Meng Dajiang watched his son from afar.
The powerful Godfiends of Archean Mountain were currently paying attention to his son. The three Godfiends in charge of presiding over the examination were staring at Meng Chuan. This showed how much attention they paid to him.
A lone figure!
His son had now surpassed all the geniuses. Even the extremely talented Ji Yuantong had only passed the seventh round, while his son was already dodging the tenth round of hail. Meng Dajiang could sense the geniuses’ envy and jealousy as they stared at Meng Chuan.
Chuan’er. Meng Dajiang felt even prouder.
Nianyun, our son is really outstanding. He will definitely enter the Archean Mountain and obtain the best nurturing. Meng Dajiang’s blood boiled as he watched from the side. He was even more excited than his son—who was undergoing the assessment.
...
As the Godfiends watched, the geniuses also stared at Meng Chuan with mixed emotions.
The segment’s tenth round continued. The hailstones were terrifyingly fast. Meng Chuan had transformed into a blurry phantom completely. Every time he moved, the hailstones would appear to pass through his “body,” but in reality, none of them hit him.
When the hailstones stopped, Meng Chuan remained in the circle.
He passed the tenth round as well? Ji Yuantong, Zong Sha, Chu Yong, Yan Feng, Jin Xin, Yan Chitong, Li Ying, and the other geniuses were all dazed. The gap between them was ridiculously huge, and they only had disbelief in their hearts!
So Meng Chuan is that powerful. Yan Jin stared at the solitary figure carefully.
“Continue!” King East River’s voice was filled with anticipation. His eyes were filled with fervor as the hail rained down at elevated speeds. Although the hail seemed to hit Meng Chuan, in actuality, they only pierced through his afterimages.
This scene left the other geniuses somewhat numb. The difference was ridiculous.
Pfft!
Suddenly, a hailstone turned to powder when it hit an afterimage. Meng Chuan stopped, and the hail came to a halt.
Everyone knew that he had failed.
After dodging several hailstones in the eleventh round, Meng Chuan ultimately failed. However, his results still left the geniuses speechless.
“His spiritual perception is indeed incredible,” said King East River with a smile. He said to the sloppy man and the cyan-clothed woman, “Ji Yuantong’s spiritual perception is very strong, but such quality can be found once every few years. However, Meng Chuan’s spiritual perception can only be found once every few centuries. His spiritual perception will definitely make it very easy for him to condense an Essence Soul. His potential is extremely great, but what’s crucial is to nurture him well.”
“He still needs to achieve Saber Intent and Saber Soul... He needs to cultivate step by step.” The sloppy man nodded as well. “Nothing can be accomplished with a single step. No matter how talented he is, it’s useless if he doesn’t focus on cultivation.”
“A peerless piece of unpolished jade has arrived at our Archean Mountain. It is our duty to nurture him well,” said the cyan-clothed woman with a smile.
“Yes.” King East River nodded.
The trio’s aura fluctuations were something the mortals didn’t dare to look at. Their voices were cut off from any outsiders.
...
Meng Chuan stood still dazedly. I still couldn’t dodge that hailstone. My body is still too slow.
Unbeknownst to Meng Chuan, when a genius avoided the hail, they would first see with their eyes, or use their Force domain to sense the hailstones. The information would then be transmitted to the brain. This transmission required very little time. The feedback from the brain also needed time to be transmitted to the body.
There were three stages for reacting to a stimulus: acquisition, thought, and instruction.
As for Meng Chuan, his hundred-foot domain was actually the result of the “soul” in his glabella space directly sensing something. His soul would “see” everything. After sighting, the soul would think and react.
Therefore, Meng Chuan skipped the process of transmitting information to the brain. He “saw” with the soul directly, and his soul did the thinking. This was much faster than using his brain to think!
The only thing that remained the same was the fact the brain commanded the body. This was the same as the other geniuses. If Meng Chuan fused the Power of the Soul with his entire body, then the commanding of the body would be done through the Power of the Soul. That made it much faster! He would’ve probably reached the fifteenth round if he did so!
However, he didn’t use the Power of the Soul. Just relying on the uniqueness of the “soul” in his glabella space, Meng Chuan managed to pass the tenth round, though he failed the eleventh round.
“Meng Chuan.” King East River’s voice rang out. “Well done.”
Upon hearing the praise, Meng Chuan couldn’t help but feel delighted.
King East River turned and left.
