Chapter 79: Chapter 78 Su Nan: This is my son?
"Who is... that?"
Fang Yi was momentarily stunned as he watched the figure departing ahead.
He already had an answer in his heart, but found it hard to believe.
"It’s him..."
The calm on Zhou Yu’s face disappeared, and he stared in the direction where even the silhouette was no longer visible.
Among the ranks of top prodigies, there was only one clad in rough hemp clothing, unmistakable.
But...
"Why is it so fast?"
Both Zhou Yu and Fang Yi fell silent.
On this Celestial Jade Stairway, the cultivation is forbidden; what matters first is one’s mastery of techniques.
On their stairway, almost no one practiced secret skills below the Celestial Rank.
Therefore, unless one hadn’t practiced step skills, the speed difference wouldn’t be significant.
But what was going on with Su Changqing?
Born last, he suddenly charged to the top, leaving them unable to even see his shadow!
What astonishing secret skill had Su Changqing mastered?
Zhou Yu looked at the footprints left by Su Changqing when he departed and examined them closely.
The footprints emitted a faint glow, imbued with everlasting Dao essence, with tiny lines combining in mystical ways.
A gleam flashed in Zhou Yu’s eyes as he looked more closely.
Yet he only observed for a moment before his vision blurred, and his mind became chaotic.
"This..." Zhou Yu was astounded.
This situation could only have one explanation—the Dao essence condensed on the footprints far exceeded his level.
He couldn’t even begin to comprehend it.
"Huff huff huff..."
Just as Zhou Yu and Fang Yi were dazed, another figure swiftly approached from behind.
Dressed in a robe, panting heavily, his eyes still showed remnants of astonishment.
"I won’t believe I can’t catch up to you!"
Xuan Qingzi murmured lightly, his fingertips flashing light as he rapidly carved through the void.
"By command of the decree! Go!"
Whoosh!
Out of his hand, a phantom of a dozen talismans appeared in a flash.
These talismans fused swiftly, imprinting instantly upon Xuan Qingzi.
"Speed!"
Xuan Qingzi formed a seal with his fingers, and his body shot out like a gale.
His speed was not much slower than Su Changqing’s just now.
He had no choice; Su Changqing was his benefactor, and he needed to score similarly to Su Changqing.
To catch up to Su Changqing, Xuan Qingzi put in all his effort.
"Condense talismans in the void, a dozen at once."
"Is this the loose cultivator you mentioned?"
Fang Yi’s mouth twitched slightly as he glanced at Zhou Yu beside him.
"He..."
Zhou Yu hesitated; he remembered Xuan Qingzi mentioning that his sect had fallen, leaving only him—both Sect Leader and disciple.
But he didn’t realize such a fallen sect could still produce such a formidable prodigy?
...
At the front, Su Changqing had no idea what was happening behind.
At this moment, he was wholly immersed in the mysterious Buddhist scriptures.
Countless Dao lines emerged from his mind, filling his heart with profound insights.
Though his eyes were tightly shut, his surroundings seemed to sparkle with numerous light dots.
Those light dots were neatly arranged; every time he stepped on one, he would immediately appear on another in the distance.
And each time this happened, in the outside world, he merely took a light step, and everything in front of him would retreat wildly.
As if for his advancement, the heavens and earth would suddenly diminish, traversed in a single step.
That terrifying speed allowed him to surpass one person after another.
And every prodigy Su Changqing overtook stood frozen, staring at the quickly vanishing silhouette, dumbfounded.
"Who is that? How can he be so fast!"
"Are you kidding me? My middle-tier Celestial Divine Step can’t even glimpse his silhouette?"
"This... must have used cultivation? Can ’technique’ alone achieve such speed?"
These top prodigies on the Celestial Path felt devastated one by one.
They were supposed to be the most elite geniuses selected from the Southern Domain, yet couldn’t even glimpse the other’s silhouette?
This vast gap almost made them think they were interlopers among the top prodigies.
"Damn! I won’t believe I can’t catch up to you!"
To become a top prodigy, who would willingly lag behind others?
They were confident that their performance would surely be excellent, but this had transcended mere performance.
Now they aimed to surpass Su Changqing ahead!
However, even when they pushed their speed to the limit, the silhouette ahead only receded further.
...
Below.
As Su Changqing suddenly accelerated, the other prodigies on both sides were all stunned.
In their sight, Su Changqing, initially at the back, suddenly exploded forward, surpassing one group of prodigies after another.
Finally, he charged to the top at an incredible speed.
They were now distant from the top prodigies, but compared to Su Changqing, they were already on a completely different level.
This immense gap made these self-proclaimed prodigies cry out in despair.
"Is it fake? We’re all prodigies here, how is he so fast?"
"Is the Celestial Rank Step Skill Secret Skill I practiced a counterfeit? Why is the difference so great!"
"Even top prodigies can’t glimpse his silhouette? What are we even competing for..."
Several tens of thousands of prodigies gazed up at the sky, and at the forefront, a youth clad in coarse hemp ascended the Celestial Path!
That terrifying speed left these ordinary prodigies nearly at their breaking point.
If one could employ cultivation, such speed would be nothing.
But the issue was, everyone’s cultivation was suppressed, leaving only their mortal bodies!
To unleash such speed with a mortal body, how deep must one’s understanding of ’technique’ be?
This was only the first challenge, but everyone remembered the youth with humble attire.
Meanwhile.
On the peak platform, Butler Fu was also astounded.
According to Su Nan, Su Changqing had never learned cultivation techniques, and was entirely unfamiliar with secret skills.
But what was this situation?
Crushing the top prodigies all the way and seizing the top position on the Celestial Path?
Is this what it means never learning secret techniques?
"Su Domain Master... so unassuming."
Recalling the innate secret skill Su Changqing once used at the ruins, Butler Fu couldn’t help but sigh.
And seeing Zhou Yu and Fang Yi’s Guardians beside him, he spoke frankly:
"Indeed... the gap is quite large, and you really can’t see even his silhouette."
"You have quite a sense of reality regarding your masters."
Butler Fu didn’t say much.
Nonetheless, the faces of the two Guardians still turned red in embarrassment.
Seeing the stares of the people around, they awkwardly wished they could find somewhere to hide.
At this point, they couldn’t even manage a rebuttal.
Because indeed... the gap was far too large.
...
And amid the crowd’s lively discussion.
Above the sky, Su Nan and Wu Jiuling, engaged in idle talk, hadn’t noticed what was happening below.
They were still discussing how they would comfort Su Changqing later.
"I’ve never comforted anyone either; how should we say it in a moment?"
Wu Jiuling pondered privately, while Su Nan, hearing the commotion from below, glanced down.
But upon seeing that familiar silhouette at the forefront of the Celestial Path, he was utterly stunned.
"Is that... is that Chang Qing?"
Su Nan always believed Su Changqing had never practiced any techniques.
Yet now, seeing his son making a mark with each step, traversing heaven and earth, it felt like a bolt from the blue!
A storm of disbelief raged in his heart!