Chapter 764

"He Dao You is a dragon among men; I believe you will one day soar to the nine heavens and become a being revered by countless prodigies across the continent!"

Yuan Wuyou looked at He Pingsheng and launched into lavish praise: "I deeply admire you, so I've come specifically to befriend you!"

"I hope He Dao You won't find me too presumptuous!"

He Pingsheng didn't know what to say.

Good grief, you're the Yuan clan's crown prince—and the local lord of this Tian Gang Emperor Domain.

Did you just steal my lines?

"Er… it's my great honor!" He Pingsheng quickly bowed in return: "Yuan Dao You is a top contender among the top ten in this Stone Platform Assembly, universally recognized as one of this continent's ten great prodigies. If you lavish such praise on me, I won't know how to respond!"

"Hahaha…" Yuan Wuyou laughed heartily, then pointed behind him at the stone tablet: "When we enter enlightenment later, shall we do it together?"

"Sure!" He Pingsheng didn't mind.

Enlightenment was something you eventually slipped into anyway; whether together or apart, it made little difference.

"By the way!" Yuan Wuyou said: "He Dao You, there's another person who greatly admires you and insisted I introduce you—do you mind meeting them?"

He Pingsheng asked: "Who is it?"

Yuan Wuyou said: "The crown prince of the Golden Crow clan—Zhu Xuanlun!"

Zhu Xuanlun?

Another prodigy.

Earlier, in the Three Dreams of Red Dust, Zhu Xuanlun's score was second only to his, ranking second with ninety-nine points.

And Zhu Xuanlun was also universally recognized as one of the ten great prodigies.

It wouldn't hurt to know someone like this.

"Fine!" He Pingsheng nodded. "I'd like to meet such a person!"

"Xuanlun… come over!" Yuan Wuyou waved toward a direction.

Another tall, fair-skinned cultivator with fiery red hair walked over.

When he saw He Pingsheng, his eyes lit up, and he bowed respectfully: "Golden Crow clan, Zhu Xuanlun, greetings, He Dao You!"

Zhu Xuanlun looked like a sunny young boy.

Even his casual smiles radiated sincerity.

He naturally inspired goodwill!

But how much of that sincerity was real—and how much feigned—he couldn't tell.

"No need for formalities," He Pingsheng returned the bow. "Pleased to meet you, Zhu Dao You!"

After the greetings, Zhu Xuanlun asked excitedly: "He Dao You … I heard the stone in the Three Dreams of Red Dust originally belonged to you!"

"You obtained it, then Feng Wanxi took it—is that true?"

He Pingsheng nodded: "It's true. Perhaps I simply lacked the fortune."

He'd assumed Zhu Xuanlun, like others, would lament his loss and curse Feng Wanxi as treacherous and despicable.

But he was wrong.

Zhu Xuanlun's focus wasn't on Feng Wanxi at all.

He simply stared deeply at He Pingsheng, drew a breath, and asked: "He Dao You, forgive my boldness—may I ask you: in that dream, was that daughter truly so important that you abandoned your original goal?"

He Pingsheng was speechless.

That question went far beyond his expectations.

He thought for a moment, then smiled: "I wouldn't say I abandoned my goal. Before entering the Three Dreams of Red Dust, I never expected to claim the stone in the first place!"

"Since I never believed it was mine to begin with, losing it now isn't abandoning my goal."

"Oh!" Zhu Xuanlun nodded. "He Dao You, you're truly good!"

???

What nonsense is this?

What do you mean "truly good"?

"I heard it all!" Zhu Xuanlun said. "They say you claimed that if you abandoned your children in the dream, they'd abandon you in reality too!"

"When I heard that, I was deeply moved!"

"You're truly good!"

He Pingsheng: …………

Again?

I…

He Pingsheng had no idea how to respond to such remarks.

Then Zhu Xuanlun suddenly added: "Being your child must be very happy, right? Hehehe… I don't mean anything by it—I just think… it's deeply touching!"

As he spoke, Zhu Xuanlun raised his right hand and scratched at a wild tuft of fiery red hair.

"Enough, enough… let's drop the past!" Yuan Wuyou said. "Fate and fortune aren't for us to judge!"

"Let's talk about the Tian Gang force instead!"

Yuan Wuyou raised his hand and pointed upward.

He Pingsheng and Zhu Xuanlun looked up—the stone tablet's thousand-zhang circumference was thick with Tian Gang force.

Waves of Tian Gang force periodically crashed to the ground, exploding into countless magical techniques.

"How tall is this stone tablet?" Zhu Xuanlun asked suddenly. "And where does this Tian Gang force come from?"

He Pingsheng shook his head: "I… don't know."

"I don't know how tall it is," Yuan Wuyou said, gazing up at the tablet. "But I heard that Feng clan's Bei Chen, who once ranked first on this tablet, reached eighty thousand zhang and left his name there."

"Yet even at eighty thousand zhang, he still couldn't see the tablet's full height!"

"Also, cultivators at Body Integration or Mahayana Emperor realm can climb this tablet too."

"It's said a Mahayana Emperor cultivator once soared a million zhang up the tablet—and still never reached its peak!"

"Its true height remains unknown."

He Pingsheng nodded.

He still had basic knowledge.

Although Body Integration and Mahayana Emperor cultivators could climb the Heavenly Staircase, their cultivation was too high to leave their names upon it.

The highest cultivation level allowed to leave a name was Void Refinement, Layer Twelve.

Anything higher was impossible.

"Then where does this Tian Gang force come from?" Zhu Xuanlun pressed.

"I don't know!" Yuan Wuyou admitted this time too.

Even the Golden Crow clan's ancestral elder didn't know.

"By the way!" Yuan Wuyou asked: "Have either of you found your Breaker yet?"

Zhu Xuanlun's expression turned awkward. "Need I find one? My Breaker is surely my father…"

He Pingsheng said: "I… haven't found mine yet."

His face darkened.

"But… no rush. After all, not everyone qualifies for the final trial."

The "Breaker" was a helper.

On this Stone Platform Staircase, both Gale Force and Pressure descended simultaneously.

Usually, the Gale Force was stronger.

Cultivators feared the Gale Force more than the Pressure.

That's when you needed a Breaker.

Typically, one would find a Mahayana Emperor cultivator to stand above and shield the competitors below from the Gale Force, so the prodigies could focus solely on resisting the Tian Gang Pressure.

That Mahayana Emperor cultivator was called the Breaker.