Step-! Step-! Step-!
Under the horrified gazes of the various young prodigies present, Jiang Taiming continued to trudge forward. At this moment, they no longer thought about his monstrous combat capabilities. Just his ability to continue moving in this situation alone was already sufficient to inject in them a sense of helpless resignation.
It was almost as though the immense pressure in the surroundings had no bearing on him whatsoever, existing only to suppress all others from disrupting his inevitable coronation as the top prodigy of the generation.
They tried to move – to struggle against the seemingly unfair shackles – but everything was in vain. The pressure was simply insurmountable for all.
All, except him.
With each step up the golden stairs, Zhao Yunxiao could feel the pressure on him increasing. However, he continued to persist.
Time and again, he could feel his mind about to reach its limit, reaching its limit, and then breaking it – repeating the cycle over and over. With the protection of the shell that was Jiang Taiming's young body, he could afford to be reckless, putting his mind through a mental wringer and forcing out every last bit of potential within.
That was necessary as well, for he would never have been able to reach the top of the golden stairs without doing so.
The ancient tome looked just as ordinary from up close, but a faint sense of divinity could now be felt emanating out from within.
As he stepped before the ancient tome, it started opening up on its own to reveal a single blank page. Yet just from gazing upon this blank page, he could feel words appearing in his mind.
[Dreamless Records]
Two simple words, yet they seemed to contain unlimited profundities within. Along with the appearance of these two words, information began to flood his mind without end – information at a level far beyond what the current Zhao Yunxiao was capable of deciphering.
All of a sudden, the mental strain that he had been feeling just a moment ago began to feel like child's play.
If he had felt like his mind was being repeatedly squeezed dry earlier, the unending rush of information into his mind made him feel as though his brain was actually exploding!
This agonising flow of information felt endless, yet everything happened in an instant. It was almost as though the entire process had transcended the laws of time and space.
But unlike Zhao Yunxiao, Jiang Taiming seemed to be taking it a lot better.
It was a strange feeling for Zhao Yunxiao, having his own train of thoughts as well as sensing the thoughts of the young Jiang Taiming.
To the former, this was nothing but a mass of undecipherable trash being forced into his mind.
However, the latter immediately identified this as a godsend – a treasure from the heavens. Even though he, too, could not fully decipher the profundities within, he was at least able to glean some insights from it.
And from these few insights that he had uncovered, Jiang Taiming finally found the key to completing his own cultivation path. Before everyone's envious eyes, he directly entered a state of enlightenment right atop the golden hill.
"W-What is in the tome? Why don't you share it with us instead of keeping it to yourself?"
"Yeah! Generosity and altruism is what makes the world go round. How can you keep such valuable information to yourself?"
"If you share what is in it, I will inform the patriarch to reward you heavily! But if you do not, you won't be able to escape even if you run to the ends of the world!"
Voices of dissent emerged from quite a few of the young cultivators, though that was also the limit of what they could do. The pressure on them had not lessened one bit, so they were all still struggling to even get on their feet.
Jiang Taiming naturally ignored all their words, closing his eyes as he immersed in his state of enlightenment. And from this, he eventually obtained the final piece of the puzzle – the answer he had needed to officially begin his climb towards the pinnacle.
World laws – these were the rules that governed this world.
Wood fuels fire.
Fire forms earth.
Earth contains metals.
Metal carries water.
Water feeds wood.
These rules of old had always been reliable pillars that held up the fabrics of reality. As long as they remained in existence, there was order in this world. Yet at the same time, they could also be seen as shackles that limited its possibilities.
But what if one could escape the restraint of these chains?
What if one could bend the rules of reality, using it however it benefited them?
What if one could stop moving in tandem with the world laws, untethering themselves from the very shackles that bound all lives?
At that point, one would not even need to understand every aspect of the world laws, and would still be able to use them as a weapon against others!
That's right.
He, Jiang Taiming, would not seek to comprehend the world laws. Instead, he would indiscriminately force them to submit to his will, enacting them as shackles upon his enemies!
Apart from him, who would be able to escape the shackles of the world laws?
From today on, the world laws themselves shall be his weapon. And the name of this technique shall be...
"Divine Tether," Jiang Taiming said as he slowly opened his eyes.
Silence fell over the entire separate space the moment he spoke those words.
