Heaven Blesses Our Race!

"What's an intent? What does it mean? Do you know?"

"Are they talking about the intent of the Zhouhui Heavenly Blade?"

"I heard that once you've mastered the Zhouhui Heavenly Blade to perfection, you reach consummation in the Profound stage. After that comes Intent. Is that what they mean?"

"Is that legend true?"

"Of course it is. At the Apprentice Level, doesn't the Zhengang Art that martial artists practice have four stages: Basic, Subtle, Consummate, and Intent? It's just much harder for Spirit Readers to achieve subtlety in their mental power."

"Then what did he mean when he said he'd already advanced beyond Intent?"

"There's another stage beyond Intent?"

The mental power assessment had been interrupted just like that. As everyone exchanged bewildered looks, they discussed over telepathy the words Jiang Yao had said that had made Prose's expression change dramatically.

Prose seemed to have thought of that possibility as well. He regained his composure, and even wore a faint smile. "You mean you've comprehended the Intent of the Zhouhui Heavenly Blade?"

The Zhouhui Heavenly Blade was the mental power cultivation method that Lingtong Race Spirit Readers practiced at the Apprentice Level. At its highest stage, one had a chance to comprehend Intent. This Intent could guide an Apprentice Level cultivator, after advancing to Planetary Level, to awaken an attribute related to the Intent, and even develop a powerful special ability.

This was also one of the reasons the gap between martial artists and Spirit Readers narrowed considerably after they reached Planetary Level.

But so-called Intents, such as Thunderbolt Intent and Wind Blade Intent, belonged to the realm of attributes. Once someone reached Planetary Level and their Gene Level underwent a leap, awakening one of the eight attributes, the Intents found in these Apprentice Level secret arts became meaningless.

Only after advancing to Planetary Level would one embark on the so-called "Path of the World Master": foundation—Intent—Domain—World.

However, for the Lingtong Race, Planetary Level cultivators had only one purpose. They weren't cannon fodder or enforcers; they were potential future Stellar Level cultivators, or Stellar Level cultivators who had awakened a Bloodline Divine Ability.

That was why the clan only taught attribute cultivation secret arts and laid the foundation for Planetary Level geniuses who followed the martial artist path.

Planetary Level Spirit Readers had to awaken their Bloodline Divine Ability, making the threshold for advancing to Stellar Level even more demanding. They couldn't even properly master a single Mental Power Amplitude secret art, so naturally, the clan wouldn't let them waste time and energy cultivating some Intent.

Prose thought he might have misunderstood. After all, he had only recently comprehended a Domain, so he was rather sensitive about it.

But what was there to advance beyond in the Intent of the Zhouhui Heavenly Blade?

Jiang Yao gave an embarrassed smile. "Lord Prose, a year ago, during the illusion in the will assessment, something seemed to stir in my heart. Not long after the assessment, I had an epiphany while meditating in cultivation. It was as if I'd entered some profoundly mysterious state. I looked it up in the Virtual Universe, and it seemed to be an Attribute Intent.

"Then, half a year later, I had another opportunity to advance beyond the Intent. I secluded myself for six months and finally broke through. I seemed to gain the feeling that I could control everything. My mental power, Origin Force, will, and body—even the different powers within them—began to merge. It should be the Domain I read about in the Virtual Universe."

Prose's voice turned hoarse. He even couldn't help laughing. "Boy, do you know what a Domain is? How can you spout such nonsense?"

He himself had risen to prominence thanks to his Domain, going from an obscure Stellar Level cultivator in the clan to an unparalleled genius who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Kuman. Not only would he be going to the Main Sect to receive a higher level of inheritance and training, the clan had also named him one of its seeded contestants for the Peak Genius Tournament.

No one understood better than him how astonishing it was for a Stellar Level cultivator to possess a Domain.

And this kid before him had only been at Planetary Level for a little over a year, and was still just at the first tier. Yet he claimed to have comprehended a Domain.

Was this a joke?

