Grading Trial

Yanhe Planet is located in the region of the Yanhe Star System's second spiral arm, near the galactic core.

The planet has a radius of approximately 80,000 kilometers, and its gravity is naturally at an incredible level; only life forms at the Planetary Level or above can survive here, and one must reach the Stellar Level to leave the ground and fly.

After a half-month voyage, Jiang Yao and over a hundred teenagers finally arrived at the capital of the Lingtong Race in the Yanhe Star System.

Prose, the burly man responsible for the escort, seemed determined to keep his stern expression to the end, looking solemnly at the spirited teenagers.

"Spirit Readers, stand to the left! Martial Artists, stand to the right!"

Before long, seeing the group of Spirit Readers, which accounted for about half of the total, his expression softened slightly.

The 60-plus teenagers on the left all wore expressions of pride, while the 50-plus teenagers on the right looked unhappy, with some even appearing unconvinced.

Jiang Yao was naturally standing among the group of Spirit Readers on the left.

Generally speaking, human bloodlines that can naturally reach the Apprentice Level upon adulthood belong to the seventh or eighth rank, while bloodlines like those of Earth humans, which may not even reach the Apprentice Level upon adulthood, belong to the ninth or tenth rank.

As a seventh-rank peak human bloodline in the universe, the Lingtong Race's physical talent is not particularly outstanding compared to other seventh or eighth-rank bloodlines; their excellence lies in their spirit power.

Of course, whether it is "not particularly outstanding" physical talent or "excellent" spirit power, these are group attributes on a macro level.

When applied to an individual, it is not absolute.

Therefore, there is naturally no shortage of individuals within the Lingtong Race with higher physical talent or greater aptitude for cultivating genetic energy.

However, through his schooling, Jiang Yao knew that the Lingtong Race indeed treats Spirit Readers with more favor and invests more resources into cultivating them.

This is common knowledge in the general education within the Lingtong Race; everyone knows it.

It is just that the teenagers present are all gifted prodigies, many of whom have left their peers far behind on their respective planets. Coupled with the fact that they have only recently broken through to the Planetary Level and are still in a state of excitement, it is natural for their expressions to turn sour when they are suddenly divided into two groups and the Martial Artist prodigies are reminded of the clan's discriminatory policies.

Logically, once one reaches the Planetary Level, the gap between Spirit Readers and Martial Artists has already narrowed significantly, and there should not be any distinction in training and resource allocation.

But by synthesizing the knowledge from his general education and the words of Prose and others on the spaceship, Jiang Yao could draw a rough conclusion: within the Lingtong Race, the talent of a Spirit Reader seems to be closely related to cultivation at higher realms.

Looking at this ratio, with more than half of the people at the Planetary Level being Spirit Readers, it is clear that the Lingtong Race indeed has a unique edge in this regard.

The middle-aged woman led the 50-plus teenagers on the Martial Artist path away from the group of Spirit Readers, including Jiang Yao, whom Prose was leading, after they boarded the Yanhe Planet spaceport.

Jiang Yao and the group of teenagers followed Prose and took a transport vehicle to a large building—under the crushing super-gravity of Yanhe Planet, even those at the Planetary Level are much like mortals on Earth; without transport, one would likely be exhausted just from walking.

"Is this the Starry Sky Building?"

"It's not as magnificent as I imagined."

Prose sneered at the chattering teenagers: "This is where you will live, cultivate, and study for the next twenty years. Do not underestimate it; the interesting things are underground. Here, you need to remember one thing: as the future of my Yanhe Lingtong Race, you must look up at the stars, but also remember to keep your feet on the ground."

Jiang Yao followed Prose through the door, observing the building's interior, which looked quite technologically advanced, and listening to Prose's introduction, while secretly pondering to himself.

The Lingtong Race has hundreds of planets dedicated to cultivating teenagers in the Yanhe Star System, producing dozens to over a hundred Spirit Reader prodigies under the age of 25 who break through to the Planetary Level every year.

As the place where these prodigies live, study, and cultivate, the Starry Sky Building has a permanent population of several thousand, including many teachers.

