Soul Emperor Awakening

A Fourth-class Talent can now lord over them. This is strength! This is proof!

The Martial God gave a light wave of his hand, and the terrifying pressure instantly vanished. Only then could the Patriarchs scramble to their feet. Even those at the Core Formation Stage couldn’t withstand such terrifying pressure. That is true strength.

Tuo Shengfeng and the others were in a sorry state, but they didn’t dare utter a single word of complaint. In fact, they weren’t too upset about kneeling to a peerless expert. Their statuses were worlds apart to begin with; it was tantamount to bowing before the Martial God himself.

"I am a Fourth-class Talent. I always have been. I won’t deny that the rate of advancement is painstakingly slow, but that is no excuse for weakness. It might be slow, but that doesn’t mean there’s no hope. It just means you’ll spend a little more time, and more importantly, you must carve out a path of your own."

The Martial God looked at them and said, "However, I believe most of you here have higher talent than I do! This time, I will not be testing your talent. I will only be testing your Willpower! In this place, your talent and your Cultivation are all useless. The only things that remain are your Physique and your skills. These are the fundamentals."

Ultimately, that other path is the Physique. Cultivating the body is more difficult, but the advantage is that one can train relentlessly. While it makes raising one’s Cultivation a bit harder, it still provides some benefits.

However, the Martial God’s most formidable trait was his Willpower. It was precisely this tempering that had forged his Willpower to be incomparably resolute.

"Now, you need only climb this Divine Martial Platform. All participants will receive corresponding benefits. To gain greater benefits, you must climb higher. When you reach the very Peak, you will obtain my Inheritance Ultimate Skill!" The Martial God announced a reward that made everyone’s blood boil with excitement—the Inheritance Ultimate Skill of the Martial God!

Of course, this held little allure for Lin Xuan. After clearing the Seventh Layer of the Martial God Tower, he had already obtained numerous Inheritance Martial Arts, so this one wasn’t particularly necessary.

However, when he defeated the young Martial God illusion, it had told him that the Divine Martial Hall held a great opportunity, and whether he could obtain it was up to him. He believed the young Martial God definitely wasn’t referring to this Inheritance Martial Arts, but something else entirely.

The crowd exchanged glances. When it came to Physique, the people of the Demon Cloud Sea were indeed quite formidable, possessing astonishing strength. This gave them a significant advantage!

Upon entering this place, they had all felt their internal Elemental Power being sealed. They could only rely on their physical strength; their Cultivation was truly of little use here.

This was just like a replica of the Martial God Tower. Their Elemental Power was only semi-sealed, so it wasn’t a major issue.

"You may begin climbing now. There are no time limits," the Martial God gestured.

The words had barely faded when a hundred people charged toward the Divine Martial Platform. They all scrambled forward, each wanting to be the first to reach the top and obtain the Martial God’s inheritance.

The Divine Martial Platform had a total of five layers, each about a hundred feet high. It wasn’t an exceptional height; a quick climber should be able to scale it with ease.

The hundred cultivators all rushed to the steps, creating a spectacular sight as they began to climb. The Divine Martial Platform was wide enough for all of them to ascend at once, easily accommodating everyone.

But fantasies are always beautiful, and reality is always cruel. As the crowd scrambled madly upward, waves of illusions surged from the very steps they gripped, flooding their minds and relentlessly assaulting their souls!

Lin Xuan felt it the moment he touched the steps. As soon as he began to climb, the Illusion assailed him, growing more severe the higher he went.

The gravity didn’t increase, but the Illusion was a constant interference, a ceaseless mental assault. No wonder it was a test of Willpower. Without it, there was no way to climb to the top.

Although the First Layer was quite difficult, the Demon Cloud Sea was still teeming with talent. Those brought here were undoubtedly geniuses. Only geniuses would be brought in; otherwise, their Cultivation wouldn’t even be high enough.

"Look, our Zeng Family’s disciple, Zeng Xuan, is so strong! This is no challenge for him at all. He’ll definitely be the first to reach the Second Layer!"

"Is that so? I doubt it!" Lan Qinghua of the Lan Family said with a faint smile. "Our Lan Family’s Lan Xuan is the one currently in the lead!"

The two men they mentioned were both standouts, their Cultivation having reached the Spirit Pill Stage Level—absolute geniuses! Of course, they were much older than Lin Xuan. Based on his appearance, Lin Xuan was around twenty, while they were already twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

Twenty-seven or twenty-eight wasn’t actually that old. Becoming a Spirit Pill Stage expert at that age was already monstrously talented. Besides, their own talents were not weak, both having reached the level of a Seventh-class Talent.

The two of them vied with each other as they climbed toward the Second Layer at a considerable speed. The Lan and Zeng Families were both eagerly anticipating their performance. The Martial God was watching from the side; if they performed well enough, they might receive some additional pointers!

Thus, it wasn’t just about succeeding, but about achieving perfection.

SWISH!

Lan Xuan shot up, becoming the first to set foot on the Second Layer. Zeng Xuan followed immediately after, reaching the Second Layer less than half a second behind him.

A cheer immediately erupted from the Lan Family. The first to reach the Second Layer of the Divine Martial Platform was one of their own! How could they not be thrilled?

In contrast, Lin Xuan, the one who helped open the gate, was not moving particularly fast. He climbed at a steady, unhurried pace, yet he was still ranked third—a very respectable achievement.

In the eyes of the Lan Family, however, he was just trash. Lan Xuan even turned his head to shoot him a contemptuous glare. ’So what if he cleared the Seventh Layer of the Martial God Tower? Isn’t he still beneath my feet right now!’

Lin Xuan paid their thoughts no mind, simply continuing his steady, unhurried ascent. His speed seemed rather average, but being in the top three out of a hundred people was actually an excellent result.

"Patriarch Tuo, this Foreign Elder of yours doesn’t seem all that impressive. Didn’t he clear the Seventh Layer of the Martial God Tower? Perhaps his reputation is overblown?" Lan Qinghua sneered from the side. He found Lin Xuan extremely displeasing; if not for the protective barrier earlier, he would have slapped the boy to death long ago.

"Is that so? Then let’s just keep watching," Tuo Shengfeng replied, not bothering to refute him. He knew that anyone who could clear the Seventh Layer had to be extraordinary. Lin Xuan simply hadn’t revealed his true strength yet.

This wasn’t a race of speed, but a test of who could reach the Peak!

Lin Xuan understood this, which was why he wasn’t eager for a quick victory. There was no need.

The Martial God, floating in mid-air, watched them climb without saying a word. His gaze, however, remained fixed on Lin Xuan, a satisfied smile gracing his lips. ’Neither arrogant nor impatient. A very good mentality. He is indeed worthy of being the Inheritor who cleared the Seventh Layer...’