Chapter 95 The Transformation of Long Tang

"Hmph... this Ye Yuan, I really don't know what to say about him. Others tread the Nine Heavens Path with fear and trembling, yet he passes it so easily. Is there nothing that can stump him?"

Zuo Bugui looked at Ye Yuan on the mountainside, equally stunned.

In these days, Ye Yuan had brought him too many shocks.

Killing Fei Qingping across ranks, breaking through five realms in a month, becoming a alchemist at the fourth level of Yuan Qi, and killing Lin Tiancheng across a major realm—these were all impossible tasks for anyone.

But Ye Yuan had accomplished them all!

Now, was Ye Yuan going to challenge the Nine Heavens Path, which no one in the Yuan Qi realm had ever attempted? That was simply too incredible!

Even if he couldn't make it through, his speed in the first three hundred and thirty-three steps alone was enough to dwarf all the genius disciples.

"Indeed, there really is nothing he can't do, and nothing he dares not do. Compared to him, we've always prided ourselves as geniuses—what a joke!" Long Tang's face also bore a deep shock.

"Old Long, I've never denied being a genius, at least within the State of Qin. But Ye Yuan's monstrousness far exceeds the category of genius," Zuo Bugui said with emotion.

All along, only Long Tang could suppress Zuo Bugui's arrogance. But now, his pride had been shattered by Ye Yuan's performance.

The confusion in Long Tang's eyes vanished, replaced by unwavering determination!

He shook his head and said, "I'm not talking about his talent, but his heart of a strong man! Compared to Ye Yuan, what we lack most is a heart of a strong man! How laughable that I, Long Tang, always thought I could look down on all strong men, but in truth, I'm nothing but a coward! Thank you, Ye Yuan!"

Zuo Bugui found Long Tang's words somewhat baffling, but he could clearly sense a change in Long Tang.

It was as if... he had attained enlightenment!

"Old Long, what are you talking about? Heart of a strong man? Though we're not as monstrous as Ye Yuan, our desire to grow stronger has never changed, has it?" Zuo Bugui asked in confusion.

Long Tang didn't look at Zuo Bugui; instead, he gazed at Ye Yuan on the mountainside and answered irrelevantly, "A strong man? A true strong man isn't measured by how powerful his strength is, but by how strong his heart is! Zuo Bugui, once this is over, I too will challenge the Nine Heavens Path!"

"What? You want to challenge the Nine Heavens Path? Do you have a death wish?" Zuo Bugui was startled and cried out.

But Long Tang smiled calmly, as if he had seen through life and death: "If I can't even get through a mere Nine Heavens Path in the State of Qin, how can I talk about becoming a strong man? What right do I have to look down on this Boundless Realm and ascend to the Divine Realm in the future?"

The world Ye Yuan was reborn into was precisely the Boundless Realm.

The Boundless Realm was named after the Boundless Forest, for it was truly boundless, dividing the realm into the Northern and Southern Domains.

"Crazy! Truly crazy! Old Long, no matter how strong you are, can you be stronger than Mo Yuntian? If you challenge the Nine Heavens Path, you'll die! If you lose your life, what will you use to look down on the Boundless Realm?" Zuo Bugui was flustered.

Ye Yuan was a madman, and now even Long Tang, the top of the martial rankings, was going mad along with him. What was happening to the world?

But Long Tang remained unmoved, his eyes revealing unwavering determination!

"Why should a martial artist fear death? Without the resolve to face death, how can one talk about becoming a strong man?" Long Tang said calmly.

"But a martial artist should die a meaningful death! What meaning is there in dying for challenging the Nine Heavens Path?"

Zuo Bugui still couldn't understand. In his view, the Nine Heavens Path was just a large formation; dying in a formation was utterly meaningless.

"What kind of death is meaningful? Now I understand: success or failure lies in a single thought, and strength or weakness... also lies in a single thought! Zuo Bugui, you and I are ultimately not from the same world." Long Tang finally looked at Zuo Bugui, and the light in his eyes was something Zuo Bugui had never seen before.

Zuo Bugui was second on the martial rankings, second only to Long Tang in the academy, unmatched by even Feng Zhirou.

Even against Long Tang, Zuo Bugui's gap was not that large.

But now, Long Tang actually said that he and Zuo Bugui were not from the same world—how could Zuo Bugui feel comfortable?

"Do you mean that you and Ye Yuan are from the same world? Old Long, aren't you being a bit too arrogant?" Zuo Bugui put away his trademark cynical smile, somewhat displeased.

Long Tang shook his head and said, "Ye Yuan... I'm afraid I'll never catch up to him in this lifetime. He and I... are not from the same world either."

Having said that, Long Tang fell silent, patiently watching Ye Yuan on the mountainside.

Zuo Bugui also fell silent, beginning to ponder.

He felt that some change had occurred in Long Tang, but what exactly that change was, he couldn't figure out even if he racked his brains.

But... could such a change really separate them into two different worlds? How was that possible?

Just because Long Tang wanted to challenge the Nine Heavens Path?

Maybe... I should challenge the Nine Heavens Path too?

Zuo Bugui quickly dismissed the idea. His strength was indeed formidable, but if he were to challenge the Nine Heavens Path, he wouldn't have even a ten percent chance—truly a matter of nine deaths and one life!

Although Long Tang was stronger than him, it wasn't by much. That meant he too would face nine deaths and one life!

What exactly had this guy realized?

With such a low survival rate, he still dared to go—wasn't that suicide?

Yes, Long Tang had indeed attained enlightenment!

He saw from Ye Yuan what it meant to have a heart of a strong man.

When challenging Lin Tiancheng, Ye Yuan's odds weren't as high as imagined, but he did it.

When challenging the Nine Heavens Path, Ye Yuan's odds were even lower, but he still did it.

Knowing that killing a fellow disciple would result in the death penalty, Ye Yuan still did it without hesitation.

Knowing that the Nine Heavens Path meant certain death, he still did it without hesitation.

Breaking the rules, challenging oneself, and then surpassing oneself.

That is the heart of a strong man!

The cultivation of a martial artist is inherently defying the heavens. Without the awareness of death, how can one comprehend the supreme Dao and achieve the supreme divine realm?

What joy is there in life, what pain in death?

The path of the strong is fraught with thorns. Even if you don't challenge the Nine Heavens Path, there might be an Eight Heavens Path or a Ten Heavens Path.

You can escape for a while, but can you escape for a lifetime?

Only by facing it bravely, trampling all these obstacles underfoot, and constantly surpassing oneself can one truly look down on the world!

Seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster is human instinct, but if a martial artist doesn't cut off this instinct, how can he talk about being strong?

Long Tang could tell from Zuo Bugui's eyes that he didn't even dare to conceive the thought of challenging the Nine Heavens Path. That's why he said they were not from the same world.

Long Tang was destined to leave the State of Qin and step into the entire Boundless Realm.

As for Zuo Bugui, he was merely a strong man of the State of Qin, at most a strong man of the Nethercloud Sect.