Chapter 075: Target—First Rank
“Oh, you found me so quickly?” Su Jingxing raised an eyebrow, sent his consciousness into the space in his palm, opened the jar of Essence Pills, and took out ten, placing them in his hand.
As the great white goose reached the slope and descended from the sky, he gently tossed the pills.
“Brother Goose, catch!”
Su Jingxing flicked out the Essence Pills.
“Honkkk! Honkkk!” The great white goose’s eyes lit up, and it rushed forward, swallowing all ten pills midair.
Then it landed on the leveled ground Su Jingxing had cleared, flapped its wings, and called out excitedly.
Once is unfamiliar, twice is familiar. The last time Su Jingxing had come, he had gotten along well with the great white goose. When he took the Essence Pills to relieve his fatigue, the goose flapped its wings, indicating it wanted some as well. This surprised Su Jingxing, but delighted, he gave it a few. The goose enjoyed them immensely and asked for more, which Su Jingxing readily provided.
He was glad the goose liked them. The more their relationship deepened, the more likely the great white goose would willingly follow him one day, without even needing to be asked.
Thus, Su Jingxing was eager to see the great white goose and strengthen their bond. After all, Essence Pills were nothing to him—he had stored up a mountain of them. Once he’d needed to sell them for money, but now that wasn’t an issue. Compared to the Essence Pills, a spiritual pet like the great white goose was far more valuable.
...
Perched on the platform, the great white goose was clearly delighted to see Su Jingxing again. Its flat beak opened and closed, honking incessantly. Though Su Jingxing couldn’t understand a word, that didn’t stop him from gesturing wildly and making guesses.
Man and goose—each misunderstanding the other—chattered away. Yet, as time passed, Su Jingxing genuinely began to pick up the meanings behind some of the goose’s calls. Likewise, as a spiritual creature, the great white goose started to understand some of Su Jingxing’s words.
This mutual comprehension brought joy to both. The conversation continued: one calling, the other gesturing and speaking, communication muddled but growing.
By dusk, Su Jingxing decided to try getting the great white goose to glow. With much gesturing and explanation, it took over half an hour before the goose finally understood. Then, a burst of silvery-white light radiated from its body, illuminating half the slope.
It could shine while awake, not only asleep?
Su Jingxing was both surprised and pleased. He’d only wanted to test whether the silvery light was under the goose’s conscious control. Unexpectedly, it was!
Brother Goose could shine while wide awake. That would make things much easier.
Full of excitement, Su Jingxing took out the “Nine Steps to Heaven” manual and flipped to the last page.
Rustle!
As he suspected, the last page concealed a secret. He took a deep breath and carefully examined the contents.
“Honk honk!” The great white goose craned its neck to peer at the glowing page as well.
Su Jingxing paid it no mind, focusing intently on the ancient script and diagrams, committing every detail to memory. As he read, his expression grew more serious, eyes widening, breath coming faster.
By the end, his heart was pounding so fiercely it felt as if it might leap from his throat.
It wasn’t a martial art!
The hidden content on the last page of “Nine Steps to Heaven” wasn’t a technique, or secret skill, or alchemical formula, nor any grand secret. It was a passage of words and a map.
The map pointed to a forbidden land, not in the Yu Kingdom, but to the north, across two other great nations, in a desolate domain.
The accompanying passage described that domain, the forbidden ground within it, and related information.
But what truly shook Su Jingxing was a single line:
“The treasure in the forbidden ground, though capable of granting the Surpassing Rank, is not for the First Rank. Do not go—remember, remember!”
What did this mean?
First, the map pointed to a forbidden land containing a treasure.
Second, this treasure could elevate a martial artist to the “Surpassing Rank.”
Third, if one had not reached the First Rank, they must not enter!
Surpassing Rank...
There was a realm beyond the First Rank.
Su Jingxing now realized for the first time that the nine ranks of martial arts were not the end; above the First Rank, there was an even higher realm—the Surpassing Rank!
And in that forbidden land, there was a treasure that could let one ascend to that realm.
This revelation shook him deeply.
He had once asked the Sword Immortal Jinghong about this, but even she had no knowledge of it.
Yet now, through the hidden content on the last page of “Nine Steps to Heaven,” he had stumbled upon this astonishing secret.
Had his soul not grown stronger and his mind more adaptable, Su Jingxing would have been utterly lost in confusion. Even so, his heartbeat thundered in his chest like a drum.
After a long moment, he slowly calmed himself, took a deep breath, and stored the manual back in his palm space.
“The Surpassing Rank has existed since ancient times; does no one know of it now because in later generations, no one has reached it?” Su Jingxing mused.
“Perhaps Jinghong Sword Immortal does not know because she comes from a common background. But those great powers with centuries or even millennia of history must surely know of the Surpassing Rank’s existence. If they haven’t spread word of it, perhaps they have chosen to forget.”
After all, reaching the First Rank was already nigh impossible—let alone surpassing it.
If a thousand years have passed, who would still remember there was a realm above the First Rank? Only by delving into ancient tomes would one discover it.
“Of course, there is another possibility: the Surpassing Rank still exists in the world, but so few know that the knowledge has faded from memory.”
The Star Realm was vast—over ten times larger than Earth. Even Earth harbored countless secrets, still uncharted. How much more so this world?
Su Jingxing knew that, apart from the Boundless Mountains, a third of the Star Realm remained wild and unexplored. In such an expanse, could there be Surpassing Rank experts living in seclusion?
His heart raced at the thought.
He exhaled slowly, steadying his mind, and pushed these distant thoughts aside. He hadn’t even reached the First Rank yet; thinking about the Surpassing Rank was too far-fetched.
The “Nine Steps to Heaven” manual cautioned repeatedly: do not enter the forbidden land unless you have reached the First Rank.
So, the First Rank must come first!
For now, he needed only to focus on condensing the True Qi of Heaven-treading.
Decision made, Su Jingxing had the great white goose leave the clearing and swallowed all his Spirit Nurturing Pills, preparing to break through to the Sixth Rank.
“Nine Steps to Heaven” meant that, in nine steps, one gathered all internal strength and energy, fused it with the unique vital energy in the opened dantian, and drew upon the power of heaven and earth to finally give birth to true qi.
Absorbing the energy of heaven and earth was the final step.
Before dawn, Su Jingxing repeatedly practiced the earlier steps.
When the time came, sensing the surge and transformation of yin and yang in the world, he began his breakthrough in earnest.
The first attempt failed.
The second attempt also failed.
The third, still failed.
The fourth...
...
By the twenty-fifth attempt, he was still unsuccessful.
With the optimal time for the union of yin and yang about to pass, Su Jingxing, wholly absorbed in his cultivation, was suddenly enveloped in a gentle, milky-white radiance descending from the heavens.
Bathed in light, inspiration flashed in his mind. He guided the energy in his dantian to whirl with unprecedented speed, drawing in a stream of heaven and earth’s power and merging it within.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
A mighty wind seemed to roar at his ears.
In the once barren and empty dantian, a current of silver-black energy, merging strength, inner force, and the power of heaven and earth, was finally born!