Chapter 454: A Supreme Not Yet a Hundred

Only, when the Divine Demon looked over, it directly sensed that the name "Supreme" on the stele seemed blurred—clearly visible yet somehow fuzzy at the same time, an extreme contradiction.

It was as if the heavenly secrets were shrouded in dust by fate, beyond the perception of ordinary beings.

The name of such an existence was simply not something a Divine Demon could glimpse; looking at it only yielded a blur.

The Divine Demon had no choice but to give up, settling for the next best thing and looking at the names on the lower row, where it immediately saw the two characters "Qingyun."

They had underestimated this youth named Qingyun.

Everyone before the television, in the livestream rooms, and present at the scene thought this in their hearts.

They knew that ascending the Ninth Peak was impressive, and they knew that in a thousand years only Qingyun and Kamikawa Mitsu had ascended the Ninth Peak, but that didn't mean there hadn't been others before—there certainly had been.

After all, this was a place that could produce a Supreme.

Therefore, Qingyun being very powerful did not necessarily mean he was very powerful within the Jixia Academy.

For some unknown reason, the figure of Kamikawa Mitsu appeared in many people's minds.

Kamikawa Mitsu was in the first row, Qingyun in the second row...

So Mitian Miti Dasheng Jun asked, "I wonder, Senior Brother Qingyun, how do you compare with Kamikawa Mitsu?"

The two were only one row apart, so the gap shouldn't be too great, right?

The bearing of a Supreme was only one manifestation of talent; it could not represent everything. After all, those with lesser talent who reached Supreme were not unheard of—wasn't that one said to have achieved Supreme from the posture of a duckweed? Apart from that one, throughout the myriad heavens there were also many examples of mortal bodies achieving Immortality or becoming Immortals and Demons.

Talent could only represent that one's starting point was stronger than others; it could not represent that one's future would surely surpass others.

Without effort, no matter how great one's talent, it would all be for nothing.

In today's world there were many such living examples—showing extraordinary promise as children, yet under the indulgence of parents or themselves, fading into the masses.

In their view, Kamikawa Mitsu being placed in the first row had a great deal to do with his bearing of a Supreme.

The second row might not have the bearing of a Supreme, but their talent was by no means lacking; their future achievements would surely be extraordinary, with Immortality as the baseline. This Qingyun was proof—about to prove his Dao and attain Immortality.

He also looked very young; they just didn't know exactly how young, as some immortal artifact on him obscured investigation.

The moment Mitian Miti Dasheng Jun spoke these words.

It was as if even the immortal clouds in the sky and the radiance of divine dawn suddenly froze.

Even Qingyun's breezy composure froze in an instant.

Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded, exchanging awkward glances.

It seemed... a question that shouldn't have been asked.

A long while.

Qingyun finally let out a carefree smile.

"Senior Brother Kamikawa's talent is not merely lofty—he is himself a blazing great sun. Compared to him, I am nothing more than a tiny insect on the ground gazing up at the great sun. What is there to compare?"

In an instant, a frenzy erupted.

Everyone: "！！！！！"

On the Ninth Peak, in the town, before the televisions, many people—including numerous great figures among Immortals and Demons—all stood up at once.

An irrepressible expression of shock and despair rose on their faces.

Qingyun's words were tactful, yet also very direct; everyone clearly understood what they meant.

The meaning was that compared to Kamikawa Mitsu, Qingyun was a pile of shit.

Where was your breezy composure? Where was your disdain, your bearing of the second row? You are at least a figure about to prove his Dao and attain Immortality—where is the confidence of your Immortal-level strength?

Could you not be so cowardly?

They drew in another cold breath—was the gap between the second row and the first row really this huge?!

But they heard that junior brother from earlier, seeming indignant, blurt out: "If Senior Brother Qingyun could carry the bloodline of Chiyou, he might not necessarily be inferior to them."

"Mind your words!"

Qingyun barked sharply.

Seeing the aggrieved look on his junior brother's face, his voice gradually softened.

"How could Senior Brother Kamikawa be someone you can speak of rashly? Setting aside Senior Brother Kamikawa's bloodline and the background of the Kamikawa family, by his own ability he is an unprecedented prodigy of this generation—even placed in the Primeval, the Ancient, or even the Primordial eras, he would still be the most brilliant.

