With this shout, the Ji family youths, already poised for action, shot forward like arrows aimed directly at the summit of Qingyan Mountain.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, the ones leading the charge were not the favored Ji Changsheng or Ji Changle, nor the prominent collateral branch youths, but the low-key Ji Yueqing!
With a sudden bound, Ji Yueqing planted a foot on a protruding stone, giving a mighty push, and soared upward gracefully, leaving all the Ji family disciples of the third generation far behind.
"Eh!"
Ji Yuxing let out a soft cry, his face full of pleasant surprise. He looked toward Ji Haoguang beside him and asked loudly, "Has that girl Yueqing broken through to the Two Energies Heaven Realm?"
Ji Haoguang beamed with pride, nodding with a smile. He glanced sideways at the distant Ji Yusheng and Ji Wanyun, raised his voice, and declared proudly, "Indeed. This girl Yueqing broke through her bottleneck half a month ago. She has now joined the ranks of the Two Energies Heaven Realm!"
Madam Zhao, standing behind Ji Haoguang, instantly straightened her posture and muttered softly, "Yueqing's talent is extraordinary; it’s only natural that she advances further after years of diligent practice! Unlike some people, who not only have low strength but also seem to lack common sense, unable to even pick a suitable location..."
"What did you say?" Ji Yusheng's expression changed drastically, and he roared.
With a cold sniff, Madam Zhao said no more, but the disdain on her face deepened noticeably.
"Father, don't stoop to bickering with these riffraff! Just watch; Changkong doing this must have a deeper meaning." Seeing that Ji Yusheng was about to flare up again, Ji Wanyun whispered softly, making sure her voice rose slightly when she uttered the word "riffraff," as if ensuring someone could overhear.
"Wanyun, does Changkong truly possess cultivation at the peak of the One Energy Heaven Realm? If he really reached that level, why would he choose such a desolate place to ascend?" Ji Yusheng harbored doubts, unable to fathom why Ji Changkong selected this particular dead-end path, and asked in a low voice.
In front of so many elders and younger members of the Ji family, as well as Nie Yuanshan and Shao Kang, Ji Changkong had already admitted that his power reached the peak of the One Energy Heaven Realm. If he showed no brilliance during the assessment, not only would Ji Changkong be embarrassed, but Ji Yusheng would also lose face. This made Ji Yusheng quite uneasy at the moment.
"Don't worry, Changkong will certainly give everyone a surprise!" Although Ji Wanyun did not know the profound reason behind Ji Changkong's actions, she blindly trusted that he would achieve startling success in the assessment. Knowing Ji Changkong's true capabilities, she wasn't truly worried.
After Ji Wanyun spoke, although Ji Yusheng still felt a sense of unease, he didn't press the matter further, focusing his gaze firmly on Ji Changkong, just like Nie Yuanshan and Shao Kang.
At this critical juncture, Ji Changkong suddenly turned his head, looking toward Ji Haoguang, Madam Zhao, and the others, a strange, chilling smile curling at the corner of his lips.
Suddenly, Ji Changkong, who had been motionless, slowly extended both hands and pressed them onto the smooth, mirror-like, incredibly hard rock surface of Qingyan Mountain.
Crack!
Ji Changkong’s five fingers pierced directly through the unyielding stone of Qingyan Mountain, sinking deep into the notoriously hard rock!
Ji Yuxing, Ji Haoguang, Madam Zhao, and the others, who had just been proudly praising Ji Yueqing, instantly saw their expressions change.
At that moment!
Ji Changkong let out a long roar and suddenly charged toward the summit of Qingyan Mountain.
Crack-crack-crack! Crack-crack-crack! Crack-crack-crack!
Without utilizing any footholds (Mobile Reading 1^6 - . Cm), Ji Changkong’s hands acted like iron drills, plunging in, his fingers embedding themselves deep into the Qingyan stone!
Relying on no point of leverage, Ji Changkong's entire body swung in mid-air, supported only by one arm, alternating his hands to carve a series of shocking gashes into the stone as hard as metal!
He ascended like a nimble ape, soaring upward, overtaking the Ji family youths who had rushed ahead to the summit, one by one!
...
Silence gripped the entire field!
At the foot of the mountain, all observers stared dumbfounded, their faces etched with inexplicable shock, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ji Changkong.
At this moment, it seemed as if only Ji Changkong remained on Qingyan Mountain; every single gaze was focused squarely on him, as if he were the only participant in the assessment!
