Chapter 63: The Heart Refining Stage! (Fourth update, seeking recommendations!)

  The bright moon hung high in the sky that day, this day's moon seemed a bit different from usual, the cloudless sky made the moon look very bright, the moonlight spilled onto the earth, as if between heaven and earth, it lifted a soft curtain.

  From a distance, it seems beautiful, but on this towering, cloud-piercing, peakless giant mountain, the moon has transformed into something terrifying!

  Under the moonlight, the mountain's oppression bursts out at a terrifying speed, forming an invisible storm that distorts the entire peak, making people even inside the mountain see a twisted gaze all around when they look up.

  It's now deep in the night, when the moonlight is at its strongest, and also the moment when this mountain's majesty reaches its peak! Standing on the over 500-step platform, Su Ming and his two companions are, at this moment, if there was no fog on the mountain, and someone looked up from below, they could vaguely see that the three of them were almost standing at the edge of the sky, as if raising their hands would touch the heavens!

  From over 500 steps, he continued to climb up, as if entering the sky. Ye Wang was like this now, unaware of what was happening outside and the three people fighting behind him. He just walked his own path, step by step, panting heavily, walking slowly away.

  "Today, I will climb up to the 803rd step!!" Ye Wang gritted his teeth, with a pride that could scorch the eyes of others, and walked on.

  Under such pressure, without that determination, no one can walk out of the dozens of steps. Bi Su has persistence, but what exists in his persistence is not self-confidence. Otherwise, he would not look at the ranking on the token in his hand every time he takes a step.

  "Five hundred and fifty-six, five hundred and fifty-seven... damn it, Zhen Chong has actually surpassed me, he is five hundred and fifty-eight!!" Bi Su's expression revealed a hint of unwillingness, gritting his teeth as he took another step forward. But as soon as his foot landed, his entire body shook slightly, and faintly, he seemed to have heard a distant roar coming from the highest point of the mountain.

  That roar is not something a human can produce, but rather belongs to beasts!

  In the midst of this deafening roar, Bi Su's whole body trembled violently, his chest aching with a sharp pain, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. As his body swayed, he almost fell headfirst.

  His face turned pale, just now in that instant, he had a kind of feeling as if the entire mountain peak had transformed into an invisible beast, opening its bloody mouth to pounce on him.

  At the same time, Chen Chong also felt this scene. Chen Chong was standing on the 558th step of the stairs and was about to take a step forward when his body suddenly shook violently. He abruptly lifted his head, and bloodshot eyes appeared in his pupils. Fresh blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth.

  Su Ming, his whole body drenched in sweat, but the determination in his eyes had not decreased, but instead became even more intense. Step by step, he walked on, 548, 549... until he stood at the 557th step, where he once again heard that faint roar.

  This bellow, a surge of resentment that shook the heavens, came crashing down on Su Ming's body in an instant. Su Ming's entire body stiffened, his chest suddenly throbbing with intense pain, and a mouthful of blood spurted out uncontrollably. The bellow contained a powerful pressure, as if it wanted to make all who felt it submit under its might.

  But just as the fresh blood in front of him seemed to dye the front red, Su Ming's eyes burst out with an extremely strong light, suddenly burning!

  He will not yield!

  Su Ming subconsciously raised his head, towards the mountain top, and suddenly let out a loud roar. The roar was like thunder, rumbling and rising, echoing in all directions. Su Ming's long hair fluttered, and the burning fire in his eyes seemed to be about to burst out. He lifted his right foot and heavily stepped on the 558th step.

  At the moment his foot fell, Su Ming's body trembled, his entire body's blue veins bulged, and blood lines spread out. Between the blue and red, an unutterable pain was hidden, but Su Ming still did not give up!

  He had to climb up the 563 steps, he wanted to continue his meticulous control there, he was unwilling to give up this opportunity, and even more unwilling to disappoint Grandpa Ah Gong, Su Ming Ruo would not move if he didn't have to, but once he did, he would make sure that he would have no regrets afterwards!!

  What he wants to do is to go all out once without any regrets, and fight for a life that will have no regrets!

  559, 560, 561! Su Ming took three more steps forward. With each step he took, his body violently shook and emitted unbearable sounds from within, as if his flesh and bones were being shattered alive. The pain was almost too much for a sixteen-year-old youth to bear.

  "Just two more steps, just two more steps!!" Su Ming's inner self was roaring, constantly telling himself that he must reach the 563rd step!!

  Su Ming let out a low growl, suddenly lifted his foot and took another step forward! As he landed this step, he had the feeling that the earth was shaking and the mountains were trembling, but in reality, he knew clearly that it was not the earth that was moving, nor was it the mountain peaks that were swaying, but rather his own body.

  This earth-shaking feeling made Su Ming's face instantly lose all its blood color, he raised his head to look at the sky, that sky in his view, slowly seemed to be far away, as if the entire sky was moving slowly in his eyes, time seemed to slow down in this instant.

