Ou Yangming swayed as if he would fall again at any time.
Nonetheless, no matter how dangerous his upper body looked, his legs were steady like rocks, and he looked like a 10,000-year-old ancient tree. Even if there was a strong and violent wind, as long as it did not overturn the Earth, it would certainly not blow him away.
With that, Ou Yangming made it through the fifth level, step by step, and arrived at the platform for the sixth level.
When Ni Jingtong and the other elders, who were on the sixth level, saw Ou Yangming’s state, they were in such disbelief that their faces took on a strange look.
Their hearts crumbled at that moment.
‘The young fella got up, he actually got up!’ ‘How did he… Get up?’ The elders had walked the Testimony Path in the past, so they knew very well how difficult the fifth level was. It was possible for one to complete it in one breath, but if one fell down halfway…
They were horrified at the thought of it, and were sure they would not have the courage to get back up again if they had fallen down.
However, an actual miracle had just taken place in front of the elders. ‘Ou Yangming. How did this young fella get up?’ “Could this fella…” Ni Jingtong mumbled, “Has his consciousness already surpassed his body?”
The other five Ni family powerhouses shivered because they were too aware of what it meant, but it was the exact reason they dared not believe it.
As Ni Jingtong and the other elders watched the seemingly exhausted Ou Yangming in disbelief, they broke out in a cold sweat. This was because they wanted to know if the teen, who had just walked the fifth level, had the remaining energy required to complete the sixth flight of stairs.
If Ou Yangming could really do it, it would mean that his quality and ability were not inferior at all to every genius in the Ni family over a thousand years. No, perhaps he was actually superior to them.
It was worth noting that Ou Yangming only had the strength of Yin Grade Class One at the moment.
Even the three Ni family powerhouses who had completed the Testimony Path in the past had attempted it when they were at least at the peak of Yin Grade.
Therefore, Ni Jingtong and the rest had the same thought at the same time. ‘Is this young fella going to break the Ni family’s record?’
It was not a glorious thing because no disciple from the Ni family would be willing to see an outsider break their clan’s record. Nevertheless, the six powerhouses seemed to have forgotten about this because they looked quietly at Ou Yangming without wanting to disturb him.
Ou Yangming breathed heavily and instantly saw Ni Jingtong and the other elders when he looked up.
The elders were sitting in a spot furthest from the stairs, and each of them looked at him expressionlessly and with a cold look.
Ou Yangming smiled bitterly as he immediately realized that he had to walk over to them.
Despite that, he was already fearless. Unless he lost his life, he would not be taken down regardless of how difficult the situation was.
When Ou Yangming took a step out, he finally moved to the sixth level.
Although he did not know what the sixth level’s test was, he was well-prepared. He had somewhat figured out a pattern; the first three levels were related to one’s physical fitness, hence one with strong physical power and willpower could pass them.
From the fourth level onward, one’s mental state was tested.
Ou Yangming could easily pass the fourth level, but suffered terribly on the fifth level, thus the sixth level—the final level-was definitely going to be a challenge. If he was slightly careless, his previous efforts would be in vain.
He slowly took a step forward.
Ou Yangming suddenly raised his eyebrows and seemed to be in disbelief. There was neither a feeling of difficulty nor irresistible pressure. It was as though the path ahead was a flat road, and he could easily walk with big strides to the finishing point.
He had experienced the feeling once, when he was on the fourth level, and he had passed it with no surprises and at ease.
As such, when he experienced the same feeling again, he could not help but feel relaxed.
After taking two more steps, Ou Yangming had loosened up even more. An inexplicable and unstoppable feeling of delight rose from his heart, and was about to take over his other emotions.
From being extremely pressured and dispirited, he suddenly experienced a completely different emotion, and the intense impact from the instant change was vastly different.
Ni Jingtong and the other elders widened their eyes and stared at Ou Yangming. They had crumbled in the past from undergoing the drastic change of emotions, changing from being in great suffering to feeling great joy. If anyone could withstand the instant change of feelings from one extreme end to the other, it must be someone with non-human and freaky willpower. That said, a freak like that was extremely rare, so there were only three in the Ni family over a thousand years.
When Ou Yangming suddenly halted, Ni Jingtong and the rest said to themselves, ‘It’s here!’
