Debate

At the commentary desk, Su Wanqing abruptly drew in her impossibly long legs, her beautiful eyes widening into circles as she nearly dropped her microphone. "God Gu, you... could you say that again? Omnipotent talent? I've never even heard of such a thing!"

Gu Yan's fingertip still rested on Xing Yao's contestant information panel. The words "omnipotent talent" on the screen weighed like a thousand tons in his eyes. He took a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and said gravely, "The system records can't be wrong. Xing Yao comes from one of Qingning City's three key schools and is also one of the city's three seeded contestants in this year's college entrance examination. He awakened an omnipotent talent. Storing objects doesn't rely on spatial methods, but on an ability inherent to the source of his talent. This is only the tip of the iceberg of his abilities."

Before he had finished speaking, traffic to the livestream skyrocketed, briefly causing even the servers to lag. The barrage that had been spamming "spatial big shot" a second earlier was now completely flooded with exclamations of "omnipotent cheater" and "the first to turn the college entrance exam into an open-book test." Even the trending rankings were instantly swept by topics such as "Xing Yao omnipotent talent" and "Qingning City produced a monster."

In the dense forest, Xing Yao remained completely unaware of all this. He held his black spear, his fingertips gently tracing the cold patterns along its shaft as his omnipotent talent circulated slowly within him. The spiritual energy around him, the breathing of the vegetation, and even the heartbeats of distant demonic beasts all entered his perception clearly. His senses, far surpassing those of ordinary ability users, made this seemingly dangerous secret realm look like his own backyard.

He raised his eyes toward the depths of the forest, his gaze as indifferent as ice. He had little interest in this so-called college entrance examination trial to begin with. Getting into Azure Dragon Academy would be enough, and he could see just how much the other students of this world were worth along the way. At that moment, a low beastly growl slowly approached from the bushes ahead of him. Danger was already before his eyes.

At the commentary desk, Gu Yan's gaze abruptly sharpened. Staring at the screen, he said gravely, "Attention, viewers! Xing Yao has encountered a ferocious beast in the secret realm. Next, let's see just how much this seeded contestant with an omnipotent talent is really worth!"

Su Wanqing instantly tensed as well and warned in alarm, "That's a Rift-Toothed Leopard! It's extremely fast, with thick hide and tough flesh, and its claws can tear through ability armor. It's an exceptionally troublesome monster in this secret realm! If ordinary examinees encounter one, even if they can win, they'll expend a great deal of stamina and ability power. The slightest carelessness could leave them injured and eliminated!"

In the dense forest, a rank wind suddenly swept toward him. The bushes burst apart with a crash, and a grayish-brown Rift-Toothed Leopard with taut muscles sprang out. Its limbs pushed off the ground with astonishing speed, its ghastly white fangs lunging straight for Xing Yao's throat with lethal ferocity.

Yet Xing Yao remained where he stood, without shifting his feet in the slightest. His expression was as calm as still water, his indifferent eyes without a ripple. There was neither tension nor fighting spirit, as though what was lunging at him was not a deadly beast, but an insignificant ant. The hand holding his black spear was as steady as Mount Tai. His arm did not even tense, his aura remained peaceful, and not even his breathing faltered for an instant.

The instant before the Rift-Toothed Leopard reached him, Xing Yao raised his wrist slightly, the movement as gentle as lifting a hand to brush away dust. The black spear pierced through the air, without a raging presence or a sharp howl. Its tip tore directly through a barely perceptible spatial ripple, crossing several meters to appear soundlessly at the exact center of the Rift-Toothed Leopard's brow.

One spear strike landed with absolute precision.

The incomparably ferocious Rift-Toothed Leopard abruptly froze in midair, then crashed heavily onto the rotting leaves a moment later, completely lifeless.

Throughout it all, Xing Yao's expression remained unchanged and his bearing unhurried. His indifferent gaze swept over the beast on the ground, as though he had merely dealt with a trivial matter. He slowly withdrew his black spear, his fingertips still resting lightly against its shaft. There was not the slightest trace of battle about him, and he was so calm it seemed he had never struck at all.

The commentary desk instantly fell deathly silent. Both commentators were tongue-tied and wide-eyed, while the entire audience collectively lost their voices.

Gu Yan's pupils contracted sharply. Pointing at the screen, he almost lost his voice. "That's a spatial wormhole! That's a spatial wormhole! Relying on his omnipotent talent alone, he can wield spatial methods with such practiced precision, as easily as plucking something with his fingers! Even Ling Canglan, our country's current top spatial expert, couldn't master spatial wormholes to this degree when he was of college entrance examination age! This omnipotent talent is terrifying beyond belief!"

The venue remained silent for several seconds before everyone slowly recovered from that stunning strike.

