink painting in the Third Heaven, Sixth Elder and the other Heaven Dao disciples outside the Divine Rain Pond were going insane.
News of Fang Zhengzhi entering the Third Heaven had spread like wildfire.
"The Third Heaven?!"
"This scoundrel is that fast?"
"He's a demon!"
The Heaven Dao disciples were evidently speechless. In the beginning, everyone assumed that there wouldn't be any doubt about Chi Guyan's eventual victory over Fang Zhengzhi in this challenge. But now?
Fang Zhengzhi has demonstrated demonic levels of talent again and again - navigating out of the Jungle of Mysteries in less than an hour, deciphering the first Sagely Illustration with a single glance, then deciphering the second one in about half a minute, and has now ascended to the Third Heaven.
No one would believe his sheer speed if they hadn't witnessed it for themselves.
"Sixth Elder!" Suddenly, someone ran towards them from afar at top speed, swiftly arriving in front of Sixth Elder.
"Speak!" Sixth Elder's heart jumped.
"Senior Chi Guyan has already reached the Fifth Heaven!" The disciple spouted hastily.
"That's great, really great!" Upon hearing this, Sixth Elder looked as though he just slipped out of a tiger's jaws and regained his smile.
The Heaven Dao disciples crowding around him also heaved a sigh of relief. Although they had to admit what a freak Fang Zhengzhi was, his opponent this time round was Chi Guyan, who also possessed equally freakish abilities. And more importantly...
Chi Guyan had a head start over Fang Zhengzhi.
Perhaps Fang Zhengzhi was even stronger than they imagined, to a point where nobody could predict who would clinch the ultimate victory if both competitors entered the Nine Heavens at the same time. But under such circumstances, Chi Guyan couldn't possibly lose.
"One more thing, Yan Qing has also entered the Second Heaven!" The disciple blurted out after noticing Sixth Elder's temporary sense of relief.
"Eh? Yan Qing has entered the Second Heaven?" After hearing this, a faint tint of astonishment evidently flashed through Sixth Elder's eyes. But after a few seconds, he regained his composure."Hm, very well. Looks like Yan Qing's potential is even greater than I've imagined!"
With that, Sixth Elder's mind began devising a possible plan to take Yan Qing under his wing, since the latter has just recently entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion without officially acknowledging a master yet. After all, Yan Qing's reputation would grow by leaps and bounds after his time in the Divine Rain Pond.
The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples were evidently stunned after hearing the news of Yan Qing reaching the Second Heaven. To them, being mercilessly overtaken by a junior that just joined the Heaven Dao Pavilion a month ago was nothing to be'proud' of.
...
Fang Zhengzhi's robes were nowhere near pristine. To be fair, nobody's clothes would possibly be clean after running for their lives through a jungle for such a long distance. Although calling him'haggard' would be exaggerating, describing him as simply'sloppy' would be too kind.
There were numerous holes dotted across his blue robes, looking considerably tattered especially around his chest, as well a large tear ripped apart by a tree branch. This caused the Heart Protection Mirror to fade in and out of view.
At this moment, a ray of light flashed incessantly from the Heart Protection Mirror, looking as though there was something about to charge out of the surface.
It was truly a bizarre sight, but Fang Zhengzhi did not notice it in the slightest, concentrating solely on the scroll above his head, gazing at the splash-ink painting, agonizing over how to interpret and decipher the puzzle.
Time passed slowly.
Fang Zhengzhi's expression became less tense. He was not frantic - he knew that at times like this, the more frantic he was, the easier it would be for him to make a mistake.
In fact, in the past half a month... Fang Zhengzhi has perused the entire collection of books in the Heaven Dao Pavilion's Repository, and his theoretical knowledge was far greater than before, which was also the true reason why he could decipher the first Sagely Illustration with a single glance.
However, Fang Zhengzhi was unaware of this fact himself. Hence, he was indeed a little shocked when he heard the announcement of him advancing to the Second Heaven.
Of course, he has begun to understand what's going on now. In terms of theoretical knowledge, he was not weaker than any of his competitors. With a previous lifetime's worth of experience under his belt, combined with his hard work in this lifetime, and then'meditating' for a half a month in the Heaven Dao Pavilion's Repository, his wealth of knowledge would definitely be formidable.
Ink... Could it be water?
Drops of water can form an ocean. A sprout can grow into a huge tree. If the splashes of ink... represent water, then the third illustration should represent the source of all life!