Nonetheless, it was then that Old Craftsman’s thin face flashed in Ou Yangming’s mind.
Upon seeing the thin and unrecognizable face, Ou Yangming only had sorrow left in his heart, and could not feel even a bit of joy.
Hence, when the emotion of wild joy had not even been brewed in his heart and spread out, it was already driven out by sorrow, so much so that none of the joy was left. Ou Yangming’s half-developed smile on his face froze at that moment, and it looked like an incredibly odd and hideous smile instead.
Following that, he curbed his thoughts and composed himself again to walk toward Ni Jingtong and the other elders step by step.
It was not a long road, so he arrived before them in no time.
After making a deep bow at Ni Jingtong, Ou Yangming asked, “Senior, did I pass?”
Ni Jingtong’s face twitched as he answered, “You passed.” “Close the formation, quickly close it!” Ni Xueshu quickly ordered as if he had just woken up from a dream.
The other elders jumped as well, and they stopped the formation around them at the speed of light.
They moved extraordinarily quickly, as though they were afraid of delaying something. In the blink of an eye, the peculiar color that filled the tower vanished.
“Ou Yangming, how did you come here?” Ni Jingtong asked after taking a deep breath. Ni Xueshu and the other elders pricked up their ears as well as they were eager to find out how Ou Yangming withstood the clash and sudden change of the extreme emotions.
In the past, Ni Jingtong had also asked the third great ancestor the same question when he finished the path, but even after pondering for a long time, the great ancestor said that he had no idea how he did it. As a result, Ni Jingtong was mad.
This time, since someone had completed the entire path again, he was obviously going to ask the question again. Ou Yangming wondered in all seriousness, then replied to Ni Jingtong hesitantly while everyone watched him with anticipation, “I… Walked here.”
“Walked here?”
The elders were stunned, and they could not help but curse.
‘You don’t say. If you didn’t walk here, did you fly here?” However, they did not know that Ou Yangming had indeed flown his way past the third level.
Ni Jingtong twitched his mouth and said, “I was asking how you managed to mediate the two emotions.” “Emotions?” Ou Yangming was stunned, and he asked probingly, “Senior, are you asking about the strange emotion of joy?”
“That’s right.” Ni Jingtong’s eyes lit up as he asked with a deep voice, “How did you overcome it?”
Ou Yangming spread out his hands and answered honestly, “The feeling of joy came too suddenly, but I was only concerned about my senior and could not be happy at all, so the emotion disappeared by itself.”
He finally realized that the sixth level’s test was the feeling of joy that appeared without warning.
If a normal person had undergone the same situation, it was actually possible for one to go mad. In fact, even a Yang Grade powerhouse could not avoid the mental impact.
That being said, all things in the world were restricted by something.
Nothing could be done if the emotion of joy clashed with deep sorrow. “Is… Is that even possible?” Ni Xueshu mumbled.
The other elders looked at each other too. They either pondered or discussed with each other, but they soon had a strange look in their eyes.
Before this, they had cultivated their Qi before walking the Testimony Path to be fully mentally prepared. During that time, they cast away everything that would distract them.Therefore, their energy was fully focused when they attempted the path, and they stressed on being emotionless to be in their best state.
Nevertheless, under that state, if one was suddenly surprised after experiencing hardships, one’s situation would be placed in jeopardy. On the contrary, Ou Yangming was already inconsolable, and even gained superb power during a difficulty, which allowed him to complete the fifth level in one vigor. On the sixth level, the emotion of being wild with joy could not compete with Ou Yangming’s concern and sorrow for Old Craftsman, thus he could not be happy at all.
Ni Jingtong cleared his throat and said, “Let’s ponder upon this in the future. Ou Yangming… You’ve passed the test, so please go rest, and I’ll send you into the Chaos Cave tomorrow morning.”
Ou Yangming responded to him. He was starting to feel exhausted too.
When he turned to leave, it was already bustling outside the tower. Whether it was Ni Yunhong and his younger sister or the skinny Ni Xueming, they all flashed smiles at him.
In particular, when Ou Yangming exited the tower, everyone was generous in giving him words of praise.
Ou Yangming smiled faintly at everyone, then suddenly went forward to give Ni Yinghong a big hug while the others watched.
“Thank you!”