The sloppy-looking man smiled and said loudly, “The preliminaries have ended. All of you can take a break. According to the results of the preliminaries, Archean Mountain will decide on the hundred participants that will participate in the final selection tomorrow. Those who are not in the top 100 are eliminated.”
With that said, he and the cyan-clothed woman turned and left. However, when they left, they took another look at Meng Chuan.
“Haha.” The group of Marquis Godfiends—who had been watching the preliminaries—also stood up and left.
“Meng Chuan, well done.” A familiar voice sounded in his ears. Meng Chuan looked up and saw Marquis Southcloud smiling at him from afar before he left with the other Godfiends.
Meng Chuan stood alone in his circle.
“Young Master Meng, please follow me.” Immediately, a steward from Blazing Sun Palace came to guide him.
Meng Chuan nodded.
Soon, he arrived in a hall. There were dozens of geniuses, and their family and friends present. The moment Meng Chuan arrived, he immediately attracted the attention of many.
“Chuan’er.” Meng Dajiang welcomed him.
“Dad.” Meng Chuan smiled.
“Well done.” Meng Dajiang patted Meng Chuan on the shoulder. “If your grandaunt knows about this, she will definitely be very happy.”
Meng Chuan nodded gently. His grandaunt was still waiting for news back in their hometown.
“Let’s wait. Archean Mountain will need time to decide the top 100,” said Meng Dajiang. “This ranking is very important. It should take quite some time.”
“Yes, I wonder how high I’ll rank,” said Meng Chuan.
“Being in the top two shouldn’t be a problem,” said Meng Dajiang. “The only one who can compete with you is Ji Yuantong.”
Meng Chuan nodded as well. “I was too weak in the first assessment.”
Meng Chuan was ranked twenty-third in the first assessment. However, he ranked first in the second and third assessments.
On the other hand, there was Ji Yuantong—who had ranked number one in the first assessment, fifth for the second assessment, and second for the third assessment. It had to be said that Ji Yuantong traversed the second assessment’s tunnel while carrying hammers—which weighed a few hundred kilograms. His physical talent was indeed monstrous.
“Meng Chuan.” Yan Jin walked over. The others had friends and family, but he was alone. He said, “Congratulations. You will definitely be able to obtain a spot for Archean Mountain’s final selection. Furthermore, you will definitely be in the top three.”
“I hope so.” Meng Chuan smiled.
“Meng Chuan.” A clear female voice rang out.
Meng Chuan turned to look.
A purple-clothed woman walked over. She was the focus wherever she went. She was born with an air of nobility, and her smile could melt the hearts of others.
“Princess,” greeted Meng Chuan politely.
“I heard of your name a long time ago,” said Princess Li Ying with a smile. “It’s just that you’re far more powerful than I thought. Once we enter Archean Mountain, we must spar and see if you can avoid my arrows.”
After the first three assessments, Li Ying became confident about her chances of entering Archean Mountain. She was the second best sharpshooter among the geniuses this time. Only Zong Sha was stronger than her. Archean Mountain placed great importance on sharpshooters, so she was confident that with her strength, Archean Mountain would admit her.
“Let’s do it when the time comes,” said Meng Chuan with a smile.
“It’s a deal then.” Princess Li Ying looked to the side. “Young Master Yan, your dual swords are extremely powerful. We should spar once we enter Archean Mountain.”
“Alright.” Yan Jin responded tersely. He was willing to accept any combat opportunities. Every battle was a chance to train himself.
Princess Li Ying smiled and left after exchanging a few pleasantries. She had been born in the imperial family, so she was used to socializing and befriending people who could help her. In her eyes, Meng Chuan and Yan Jin were clearly worth befriending.
...
Time passed.
Occasionally, people would come to talk to Meng Chuan and Meng Dajiang! After all, everyone could tell that Meng Chuan would definitely be able to secure a spot, even if they weren’t certain of the final rankings.
The sky gradually darkened as the snowstorm intensified. Everybody waited in the hall and the corridors anxiously.
“The ranking has been decided!” A voice sounded from afar.
The goateed man held a golden scroll. Behind him were other stewards—who had walked through the snowstorm.
The preliminaries’ rankings are out. Meng Dajiang and Meng Chuan looked into the distance. They were only curious if he was ranked first or second. It was unlikely he would rank third! As for the other geniuses and their family and friends, they were much more nervous. Many geniuses were not destined to enter the top 100, destroying their chances of participating in the final selection.