Chen Zhou stood up, preparing to head down and begin the challenge, when another thought occurred to him.
While he was absorbing the talents earlier, his divine sense had remained spread out, allowing him to clearly perceive the divine sense marks within each light orb.
They were likely wisps of divine sense left by Xuandu to test whether he had mastered the talent.
These marks didn't automatically trigger the challenge upon his completion of the comprehension. This meant he didn't have to do them one by one; he could start them whenever and wherever he pleased.
He could even challenge several wisps of divine sense at once?
Chen Zhou's eyes lit up.
Wouldn't that save even more time?
He thought of the new ability he had gained after merging the divinity of decay in Tianchi Province—Festering Calamity.
The more enemies there were, the greater his advantage.
Without a word, Chen Zhou sat back down cross-legged.
He began picking and choosing among the light orbs once more.
This time, he wasn't looking for anything specific; he just picked the ones that looked pleasing or had names that sounded cool.
After all, more skills never hurt, and he might find a use for them eventually.
He grabbed dozens more clusters of mist, comprehending them one by one. By the time he finished the last one, he glanced at the time.
The second incense stick was almost burnt out.
...
Below the high platform, Zhaoye Ghost Emperor could no longer sit still.
He paced back and forth, hands behind his back, looking up at the void occasionally before resuming his pacing.
“Why hasn't he started yet?” Zhaoye's voice was tinged with clear anxiety. “The third incense stick is already burning!”
On the light screen atop the Ghost Emperor Mansion, Chen Zhou was still sitting motionless, surrounded by cluster after cluster of mist.
“What on earth is that kid doing? Hasn't he finished picking his talents? Why hasn't the divine sense challenge started?”
Zhaoye turned to Xuandu. Xuandu was still standing on the platform, his expression calm but his brow slightly furrowed.
“Xuandu, say something!” Zhaoye urged. “Is he in trouble?”
“Did something go wrong during comprehension?”
“Let me tell you, this kid is only one year old. Don't hold him to the standards of geniuses who have cultivated for tens of thousands of years!”
Xuandu glanced at him and said flatly, “Don't be so anxious.”
“How can I not be!” Zhaoye raised his voice. “The third incense stick is burning. If he doesn't start soon, he'll run out of time!”
Xuandu remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, “The talent light orbs I gave him were all screened.”
“Each contains a complete cultivation method and the insights of past practitioners. Even so, it takes time to digest them.”
“What do you mean by that?” Zhaoye glared. “Are you saying he can't digest them?”
“I didn't say that.” Xuandu paused. “It's just... he only has a soul age of one year, after all.”
Zhaoye was momentarily speechless.
Yes, one year.
Standing here at one year old was already a miracle among miracles.
Xuandu hadn't spelled it out, but Zhaoye understood.
A soul age of one year meant his experiences, accumulation, and foundation were far inferior to those geniuses who had cultivated for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.
He had passed the first two trials and insta-killed Zhao Lie and Hong Xiu because of his unbelievable cultivation speed and combat instincts.
But the third trial didn't test speed or instinct; it tested comprehension.
Comprehension might not be strictly tied to soul age, but it was related to temperament, Dao heart, and experience.
How stable could the temperament of a one-year-old child be? How firm could his Dao heart be?”
The more Zhaoye thought about it, the more worried he became.
Xuandu was also reflecting.
Was he being too strict?
Regardless, the boy was still a one-year-old new god. Achieving so much at that age was already shocking enough.
Back in the ancient era, if the Great Emperor were still alive, this boy might have been the Great Emperor's hand-picked young master.
But now, he was judging him by the standards of geniuses with ten thousand years of soul age.
The third trial was one that only a tiny fraction could pass even in the ancient era. Could he pass it?
Xuandu wasn't sure.
A soul age of one year—that number was truly terrifying, so much so that Xuandu began to doubt his own judgment.
If the trial failed, would he be crushed? Would his Dao heart break? Would he never recover? Was he strangling a peerless talent in the cradle?
Both men were lost in their own thoughts, and a long silence followed.
Suddenly, Zhaoye snapped his head up.
“He's moving!”
In the void, Chen Zhou stood up.
Zhaoye immediately beamed, his anxiety replaced by a look of smug triumph.
“Good! Good lad! It looks like he succeeded!”
He clapped his hands loudly and shouted to Xuandu on the platform, “Xuandu, what did I tell you?”
“This kid is definitely fine! You were too hard on him. Master three talents in three incense sticks? Barely anyone could pass that test in the past, and you used it on a one-year-old child?”
Xuandu said solemnly, “He hasn't started the divine sense challenge yet. Comprehending the talents is only the first step.”
“It's practically the same thing!” Zhaoye waved his hand dismissively, full of certainty.
“If he can comprehend them, he can fight. You saw his performance in the first two trials. Zhao Lie and Hong Xiu were no match for him. What are a few wisps of divine sense?”
He chuckled and added, “In any case, finishing two of the three steps within three incense sticks is already impressive.”
“Just watch. He'll definitely pass the divine sense challenge too.”
Xuandu didn't argue, but he didn't relax either.
He knew better than Zhaoye that the real difficulty of the third trial had never been comprehending the talents.
With high enough comprehension, one could always master the talents.
But the divine sense challenge meant facing the replicas of those geniuses at their peak, activated by his own divine sense.
Although these wisps only carried one talent and were independent of cultivation level, each wisp represented the essence of a genius's life.
Their understanding and application of their talents had reached a transcendent level.
Using a newly mastered talent to challenge the master who left it behind.
That was the most absurdly difficult part of the third trial.
Xuandu looked up at the young figure in the void, thinking to himself that indeed, to achieve such shocking results, his talent could not be low.
Considering his young soul age, as long as he finished within three incense sticks, the Xuandu Ghost Decree would be his.
No, even if he went slightly over, it wouldn't matter.
He was only one year old; his path was long, and his future was limitless.
Xuandu made his decision. Just as he was about to tell Zhaoye to calm down, the change in the void made his pupils shrink.
Chen Zhou stood there and made a grasping motion toward the tens of thousands of light clusters.
Nearly a hundred clusters of talent mist lit up simultaneously.
A hundred figures slowly emerged from the mist, dense and layered, like an army resurrected from the river of time.
The smile on Zhaoye's face froze.
“What... what is he doing?”
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