Chapter Seventeen: The Secret at the Summit

Zhou Yi’s consciousness returned to himself, his body trembling even more violently. His senses blurred, and waves of pain crashed over him, one after another. If it weren’t for the present moment, he would hardly believe he could endure such agony for so long.

“Yi, you’re awake!” Before Zhou Yi could let his mind wander, a voice filled with delight rang out from behind him.

Zhou Yi turned his dazed eyes and could vaguely make out Song Hai’s lively figure, especially striking in contrast to his own current battered state. Genius truly is genius; in such a short time, Song Hai had adapted to this new environment, evolving from near death to vibrant vitality.

Zhou Yi had no energy left to complain—he needed to conserve his strength and wait for the final act.

He silently turned his head and pressed onward.

...

“Wait a minute, why is the one behind now doing better than the one ahead?” On the cliff above, someone frowned as they watched Zhou Yi and Song Hai’s progress.

Earlier, it had been clear: the child in front was dragging the one behind, and the one leading seemed in better shape. At the very least, the leading child was pulling the other along.

But now, in such a brief span, the situation had reversed. The child in front still looked on the verge of collapse, while the one behind seemed fully revived, as if he had completely adapted to the third stage of the pass.

“What on earth is going on?”

Everyone was puzzled, unable to make sense of what they were seeing.

The sect leader also frowned, gazing intently at Zhou Yi and Song Hai below. After a long silence, as if recalling something, he explained in a low voice, “According to the records, only two types of people can make it to the third stage of the pass.”

“What two types?” The crowd was stunned, then hurriedly asked.

“One is the gifted type,” the sect leader narrowed his eyes in thought, continuing, “Such people, once they survive the initial test, immediately adapt to the environment of the pass and obtain the great treasure hidden within.”

“In the first stage, the wind is filled with blades, containing boundless blade energy, and within that energy, a blade technique is concealed.”

“What blade technique?”

“The Mountain Reliance Blade.”

“How can that be?”

“How is that possible?”

The crowd was shocked. The Mountain Reliance Blade Sect was named after this very technique. The Mountain Reliance Blade was the sect’s signature technique, reserved by tradition only for the most outstanding true disciples. Other disciples, those not at the true disciple level, generally learned other martial arts.

If martial arts were ranked, the Mountain Reliance Blade would undoubtedly be at the absolute pinnacle.

“So, does this mean they’ve already learned the Mountain Reliance Blade?”

The crowd exchanged strange looks; some even showed traces of envy in their eyes. That was the Mountain Reliance Blade! Among them, even at the highest levels of the sect, a portion had never mastered it.

Yet now, someone was telling them that the two struggling children below, barely eleven or twelve years old, had already acquired it! It was impossible not to feel shocked, envious, and even jealous.

As the absolute elite of the Mountain Reliance Blade Sect, their strength was top-tier in the martial world—no need to elaborate. Within the sect, aside from the leader, only five of the twelve elders had mastered the Mountain Reliance Blade; the remaining seven were not qualified and had learned other martial arts.

Moreover, even the five who had mastered it had endured countless trials and tribulations to do so. Their experiences could fill a book—a tale woven with blood and tears!

Why?

It was not about character, but mostly about unwillingness to accept it. This question arose in everyone’s mind: Why?

The sect leader’s eyes never left Zhou Yi and Song Hai, a dark glint flickering in his pupils. “The third stage of the pass is filled with immense gravity and endless blade wind. Survive its trials, and one can obtain the hidden treasure—physical strengthening.”

...

“Physical strengthening?” Hearing the sect leader’s words, the crowd forgot their petty concerns and asked in confusion.

“In the records, the seven ancestors who traversed the pass all challenged the third stage. Though none completed it, even the least benefited ancestor attained physical strength seven times that of an ordinary person, while the most reached ten times!”

“What?”

Everyone was stunned. It was hardly surprising—after so many years in the martial world, they understood the importance of physical strength. While seven or ten times an ordinary person’s strength meant little to them now, for a child, especially one just eleven or twelve, it was momentous!

Greater physical strength meant many martial arts could be learned earlier, many secret training grounds could be entered. In this golden age of cultivation, to enter a secret realm ahead of time—what would that mean?

“So, our sect is finally about to produce two peerless experts?” The eldest elder, dressed in gray, stroked his beard and asked with a trembling voice.

“Perhaps not just that—even higher!” the sect leader answered gravely.

Cultivation in secret realms was crucial for any martial artist. Ages six to twenty-four marked the golden period of training; within this span, entering a secret realm for a year yielded results equal to three to ten years outside.

Yet entry was not easy; each secret realm had strict physical strength requirements.

Secret realms were divided into lower, middle, and upper grades. The lower realm, one year’s training equaled three outside; strength required—three times an ordinary person. Normally, reaching this level meant being fifteen to eighteen years old.

Middle realm, one year equaled five outside; strength required—five times an ordinary person. Normally, reaching this level meant being twenty to twenty-four years old.

Upper realm, one year equaled ten outside; strength required—ten times an ordinary person. Normally, reaching this level meant being twenty-eight or older.

Given the current situation, if Zhou Yi and Song Hai emerge from the pass, their physical strength may already meet the requirements for entering a secret realm—perhaps even directly entering the upper grade.

They now appeared to be only eleven or twelve; with twenty-two or twenty-three years left in their golden cultivation period—at minimum, twenty-two years.

If they entered the lower realm after emerging, twenty-two years times three equals sixty-six years of normal training; middle realm, twenty-two times five—one hundred and ten years; upper realm, twenty-two times ten—two hundred and twenty years!

Two hundred and twenty years—what an astonishing prospect!