Looking at the corpses, though smashed meats would be a better way to describe the mess in front of them, the others looked warily at the mountain.
With the dead cultivators being an example, they wouldn't dare get close to the mountain fearing the same fate would happen to them. Everyone had the same thought,
'Let the other take the lead first!'
-x-
Nearly an hour had passed, yet no one had climbed up the mountain. With no one wanting to take the risk, it caused the entire thing turned into a weird stalemate.
Ryker could only watch before he finally had enough, 'I need to take some risk too,' he thought to himself. However, he does learn something from the one who tried to climb earlier.
Instead of running to the top, he would take his time walking. Looking for the right moment, he walked away into the mountain.
The elder was barely able to detect him when he entered the field of meats. "Ryker, return quickly!" he yelled, calling out to the young man.
Seeing someone walking past the death zone made the others gasped, but they quickly smiled. After all, if the person was able to pass the field, then it would mean the way is safe. If not, then they would not have to deal with another competitor. Especially a powerful one like Ryker.
The one that had the biggest smile was naturally Horo himself. After all, the person that troubled him the most would likely meet his end. And he didn't even have to do anything
As the Great Families and Noble Family group watched with bated breath, he had already passed the field and even reached the foot of the mountain. Seeing him currently unscathed, some of the more impatient one had wanted to join him but was stopped by others.
They believed it wouldn't take long until another trap began to fire up. However, their expectation was not met as Ryker kept on walking the path, nothing bad happened to the young man.
Realizing that it was already safe, other groups began to run towards the mountain, intending to catch up with the young man. However, another burst was released once again, catching those who tried to chase after the lone man.
This resulted in another mist of blood, those who tried to catch after him were killed. Watching how another group of cultivators met their end made the others glad for their patient. However, they were shocked when the young man kept on walking, not stopping his strides as he ascended the mountain without a single care.
"How did he do that?" One of the Genesis Core experts asked, watching intently as the young man kept on walking without a single misfortune happening to him.
Suddenly one of them realized something. The man soon followed after, walking towards the young man. He kept on walking until he reached the mountain's foot.
Similarly to Ryker, there is nothing happened to the man as if he was strolling without care. Soon, the others realized the similarity between the two people.
"Instead of running towards the mountain, they walked their way instead," one person said out loud, making others realize he was correct. The two currently on their way to the peak had not run, instead walking their way to the peak.
So, began a mass walking trip to the peak. It was a bizarre sight, seeing powerful cultivators walking like it was some kind of mass hiking trip. With the way into the peak known to the others, everyone else walked their way to the top.
However, after the fifth person reached the foot of the mountain, the barrier reappeared, blocking their way from joining the five people.
No matter how much they tried, they couldn't even come close to joining the others in their ascend "Why can't we join in?!" One of the rogue cultivators aired his grievance, and other people joined in.
However, someone else spotted something near the foot of the mountain, where the barrier hadn't reached yet. "Only five may enter the trial. The sole winner would receive a prize that would lead to a greater reward,"
Hearing the rules of the trial made most of the people wallow in regret. If they had the courage, they would have been able to fight for the possible prize.
However, the one reading it didn't stop, "There are 5 other peaks. When the trial of the first one is finished, the 2nd peak will show its location. When the trial of the final peak is finished, the location of the inheritance will be shown,"
Hearing this made the rest enthusiastic. After all, if they could find the other peak they could have a chance to get the inheritance of a powerful expert.
However, they will have to wait until the trial at the first peak is finished first if they want to get to the next peak. Even still, the knowledge they get is worth a lot. Especially to those with powerful forces backing them.
"When the next peak showed itself, we going to head there as quickly as possible, understand," the young master of Adle Duchy called out to his subordinates, his men nodding at his words.
"We need to be quick or we have to fight one of the two powerful forces," Miyon told her handmaidens, the other women nodding their heads at her words.
"When the time comes, get ready to move as quickly as possible. We need to make sure we are the ones that get the most out of this place," Horo told his subordinates, all of them nodding at their young master's words.
As for the five that entered, they had already reached the peak, where they spotted the origin of the beam of light. To their surprise, it was a piece of ore, one that was so bright it illuminated the sky itself.
Unfortunately, there are no instructions on what their next trial is. While the other four grumbled, looking at each other with some wariness, Ryker eyed the ore. He thought about the possible things he could do before deciding that thinking about it with no information is just dumb.
He headed towards the location of the ore. However, as he got close, he could feel a force blocking him from getting any closer. He used his divine sense before realizing what the energy was.
"This is- metal energy!" he exclaimed to himself. To think the fallen expert would be someone with mastery of Law of Metal, was a surprised but not an unwelcome one. During the week, he had spent his time comprehending and learning as much as he could of the Cultivation Art that was left behind to him.
While his comprehension regarding every other Path is not excellent compared to the one he had already mastered at the Elementary Understanding level, it was not too bad. He merely needs an opportunity to further his understanding of both the Cultivation Art and Path.