by Yuri Ajin
He continued to push the barrier further and further, and after a minute he did what he wanted — the scarlet film tore, opening a passage that quickly began to recover.
Kai entered the dome. The pressure of Airus’ will immediately hit him, but it collided with the ability that he had just mastered, and which held up much better than Will Cover did.
He could’ve gone inside and even gotten to the pillar before he studied the dome. But that wasn’t the way he did things. He wasn’t afraid of injuries thanks to his bloodline nor was he worried about his soul being damaged because he knew that it had an inexplicable resistance to any external influences. Therefore, he could use techniques even inside the dome without major consequences.
Even with such an advantage, he still didn’t enter immediately. He had a different goal, for which he needed to master the technique of creating a repellent effect with his will.
He wanted to meditate right next to the Column of Will.
The elves resting by the edge of the barrier suddenly heard footsteps. Sharply turning around, they saw the very weakling they had mocked, quietly walking toward the center. He walked in such a relaxed manner that it looked as if he was taking a stroll in a garden.
The elves opened their mouths in disbelief.
Passing by them, he tossed them a condescending glance, took a few more steps, and then disappeared using the Five Weightless Steps Technique.
***
An’na was in the lead and just twelve paces away from the Column of Will. And although she was drenched in sweat, she had no doubt that she’d reach the artifact. However, she couldn’t imagine that she’d be overtaken almost at the finish line.
A figure flew past her, making her freeze up in surprise and shock. She didn’t immediately realize what had happened.
“Umm...”
“Sorry, An’na,” Kai said, appearing next to the Column. “Please, cover me.”
In the next instant, a thick layer of ice surrounded it. Kai was inside; cut off from everyone else — he didn’t want anyone to interfere with his training or to end the test before he completed his personal mission. There were still five and a half hours left till the end.
***
“I’ll kill him, I swear, I’ll kill him! Damn bastard, I’m barely holding on! It’s been four hours! I’ll fail if he doesn’t end the test right now,” one of the aristocrats swore, barely keeping his Will Cover active.
“Don’t waste your energy on talking, Bane,” Septus told him.
“I’ll only be able to hold on if I keep cursing that scum. I wish he’d die right now!”
“Suck it up. You’re a descendant of one of the great Livarius families. Don’t disgrace us,” Septus hissed.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Bane snapped back.
From the moment Kai fenced himself off from everyone with Cold Void’s ice, a little more than four hours had passed. All this time, the rest of the participants had to wait. Usually, an Exorcist would easily break such a barrier, but in the current situation, this was impossible. Nobody could use techniques under the dome without suffering damage. Also, the passage to Kai was cut off by Malvur, Shacks, and An’na (Ailenx remained on the sidelines). Starting a fight here would be suicide.
But after another fifteen minutes, the dome finally disappeared. The pressure was gone and the participants who survived this test breathed a sigh of relief.
The ice that surrounded the Column of Will began to melt away slowly.
“Did you touch the Column?” Malvur asked.
“Yes. Otherwise, it’d be too late.”
“I was starting to worry that you forgot about the test and you were up to your shenanigans again, buddy.” Shacks grinned. “We would’ve all dropped dead if you hadn’t ended the first test soon.”
“Don’t worry, my memory is still impeccable.” Kai chuckled.
“Can you explain what that was about?” An’na frowned. She was still sulking due to losing. “How did you get inside the dome?”
“We’d also like to know that,” Septus said menacingly. He, along with a dozen other aristocrats, was approaching Kai’s group. “How did you break the rules? How did you get inside and manage to use techniques under the dome?”
“What rules?” Shacks grinned. “Whose fault is it that you couldn’t use energy...?”
“Shut your mouth, peasant,” Septus interrupted him. “I’m not talking to you. Answer me, mortal.” He looked at Kai. “Don’t make us wait.”
Having no intention of talking to them, Kai turned away. At the same moment, Bane appeared in front of him.
“Oh, no you don’t, you scum!” The angry aristocrat hissed, summoning a blade from his Ring. “You won’t leave without giving us some answers!”
Bane’s hand moved up but neither he nor Kai got to do anything.
“I ask you to lower your weapon and calm your energy,” Airus said, appearing nearby, and suppressed everyone with his will and aura. “At the moment, any fights between the participants are prohibited. If I see someone try to attack again, I’ll disqualify both parties. I hope this is clear.”
“Yes, Grand Master Airus.” Septus bowed. “On behalf of all present members of my race, I apologize for this incident... However, we also ask for justice! A human... A mortal, couldn’t possibly pass this test. Therefore, we’re more than sure that he used some kind of artifact. He cheated. We ask you to disqualify him.”
“An artifact?” Airus arched an eyebrow. “Interesting... Do you think the great hero Shylix the Flame, your ancestor, who in ancient times passed a similar test as a mortal, also used some kind of artifact?”
Old bastard! How dare he compare my great ancestor to this scum? Septus was furious, although his fury didn’t show on his face.