However, the living quarters do not actually take up much space; most of the interior of the Starry Sky Building is for cultivation and study, not to mention the vast space underground.

Of course, on Yanhe Planet, there is also Base No. 3, which is dedicated to cultivating Martial Artists, corresponding to the Starry Sky Building.

Prose introduced things casually while leading everyone onto an elevator, which descended at an extremely high speed, clearly heading underground.

Two white metal doors, which had been fitted together seamlessly, opened to reveal the vast space behind them.

"Prose, you've returned much faster this time. Trial Ground No. 1 is already prepared."

Several other Lingtong people, also with their eyes closed, came out to greet them. The leader was a golden-haired youth who greeted Prose warmly the moment he saw him.

Prose was somewhat surprised: "Kuman, it's been a long time. Haven't you been in seclusion on Sailun Planet? I didn't expect you to be the one presiding over the preliminary trials this time."

Kuman chuckled: "The old guys are pushing hard, and news came from the Kasolo Empire that the main sect has agreed to give us a few more spots. We leave for the main sect in 20 years, and as far as I know, you are on the list too."

Prose was startled, secretly thinking that no wonder Kuman was being so friendly today. This man was a renowned prodigy within the clan and the apple of the old patriarch's eye, always known for his arrogance. No wonder, no wonder.

Prose smiled bitterly: "This is the Peak Genius Tournament; the patriarch certainly thinks highly of me."

Kuman smiled: "It's not like you're required to pass the preliminary elimination round. We still have three hundred years, don't we? The main sect has always been stingy with enlightenment spots, so we might as well take advantage of the main sect under the banner of the Peak Genius Tournament. Why not take advantage when you can?"

"Besides..." Kuman's lips curled into an arrogant and confident smile: "It is said that the Ancestor has issued an edict. In this Peak Genius Tournament, even if no one can pass the preliminary elimination round, those who rank high by the end of the preliminaries will be rewarded. If anyone can pass the preliminary elimination round, there will be even greater rewards!"

Prose was shocked. The Ancestor Kuman spoke of was clearly not the patriarch of their Yanhe branch of the Lingtong Race, nor the head of the Lingtong main sect in the medium-civilization Kasolo Empire. Only that legendary figure who had always been on the extraterritorial battlefield was worthy of the title "Ancestor."

"That makes sense. I was being a bit despondent. Even if we don't perform well in this Peak Genius Tournament, we can treat it as gaining experience for the Peak Warrior Tournament 2,800 years from now. One only gets to participate in such an event once in a lifetime."

Prose also had his own pride, but his personality and temperament made him good at hiding his edge, especially in front of Kuman, a prodigy who had always looked down on everyone. A certain degree of humility was beneficial.

However, since Kuman had spoken to this extent, there was no need for him to keep up the act.

For a grand event like the Peak Genius Tournament, which covers all the cosmic territories of the human race, who with any ambition could suppress their boiling blood?

The teenagers around Jiang Yao also began to whisper excitedly.

"Is Lord Prose talking about the cosmic Peak Genius Tournament? Is it the one I know?"

"Are there any other Peak Genius Tournaments?"

"I just checked on the Virtual Universe. The next Peak Genius Tournament starts in 327 years, and the Peak Warrior Tournament is in 2,827 years. Just hearing those five words gives me goosebumps."

"I'm so envious that Lord Prose can participate in the Peak Genius Tournament!"

"Damn, we are so unlucky to be born at the wrong time!"

"Exactly, there are only three hundred years left... If we miss this session, we might not be able to participate in the next one. The Peak Warrior Tournament is also drawing near, and the Universe Level feels too far away."

"How is it too late? If you work hard at your cultivation, is it really that difficult to break through to the Stellar Level within three hundred years?"

"Easier said than done. Even if you manage to reach the Stellar Level in three hundred years, what kind of results could you possibly get if you just joined the Genius Tournament?"

No young, hot-blooded genius believed that they wouldn't be able to reach the Stellar Level.

Although everyone knew about these two grand events of the human race during their general education at the Apprentice Level, knowing was one thing, but it felt too distant—it was just something they heard about for the excitement.