"Source!" Fang Zhengzhi's eyes lit up, and information related to the source of life began flashing speedily through his mind. One piece, two pieces, three pieces... countless pieces of information flickered in his mind.
And then, an incredibly imposing voice suddenly boomed from the horizon.
"Yan Qing has entered the Third Heaven!"
"Yan Qing has entered..."
".... ."
"Oh?" Fang Zhengzhi instinctively averted his gaze behind him. Very quickly, a figure appeared about five steps behind him. He wore dark green robes which also looked slightly tattered.
It was Yan Qing.
"I've finally caught up with you at the Third Heaven!" Yan Qing immediately noticed Fang Zhengzhi standing in front of him the moment he appeared the Third Heaven. Yan Qing was noticeably a little thrilled, his eyes glistened with light and his tan face flushed slightly red.
But then, another voice boomed, and another figure appeared to the left of Yan Qing.
Very evidently... although Heaven Dao disciples may not be able to decipher the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations at Fang Zhengzhi's insane speed, they were still prodigies of their own.
"Fang Zhengzhi, you're not bad! You actually reached the Third Heaven earlier than me, you should be proud!" The disciple who arrived in the Third Heaven glanced at Yan Qing, then turned his gaze back towards Fang Zhengzhi. His lips intuitively curled up into a smile, and he asked, "But although you beat me to the Third Heaven, I'll still reach the Fourth Heaven earlier than you!"
"Is this a challenge?" Upon hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi pursed his lips.
The Heaven Dao disciples loved competition, and Fang Zhengzhi was well aware of that. It's a very normal thing. After all, a true genius would definitely seek to surpass others. And this disciple in front of Fang Zhengzhi managed to inch his way above all his peers, a strong testament to his formidable strength and wealth of knowledge. Aiming to defeat Fang Zhengzhi was definitely a rational next step for him.
"Of course!" The disciple nodded.
"Since it's a challenge, we should lay down our bets, shouldn't we?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.
"Hm, you're right. What do you want to bet?" Upon hearing this, the disciple knew what Fang Zhengzhi was implying.
"Anything is fine. I'm in a hurry." Fang Zhengzhi gestured.
"Alright, I'll place my bottle of'Star Water' down as my bet. This bottle of'Star Water' is used when crafting elixirs, and can increase the purity of the final product!" The disciple did not beat around the bush, and immediately extracted a glass bottle with silver liquid from his waist
"Alright, for the sake of fairness, you should let Yan Qing hold the Star Water!" Fang Zhengzhi glanced at the bottle briefly before pointing at Yan Qing behind him.
"Fine!" The disciple nodded and passed the Star Water to Yan Qing, then turned his attention back to Fang Zhengzhi."What about you? What's your bet?"
"No need for that." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.
"What do you mean?" The disciple was confused.
"Because you've already lost." Fang Zhengzhi saved the trouble of explaining any further. He has already figured out the true meaning behind the third illustration when he was negotiating their wagers with the Heaven Dao disciple.
The source. It wasn't simply the origin of life; it represented the beginning and end of all life. It needed both the beginning and the end of life to create the full cycle. Birth, ageing, illness, death, were the most common sources - death is both the end and beginning of all life. It's the source.
"Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Fourth Heaven!" "Fang Zhengzhi has entered..."
"..."
The Heaven Dao disciple was astounded. After hearing the booming voice echo in his ears and gazing at Fang Zhengzhi who had vanished without a trace, chills ran up from his feet to the back of his head.
Demonic! That bastard is truly demonic!
If he still had a tinge of fighting spirit when he was first saw Fang Zhengzhi, he was now completely drained of the will to continue after witnessing this scene, no matter how much he wanted to surpass Fang Zhengzhi!
Yan Qing on the other hand was similarly speechless. As the top prodigy of his empire, he had not met a true'opponent' ever since he left the jungles.
Unlike many others who enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Yan Qing's true motive for coming here was not to train, nor to find a pillar of support in the Holy Region. He only wanted to find a purpose in his life.
He needed more'obstacles' in his path, as only these'obstacles' can give him the reason to continue living.
But now... this was the first time he was met with this long-awaited'obstacle'. And this'obstacle' in front of him... clearly exceeded his expectations. It was like a towering mountain that could not be scaled, so intimidating that he was slightly lost, unsure of what to do.
"Fang Zhengzhi!!!" Yan Qing clenched both his fists with great force. Every joint in his body suddenly began cracking continuously.
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