Jiang Yao knew that no amount of talking would help, so he simply sent his consciousness into Xu Yuan Space. A faint reddish glow rapidly expanded outward from him. In the blink of an eye, a hazy red Domain enveloped the entire trial arena.

Everyone in the arena and around its edges, who had been whispering among themselves, felt the space jolt violently. Suddenly, everyone felt as if they had become ordinary people, with hundreds of pounds weighing down on them and making every movement difficult. Some instinctively tried to resist, but the more they struggled, the stronger the red Domain's suppressive force became.

"How is that possible?"

"Impossible!"

The two Stellar Level examiners still inside the trial arena weren't restrained by the Domain's power, but they couldn't help exclaiming in shock.

Prose felt the oppressive force coming from his own body, his expression full of disbelief.

After a long moment, he suddenly realized something and asked, "Was that you a few days ago?"

Prose was naturally referring to the day Jiang Yao successfully opened Xu Yuan Space and first displayed its power.

Jiang Yao gave an awkward smile. "It was my first time awakening a Domain, and I couldn't control it."

Prose fell silent for a moment, still unable to make sense of it.

"Could it be his will?" The thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. "But I've never heard that a strong will has anything to do with comprehending a Domain."

Of course, Jiang Yao's will couldn't simply be described as exceptional. Prose had never heard of anyone in the history of the Lingtong Race who, upon just advancing to Planetary Level, possessed willpower approaching that of a Stellar Level cultivator.

Could a will become so powerful that it underwent some miraculous transformation?

After turning it over in his mind, Prose could only attribute the reason to Jiang Yao's talent for willpower.

No matter how unbelievable it was, the Domain was right there, pressing down on him. Prose had no choice but to accept it.

This genius, one of the very best in the Lingtong Race, was decisive. He immediately turned serious and ordered the two Stellar Level examiners, who were carefully sensing and experiencing the red Domain, "Shut down the Virtual Universe connections throughout the Starry Sky Building. The two of you, continue the assessment. Not a word about what happened today is to leave this place. Understood?"

The two examiners could tell from Prose's expression how serious the matter was, and quickly agreed.

After issuing his orders, Prose had Jiang Yao withdraw his Domain and led him out of the trial arena. They took several turns, passed through multiple doors that required identity verification, and entered an elevator.

Before Jiang Yao could react, the elevator plunged downward with unimaginable acceleration, leaving them both weightless.

The trial arena was completely silent.

Like everyone else, Mo Li watched the backs of the two disappearing figures, still lost in confusion.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go!

Wasn't today supposed to be the moment he stunned everyone, shone brightly, and became the strongest genius of the Lingtong Race's younger generation—the one everyone looked up to?

Of course, he had shone brightly for a while—before Jiang Yao appeared.

After that, he couldn't make sense of what had happened. He could still understand the fifteen screens of light, but what was a Domain? Had that red Domain, which left him utterly powerless and seemed like the territory of a god, really spread out from Jiang Yao's body?

In the elevator, Jiang Yao silently gauged their rate of descent. "Good grief, is this an elevator going underground? At this rate, we're probably heading all the way to the planet's core."

But after just a few dozen seconds, the elevator began to slow, then accelerated upward, immediately putting them under increased gravity.

When the elevator doors opened, Prose led Jiang Yao into an immensely vast space that seemed like an underground world.

"This is the most important stronghold of our Yanhe Lingtong Race. It is the core of Yanhe Planet, controls all the weapons on the planet, and serves as the Council of Elders' residence. Of course, the elders don't all stay here, but at least one of them must be stationed here at all times.

"I'm taking you to meet Elder Luo. He is the foremost of the four elders of our Yanhe Lingtong Race, and the only Spirit Reader Controller among them who is at Universe Level—that is, a Spirit Reader who isn't an illusionist."

Jiang Yao silently sorted through the information Prose had revealed. So the Lingtong Race's Universe Level cultivators became elders. But Spirit Readers, who made up more than half of their Planetary Level cultivators, accounted for only a quarter at Universe Level?

