Free Web NovelChapter 168: Chapter 168: Profound Spirit Stone
Shen Daoxing returned to his guest room and sat in meditation on his bed. He closed his eyes to recuperate, and his Divine Soul entered the Venerable Domain.
Time flowed by as the sun rose and set. In the blink of an eye, five days had passed. The day of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land’s entrance assessment had finally come.
Today, geniuses from every kingdom in the East Continent, large and small, all gathered at the Heroes Tower.
When Shen Daoxing stepped onto the terrace again, it was already packed to the brim. The crowd looked up ahead, their eyes filled with excitement.
Just then, several Cloud Platforms slowly rose beyond the terrace, floating in mid-air. They were platforms made of rosewood, inscribed with profound and ancient runes similar to those on the Cloud Ship.
The Cloud Platforms were furnished with elegant seats, complete with tea and snacks, and attended by stunningly beautiful maids.
On the largest Cloud Platform directly ahead sat seven young prodigies, each with an extraordinary bearing. They sat upon the elegant seats, their gazes calmly fixed on the crowd.
Shen Daoxing could clearly feel their auras were unlike any other; every one of them was an expert in the Spirit Transformation Realm.
And among them were Shangguan Yiran and Dongfang Wan’Er.
Seated on the elegant seats of the Cloud Platforms to the sides were the top twenty prodigies from the East Continent’s Martial Arts Ranking. They were waiting for the results of the entrance assessment, after which they would determine their final rankings through a series of one-on-one duels.
"It’s the Eastern Saintess and Fairy Shangguan, the Celestial Immortal Dual Extremes of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land! Being able to see both fairies means that even if I fail the assessment today, I have no regrets!"
"I heard that if the top-ranking geniuses in this assessment catch their eye, they can enter the Inner Sect directly!"
"The Inner Sect is an opportunity reserved for prodigies on the Martial Arts Ranking. The likes of us shouldn’t even think about it."
The geniuses of the East Continent on the terrace whispered amongst themselves.
Not far away, Lv Yunsheng spotted Shen Daoxing in a corner and slowly walked over. "The Celestial Profound Sacred Land’s Seven Great Sacred Mountains have all sent disciples. It looks like they’re taking today’s entrance assessment very seriously!"
As he spoke, Lv Yunsheng glanced at the Martial Arts Ranking prodigies on the Cloud Platforms to either side. "The prodigies on this year’s Martial Arts Ranking are far stronger than those of the past. It won’t be easy for you to take first place, especially with the Ancient Sword Marquis ranked number one. Rumor has it he could have broken through to the Spirit Transformation Realm a year ago, but he’s been suppressing his cultivation this whole time just to forge the ultimate Sword Containing Grotto Heaven."
The Sword Containing Grotto Heaven is the Realm of the Ultimate Way within the Grotto Heaven Realm. Only those who cultivate the Grotto Heaven Realm to its absolute peak have a chance to enter it. It grants its wielder the ultimate sword-essence and Sword Intent, making them far more powerful than someone in an ordinary Grotto Heaven.
Shen Daoxing turned to look at the Cloud Platform where the prodigies of the Martial Arts Ranking were seated and saw that the most prominent seat was still empty. The Sacred Land’s entrance assessment was about to begin, yet the Ancient Sword Marquis had still not appeared.
Shen Daoxing thought for a moment before looking at Lv Yunsheng. "And you?"
Lv Yunsheng scratched his head and gave a slight smile. "I know my own limits. First place, the Inner Sect... I don’t even dare to think about it. I’ll be perfectly content if I can just get into the Outer Sect of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land."
Shen Daoxing fell silent, lost in thought, before suddenly saying, "Actually, I’d rather you not enter the Celestial Profound Sacred Land at all."
Lv Yunsheng stared blankly, not understanding what Shen Daoxing meant.
As the two were speaking, a young man with a cold, stern expression slowly walked out onto the main Cloud Platform.