  Su Ming could feel his body slowly falling, the ground unmoving, the mountains unshaking, it was his own body that couldn't withstand it, had reached its limit, and was slowly falling backwards.

  "Five hundred and sixty-two, is a ravine......" Su Ming's mouth corners revealed bitterness.

  "The earth remains still, the mountain peaks unmoving, yet as if one's own body has begun to stir, everything else remains unchangeable..."

  "Grandfather, why is it that when I'm running, the trees on both sides seem to be moving? I feel a bit dizzy and don't know whether my own body is running or if those trees are moving backwards. Grandfather, what's going on?" Su Ming's mind was filled with the memory of asking his grandfather this question when he was young.

  "Eyes can be deceiving, La Su. When you grow up, you'll understand. What you see with your eyes isn't necessarily true. Maybe it's just your eyes playing tricks on you. Look at that tree, did it really move? Is it your body moving or the tree swaying, or... something else?"

  Su Ming remembered that when he first heard this reply, he was somewhat bewildered and unclear, but now that he thought about it again, he was stunned for a moment.

  "Can't change the earth, can't change the mountain peaks, because of bodily movement, so everything is moving... But in fact, the earth hasn't moved, the mountains haven't moved... What's moving is..." Su Ming suddenly opened his eyes wide, vaguely feeling like he had grasped something.

  "It's moving, my heart!!"

  "When I was young and ran, it was my body that moved, the trees stood still, but what my eyes saw was the trees moving, that too was because of my heart... My heart was deceived by my eyes, it was my heart that moved..."

  The earth, the mountains, the trees, everything is fine, even if my body moves, as long as my heart doesn't move... nothing will move! Even the body can deceive, both eyes, body, everything can deceive one's own heart, making oneself feel like they're moving..." Su Ming's whole body shook, and after enlightenment, his mind suddenly had a loud rumbling sound, that kind of intense rumbling made him feel dizzy, when that dizziness slowly disappeared, Su Ming was stunned there.

  He lowered his head to look at the steps under his feet, then looked around, and he was still standing on that step, with his right foot on the 562nd step and his left foot on the 561st step.

  His body, in fact, has been like this from start to finish, without any change at all.

  In silence, Su Ming's left foot lifted off the ground, and he stood behind those 562 people. He took a deep breath, and his eyes revealed a look of enlightenment.

  "I understand... If the heart is not moved, all things are not moved! This is entering subtlety..." Su Ming murmured, walking up to the 563rd step, standing there, his pale face revealed a smile, slowly sat down cross-legged, and began his first true entry into subtlety after enlightenment.

  This time will be completely different from the previous four times. Before, he was doing it in a daze, and the strength used was all on controlling the speed of qi and blood, using his full strength to control, which is external force!

  But now, after his enlightenment, he knows that true subtlety is not about relying on external forces to change the speed of qi and blood circulation, but rather it's a matter of the heart!

  When the heart moves, it moves; when the heart does not move, the blood and energy do not move!

  At the same time as Su Ming sat down, Bi Su let out a reluctant roar. His right foot trembled and hovered over the 562nd step, but no matter what, he couldn't bring himself to put it down. He had an intense feeling that if this step fell, he would be unable to bear it. This feeling was so strong that it made him involuntarily believe in it. Slowly, with a pained expression, he chose to stop. He... didn't dare to take the risk!

  Chen Chong, his expression was solemn, a rare sight in his life. He stood at the 561st step, gazing up at the 562nd, silent for a long time. He had heard stories about this level...

  After a while, Chen Chong gritted his teeth and took a step forward, but at the moment his foot fell, he froze in place, his eyes empty, time passing by, seven breaths later, Chen Chong spat out a mouthful of blood and fell on the middle of the 561st and 562nd steps. In the end, he still couldn't go up, unable to pass that Heart Refining Step.

  But compared to Bi Suo, Chen Chong has a heart that can transform into a strong one!

  The square was in a state of dead silence, with no discussion or commotion. At this moment, most people were breathing rapidly, looking at the ranking on the statue, and the shock in their hearts had replaced all their thoughts.

  First place, Ye Wang, 803rd rank.

  Second place, Mo Su, 563rd floor.

  These two lines of words have attracted everyone's attention, Mo Su, an ordinary name that no one had heard of before the big exam, but now it is a household name!

  Time slowly passed, this night was destined to be extraordinary, destined to be more astonishing than yesterday, destined to belong only to the two people at the peak of their showdown!

  On the square, no one was impatient. They were waiting silently in silence, waiting for that moment when the two would move! When the deep night had passed and there was still a little time before dawn, the nine stone statues with the words "Mo Su" on their backs moved!

  This move, without changing the color of heaven and earth, without reversing the wind and clouds, but turned into a storm, rising in the heart of every gazer!!

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  This is the fourth update, and there will be a fifth, sixth, and even more. The night is already deep, but I am still continuing!