“Are you saying that this... Human was able to do this on his own? Is that even possible?” Septus asked with a vague smile.
“A lot of things that you don’t even have a clue about are possible, boy. I’m very old and I have seen a lot more than you.” Airus smiled as if reading the elf’s thoughts. “On that note, we’ll finish this conversation. It’s time to see the results.”
Airus nodded and then began to fly up until he was fifty feet above the ground.
“Congratulations to all those who made it to the end. You shall proceed to the next stage, and you will also receive a reward that reflects your success.” Airus clapped his hands, after which a small tattoo in the form of a coin appeared on the back of the left hand of the three hundred and two cultivators. Each had a number. “That is a repository of Cloud Coins — the main currency in our Abode. Try to channel some energy into the symbol. With its help, you can either hide the tattoo, or materialize the required number of Coins, or absorb other Coins if you have them in your hands. Each of you has received one to three of them. It seems like a small amount, but, in fact, it has a large value, so don’t rush to give them to someone, as you may need them very soon.”
Airus didn’t go into details, although many would’ve liked to know how to acquire more Coins. After all, two hundred and eighty participants out of three hundred and two received only one Coin. Twenty-one received two. And only one received three.
It was Kai, who had fulfilled all three conditions. He stayed under the dome for at least seventy percent of the test’s total duration, crossed the line twenty steps away from the Column of Will, and completed the trial.
An’na, Malvur, Shacks, Septus, Bane, and sixteen other participants received two Coins each, as they were able to come closer than twenty steps.
“Well, now it’s time to move on to the second test — the Test of Talent,” Airus announced. “For this, everyone who received the Coins needs to go to the Column of Will. Touch it and let the artifact scan you to determine the quality of your cultivation. The assessment is made on a one to ten scale. In order to get to the third test, you must have at least six points. All those who lasted at least two and a half hours under the dome but eventually dropped out
will also have the right to be assessed. You may begin.”
Since another hundred cultivators were allowed to participate in the second test, a long line formed in front of the Column of Will. Most of the cultivators chatted while they waited but a lot used their time to train.
After two and a half hours, all participants received an assessment of the quality of their development.
Attention!
An alien object is invading the host.
No resistance detected.
...
Foundation Assessment has been activated.
Generating results...
[Development quality score: 9.1 (A Great Genius)]
[Age: 21 years]
[Current maximum life expectancy: 180 ((250) -70) years]
[Time spent on development: 7 years]
[Time remaining until the end of the active phase of the soul: 14 years]
Nine point one? Not bad, I suppose?
“That’s a lot, even by the standards of the Belteise Empire,” Rune’Tan replied. “You don’t have to worry about anything. You’ve completed your soul hardening perfectly, so your foundation is of excellent quality.”
“If so, then why don’t I have all ten points? Isn’t the quality of the first two stages considered?”
“Because, although you’ve achieved an excellent result during the breakthrough, that’s not the limit. At birth, almost all souls are exposed to external influences, which is why they can’t stay perfect. Small impurities, microcracks, and deformations appear in them. These shortcomings ultimately prevent the cultivators from reaching the maximum score. That’s mostly the reason why you can’t temper your soul to perfection. I’m talking only about the soul since only its development is being assessed here.”
“There’s a way to prevent these shortcomings, right?” Kai guessed.
“Yes. But this can only be done with the help of divine power.”
“I see... How’s this assessment done? And what does ‘A Great Genius’ mean?”
“To assess the foundation of development, the System considers many factors, but the main criteria are still your age and the size of the Source. In other words, the amount of ki you have. This assessment is more intended for Exorcists than for Soul Stage cultivators. I’ll give you examples of true masters,” Rune’Tan said. “Let’s start with the amount of ki. First, you need to know that only the size of the Source is taken into account here, not its special properties. For example, for elves, who have one and a half times more ki than the rest, the racial perk isn’t taken into account by the System, so they have no advantage in this regard. Second...” he continued talking about the amount of ki and its relationship with the assessment.
He explained that an initial-level Exorcist could have a minimum of five hundred ki units (that was zero points), and a maximum of one thousand (ten points). Accordingly, for each point, there were fifty units of energy.
As for additional descriptions, for example, “A Great Genius,” they indicated the cultivator’s potential. Those who received from zero to three points were named “Nonentities” by the System, which meant that they couldn’t develop further. Four points meant “Mediocre.” Such a cultivator could achieve one additional stage at most.
Five points meant “Capable” and that the cultivator could reach the peak of their level, but if they had six points, then they’d already be considered “Talented” and would have the opportunity to reach the Elementalist Stage (it was just a small chance).
Seven points meant “Great Talent.” The cultivator could become a Holy Lord, and a “Genius” (eight points) could reach the Divine Stage.
Kai received nine points, which meant that he could go beyond true mastery and achieve divine status. However, that only meant that he had a sliver of a chance because there were other factors that influenced the limit of development. Also, his foundation could get worse at any moment as every breakthrough brought with it a huge risk.