It seemed that the difficulty Lingtong Race Spirit Readers faced in advancing because of their bloodline talent was no exaggeration. Thinking of the special treatment and esteem Spirit Readers received, it seemed that every gain came with a loss.

The Messenger in the space of the Taihuan Token imprint on Jiang Yao's chest gave a chuckle. "Your Lingtong Race may have a weak foundation, mediocre willpower, and a low Gene Level, but this Bloodline Divine Ability is quite interesting. It seems this Taihuan Token really didn't choose you as its master at random."

Yanhe Planet had a radius of tens of thousands of kilometers. The size of this underground space alone surpassed that of many planets.

The entire space was a hollow sphere, with various buildings lining its inner surface. At its center stood a solitary island. It only looked small from a distance; its area was still tens of thousands of square kilometers.

As he explained, Prose took Jiang Yao on a train across a bridge to the island, then brought him before an old man.

Prose bowed respectfully. "Elder Luo."

Jiang Yao followed suit and greeted him. "Elder Luo."

Standing beside the old man was the chief examiner Prose had sent to inform Elder Luo.

But the chief examiner's information was already out of date.

Unlike Prose, Kuman, and the others, Elder Luo didn't keep his eyes closed. He had them open like an ordinary member of the Lingtong Race. He nodded, then looked at Jiang Yao with a faint smile in his eyes. "Very good. It seems you have astonishing talent for cultivating Spiritual Force. Don't worry. Even if your talent isn't good enough, exceptional comprehension will be enough..."

Prose had no choice but to interrupt him with an awkward expression. "Elder Luo, this isn't about Spiritual Force anymore... Jiang Yao, show him your Domain."

Jiang Yao had no choice but to display his disguised, first-level Fire Attribute Domain once again.

Elder Luo reacted just as Prose had.

But as a Universe Level powerhouse, he had naturally seen far more than Prose.

Elder Luo's gaze, once appreciative, had become so feverishly intense that it gave Jiang Yao goosebumps. He let out a deep sigh, then threw back his head and laughed heartily.

He had heard that there really were monstrous geniuses in the universe who possessed Domains at Planetary Level.

But there might not be even one such genius in ten thousand star systems. They might not even be cultivable; they were pure miracles of probability.

Even the geniuses from Universe Countries who had distinguished themselves in the Peak Genius Tournament or Peak Warrior Tournament had generally only gained their Domains at Stellar Level.

In fact, these geniuses were usually born into third- or fourth-tier human bloodlines, whose members could reach Stellar Level upon adulthood, and were carefully cultivated by the Three Great Dao Halls of the Xuanshang Universe Kingdom or other superpowers.

Planetary Level cultivators who possessed Domains were usually found only among weak races with low bloodline levels, who had to spend time at Planetary Level, the weakest stage.

Weak races had far fewer resources and secret arts than superpowers within a Universe Country. They were even less likely to deliberately cultivate geniuses with Domains at Planetary Level. First, the investment of resources and effort wasn't worthwhile; second, there was no viable method.

But that was precisely why anyone who possessed a Domain at Planetary Level had to owe it to their own talent. They must have exceptionally strong comprehension and perceptiveness when it came to Origin Energy attributes. And digging deeper into attributes led to laws.

That meant Jiang Yao was undoubtedly an even greater genius than Kuman.

"Hahahaha! Heaven blesses our race!"

The Lingtong Race was one of the six Sacred Lands of the Kasolo Empire, an intermediate civilization, and had numerous branches. But the branch in the Yanhe Star System had a short history and little accumulated foundation. It was thoroughly unremarkable among the many branches.

First they had Kuman, and then Prose. That alone was a blessing beyond measure.

Now another monstrous genius who possessed a Domain at Planetary Level had appeared. Even Elder Luo, who had lived for tens of thousands of years and seen so much, felt a trace of unease amid his elation. The luck of their Yanhe Branch was simply defying the heavens!