Now that they had reached the Planetary Level, with a lifespan of a thousand years, the Genius Tournament three hundred years away felt like it had moved from the horizon to right in front of them, giving them a real sense of participation.

Jiang Yao didn't chime in, but even with his mental age of over forty, he couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, falling into a reverie as he listened to the complaints of the piglet-shaped envoy inside the Taihuan Token.

Having long since recovered his senses from the blow of being stranded in another Source World, the piglet flapped his wings and sighed in admiration: "1008 Universe Countries, that means 1008 star sectors...

Tsk tsk, holding a competition across such a vast area simultaneously, and a selection tournament with no risk to life—I have to say, although your world is pitifully weak, this Virtual Universe is quite interesting."

The Taihuan Token Envoy had been obsessed with the Virtual Universe for the past half-month, and he had gained a considerable understanding of the human race and the Primal Universe.

Jiang Yao's spiritual force entered the Taihuan Token, and he snorted: "Now is not the time to praise the Virtual Universe. I must participate in this Peak Genius Tournament. Don't you possess the noble inheritance of Divine Lord Taihuan? You've been holding back for days now; I haven't seen you produce a single thing."

Jiang Yao knew the laws of Swallowed Star too well. In this world that belonged only to geniuses, being one step slow meant missing out on countless resources.

After observing for some time, he felt that this so-called Taihuan Token Envoy was not very reliable. He no longer expected this stupid pig to pull out a supreme treasure like the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual, nor did he expect to possess some Starry Sky Behemoth or special life form, and naturally, he didn't dare to hope for achieving the dazzling results that Luo Feng had in the Peak Genius Tournament.

But if he couldn't get into the Primordial Secret Realm, the End-of-the-World Secret Realm would do. If he couldn't get into the End-of-the-World Secret Realm, a Universe Country dojo like the Ganwu Dojo would also be fine.

In short, on the ladder of the Peak Genius Tournament where geniuses could ascend to the heavens in a single step, Jiang Yao had to shine with a certain brilliance to attract powerful figures and powerful forces, so that resources would be tilted and invested toward him, allowing his path to becoming a powerhouse to proceed more smoothly.

However, according to the Taihuan Token Envoy, this world was a Source World distinct from the Tianhuang Ancient Continent, with a structure and laws that were vastly different, so the path of cultivation was naturally different as well.

The vast majority of the step-by-step inheritance originally prepared in the Taihuan Token could not be used directly, and even if it could, it would require extensive modifications; it had to be "adapted to local conditions."

Of course, no matter how different the Source Worlds were, since everyone was a baby under the Hunyuan Space, all paths eventually led to the same destination; the higher the realm, the more they had in common.

With the Taihuan Token Envoy's vision, he wasn't exactly in a state of total confusion.

To the questioning of his master, Jiang Yao, the piglet put on a wronged face: "Soon, soon, I've already made some headway, stop rushing me."

"Hmph, don't think I don't know that you've been pretending to meditate to modify secret techniques all these days, while actually playing games in the Virtual Universe!"

Jiang Yao had to keep this rather lazy envoy in check.

Hearing this, the piglet stopped flapping his wings and suddenly turned serious: "Don't slander an innocent person. I've almost finished the research and am currently in the final stage of deliberation. After all, it's going to be used on you. As the Taihuan Token Envoy, I must naturally be responsible for the master's life; how could I be frivolous or perfunctory? I must be cautious and even more cautious.

Besides, it looks like the trial is about to begin. Even if I gave you the secret technique now, you wouldn't have time to practice it. Don't worry, aren't you staying here for 20 years? The final selection after 20 years will definitely let you stun the crowd!"

Jiang Yao ended his scolding and urging of the envoy with some dissatisfaction and turned his attention back to the outside world.

Prose had finished his pleasantries with Kuman and turned back to scan the youths in front of him with a stern expression: "The Preliminary Selection and Grading Trial is about to begin, which will determine the supply of your cultivation resources for the coming period.

You were all the top geniuses on your respective planets, but here, your past achievements have no meaning. Whether you are a genius or a mediocrity, today is when we find out!"