Translator: CinderTL
On the Path to Heaven, over two hundred of the thousand-plus freshmen had already been eliminated, leaving just over seven hundred remaining.
Jiang Ye ranked in the two-hundreds, placing him in the upper-middle tier.
In reality, C-tier and D-tier students made up the majority of the freshmen. Those ranked B-tier or higher all placed within the top three hundred.
Jiang Ye's ranking in the two-hundreds was decent for a B-tier student.
However, this position was far from enough to secure a contract upgrade.
"The first stage, Falling Rock Pass, wasn't particularly difficult," Zhu Honglie observed, his gaze fixed on Jiang Ye. "But the Demonic Sound Pass and Star Forging Pass that follow will be significantly more challenging."
"Breaking into the top fifty now seems unlikely," Zhu Honglie muttered, shaking his head.
Beside him, Chen Yuntian chuckled hoarsely. "Old Zhu, I must say, this kid's performance has been rather ordinary. He's not as exceptional as we thought."
Zhu Honglie shot him a cold glance. "You old fox, trying to trick me again? You stole the last genius this way. Do you think I'll fall for it twice?"
"Ah!" Chen Yuntian shook his head. "Fair competition isn't trickery. Jiang Ye's performance has indeed been unremarkable so far."
Zhu Honglie snorted dismissively.
"This fifty-kilometer race has only just begun."
"It's not over until it's over," Zhu Honglie said calmly.
Chen Yuntian shook his head, sighing inwardly, Old Zhu's gotten too shrewd. He's not as easily fooled as before.
Just as he thought this, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"The Demonic Sound Pass is about to begin," Chen Yuntian said, watching the projected scene. "Let's see how Jiang Ye performs."
If Jiang Ye's performance proved truly mediocre, Chen Yuntian wouldn't mind letting Zhu Honglie have him.
On the Path to Heaven, which shimmered like a celestial river, Jiang Ye was being overtaken by one opponent after another, but he remained unhurried.
The Path to Heaven is fifty kilometers long, and we've only covered ten so far, Jiang Ye thought. Unless these falling rocks persist, I still have plenty of chances to catch up.
His speed wasn't slow.
After all, he possessed an Upper D-Tier Profound Physique, enhanced by a 50% boost to his base speed.
In terms of raw speed alone, even without using his speed control technique, he was on par with the Class A students.
However, most of those ahead of him had cultivated acceleration techniques.
The competitors currently ahead of Jiang Ye were either blessed with Dao Bone Aptitude or possessed Upper A-Tier Mortal Physiques.
These prodigies, having started cultivating from their first year of high school, had ample time to master an additional legwork or footwork technique before the College Entrance Examination.
But Jiang Ye, who had only begun to rise to prominence in his third year of high school, lacked such time.
Whoosh! Just then, the Falling Rock Pass finally ended.
Simultaneously, the tidal wave of energy that had surged like a raging sea vanished without a trace.
Huff! Everyone felt their bodies lighten.
"It's over!"
Jiang Ye's eyes lit up, seizing the opportunity to unleash a sudden burst of speed.
With the tenfold gravity lifted, he could now accelerate without restraint.
Whoosh! Like a phantom, he streaked across the Path to Heaven, overtaking more than a dozen people in the blink of an eye.
"Damn it, it's him again!"
"Is he going to start this again?"
"Overtaken once wasn't enough? Now twice?" The crowd left in his wake groaned inwardly.
Being overtaken twice by the same person was a bitter pill for these geniuses to swallow.
As Jiang Ye's speed continued to surge,
Buzz—
Suddenly, a piercing, otherworldly sonic wave erupted from the Path to Heaven.
This Demonic Sound, far more terrifying than the Shadow Clan's voices, pierced through their minds like a demonic chant.
While the Shadow Clan's voices could at least be resisted with Martial Dao Will, this Demonic Sound defied such defenses. Only those with exceptionally deep foundations could temporarily block it by severing their senses.
Whoosh! The special sonic wave swept across the entire area.
Most people grimaced in pain, covering their ears, but it was futile.
Under the influence of the Demonic Sound, many collapsed to the ground on the spot. Some even began running backward, completely disoriented.
Only the top-ranked students—those in the Mid A-Tier and Upper A-Tier—managed to maintain their forward momentum.
After the first breakthrough, they were no longer ordinary humans, possessing various transcendent abilities. Some geniuses could even perform extraordinary feats like introspecting their own bodies or blocking their five senses at this stage.
"Demonic Sound?" Jiang Ye sensed the sound waves the moment they arrived and immediately took action.
Unlike those geniuses, he couldn't block his five senses.
But...
[Cheat Ear: Freely adjust hearing sensitivity. Range: 0%-1000% (current maximum tolerance: 500%)]
[Mute the world!]
[Hearing: 0%!]
Instantly, Jiang Ye's mind became as still as a tranquil lake, and the entire world seemed to fall into an eternal, deathly silence.
Naturally, not a trace of the Demonic Sound reached his ears.
However, the Demonic Sound didn't just affect the mind; it also impacted the body. The ultra-high-frequency sound waves vibrated his entire being, causing his stellar energy to flow sluggishly and his movements to become sluggish.
"Charge!" Jiang Ye ignored the effects and accelerated.
He knew this was his best opportunity.
Perhaps he could even surpass the Upper A-tier students!
Whoosh! Like a bolt of lightning, he streaked across the Path to Heaven.
In the blink of an eye, he overtook dozens more competitors.
Into the top 100!
"Brother Haoran," Jiang Ye called out as he swept past Xu Haoran again.
At Falling Rock Pass, Xu Haoran had overtaken him.
Now, he had reclaimed his lead.
"Brother Jiang?" Xu Haoran stared in disbelief. How had he been overtaken again so quickly?
"Brother Jiang, keep going!" Xu Haoran snapped out of his daze and shouted, "Surpass them all!"
At this point, he had abandoned any hope of claiming the provincial first place.
Jiang Ye's speed was astonishing, already surpassing many Mid A-Tier students!
If he could push even harder and break into the top 50, or even the top 10, West Mountain Province's overall ranking would skyrocket!
100th place.
80th place.
70th place.
Jiang Ye's ranking was soaring!
50th place.
30th place.
20th place.
10th place!
Now, only the Upper A-tier students remained ahead of him.
Jiang Ye recognized many familiar figures.
Shen Changxi, Liu Wanxiao, and Yun Qing'er were all ahead of him.
"Shen Changxi?" Jiang Ye gazed at the figure at the very front. "Her innate talent must be related to speed, or she's cultivated an extremely powerful acceleration technique."
The white-haired girl was truly in a league of her own.
Even Liu Wanxiao, Yun Qing'er, and the others trailed her by thousands of meters.
"Keep pushing," Jiang Ye urged himself, increasing his speed once more.
"Tenth place already?"
"His ranking is still climbing?" Zhu Honglie exclaimed in astonishment. "What's going on? Is the Demonic Sound Pass having no effect on Jiang Ye at all?"
"His speed is now comparable to the Upper A-tier students," Chen Yuntian observed, equally surprised.
This defied all logic!
According to their records, all the Upper A-tier students had cultivated advanced art techniques specifically focused on speed.
Shen Changxi, for instance, had mastered a profound tier footwork technique, which explained her astonishing speed.
But Jiang Ye... what was his secret?
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (𝗦𝗬𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗧) on the Site till Ch370. (234 Chapters Ahead)
💲Read upto Ch182 for ABSOLUTELY 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀! ℕ𝕠 𝕃𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕟
⚡14 Novels | 8.8k+ Chapters | 14.8M+ Words [𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦]