At that moment, the numbers on the Heavenly Stele soared wildly.
Eighty-five!
Eighty-eight!
Ninety!
When the number reached ninety, the entire Void Space began to tremble.
"Ninety!"
Lu Ren was startled too.
He knew full well that the person ranked second had reached only eighty-nine.
That meant his Great Dao Origin foundation had surpassed that of every previous challenger at the Ten-Origin Heavenly Pass except one.
But he was still some distance from Cang Xuanming's ninety-eight.
The Heavenly Stele kept shaking, however, and Lu Ren's foundation index continued to rise.
Ninety-one!
Ninety-two!
Ninety-three!
With each point gained, the Heavenly Stele shook more violently.
But after the index reached ninety, its climb had clearly slowed.
Each additional point seemed impossibly hard to gain.
Ninety-four!
Ninety-five!
Ninety-six!
Ninety-seven!
Yet when the number climbed to ninety-seven, it stopped.
Then a brilliant light burst from the Heavenly Stele.
The ancient voice rang through the void once more.
"Lu Ren, Great Dao Origin Foundation Index: ninety-seven!"
"Origin Inquiry Pass cleared!"
"Rank: second!"
As the voice faded, Lu Ren's name appeared in second place on the Heavenly Stele.
"Ninety-seven? How is that possible?"
Lu Ren stared blankly, disbelief written across his face.
Ninety-seven was a high index, but it had not surpassed Cang Xuanming's.
I fused nine Great Daos and entered the Source-Integration Forbidden Apex Realm, yet my Great Dao Origin Foundation Index is still lower than Cang Xuanming's?
Lu Ren stared hard at the Heavenly Stele, struggling to accept it.
It was not that his confidence had been shaken. In his eyes, anyone who had become a spiritual totem for those with an Ordinary Battle Body could hardly be lacking in talent. Cang Xuanming's talent could even be called terrifying.
But Lu Ren had failed to break Cang Xuanming's record at the very first pass.