Chapter 381 Collective Effort
A whistle came from behind and Mira turned her head, it came from one of her minders who pointed to their left.
A single youth was gaining on their group, he had left the other members of his castle behind and was going solo. Judging from his movement, this must be a genius with a Spirit Body.
It was impressive enough in this batch that there were three candidates with Spirit Bodies, and it was an especially great stroke of luck that Andar and Mira found themselves in the same castle.
The youth did not push the extra distance that Andar and the team were going for, instead having reached the minimum distance to reach the Heavenly Fate Meditation Art, he began tearing his way through the cloud and he disappeared from sight.
Mira looked at Andar with a frown and he smiled, "If you want to go fast, act alone, if you would like to go far…"
"Zip it, crow mouth, your words of wisdom are getting on my nerves." Mira shot back and increased her pace once more, and the rest of the team struggled to catch up.
You could picture this cloud to be in the shape of a funnel, it was broader on top, but as you get lower to the base, it begins to reduce until it falls to a single point.
Andar's goal was to get as close to the middle as possible, so they could penetrate straight down to the base of the cloud in one go, in that manner he would reach the hand of the Chained god.
It was not just because of the Supreme Meditation Art, which his main body would find very valuable and may be able to use in a way that may defy all understanding, his main body was also interested in this hand, for there was a soul inside it.
Reaching their destination, Mira and Andar stopped and the rest of the team passed them by and gathered in a circle, with Andar and Mira at the center, Andar looked at Mira and as one they nodded, Mira's piercing blue eyes shined as she raised her right fist upwards, giving the signal to begin.
The clouds could hold a lot of weight, but there was a trick to getting through each layer, especially the topmost layers that held the Ordinary and Outstanding Meditation Arts.
Half of the candidates jumped, and while they were in the air, the other half also jumped. The moment the first candidates landed the clouds began to vibrate, before it could settle the other candidates also landed, and the grounds caved beneath them, bringing all 300 candidates to the next layer. The cloud above them zipped close with a resounding snap, like an elastic band that was retracted after being pulled.
Mira breathed a sigh of relief, she was happy they were able to organize their castle's candidates to become the best at tackling the Trial ground, she knew it was the presence of her and Andar, two great Spirit Bodies working together in cooperation that led to such an occurrence.
She had no idea she could meet someone like this on the Trial Ground, and she began to wonder, what if both of them were capable of reaching the Supreme Meditation Art? Blowing away those silly thoughts from her head, she focused on the team, making sure everyone was in sync.
They reached the next layer and they repeated the same maneuver, with the only difference being that they had to do a three-pronged jump.
This trend continued until they had broken through seven layers of clouds, and by then all the candidates were exhausted. After the third layer, the clouds became increasingly harder, and every jump would bring a large wave of pain to their bodies.
They looked around them and saw the layer of cloud they were in was brown, and that meant the Meditation Arts that could be found here were at least at the Superb Grade.
Most of them collapsed in sheer exhaustion, but their immediate surroundings brought them incredible joy, and they all laughed in celebration.
There were seven levels to Meditation Arts, which were Ordinary, Outstanding, Superb, Legacy, Mythical, Heavenly Fate, and Supreme.
For candidates of their talents, it was almost certain they would have to pick an Ordinary Meditation Art, with the lucky few getting an Outstanding Meditation Art, and rarely would there be any case of them getting a Superb Meditation Art.
To push to this level, required both speed and power, and more importantly knowledge and cooperation. The combination of Andar and Mira gave them all these properties and now, each of them was like a leopard that had been given wings.
The knowledge of their incredible fortune made them all out in shock and happiness, although the charisma of Andar and Mira were high, some of them still thought that their plan would fail, but the results proved them wrong. "Limit! Breakers!…" Their cries were piercing, cutting away the pain and tiredness in their limbs.
Andar and Mira smiled, they had been able to save a bit of energy, reaching this place, as every single scrap of energy they could save along the way was essential, and now their true journey began.
Mira began rolling up her sleeves when they were interrupted by the candidates around them, who stood up and began to circle them.
They all had looks of resolve in their eyes as they picked themselves from the ground and surrounded Andar and Mira. "Limit! Breakers!…. Limit! Breakers!…"
With each loud cry they jumped, but the clouds below them were like hardwood and each collision brought them pain, but they continued. Mira's eyes were wide open in astonishment, with all the plans and projections she had placed down, none of them could account for what was happening now.
She had allocated every single bit of energy their bodies should be able to give without burning them out, and yet, they were all surprising her, they had all broken their limits.
With one last cry, a small circle broke beneath their feet and Andar and Mira slipped into it before it snapped shut.
They landed in the layer below, and the cloud now felt like concrete. Mira looked up a trace of astonishment still left in her eyes. She sighed and began to fold up her sleeves once more, "Were you aware that giving them a name would bring about such a performance?"