In terms of strength, most of the older generation far surpassed the younger ones. But there were always exceptions. Some juniors could surpass their seniors!
Gai Jiuyou of the second generation, for instance, could absolutely stand shoulder to shoulder with Ning Fei and the others of the first. The same went for Li Ruoyu. He ranked even below Old Lunatic in seniority, yet he had caught up with Chuan Ying and the others of the first generation!
So seniority was not the only measure. Xiaosong of the fourth generation was a special case. Relying on his Innocent Heart and extraordinary ability to comprehend the Dao, he had reached the level of the first generation!
That was an enormous leap. It also showed how formidable an Innocent Heart could be. With such a pure, unblemished mind, his comprehension of the Great Dao nearly rivaled the Creation Jade Butterfly!
When he cultivated with the Creation Jade Butterfly, his progress was even faster. That was what had made Xiaosong so powerful. After all, cultivation was fundamentally about comprehending the Dao. In the Primordial World, the depth of that comprehension determined one's strength!
So when the Immortal Heavenly Emperor brought up Xiaosong, Ren took an interest. "Good... Let Xiaosong test this Xin Qi, the Third Demon Venerable. We'll see whether it's his unusual constitution or his Innocent Heart. And we'll see how strong Xiaosong is!"
With that, Ren sent an order through the Firmament Ledger.
As Ren's order went out, Dijun and Taiyi, wherever they were, issued the same command!
Their matching orders came down to the unspoken understanding shared by rulers!
Rulers were suspicious by nature. None would trust a person on someone else's word alone. So each of them ordered a test!
And Ren and the other rulers were not the