Chapter 246

Chapter 246: Breaking the Record

A light breeze drifted by.

The mountains trembled.

Li Shuang stood on the summit. Flowers and grass swayed, birds and beasts cried out. The sixth mountain still stood silent, yet it somehow felt as if it were lifting her up.

Li Shuang had officially cleared the sixth mountain.

But after her spirit surged for a while, it settled at Peak Divine Transformation. She did not take that last step.

No one thought Li Shuang failed to enter the Integration Stage. They saw it clearly: at the end, she chose to give up stepping into the Integration Stage.

Why give it up? The reason was plain.

Real geniuses aim higher. If she entered the Integration Stage now, she would gain only the power of one mountain. Simply put, the Integration Stage lets a cultivator merge with heaven and earth and command nature, but only within the range of a single mountain.

For most people, breaking through at all would be great.

For a peerless genius, it is not enough.

If you build deeper between stages, then when you enter the Integration Stage, heaven and earth grant you more.

It was clear she wanted a thicker foundation first, then a single, decisive breakthrough. That kind of plan takes the boldness and confidence only true prodigies have.

Ancestor Xuan Wei looked at Li Shuang on the sixth peak and had one thought: [It’s over.] At only thirty five, Li Shuang had cleared the sixth mountain. This even broke a record of the Great Dao Mountain.

From today on, Li Shuang would be famous. She would soon learn that the favor of one Tribulation Crossing Stage expert like Ancestor Xuan Wei was not a big deal. One Super Sect after another would send invitations.

And what Super Sect lacks Tribulation Crossing Stage experts? If those experts arrived and found that Li Shuang also held a Supreme Spiritual Root, how fierce would the contest become? Ancestor Xuan Wei did not dare imagine it.

The man behind Ancestor Xuan Wei was shocked too. He had not understood why the Ancestor suddenly wanted to accept a Direct Disciple. Now he knew that the Ancestor’s eye was not something a small fry like him could compare to. She must have seen early that Li Shuang had unmatched talent in the Great Dao.

Devil Heaven Sect.

You Lan sat calmly, sipping tea. Across from her, a black robed cultivator with white hair and beard smiled at her: “At this Golden Soul Altar, you will surely be first again. Why work so hard? Relax, relax, you should rest once in a while.” He took another sip.

You Lan lifted her eyes and spoke in a steady voice: “Master, I have kept you company for six hours. I really should go train.”

First on the Genius Ranking? First on the Golden Soul List? That had never been her goal. In this world, geniuses are as many as fish in a river, but the only person she aimed to surpass was herself. Even those Tribulation Crossing Stage experts were just targets to pass.

Her master teased her: “In such a hurry? Is it because of that Li?”

You Lan paused: “Li?” The name sounded familiar. In the next moment she pulled it from the sea of memories, then showed a helpless smile: “What does she have to do with me?”

The Elder chuckled: “You still do not know? In two years she jumped from Golden Core Stage to Divine Transformation Stage, and now she is trying the Sixth Peak of the Great Dao Mountain. If she passes, she will be the youngest to do it. Then many will say her talent beats yours.”

You Lan let out a small laugh: “Master, do not joke with me. The sixth mountain is not so easy.” She had cleared the first five with little trouble, but the sixth cost her decades of patient grinding.

Besides, the age record for the sixth mountain was set ten thousand years ago by a peerless genius at forty two. Moving it forward by seven years? That was a joke.

The Elder laughed too: “All right, I am teasing you. Otherwise, you are so young yet keep such a straight face. It looks too gloomy.”

You Lan finished her last sip of tea and stood: “Master, I really must train.”

“Go, go,” said the Elder with a wave.

You Lan bowed and turned to leave.

But just as she turned, her master suddenly cried out in shock: “What? Li passed?!”

You Lan sighed and turned back: “Master, you are doing it again. Can you not…” All at once, her eyes tightened. She realized her unreliable master was not joking. He held a Communication Token, his face stunned. The next second, he projected a Water Screen.

You Lan stared at the Water Screen. Inside was Li Shuang, climbing step by step toward the summit. At first Li Shuang struggled, and You Lan almost decided she would fail again. But after a long silence, Li Shuang seemed to grasp some trick and sped up, climbing faster and faster.

You Lan rushed closer, eyes wide as she locked onto the Water Screen. The Elder froze for a beat and felt a strange sigh in his heart.

This disciple of his had a Peerless-grade Spiritual Root and a firm heart for the Dao. Her path had been smooth, and after he took her in, she advanced even faster. Soon she became the Genius Ranking champion.

That position never changed hands again.

You Lan was confident. You Lan was proud. Even her own master was only a goal to pass. But now, in her lofty eyes, he saw a trace of panic: [She feels threatened.]

On the Water Screen, Li Shuang moved quicker and quicker until she reached the top. Before stepping onto the peak, she even gave up a chance to enter the Integration Stage. You Lan watched, her face turning cold. She too had not entered the Integration Stage right away back then, and now Li Shuang made the same choice. That was not strange. Any genius with true confidence would choose this.

But as Li Shuang stood at the top, the record for the sixth part of the Great Dao moved seven years earlier in one breath. If you ignored raw cultivation, Li Shuang’s insight into the Great Dao was already keeping pace with You Lan. How could that be?

You Lan’s face grew darker. The air around her shaped a small hurricane.