"I am Zhao Wufeng of Canglan Mountain, from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land. I will be the chief proctor for this assessment."
Zhao Wufeng’s gaze slowly swept across the crowd on the terrace. "We are honored that you all hold our Celestial Profound Sacred Land in such high regard and have come to participate in the assessment. But I must be clear: only a genius among geniuses, a true child of Heaven, can enter our Sacred Land. It is not a place one can enter easily. I hope you all understand."
After some perfunctory pleasantries, Zhao Wufeng suddenly launched himself into the air, landing with a THUD on the terrace and making the entire structure tremble.
"Alright, enough idle talk. We will now begin the first assessment," Zhao Wufeng said slowly. With a flick of his ornate robes, a strange, translucent, jade-like round stone appeared on the terrace.
Zhao Wufeng then slowly explained, "This is a Profound Spirit Stone. As Martial Artists, we should all know that on the path of cultivation, a Profound Platform condenses within each person’s Dantian. The quality of this Profound Platform determines the upper limit of a Martial Artist’s future potential."
"This Profound Spirit Stone can measure the quality of the Profound Platform within your body. The first test is very simple: you just need to make this Profound Spirit Stone light up."
"And how do we do that?" someone asked.
"It’s simple. You only need to touch the Profound Spirit Stone and stimulate it with the Spiritual Power from your body," Zhao Wufeng explained. "The Profound Spirit Stone will react and emit one of five colors of light. White light means you have passed. Yellow light represents a high-grade Profound Platform, green light a top-grade Profound Platform, and purple light a peerless-grade Profound Platform."
Hearing this, someone noticed the omission and asked with a puzzled expression, "Then what’s the fifth color of light?"
Zhao Wufeng paused at the question, then said with profound meaning, "The fifth color is orange, which represents a divine-grade Profound Platform. However..."
He fell silent for a moment before continuing in a grave tone, "...in the thousand-year history of the East Continent, no one has ever cultivated a divine-grade Profound Platform. Even Dugu Sheng, the greatest genius in our continent’s history, only possessed a peerless-grade Profound Platform."
Hearing this, the crowd’s eyes widened in shock. ’Even Dugu Sheng only had a peerless-grade Profound Platform? Then what exactly *is* a divine-grade Profound Platform?’
"Alright, the rules have been explained. Who wishes to be first?" Zhao Wufeng said slowly.
"I’ll go!"
A gruff voice rang out first, and a burly man with a fierce glint in his eyes stepped forward.
"Li Dezuo of Heyang, Yan Kingdom."
The burly man stepped forward, offered a cupped-fist salute to Zhao Wufeng, and then approached the Profound Spirit Stone. Placing his hands on it, a brilliant light flared from within his body as a massive amount of Spiritual Power surged into the stone.
The Profound Spirit Stone trembled a few times, then fell still.
Zhao Wufeng shook his head in disappointment. "Failed. Next!"
The burly man sighed and walked away, dejected.
After him, another six or seven hopefuls stepped up to be tested, but only two of them passed. This test from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land, though it appeared simple, was clearly anything but.
Ten more candidates came forward before one with a high-grade Profound Platform finally appeared.
"I’ll go!"
At that moment, an arrogant voice rang out.
Shen Daoxing turned toward the voice and saw a familiar figure: the Young Prince, Cai Ji.
A buzz of discussion rippled through the crowd at his appearance; clearly, they had high expectations for him.
Soon, the Young Prince, Cai Ji, arrived before the Profound Spirit Stone. He extended his hands, and Spiritual Power surged from within him.
THUMP! THUMP!
The Profound Spirit Stone trembled a few times, then slowly began to emit a yellow light.
The crowd instantly erupted with excitement.
Zhao Wufeng nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad! A high-grade Profound Platform!"
As he spoke, Zhao Wufeng produced a Jade Token from his robes. He raised two fingers, their tips glinting with golden light, and swiped them across the token to register the Young Prince, Cai Ji’s, name.
