Chapter 178: Zen’s Incredible Jump
“Wurth!” Zen called from a distance.
“Zen, what are you doing here?” Wurth asked, wiping the sweat from his face. He didn't know why Zen decided to suddenly visit the Kite Skydeck.
Although Zen had just joined the Drizzle Peak a few months ago, he had already upgraded from marrow refining level to nature level. He became more powerful than any of those outer disciples from Drizzle Peak, and with this, he could be an inner disciple soon.
With Zen's current level in the Drizzle Peak, it wasn't necessary for him to go to Kite Skydeck for cultivation.
The other outer disciples of Drizzle Peak immediately cast their eyes to Zen when they heard Wurth call his name.
Zen had become famous in Drizzle Peak with the improvement of his cultivation and his name would make heads turn.
The outer disciple named Wyatt was distracted upon hearing the name Zen and his eyes suddenly went ablaze.
Wyatt was a gifted and persistent practitioner. But because he had been born in an ordinary family, he had gone through trials and tribulations in the cultivation process in Cloud Sect. Being discriminated because of his family roots, he always wanted to prove himself by defeating others.
But he had no interest in challenging a practitioner like Wurth.
The person he wanted to challenge the most was Zen, and defeating him was the only significant victory for Wyatt.
Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to defeat Zen now. He had just reached the half-step into the nature level, while Zen was already a nature creature.
Wyatt had been cultivating on Kite Skydeck for a long time, so he thought that Zen would be no match for him if he challenged the latter to a climbing competition
When Zen was talking to Wurth, Wyatt came up to him in a suit weighing a thousand pounds. Then he gestured at Zen for a challenge before turning around and rushing to the cliff wall.
Wyatt gave his all and climbed like a monkey. Swiftly, he ascended from the ground. After a short time, he had ascended from 10 meters to 47 meters.
Wyatt didn't look down and continued to ascend without slipping.
Reaching 47 meters was his best record by far.
After reaching that height, he carefully slid down from the cliff, looking down at Zen with defiant eyes. As soon as he reached the ground, he came over to Zen and asked, “Do you want to try your luck? Look! There's a handprint on the wall of the cliff. It's said that the handprint was left by the most powerful inner disciple of our Drizzle Peak.”
Wyatt knew that Zen had just upgraded from a half-step into the nature level practitioner to a nature creature.
Furthermore, the biggest difference between a nature creature and a half-step into the nature level practitioner was the life energy, not the corporeal body.
So Wyatt thought that Zen could neither surpass the height of the handprint left by that inner disciple nor reach the height that he just climbed.
Climbing the cliff didn't only require strength, but also the flexibility of one's body. The timing was also another significant factor. Since Zen hadn't tried this for once, he would have a hard time on this challenge.
Looking at Wyatt's arrogant face, Wurth couldn't help but feel disgusted. He knew that Wyatt only wanted Zen to look stupid in front of all the other disciples. Although Zen had made great progress in his cultivation, Wurth was worried that Zen would fail because it was his first time to climb a cliff. To save his friend from the embarrassment, he pulled Zen and said, “Zen, leave him alone. Let's have tea in the pavilion over there and catch up!”
Zen didn't want to waste time on such a trivial challenge, so he agreed with Wurth. But just as he was about to leave for the Pavilion, Wyatt suddenly said, “Hey, where are you going? You're not threatened by me, are you? How can a coward like you be called the best outer disciple in Drizzle Peak?”
Zen wasn't aware that he gained such title, but even so, he didn't care much for any titles or prestige at all.
Surprised by Wyatt's remark, Zen turned around and shrugged. “I'm not scared. I'm not just up for this childish stuff. But if you insist, then I guess there's no harm in trying. I don't get enough free time, so I guess it's a good chance to relax,” he said.
“Zen, I don't think that's a good idea,” Wurth tried to stop him. He had climbed this cliff before, so he knew that even though it looked easy, the cliff's surface was smooth and there was nothing to step or hold on to. One would need extra effort and familiarity of the cliff to successfully climb it. However, since Zen hadn't climbed it before, he would be at a disadvantage.
Zen waved his hand to cut Wurth off. “Wurth, don't worry about me. I have nothing to lose if I fail. I don't care about any title or prestige of being the best disciple. I would even gladly give it to someone who wants it,” he said and chuckled lightly.
