…
A crab scuttled along the bottom of a dark river, dashing from one hole to another, only to reemerge as it searched for something.
A strange fish emerged from some seaweed. Its mouth was full of sharp teeth, and both of its eyes locked onto the crab before the fish shot forward like an arrow.
The crab raced to the bottom of the river, but two of its legs were snapped off by the strange fish. The fish chewed the legs as it stared at the crab with a greedy stare. It raced down to a hole in the riverbed, eager to finish eating the crab.
Soon, bits of crushed crab shell drifted up from the hole in the river bed, along with some chewed crab legs. The strange fish soon swam back out, shooting into the seaweed to hunt down its next target.
…
Lu Yin experienced life and death. He felt himself become the crab and be eaten by the fish. The sensation was unbelievable; Lu Yin was a crab, and the crab was Lu Yin. He felt himself be eaten, and even after his consciousness moved on, he still felt the feeling of being consumed. Was this the trial of the Sky Beyond the Sky?
Why did it feel so similar to his die’s six pips: Possession?
Everyone on the ground below was watching. They had no idea what “Yu Hao” had just experienced. All that any of them knew was that he had taken a step and his eyes had glazed over. From Lu Yin’s perspective, he had spent a long time immersed in the life of a crab, but to everyone watching, only a moment had passed.
The light that he had stepped into had enveloped him and pulled him up, but it looked as though he was rising under his own power.
Lu Yin suddenly realized exactly what was happening in the trial of the Sky Beyond the Sky, and he also understood why some of the challengers exhibited such bizarre behavior. They had mentally become different creatures and had not been able to return to being themselves. It was possible that they had come to see their time as a human as just another experience of a foreign life.
Clarity only momentarily returned to Lu Yin's eyes. After just an instance to consider the revelation that had struck him, he was looking at a swallow flying in the sky. The next moment, he had already become the swallow. There were no longer any other thoughts in his head. He was the swallow, and the swallow’s life was Lu Yin’s. He repeatedly lived through the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. He lived through migrations and hunting, and ultimately, died to sharp arrows.
Again Lu Yin suffered the agony and despair of dying as a swallow. Regardless of whether it had been the swallow or Lu Yin who had truly died, the sensations were perfectly real. How many people could calmly face death? Not just approach death and flirt with it, but truly die?
Lu Yin understood why so few people were able to pass the Sky Beyond the Sky: they could not face dying. They could not endure the despair, pain, and that final moment of disappearing.
However, Lu Yin could be said to already be used to such things, and he had even committed suicide on several different occasions.
As time passed, the people observing started to feel that something was wrong, as “Yu Hao’s” speed was accelerating. He had started rising into the sky slower than the triangle-headed Gong, but after enough time had passed for a stick of incense to burn, “Yu Hao” had caught up and reached a height of nearly 10,000 feet. He passed that threshold without even slowing down, and his opponent not see it either. Gong’s eyes were still dull, and he was experiencing his own cycle of life and death, but everyone on the ground below clearly saw Gong be overtaken.
Bai Weiwei was shocked. Why was the professor rising so quickly? While Bai Weiwei could not remember what she had gone through during her own trial, she understood from others that she had risen at what was considered an impressive speed, likely comparable to even Bai Shaohong. How could Prof. Hao Yu rise up so fast? This was his first time facing the challenge.
Wu Yao's expression grew worse and worse after Gong was passed. The Celestial Frost Sect had been surpassed, and it was all because of Bai Su's interference. He just had to offer to let Yu Hao attempt the trial, but the results would not benefit their sect.
Bai Su’s face twitched. Did the reports not make it clear that Prof. Hao Yu's talent was for lockbreaking? How could he have such incredible results in the Sky Beyond the Sky trial? Wait, was it possible? Could lockbreaking give a person an edge when facing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial?
Bai Su was not the only one with such thoughts, as similar suspicions occurred to multiple observers. Lu Yin had revealed too freakish a lockbreaking ability, and he had absolutely crushed Bai Wei in a game of Stable Zone. After that, he had even designed a way for ordinary cultivators to set up a sourcebox array by simply positioning several sourceboxes and overlapping their danger fields. That was not something that Lockbreakers could learn how to do through talent or experience, as it required a healthy dose of both.
"Progenitor Wen once passed this trial, so it seems that it really is possible that lockbreaking skill can help one when facing the Sky Beyond the Sky," Mr. Tang muttered to himself.
The God of Food was quite surprised. Was that true?
Lu Yin continued to experience multiple cycles of life and death, each time rising closer and closer to the cloud canopy. He soon reached 20,000 feet, which was the height where Bai Weiwei had been stopped.
Everyone watched nervously. Would Prof. Hao Yu surpass even Bai Weiwei?
Bai Weiwei's palms had grown sweaty. Just how talented was Yu Hao? The Xia family had truly been blind. If they had realized just how talented Yu Hao was all those years ago, how could they not have offered him their greatest treasure? Instead, they had sent Xia Zhitong to destroy his family and create an irreconcilable enmity with the Yu family. The Xia family had forced themselves into a position where they absolutely had to take Yu Hao down.