Chapter 3747 — The Strongest Golden Core Expert
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Put simply, on Cloudstep Island, anyone below the Foundation Establishment stage was considered not to have entered the path at all. Foundation Establishment was merely the starting point, while the Golden Core stage was when one truly stepped into the ranks of the experts.
By common reckoning, every cultivator who reached the Golden Core stage was already a genius seen only once in ten thousand miles. Yet even geniuses came in different grades, and the Golden Core stage was the clearest dividing line among them all. It determined how high each cultivator could ultimately rise.
Those of lesser ability, no matter how hard they struggled or how many resources they consumed, would never break through in this lifetime, and could only helplessly stop at the early Golden Core stage. Those who were somewhat better might have hope of advancing another level, but even if they succeeded, they would become only the weakest among their peers. The rest of their lives would already be set in stone, leaving them virtually no chance to turn the tables.
Among all Golden Core experts, only the handful of truly outstanding prodigies could continue breaking through with irresistible momentum and become part of the supreme echelon standing atop Cloudstep Island.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Golden Core stage was a heavenly chasm stretching across the path of every cultivator. Whether one could cross it, and in what manner, would directly determine whether one later became a dragon or a worm.
The strongest Foundation Establishment experts might gradually sink into mediocrity after breaking through, but among the strongest Golden Core experts, there had never been such a precedent.
For tens of millions of years, history had made one thing perfectly clear: anyone who achieved invincibility at the Golden Core stage, so long as they were not cut down along the way, would inevitably grow into one of the supreme figures on Cloudstep Island. There had never been an exception.
What staggering ambition this fellow had! Wei Zhao looked at Yu Jiang, whose eyes burned with feverish longing, and felt rather unconvinced.
It was not that he looked down on the Golden Core stage. It was simply that he was still only at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage. His most urgent concern at present was breaking through to the middle stage. To start thinking about becoming the strongest Golden Core expert now was nothing more than reaching for the moon.
The same applied to Yu Jiang, who stood before him and was only at the middle Foundation Establishment stage. Instead of dreaming of becoming the strongest Golden Core expert, he would do better to consider how to become a peak middle-stage Foundation Establishment expert. That would be far more practical.
As for the Golden Core stage, whether he would even live long enough to reach it remained unknown. For now, he should first strive toward the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, then toward ultimate perfection.
Still, not everyone could maintain Wei Zhao's composure in the face of such temptation. In fact, if Wei Zhao had not possessed the jade pendant space and those heaven-defying advantages, then upon suddenly encountering a treasure capable of making him the strongest Golden Core expert, he might well have become just as hopelessly enthralled as Yu Jiang.
Of course, composure was one thing, but Wei Zhao's hopes for the Star Ink Stone were no less fervent than Yu Jiang's. With his many powerful trump cards, his chances of advancing to the Golden Core stage were far greater than anyone else's, which naturally made the Star Ink Stone even more significant to him. He simply would not let it drive him into a frenzy.
"Huh? That boy actually knows a secret like this? How interesting!" The long-silent voice of Ghost Thing suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Senior, is everything he said true?" Wei Zhao hurriedly replied through his divine sense.