Guен lay on the soft bed, wondering how the final ranking trial would be decided, when someone knocked on the door.
Guен opened it and saw Setti and Uncle Jack looking somewhat grave, while Chen, following behind them, looked bewildered.
"What's going on?" Guен asked, puzzled.
Chen shrugged. "I don't know either. Uncle Jack said he had something important to discuss with us."
Setti went in first, with Jack behind him, showing him a little more deference.
"Let's go inside first," Uncle Jack said with a smile.
Guен had no choice but to comply.
But once they were inside and the door was shut, Jack's eyes darted about, and he seemed hesitant. Guен could only venture a guess. "Did you find the people who ambushed us in Starlight Forest?"
Uncle Jack looked at Setti, who finally made up his mind and spoke slowly. "What happened wasn't something ordinary people could pull off. Outsiders couldn't get in there; only the trial participants who entered with us had that opportunity. And arranging for so many participants, as well as luring the ferocious beasts, was beyond the means of ordinary people."
Guен frowned, clearly displeased. "We all know this couldn't have been done by some ordinary force. It had to be an official organization, at the very least. We've come this far, so what is there left to hide?"
Setti looked grave. "This matter involves far too much. I don't want to drag you all into it..."
Guен and Chen laughed together.
Guен shook his head slightly. "We're already involved. The first beast attack, the Vajra Ape... Haven't those already dragged us into it?"
Chen added, "Besides, even though Guен provided all the Golden Whiskers, I'll say this in fairness: we shared them with you without hesitation. We've been completely sincere, but you, Setti, don't seem to trust us much."
Setti frowned. "I just don't want you getting dragged into this. You have no idea how dangerous it is. This is nothing like the trial."
Guен said coolly, "If I'm not mistaken, those people belong to the Imperial Council's military. In other words, this involves the royal family. If you don't tell us, and we don't know what's going on, what happens when the trial ends and we join the Imperial Council? Will they retaliate? Will they ambush us? You haven't really considered our situation. As if the trial itself isn't dangerous. They're in the shadows, and we're out in the open. You and Uncle Jack bore most of the danger, but we weren't spared from it."
Guен rose to his feet and opened the door. "Since you don't want to talk, I won't force you."
Setti was still conflicted. He sighed, then turned back just before leaving. "Be careful of them."
With that, he left without looking back.
Uncle Jack lingered behind and gave Guен and Chen an apologetic smile.
Guен closed the door, feeling a headache coming on.
"Setti really had to pull something like that? Seriously. If only I were strong enough, I'd—" Chen grumbled.
Chen's complaint put Guен somewhat at ease. "Looks like Uncle Jack knew Setti's identity all along. He just deliberately kept quiet and hid it from us."
"Now that you mention it, he's pretty strong. In our Southeast Province, only you four have a Force Multiplier above three. His Force Multiplier is even higher than Ganlan's and those other two's. That's surprising. I think he might be a member of the royal family. Maybe he didn't show up in the previous trials, or showed up somewhere else, and only started taking part after Uncle Jack figured out the rules." Chen analyzed.
"Mm," Guен agreed.
Otherwise, with Uncle Jack's Force Application Technique nearing threefold, he shouldn't have kept failing the trial.
Surely he could have passed the most basic trial at least once in three attempts?
That was the only explanation for why Uncle Jack was taking the trial for the third time.
And judging by how Uncle Jack treated Setti, it was clear that this uncle, who had been so kind to Guен and Chen years ago, had been connected to Setti for a very long time.
"Forget all that. My goal this time is first place. That's what matters." Guен's eyes burned with determination.
Chen nodded, but his eyes held nothing like the same intensity. His thoughts drifted away, and his gaze gradually went blank.
Over the next two days, young elites from all the provinces challenged one another. There was no definitive best in literature, but only one best in martial arts, and every person who had made it here was a chosen talent.
How could any of them admit defeat easily?
But through their challenges, even the most stubborn came to recognize one fact: the higher their Force Multiplier, the stronger they proved to be.
An eighth-tier warrior with a threefold Force Multiplier could only gain a slight advantage over a seventh-tier warrior with a fourfold Force Multiplier. In fact, the seventh-tier warrior's high-multiplier Force Application Technique could unleash incredibly powerful attacks.
There were also quite a few Artifact Users in this trial. The provinces had fifteen of them in total.
Most had a twofold Force Multiplier. Only a woman from the Northwest Province stood out, nearing fourfold.
