Under the Ancient Empress's Standards

No one paid attention to the losers. Those who remained in the light shield, though they had successfully passed the second trial, were not satisfied. For most of them, it was not just about passing, but about seeing the final result.

In the Empress Secret Realm, every trial has a performance evaluation.

Passing the trial is only the minimum requirement. If someone barely passes it from beginning to end, then he is destined not to receive the Empress Inheritance, nor to enter the Empress's treasure.

I wonder what my score will be...

Shentu Nantian looked at the crystal pillar of light. It seemed that the results of the second assessment were most likely to be displayed on the crystal pillar of light in front of him.

Shentu Nantian is counting on the second phase of the trial to turn his life around!

Shentu Nantian was initially somewhat satisfied with his performance in the first trial. However, compared to Yi Yun, his results became a joke.

"The second trial, preliminary stage, is over!"

Just then, that cold voice rang out in the square, startling everyone. What? The preliminary test?

The inner demon trial we just went through was just the preliminary test? Is there a second test? And what is the second test?

The voice from the Empress Secret Realm seemed to have anticipated everyone's doubts, and continued, "The second trial will primarily test—cultivation!"

Cultivation?

People were all confused, but at this moment, a message entered the minds of each trial participant, and they finally understood the entire process of the second trial.

In fact, the second trial has only just begun!

The initial trial of inner demons is designed to assess each participant's ability to withstand their inner demons. For martial artists aspiring to reach the Martial Dao Peak, the ability to withstand inner demons is naturally crucial.

But for a future unparalleled Great Emperor, inner demons are far from the most important thing.

To become Great Emperor, two things are essential: talent and luck.

Luck is difficult to verify, and as for talent, it largely depends on the speed of cultivation.

Under equal conditions, each participant will cultivate within the Empress Secret Realm, utilizing its various resources, and the extent to which they have increased their strength will be compared.

This is the real second trial!

As for the inner demon trial just now, in addition to testing the inner demon endurance of many participants, it also allowed the Empress Secret Realm to record the current strength level of each person.

After entering the gate of light, the trial participants faced a real illusionary killing array, which could assess each person's strength.

Even Lin Xin Tong experienced the battle of the Illusion Killing Array in her dream.

"So it was a test of cultivation speed!"

"There's this kind of test... it must last a long time, right?"

No one had expected that the Empress Secret Realm would set up such a test; it was truly unexpected.

"Cultivation speed... that's talent, and I'm not afraid to compare talent."

Shentu Nantian chuckled, brimming with confidence. Many geniuses, including Gongsun Hong and the Leopard Girl, were also full of confidence in their talents.

They began cultivating from a young age, and their progress was rapid, far surpassing that of their peers.

At this moment, the cold voice rang out again. "Your Training Ground is the God Descending Tower! Now, I will give each of you a talent and strength rating!"

"Now, write your names in blood on the crystal pillar!"

As the voice spoke, the crystal pillar suddenly flashed, and the countless crystals embedded in the pillar shone brightly from top to bottom.

Looking at the crystal pillar, a burly young man burst into laughter. "Write your name, based on your strength level, hahaha! I like it!"

He was already eager to try.

Talent and strength rating? Yi Yun stroked his chin. He had experienced a similar rating during the Brocade Dragon Guard selection. It took into account both strength and age. Under the same strength, the younger the age, the higher the rating.

Of course, the standards this time are completely different from those used in the Brocade Dragon Guard election.

The Empress's standards were naturally much higher.

Just then, the bright light on the crystal pillar gradually dimmed, and the light eventually converged on the crystal pillar to form large blood-red characters.

These characters, with their complex and archaic strokes, are the oldest scripts in the Tianyuan Realm. However, the young talents present were already well-versed in ancient texts and could recognize them.

These characters, from bottom to top, are --

"Scholar"! "Ancestor"! "Soul"! "Saint"! "Asura"! "Godhood"!

There were six words in total, and people vaguely understood that these were probably the talent rating titles set by the Ancient Empress!

Clearly, the higher the title, the greater the talent.

People looked at the top six titles, "Shura" and "Investiture of the Gods," with burning desire.

The title of the Ancient Empress did not include "Emperor," and no one knew what the standard was. In fact, even if there was a title of "Emperor," the "Emperor" that the empress referred to was probably completely different from the standard of the current Great Emperor, and has no reference value.

To know one's own strength, the only thing to do is go up and write down one's name.

"I wonder what rating I'll get?"

Shentu Nantian looked at the titles at the top, his eyes revealing ambition and desire. Of course, he wanted to obtain "Shura" or even "Godhood", but he also knew that it would be difficult.

What kind of person was the Ancient Empress? The standards she set were unattainable.

Perhaps, simply obtaining the title of "Saint" is already quite remarkable.

At that moment, someone had already rushed to the front of the crystal pillar. This person was the burly young man who had just laughed loudly.

"Everyone, I, Song Mou, got there first! Haha!"

The burly young man bowed slightly to those around him, then laughed heartily. He used a dagger to cut his own palm, and with a wave of his hand, he generously used his blood to write his name on the crystal pillar. Each character was the size of a bowl, written with imposing force!

If this weren't an ancient crystal pillar, but ordinary steel, the force with which he wrote on it would probably have worn through it!

After the name was written down, the crystal pillar flashed with light, and all these streams of light converged behind the name of the imposing young man, as if trying to condense into a single character.

However... no matter how brightly they shone, these streams of light could not coalesce into a shape. After a while, these streams of light seemed to suddenly lose their restraints and scattered with a roar. In the end, nothing was left behind the name of the magnificent young man.

"Um?"

The burly young man was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what rating he had received.

Just then, the cold voice from the Empress Secret Realm rang out. "Strength Grade: None! Talent Assessment: Inferior!"

What!?

The voice from the Empress Secret Realm struck the robust young man like a bolt of lightning, instantly freezing him in shock.

Lowbrow!?

...(To be continued~^~)