The livestream barrage instantly exploded:

"I'm dumbstruck. He just uses spatial wormholes on a whim?!"

"Isn't omnipotent talent way too broken?!"

"Even Ling Canglan couldn't do that back then? Xing Yao is the ceiling!"

"He stayed expressionless the whole time. That composure is incredible!"

"An instant kill with one spear strike. So damn cool!"

After a while, Gu Yan took a deep breath, barely suppressing the towering waves in his heart. He turned toward Su Wanqing beside him and said gravely, "All right, let's turn our attention back to the examination grounds as a whole. Next, let's look at the other two seeded contestants from Qingning City-Lin Yue and Lin Chen. They're brother and sister, and they're also extremely powerful. They aren't to be underestimated."

As soon as he finished, the director switched the feed, and the camera instantly moved to another area of the secret realm, settling on Lin Yue and Lin Chen.

On the other side of the dense forest, ancient trees blotted out the sky, miasma filled the surroundings, and a thick, baleful aura permeated the air. Lin Yue's bearing was cool and her demeanor steady, while Lin Chen stood tall with an icy aura. The siblings stood shoulder to shoulder, their presences blending seamlessly into one. Without any unnecessary movements, they already displayed the imposing pressure of top seeded contestants.

Su Wanqing's gaze grew solemn as she slowly began, "Lin Yue and Lin Chen are two of Qingning City's three seeded contestants. Both possess talents with top-tier potential. The elder brother, Lin Chen, awakened a thunder talent. His explosive power and lethality stand above all his peers, focusing on offense and killing. His younger sister, Lin Yue, awakened a wood control talent. She excels at binding, control, and battlefield support, combining offense and defense."

Gu Yan nodded, his tone steady. "The siblings have cultivated together since childhood. Their rapport has long since seeped into their bones, and their coordination is flawless. They're one of the most threatening combinations among this year's examinees."

Before he finished speaking, a savage beastly roar thundered out.

A Flame-Horned Beast, crimson all over with bulging muscles, charged out of the thick mist. Roaring flames burned on the single horn atop its head. Every step scorched black marks into the ground, and rolling waves of heat made it difficult to breathe.

Lin Chen's eyes turned cold, and his aura abruptly surged.

"Sister, I'll take the offense."

Lin Yue nodded slightly and lightly twirled her fingertips, unleashing the wood control talent within her without reservation. In an instant, the ground shook violently. Several green vines as thick as arms and covered in tough patterns burst from the earth. Like awakening giant pythons, they carried savage power as they instantly coiled toward the Flame-Horned Beast's limbs and torso!

The Flame-Horned Beast roared in fury, flames gushing wildly as it tried to burn through the vines. But Lin Yue had already refined her wood talent to its utmost. The vines were incomparably tough, only yellowing slightly beneath the scorching flames. Not only did they fail to snap, they tightened further, pinning it firmly in place and leaving it unable to move.

"Now!"

Lin Chen gave a low shout and unleashed his thunder talent in full. Purple-blue lightning gathered wildly in his palm, currents crackling and light dazzling the eyes as a sharp aura capable of destroying heaven and earth soared skyward. He swung his arm fiercely, and that bolt of lightning, condensed to the utmost, transformed into a streak of light. Carrying the power to pierce through everything, it slammed viciously toward the Flame-Horned Beast's head!

Boom-!!!

The lightning exploded, and brilliant light swept in all directions.

The Flame-Horned Beast could not even let out a final scream before the lightning pierced straight through its head. Its massive body crashed to the ground, its flames rapidly extinguishing as it lost all signs of life.

The entire battle flowed like drifting clouds and running water. Control, burst, and finish were completed in one seamless sequence, without a single unnecessary movement.

At the commentary desk, Su Wanqing praised softly, "Clean, decisive, and seamless. This is the true strength of Qingning City's three seeded contestants."

Gu Yan watched the screen, his gaze deep. "Xing Yao stands unrivaled under heaven, while Lin Yue and Lin Chen's rapport is unmatched. This year's examinees from Qingning City are enough to make the entire Southern Domain turn its head."

At that, the livestream erupted into a full-blown argument, the barrage instantly filling with squabbling:

"Xing Yao is definitely the strongest! He crushes everything solo!"

"The siblings are invincible together. Who could handle two against one?"

"We're comparing individual strength! Not ganging up on people!"

"Xing Yao would definitely win one-on-one. The siblings just have the numbers advantage!"

"They're all strong, but when it comes to the ceiling, it's still Xing Yao!"

Immediately afterward, one barrage comment swept forcefully across the screen, setting the entire audience ablaze:

"Why are you still calling him Xing Yao? Call him Brother Yao!"