Young masters like Ganlan weren't ordinary people. They knew Artifact Users wielded power through Telekinetic Power. Warriors could train their bodies and gradually raise their Force Multiplier, but Artifact Users had no systematic or effective way to train. Increasing the Force Multiplier of their Telekinetic Power was difficult.
And Artifact Users were rare to begin with.
There were 479 trial participants here, but only fifteen were Artifact Users. That showed just how uncommon they were. They also had little access to a Legacy, so most were simply feeling their way along on their own.
Ganlan and the others knew that this Artifact User from the Northwest Province hadn't been secretly trained by some powerful family or organization. She had cultivated her skills on her own, which was astonishing.
Without a Legacy, a twofold Force Multiplier was the limit for Artifact Users. Yet she had reached fourfold. Everyone knew she was a genius among geniuses, but none of the well-connected young masters like Ganlan tried to recruit her.
Their fathers had already passed along a shocking piece of news through various channels.
One of the Aoyu Empire's only two Saint Tier powerhouses was paying close attention to her.
The others naturally gave up on trying to recruit her and settled for currying favor instead.
Seriously, any faction could find more than ten Super Tier experts. Even civilian organizations like the Demon Hunters and the Crimson Moon Society had that many. The entire Aoyu Empire had more than two hundred, but only two Saint Tier powerhouses.
Saint Tier powerhouses wielded absolute power and prestige. Even if they merely paid someone attention, other factions and individuals had to back off.
"Look, it's Lianda." Ganlan and the other young masters were gathered together, drinking and chatting, when someone spotted an ordinary-looking woman with wheat-colored skin entering the hall and taking a seat in a corner.
Lianda, the strongest trial participant from the Northwest Province this year, was an Artifact User with a fourfold Force Multiplier for her Telekinetic Power.
Artifact Users were said to be invincible among those of the same tier. If their Force Multiplier came close to a warrior's, then the warrior was sure to lose.
So even though she looked ordinary, no one dared underestimate her.
"Look, Toster from the East Sea Province is trying to hit on her again. She's turned him down, but he still won't take the hint," someone sneered.
"Shut up. Toster's a Super Tier expert, and his Force Multiplier is fivefold. It's perfectly normal for him to pursue Lianda. A threefold nobody like you has no right to mock him. Without your city-lord father, you'd struggle just to pass the trial," someone from the East Sea Province immediately retorted.
The first speaker flushed red.
His strength was indeed poor. A threefold Force Multiplier was enough to get him to Lionheart City, but passing the trial also required luck. Some unlucky fellows had a threefold Force Multiplier and still had a considerable chance of failing even the initial trial.
That was why there was a rule limiting each person to three attempts: to give those unlucky fellows a chance.
The person who had retorted was from the East Sea Province. He also had a threefold Force Multiplier, but his combat skills were excellent, and he specialized in killing with a single strike. The first speaker was no match for him.
So he could only change the subject. "People with a fivefold Force Multiplier are certainly worthy of respect, but not all of them are like that."
At those words, everyone's gaze drifted toward Ganlan.
Ganlan shot an annoyed look at the speaker.
They were all genius warriors from different provinces. Unless they were close friends, they naturally supported their own province, even if they didn't know one another or got along poorly.
And challenges between them were common.
The weak challenged the strong all the time.
Those with a threefold Force Multiplier challenged those with fourfold; those with fourfold challenged those with fivefold; and those with fivefold challenged Lianda.
People with a fivefold Force Multiplier were rare, but they did exist.
There were two in the East Sea Province, three in the Central Province, and one in the Southwest Province, as well as Guен from the Southeast Province.
But apart from Guен, the other fivefold talents had all achieved such impressive records that no one dared challenge them. Guен alone stayed cooped up in his room, who knew what he was doing.
"If I had a fivefold Force Multiplier, I'd have challenged the geniuses from every province by now. But Guен just hides away, bringing shame on our Southeast Province."
Ganlan felt annoyed, but still spoke up. "What do you know? Guен is preparing to place in the top three. Do real experts care about empty fame?"
"Heh."
The people around him chuckled, their expressions varied.
Some believed him, but most didn't.
Suddenly, a Super Tier expert walked to the center of the hall, and everyone fell silent. Satisfied, he nodded. "Everyone, gather at Suqi Volcano, east of the city. The final trial begins in four hours."
"It's finally starting." Ganlan stood up excitedly with the others, but inwardly prayed, Guен, don't let me down. I've already bragged about you. There are seven provinces in all, and the Southeast Province can't come in last again this time.