1963 Road to the Sky

“Strange. All the gourds showed a reaction, but they didn’t give out a holy aura. This is really strange.” Inside a building, a man of the Sky race frowned as he looked upon Han Sen traversing the Sky Road. He was in deep thought.

Everyone in Sky Palace showed a similar expression. They had never seen a holy gourd react that way, and so no one knew what it meant.

If Han Sen was talented, the holy gourd would provide him with a holy aura. His potential was yet to be determined. Wherever he went, the gourds did have a reaction, but it was one that yielded nothing. It was very peculiar.

Han Sen felt depressed. He thought he could go home by failing under spectacular circumstances, but the Sky Road was nothing special. It was like an ordinary bridge, really, except longer. It also went upwards.

Han Sen stepped onto the main island, and then Thousand Feather Crane rode his bird over towards him. Han Sen said to him, “That gourd vine only shakes. Is it supposed to spook people into falling off?”

Thousand Feather Crane looked at him strangely, and said, “Brother Han is talented. You have nothing to be afraid of. It is getting late, and the leader awaits you. Let us be off!”

Han Sen followed him via the steps. They went between a vast array of clouds, many of which had buildings situated upon them. It was like he was in heaven.

The jade stone steps were going up high. When Han Sen finally saw the end, he found himself looking at a grand palace. Ahead was a large plaque that said, “Sky Palace.”

Han Sen walked up the stairs, one step at a time. Every step he took felt heavier than the last. It was not that the stairs had some trick to them, it was just that the Sky Palace looked so intimidating. People below it would feel pressure going up.

It wasn’t just a feeling, either. There was an increased weight upon his shoulders. The closer he got, the stronger it grew.

Thousand Feather Crane kept watch over Han Sen.

The staircase to Sky Palace was called the Road to the Sky. Those of the Sky race felt no particular sensation when they climbed the stairs, but the outsiders that traversed those stairs would feel a massive amount of pressure from Sky Palace. The pressure came from the plaque that said Sky Palace.

The plaque was crafted by the first leader of Sky Palace. It had the powers of Sky Palace Outer Sky. It suppressed all people. People with a poor will would be greatly suppressed, and they would not be able to reach Sky Palace.

Even people with strong wills would feel as if they were marching through hell when they walked that road. Most of them would feel exhausted as they climbed.

Thousand Feather Crane kept watching Han Sen, just in case he fell. If he did, Thousand Feather Crane would carry Han Sen to Sky Palace. It was his job to guide him there.

Han Sen had been invited by the Sky Palace leader. He had crossed the Sky Road, and so Thousand Feather Crane could not allow him to be crushed by the Road to the Sky. And it would look poorly if he ended up crawling in.

Not much later, he saw Han Sen frown. He paid more attention to Han Sen, ready to help him if he collapsed. The first leader of Sky Palace was powerful. A mere two words were enough to buckle most people’s knees.

Normally, only Dukes could withstand the pressure and enter. Han Sen was just a Viscount, so it would not be embarrassing for him to be unable to keep his feet.

But only people who went through it the first time would suffer this pressure. They wouldn’t feel it once they were past it, and that was what was most amazing about the Road to the Sky.

Han Sen frowned and kept ascending the stairs. His pace was ordinary, and there was no sign of him struggling. He looked at the plaque that read Sky Palace.

Han Sen could discern the feelings elicited by the words, and he understood how intimidating they were. It made him admire whoever had left the words there.

Han Sen did not fight back with his will. He had come there to practice, so he wasn’t there to cause issues. And the leader was Yisha’s teacher. He didn’t want to embarrass himself, so he didn’t fight it. He accepted the feelings the two words gave him.

Sky Palace feelings were strange. Han Sen felt as if he was getting crushed. It was getting harder and harder to walk, and his forehead eventually started to sweat.

Han Sen refused to fight against the feelings the words gave him, but it was still very difficult to bear with them. If Han Sen did not possess a great will of his own, he’d have been brought down to the ground and made immobile.

Thousand Feather Crane observed the beads of sweat on Han Sen, and noted how it looked as if the man had just stepped out of the water. He frowned.

They had only gone up one hundred steps, and yet, Han Sen sheened in sweat. It was pretty extreme.

He was a Viscount, so there was no way he’d last one thousand steps. But if Han Sen’s situation continued like that, he might not even make it to the two hundredth step.

“Sky Palace is strong.” Han Sen was shocked.

Han Sen did not use his own will to try to break Sky Palace’s will, but it was obviously very powerful for it to suppress him like so. Han Sen did not know what to do.

Since Han Sen had decided not to fight back, he didn’t plan on releasing the feeling. He accepted the pressure and just kept going. It was so heavy, it was like he was carrying a mountain. Every step he took left the stair behind him wet with sweat.

Han Sen kept feeling that pressure as he walked, and as he pushed on, he learned something.

It was a pure feeling, and it did not come from Han Sen. The intensity of the suppression began to give Han Sen some manner of inspiration.

The Dongxuan Aura’s power could only mask his senses. It didn’t affect his body.

If Dongxuan Aura could be suppressed like so, the power would reach another level.

As Han Sen kept walking, he loosened himself up. He allowed the pressure to fall on him fully. He hoped to learn something from those words.

It was getting harder and harder for Han Sen to walk. By the time he reached the two hundredth step, he had to spend a lot of power to take every step forward.

“Let me carry you.” Thousand Feather Crane saw Han Sen on the verge of collapse, and so he resolved to help him.