This was not just silence from the lack of words, but absolute silence in which not even the slightest sound could be heard.
The young cultivators cursing at him suddenly found it impossible to hear themselves.
Be it the ragged breathing from withstanding the immense pressure or even rustling of clothes against the floor, all of them no longer produced any sound.
In fact, even the immense pressure bearing down upon them seemed to have vanished. Though at the same time, the young cultivators similarly felt that they had lost all control over their bodies, no longer able to exert even the slightest bit of energy.
And what good were cultivators without their mastery over energy?
In their current state, they were no different from ordinary mortals. No, unable to move an inch, they were definitely worse off than that.
"All things in this world can be broken down into different forms of energy, and all forms of energy are governed by their respective laws. By forcing the world laws into submission, the flow of energy shall come to a stop. It is the ultimate sealing technique," Jiang Taiming muttered to himself with a smile before casting his gaze down at the various cultivators.
At this very moment, he held everyone's lives in his hands.
If he wanted them dead, they would die.
If he wanted them alive, they would live.
On the contrary, all that the other cultivators could do was look up in reverence and fear – at the previously unknown young man who was now standing atop the golden hill, looking down upon them the way a ruler would upon his subjects.
This was the moment Jiang Taiming's name was etched into the annals of history as the one who suppressed an entire generation of prodigies.
With that, his surroundings faded away into pure whiteness, and Zhao Yunxiao once again found himself back in the wooden room.
Zhao Yunxiao did not get up immediately, choosing instead to remain seated in meditation.
His essence energy was churning wildly, and his mental state was in a similar state of turmoil. Cold sweat drenched his robes, and his limbs felt cold and drained of blood.
What he had just experienced was far too much to digest in a short period of time.
Firstly, there was Jiang Taiming's mastery of energy when performing each move. This was the most direct benefit in his eyes, and thus he tried to remember as much of it as possible. He knew that even if he only managed to replicate this at half the proficiency level of the ancient cultivator, it would already be more than enough to lift his combat capabilities to a completely different level!
Secondly, he could now confirm that there were indeed tests incorporated within these flashbacks. This time, the immense mental pressure that he had to endure might have taken a huge toll on his psyche, but it had also further refined it in the process. While he was currently still trying to recover from the mental strain, this experience had no doubt raised his mental fortitude to an even higher level.
Thirdly, there was the strange ancient tome and the two words within. Dreamless Records... to think that these two words alone contained this much information. It felt incredulous even after experiencing it himself, but it was undoubtedly real. Even now, he could sense the mass of undecipherable information locked away in a corner of his mind, awaiting the key to unlock it. But that was neither something that he could deal with at the moment, nor did he know how to in the first place, so he was not intending to invest too much time and effort in it as of now.
Lastly, the Divine Tether that Jiang Taiming had devised was a sealing technique beyond what Zhao Yunxiao had ever imagined. A technique that worked not by comprehending the world laws, but by forcibly and indiscriminately bending them to his will. Before today, he would never have thought that something like that was even possible.
Yet clearly, it was.
He had never read about this technique in the many records on the Untethered Sage; but for some reason, he had no doubt that this must be the technique that had allowed him to completely overwhelm all his opponents.
And now, it was a technique that Zhao Yunxiao had inherited through Jiang Taiming's memories as well.
That said, a sealing technique?
How ironic.
Who would have thought that the Untethered Sage, known for his habit of living a free life, would actually leave behind an art of sealing, meant to rob others of the same freedom that he had always loved?
Or perhaps it was precisely because he loved freedom so much that drove him to rob it from his enemies, wanting to deprive them of the wonders of life?
That was one way to go about doing things.
Zhao Yunxiao slowly regulated his breathing before looking up at the calligraphy painting.
[A blessed man to have an uncanny master, meant to reach the pinnacle of life. An unorthodox path of sheer power, destined to quell the voices of strife.]
He was still unsure if Jiang Taiming could truly be considered blessed, given what happened to him as a child. However, the ancient cultivator had certainly quelled the voices of the young cultivators of his generation back then.
Recalling that view from atop the golden hill still gave Zhao Yunxiao goosebumps.
Countless young prodigies, all kneeling helplessly before him.
He knew that such a thing would never to him in his lifetime. So even if it had only been indirectly so, it definitely felt great to have experienced the perspective of one who possessed talent beyond all others!