"Daoist Di, why don't I go in first?" After hesitating for quite a while, Samuel Woodson finally spoke.
It wasn't that he doubted Joe Di's strength, but no matter how powerful Joe Di was, this Ascendant Gate was simply not something that could be controlled by man.
Joe Di understood that Samuel Woodson was worried if he were to be devoured by the Ascendant Gate, it might trigger a sudden change in its rules. That was why Samuel wanted to enter first.
Joe Di smiled and pointed at the Ascendant Gate. "Daoist Woodson, please go ahead. I will enter after half a month."
"Thank you, Daoist Di." Samuel Woodson bowed deeply. The half-month Joe Di gave him was more than enough. However, it meant he could no longer stay to cultivate within the Ascendant Gate. If he found a good place to cultivate its rules inside, he would have to give up his chance to advance.
As for letting Joe Di enter first and waiting a few more years himself, for Samuel Woodson, that was simply too agonizing. Though he'd struggled to survive and escape to Forgeworld, and spent countless years rebuilding his world, now that he could finally act, he couldn't bear to wait even a breath longer. He yearned to step into a new realm and pursue a higher stage of the Grand Way.
Watching Samuel Woodson offer Ascendant Gold to the Ascendant Gate and then step through, Bolt grumbled, "That old Woodson really doesn't know how to yield. If it weren't for Master, this guy would probably still be guarding his Ascendant Gold, waiting to die."
"He's worried I'll disrupt the rules within the Ascendant Gate, and then he'd never get a chance to enter and leave this place. For someone whose Dao Foundation was stripped and blocked by the Grand Way for tens of millions of years, it's not really unreasonable," Joe Di said calmly.
"So should I go in the same way as him?" Bolt looked at Joe Di and asked.
"You can go in like that, or you can enter with me," Joe Di replied.
He had never forced Bolt to become his life-and-death contract beast; if Bolt wished to leave, he could do so at any time. Yet if Bolt stepped inside now, the chances of ever meeting again would truly be slim to none.
Bolt let out a sly chuckle. "I'd rather enter with Grandmaster than get chased through the chaos by another pack of mongrels."
Joe Di reached out and gave Bolt’s head a gentle pat. He understood Bolt’s intent—at Bolt’s current strength, unless blocked by the Grand Way Path, no one could ever hope to catch him. What Bolt truly meant was that he’d rather remain by Joe Di’s side, sharing whatever fate awaited them.
...
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. Joe Di once again found himself standing before the Ascendant Gate. He had no idea whether Samuel Woodson had already crossed through—but regardless, Joe Di had no intention of waiting any longer.
"Bolt, when I step into the Ascendant Gate, stay close to me. If anything happens, enter my world immediately," Joe Di cautioned. He knew all too well that if disaster struck, Bolt retreating into his cosmic world would do little to help.
Joe Di’s warning was hardly necessary. Bolt knew that charging the Ascendant Gate head-on meant certain death, so he pressed close to Joe Di, never straying more than a few feet away.
Drawing a deep breath, Joe Di stepped boldly into the Ascendant Gate. The moment he made contact, a surge of overwhelming power swept over him, threatening to drag him into its depths.
This must be the Reverse Grand Way, Joe Di thought. Instantly, he felt his Dao resonance falter, as if a foreign force, utterly at odds with his cultivated Dao, was stripping away his resonance and constantly hindering its flow.
Though it was his first time here, Joe Di had long heard tales of the Ascendant Gate’s terrifying might—and of the Reverse Grand Way, said to grind any challenger to dust.