After the 10th ring, the golden bell fell silent, but both Yuan and Lady Xiang could somehow tell that it wasn't completely over yet.
"Tell me, what's going on?" Xu Jiaqi asked them, as she was completely clueless to the situation.
"Once one comprehends the soul cultivation technique, the golden bell will ring a certain number of times with nine— ten rings being the maximum, and the more times you manage to make it ring, the stronger your understanding of the technique will be. In other words, the more it rings the better." Lady Xiang explained in a dazed voice.
And she continued, "For reference, I made the bell ring six times when I comprehended the technique, and I was considered a genius that would appear only once every few million years."
After swallowing nervously, she said, "Your little friend here has managed to make the bell ring ten times… that kind of talent is frightening. I cannot imagine what kind of monster he'll be like in the future."
Although it might be a bit rude to call Yuan a monster, Lady Xiang could not think of another term to call him by, and his talent was truly monstrous.
"So what happens now?" Xu Jiaqi asked.
Lady Xiang shook her head, "I don't know. The golden bell should've disappeared after it stopped ringing, but it's still here for some reason, so it might not be the end just yet. As for what might happen, I cannot even begin to imagine."
"..."
After a brief moment of silence, Xu Jiaqi spoke while staring at Yuan, who was still sitting there with his eyes closed, "How are you feeling?"
"..."
However, almost as though he couldn't even hear her, Yuan remained silent.
Xu Jiaqi didn't try to speak to him again, fearing that she might disturb his trance.
Thus, both Xu Jiaqi and Lady Xiang would patiently wait for Yuan to wake up.
Yuan would not move a single muscle for the next 24 hours, and neither did Xu Jiaqi or Lady Xiang. They would stare at Yuan's face intently, their thoughts unknown. Senior Bai was still waiting outside the portal, feeling a little nervous about how silent it was.
Fortunately, that silence would not last too long, as the Nine Heavens would soon experience another turmoil.
Once 24 hours had passed, Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, but they seemed empty, almost as though he was still unconscious.
A profound aura suddenly swept the world, followed by the deafening sound of a bell ringing.
The golden bell has started to ring again for the 11th time, but it was much quicker this time.
Unlike the slow ringing at the start, the pace became much quicker, and the golden bell would ring every second.
DONG! DONG! DONG!
Every ring would send out a ripple with unfathomable secrets that filled the small world before leaking out into the Nine Heavens.
The Nine Heavens would tremble every time the bell rang, so it would shake every second, causing a major uproar in every world within the Nine Heavens.
This constant shaking made many people wonder if the world was ending, and more people would begin to have the same thoughts when the trembling grew stronger and stronger.
Somewhere in the Nine Heavens, the Celestial Emperor stood before his throne with his hands wrapped into a tight fist and a dazed look on his face.
He could hear the faint sound of a bell ringing that was getting clearer with every passing second, almost as though he was standing before the bell himself, and he recalled a certain sentence.
"When the glorious Bell of Supremacy resounds, a new ruler is born, and the Nine Heavens will tremble as it enters a new era."
"Have you returned once again to trample on this world's peace? Why won't you give up? No matter how many times you reincarnate, you cannot escape the fate bestowed upon everyone born under this heaven. It's impossible to win…"
The Celestial Emperor had a tired and somewhat defeated look in his eyes.
Back in the Myriad of Techniques, Yuan could feel something deep within his body being loosened— being awakened.
As the bell approached its 90th ring, Yuan finally understood one thing.
'This has nothing to do with the soul cultivation technique. This is a key… a key to a lock within me. Something inside me is being unsealed.'
Although he didn't know what was being unsealed, he somehow knew that it would help him face whatever was inside the Nameless Emperor's Tomb.
Once the golden bell rang a total of 99 times, it would stop for a few seconds before resounding one more time.
When the golden bell rang for the 100th time, it shattered into countless fragments.
These fragments did not immediately disappear and instead transformed into golden swords that pointed at Yuan.
Each of these swords had unique symbols engraved into them, but neither Xu Jiaqi nor Lady Xiang could read them.
As for Yuan, even though he couldn't read them, he could somehow understand them.
Whoosh!
These countless golden swords suddenly flew at Yuan, entering his body without harming him in the slightest.
Once Yuan absorbed all of the golden swords, he took a deep breath before closing his eyes and entering into another trance.
This trance didn't last as long and ended a few minutes later.
When he opened his eyes, it was pure gold and glistening like stars in a starry night, giving an otherworldly feeling to his existence.
Both Xu Jiaqi and Lady Xiang subconsciously swallowed nervously when they saw his eyes, feeling as though they were before a divine entity despite being god-like existences themselves.
"I think it's over," he spoke in a calm voice a moment later.
However, the goddesses were still in shock and trying to process what had just happened.
"H-How do you feel?" Lady Xiang asked him a moment later.
"I feel fine."
"Just fine? Do you feel any different?"
To her surprise, Yuan shook his head, "No, I don't feel any different."
"How is that even possible…?" Lady Xiang muttered in a dazed voice.