Ji Yuxing, Ji Haoguang, Madam Zhao, and the others stood with their mouths agape, their throats making gurgling sounds, their eyes bulging, seemingly unable to believe what they were seeing.
Ji Yusheng, who had been anxious earlier, stomped his foot hard at the base of the mountain, his body trembling, his face flushed with uncontrollable excitement and ecstasy.
He instinctively clutched the corner of Ji Wanyun's clothes with one hand, while pointing at Ji Changkong, who was ascending in this unbelievable manner with the other. His old face was crimson with excitement; he seemed to want to say something to Ji Wanyun, but his agitation was so intense that he couldn't manage to utter a sound.
Ji Wanyun's mouth was also wide open. Although she knew Ji Changkong was powerful, she never anticipated he would be this spectacular today!
Nie Yuanshan and Shao Kang looked grim, their eyes fixed on the deep gouges Ji Changkong was leaving below him.
Both men knew the hardness of Qingyan stone. Not only a Celestial Master of the One Energy Heaven Realm, but even one of the Three Energies Heaven Realm, unless their internal primal energy was profoundly deep and their control over primal energy projection was absolutely fluid, would find it impossible to pierce the stone with their fingers alone!
This... this sight could only be described as utterly unbelievable!
Nie Ruolan was completely stunned, frozen in place, her mind momentarily unable to process the information. She herself had reached the Three Energies Heaven Realm, yet she could not use just her fingers to carve such deep marks into the iron-hard Qingyan stone!
Is he really that good-for-nothing? How could this be? Nie Ruolan's expression was dazed...
Midway up Qingyan Mountain.
The Ji family youths who had been overtaken by Ji Changkong were also completely stunned.
Staring at the shocking, deep indentations beside them, the astonishment in their hearts was beyond words. It seemed they could not believe that this incredible feat was accomplished by the Ji family laughingstock who had been frail, unable to fight back or even retort two years prior!
Many stood frozen, forgetting that they were still undergoing the assessment. Some youths, who happened to see the astounding display beside them during a critical climbing moment, lost their focus. They missed their grip on a stone foothold and plummeted from halfway up the cliff.
Nie Yuanshan, lost in his astonishment, snapped back to reality upon hearing the piercing cries. He quickly extended his hand, launching beams of starlight to steady the falling Ji family youths, ensuring they landed safely on the ground.
...
Ji Changkong acted as if he were oblivious to the profound shock his actions caused below. He remained focused on climbing, suddenly plunging one hand down, leaving another five alarming, deep gashes in the impossibly hard Qingyan stone before him.
At this moment, the years of hardship and humiliation seemed to be cast far behind him, gradually receding.
The higher he climbed, the more elated Ji Changkong felt. The summit of Qingyan Mountain, so close now, felt like another step in his life, a new beginning!
As he neared his goal, Ji Changkong's agitated heart surprisingly calmed. The mountain wind whistled past his ears; for an instant, he felt like he had entered an entirely new world, possessing a wonderful urge to convey his feelings to the vast expanse of heaven and earth.
Crack-crack!
He drove one hand into the final block of Qingyan stone obstructing his path below the summit, used the leverage to surge upward, and landed atop Qingyan Mountain before Ji Yueqing.
Gazing down at the tiny figures at the mountain’s base, watching Ji Yueqing’s expression of sheer, stunned disbelief not far away...
Ji Changkong’s gaze extended further, gradually falling upon the Cloud Dream Great Marsh teeming with fierce beasts. He seemed to see the rare flowers and strange herbs of the Poison Dragon Pool, the swirling toxic miasma, and the ferocious beasts silently waiting and anticipating his arrival...
Aoo!
He let out a roar as mighty as that of the Cloud Dream Overlord, the Sky-Turtle Winged Dragon. The resonant sound echoed across Qingyan Mountain, carrying farther and farther away.
At this moment, his brilliance blazed forth!
The accumulated sorrow and depression of the past had now soared into the sky!
Nie Yuanshan and Shao Kang at the base of the mountain, the elders and youths of the Ji family including Ji Yuxing, Ji Yusheng, and Ji Haoguang—everyone who heard that roar seemed to be meeting Ji Changkong for the first time, their gazes fixed upon him from afar!
...
"Uncle Sheng, he will definitely surpass Haotian in the future!" Nie Yuanshan finally exclaimed in a deep voice after a long silence, his face filled with admiration.
"Ha... Hahaha... Hahahahaha..."
Ji Yusheng, who had been unable to speak due to intense emotion, finally burst into unrestrained laughter, his face radiating an extraordinary light. His laughter was earth-shattering, and tears streamed down his face!
...