Having answered the first part of Kai’s question, Rune’Tan proceeded to disclose the second main criteria of assessment — the cultivator’s age. He had a lot to say on the topic, as the soul was pretty much his specialization.
He began his explanation with three phases of the soul.
The first — the active phase — lasted exactly twenty-five years for everyone. During those, the cultivator had maximum development efficiency. They were able to control energy better and master Forces faster. This phase began the moment when the cultivator discovered they could feel energy (that is, they embarked on the path of cultivation). It happened at the age of ten or earlier. Thus, none of the mortals in the active phase could be older than thirty-five.
However, if during this time the cultivator managed to become a true master — an Exorcist or a Titan (for animals) — then the duration of their active phase would be renewed and increased fourfold. That is, it’d last for a hundred years. That was exactly how much time the cultivator had to reach the next stage, after which the active phase could be renewed again. And so on.
The second phase was the decay phase, during which the rate of development began to slow down rapidly. It started once the cultivator failed to reach the next stage and renew the active phase.
The decay phase lasted twice as long as the active one, which depended on the development stage. If the cultivator was a mortal, it lasted fifty years, and if they were an Exorcist, two hundred. In this phase, the cultivator could perform no more than one breakthrough, no matter how talented they were before. And if they managed to do it, the active phase wouldn’t begin anew.
Rune’Tan himself was still in the active phase because he used a special stasis technique, which meant that he didn’t age. For his soul, time didn’t seem to pass. However, the price for that was high. He spent almost ninety-nine percent of his soul energy and wasted thousands of years in a painfully long sleep.
The last phase was the phase of darkness. This was the last possible state, with no limits. In it, the cultivator could no longer cultivate. Their path was ending, and even divine-level powers couldn’t change this. The only thing they were capable of in this phase was to climb one level up (not even a stage). And that rarely happened.
There was no simple answer to how much a transition from one stage to another could last since it was individual and it depended on many factors. However, there was still one rule.
Each new level could take, on average, as much time as the cultivator spent on completing the previous stage (the first three in this case counted as one).
According to these rules, it would’ve taken Kai about seven more years to become an Exorcist. Not to mention that starting from the Soul Stage, a breakthrough at each level would cause certain damage to the soul. The latter could be restored, but it didn’t matter. Kai could easily avoid that thanks to his unique feature — his soul was immune to any spirit attacks, which meant that after a breakthrough he didn’t need to recover. He could skip preparation and immediately start a new breakthrough.
But, he wasn’t going to engage in such extravagance. There was nothing wrong in taking some time off, spending it on gathering the necessary resources. The main thing was that it’d still take him less than seven years to get to the new level.
At the end of his lecture, Rune’Tan decided to give Kai a few examples about this system. He had vast experience, which, coupled with Kai’s energy vision, allowed him to see the score of other cultivators around them.
As it turned out, among all the participants, Kai was the one who received the highest score. Next were An’na (nine points), Malvur (eight point nine points), Septus (eight point eight points), and Shacks (eight point eight points).
Meanwhile, the second stage of the Cloud Trial was drawing to a close. All cultivators who had the right to participate in it had already received their assessment and were now awaiting further instructions. Airus didn’t keep them waiting.
“As expected, almost all of you are ‘Talented.’ Although not everyone
is as good as they think they are. One way or another, there are four hundred and eight of you left.” Airus, hovering above the ground, raised his hands, teleporting the eliminated participants away from the plateau. “Now you have to go through the final test — the Test of Combat. Listen carefully. In the next several hours, you will all be transported to those mountains and scattered,” he said, pointing to the left, and continued. “This is a tricky place, and your goal is to collect treasures, which are now scattered throughout the Aive mountain range. These are mainly Cloud Coins, but there are also rarer items. Collect and store them for as long as possible. When the test is over, your result will depend on the value of all the collected treasures. Only two hundred of you will be able to enter the Abode. You can search for treasures with the help of the Cloud Coin repository, which can also show you the location of your team members. You can activate it five times to get the information you need for a few seconds. It will show you all the valuables within a ten-mile radius and your teammates within a radius of thousands of miles. Be careful, as by searching for something, you will also reveal your location to everyone else! The trial will last five days, and I will not interfere in any way.” Airus narrowed his eyes, hinting that if they wanted to kill each other, he wouldn’t move a finger. “Teleportation has begun. It’ll take five hours. Those with the smallest amount of Coins will go first, and the richest will be the last to go. Good luck...” Airus disappeared in a bright flash, leaving four hundred motionless cultivators to wait for their turn to be teleported.
He didn’t leave though, but hid his form from the Exorcists, covering the entire ridge with his aura so he could observe them in silence.
There are two more now... Who could’ve expected that? Airus thought. The First, The Second, and now these two. A mortal and a half-breed. For the first time in my memory, four Great Geniuses appeared in the Abode at once. This has never happened before in four hundred thousand years. Either this is a blessing, or... a new era is approaching. I wonder whom the Key will choose...