He is a true outstanding figure of the age who has hope of achieving Supreme. Even if... in any case, do not say such things again in the future."

As if thinking of something, he stopped abruptly, his expression growing colder. He glanced at the crowd and walked directly toward the highest Xianshan.

The crowd was still in a state of shock.

Indeed.

Above the heavens, below the earth, past and future.

Someone like Kamikawa Mitsu was exceedingly rare, one of a kind.

One would never know how high they stood, nor ever be able to fathom their foundation and future.

But even so, no one would look down on Qingyun. Being placed in the second row of the Jixia Academy's black jade stele had already revealed his talent that towered over the myriad heavens.

It was just that many people from other realms quietly added Kamikawa Mitsu to their list of those not to be provoked.

"What do you think Senior Brother Qingyun meant by that 'even if' at the end?"

Unable to restrain his 'suicidal constitution,' Mitian Miti Dasheng Jun, following Qingyun and the others along the path toward the highest Xianshan, sneakily asked Tianxie Sword Immortal, Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian, and the others beside him.

"He was probably about to mention some Supreme. He said Kamikawa Mitsu has hope of achieving Supreme—his bearing is probably even more heaven-defying than that of the one who already achieved Supreme, otherwise he wouldn't have been given such affirmation."

"I think so too. Perhaps that sentence of Senior Brother Qingyun's... wasn't said by him; it's very likely it was spoken personally by certain great figures of the Jixia Academy. Otherwise, given Senior Brother Qingyun's strength, he wouldn't dare casually bring up great figures to make a point."

"Who could it be? The Huang Di Supreme? The Fuxi Supreme? The Nüwa Supreme? Or someone else entirely? Surely not the First Sacred Spirit."

"The First Sacred Spirit is unlikely—that one is a special case, too outrageous."

"It's precisely because he's outrageous that he's being compared with Kamikawa Mitsu. Actually, Kamikawa Mitsu is also pretty outrageous—at eighteen, he's suspected to be at least the Fifth Step of Divine. If he reaches twenty, attaining Immortality isn't impossible. An Immortal at twenty—even a fraction of my years is more than that.

At this rate, I feel like reaching the Supreme within a hundred years is possible, or even... Supreme."

The mere thought of a Supreme not yet a hundred years old made everyone halt their steps, their expressions indescribably strange.

A hundred years to Supreme — just thinking about it felt like a dream; in the past they would have been certain it was impossible, utterly a fool's fantasy.

Seeing Kamikawa Mitsu on the first row of the black jade stele at Jixia Academy, hearing Senior Brother Qingyun say those words, they grew uncertain, feeling that Kamikawa Mitsu really might reach Supreme by a hundred.

Thinking this way, everyone's hearts stirred.

A hundred years to Supreme, compared to the First Holy Spirit being born already Supreme, really wasn't much different — both were freaks among freaks, like cheats.

Lost in thought, the crowd arrived at the highest Xianshan.

Silence.

Stillness.

Everyone was dumbstruck.

The highest Xianshan seen from the outside was completely different from the scene they saw after ascending the highest Xianshan.

An illusion!

What they saw now, standing atop the highest Xianshan, was the true face of the highest Xianshan.

A grand gate.

A gate that seemed to have stood here since time immemorial, with no heaven above it, a stretch of pure clarity.

On either side, ninety-nine magnificent giant pillars thrust straight into the heavens, stunning the people — too thick, truly too thick, too vast and majestic — each one suspending a world above it, turning slowly, like ninety-nine Jianmu pillars reaching to the sky.

Jianmu — a sacred tree worshipped by the ancient ancestors of Huaguo.

Legend had it that Jianmu was the bridge connecting Heaven, Earth, Humans, and Gods; Fuxi, the Huang Di, and the other emperors all ascended and descended between the mortal world and the Heavenly Court by way of this sacred ladder.

Above the giant pillars also rested layer upon layer of heavens, stacked endlessly with no edge in sight; faintly visible within them were ancient Immortals and giant Gods standing or seated in meditation, radiating an awe-inspiring ancient, decayed aura.

And above the gate, four characters, as if carved into the Dao itself, overawed the crowd.

"Jixia Academy!"

The people gaped, speechless.

……