Hearing that, Wurth was certain that Zen had already made up his mind and there was nothing he could do to stop him. 'I don't know about this, but Zen might have a chance of winning, ' Wurth thought to himself.
Zen had always succeeded at any obstacles he faced. He would always overcome a difficult situation even when nobody thought he could succeed.
Wurth laughed and said, “You're right, there's nothing to lose if you try. It's not important how high you can reach.” He made sure to say that out loud that the rest of the disciples could hear it. This way, Zen wouldn't be ashamed even if he could not successfully climb the cliff.
“This suit weighs a thousand pounds. But you can also try some lesser weight grade. We have the suits of a hundred pounds, five hundred pounds, and eight hundred pounds. Which one do you prefer?” Wyatt asked sarcastically as he took off his heavy load suit and lifted it in his hand.
Although he had given Zen some options, he stressed that he wore the heaviest suit so that Zen would feel the pressure. It would look fair if Zen would choose the same weight grade as his.
“It's your first climb on this cliff so it's okay if you choose the lightest weight grade,” Wurth convinced Zen.
But to his surprise, Zen took the suit from Wyatt's hand and put it onto himself and jumped like a light feather.
Zen felt a little bit of pressure of the heavy loaded suit, but with his current strength, this weight meant nothing to him. Even without the power from the dragon scales, he could completely ignore the weight of the heavy load suit.
Zen walked up to the runway of the cliff and measured the distance from where he stood to the cliff.
“Zen, you can do it!” Wurth shouted beside him.
Zen nodded. He then took a deep breath and dashed forward the foot of the cliff.
The height he could climb depended on his momentum and strength. The faster he ran and greater his strength, the higher he could climb.
Although he was not considering this a competition, he was still serious about it. Even if it was a way to relax, he was still giving his all to this challenge. Giving his all in everything he would do was Zen's philosophy in life.
As he dashed towards the cliff, he activated the Phoenix Crystal in his right arm.
“Whew!”
Zen was suddenly surrounded by a thin barrier which was formed by the energy released from the Phoenix Crystal.
The barrier kept the wind out and removed the resistance as Zen ran.
The other outer disciples showed great interest when they heard Zen was going to attend the climbing test on Kite Skydeck. He was regarded as the best outer disciple of the Drizzle Park, so everyone wanted to see what was so special about him and whether he was as powerful as what they said he was.
All of the disciples stopped what they were doing and stood there to watch.
They were watching carefully when Zen suddenly appeared blur with his speed and motion.
“Oh my goodness! He is really fast! How can he do that?”
“It's unbelievable! He moves so fast that I can't even see him!”
“I wonder how high he can go. Do you think he can pass the height of the handprint? Who knows?”
The buzz of conversation grew. All the disciples couldn't even blink their eyes in fear of losing track of the running disciple.
Zen hadn't used his full strength. If he did, the other disciples wouldn't see him with their naked eyes.
This wasn't only to test his speed and strength, but also his control ability on timing. If he went on full speed, he could hit the wall. He had to adjust his speed and motion so he could leap up the wall swiftly.
Since it was his first attempt on this, he was just relying on his instincts.
As he approached the foot of the cliff, he pressed his feet hard on the ground, bent his knees, and pushed himself upward.
He zoomed upward at an incredibly high speed.
He just bounced off the ground, and his feet hadn't even touched the cliff wall.
Wurth was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped to the ground. He couldn't blink and talk because of the intensity of the challenge. 'He is not stepping on the cliff wall! How could he even keep that momentum from bouncing off the ground?' he wondered.
Technically, in order to climb higher, the disciples would have to push on the cliff wall with their hands and feet so that the rebound force could be produced.
But to everyone's surprise, Zen had reached the 20 meters mark with just the momentum from his initial jump.
“He is such a freak! How could he climb dozens of meters only relying on his bounce?”
“I don't know what to say. God is so unfair! I don't even want to live after I found the gap between him and me!”
Wyatt was looking on in the crowd. He said coldly, “One can't climb the cliff wall merely by bouncing off the ground. Let's say he could reach the first 20 meters by his initial jump, but he would certainly fall off later when his momentum reduces! Look, he is finally slowing down!”
With one bounce, Zen had reached the height of 27 meters. Now that his upward momentum started to fade away, he began to climb the cliff wall with the use of his hands and feet.
After his hands landed on the wall, Zen was surprised to realize that the wall was so smooth that he couldn't even find a place to apply force.