"This is the ’Thunder Pool Stele.’"
The staff member’s voice carried a hint of reverence. "Engraved upon it are the names of the top one hundred Trial Takers—ranked by the number of Thunder Crystals absorbed—from all who have entered the Qiming Thunder Pool in the tens of thousands of years since it opened to the public."
Everyone’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to the Stone Stele.
Qin Feng’s eyes were drawn to it as well.
He quickly scanned from top to bottom, his eyes gliding over the illustrious names that had left their mark on Qiming’s history.
His gaze came to a halt on the name at the very top of the Stone Stele.
[First Place: Sun Chan Hall - 88 Thunder Crystals]
Seeing this familiar name, an indescribable emotion surged within Qin Feng’s heart.
’So, the master who rooted out my ailment and guided me through the darkest time of my life once set such a glorious record here.’
’Countless years ago, a young Sun Chan Hall must have also claimed countless first-place titles on Qiming.’
[Second Place: Wang Pojun - 87 Thunder Crystals]
’I’ve never heard of this name, but to be just one crystal behind Sun Chan Hall, he must have been an earth-shattering Martial Artist.’
The names further down were even more unfamiliar.
But the number following each name represented a glorious past and an extraordinary Will.
"Let me give you all a quick rundown of how the number of Thunder Crystals generally corresponds to physical aptitude."
The staff member’s voice sounded again, pulling everyone back from their thoughts.
"Normally, if an un-tempered, pure-blooded human successfully absorbs eight Thunder Crystals, their physical aptitude can ascend to ’Gold Standard Human I’."
"If you can absorb forty Thunder Crystals, you can reach ’Gold Standard Human II’."
"And if you want to reach the theoretical limit for the human species according to Spiritual Technology—’Gold Standard Human III’—you need to absorb at least one hundred Thunder Crystals."
"Of course, this is just a rough guide. Specific results vary from person to person. I will emphasize one last time: you must all act within your limits! When your body and mind send a warning signal, you must leave the Thunder Pool immediately! Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
The young men and women present responded in unison.
Once the explanation was finished, the camp once again fell into a quiet wait.
Time passed, minute by minute, second by second.
After several hours, the thick thunderclouds overhead, once roiling with electric serpents, began to slowly part as if drawn by some mysterious force, revealing a clear, azure sky.
"The Thunder Pool is open! All Trial Takers, follow me up the mountain!"
A guide shouted loudly.
As soon as his voice fell, nearly a hundred qualified young men and women followed the guide and began to climb the magnificent Thunder Mountain.
Behind them, the high-level Martial Artists acting as guardians, including Lin Yue, silently followed.
The guide did not stop them, instead tacitly approving their actions.
After all, in such a dangerous place, one more expert meant one more layer of security.
The path up Thunder Mountain was rugged and steep. The higher they climbed, the thinner the air became, and the biting wind cut at their faces like a knife.
But for these Trial Takers, all of whom were at least First-level Martial Artists, this level of difficulty was nothing.
Over an hour later, the group finally reached the summit of Thunder Mountain.
Standing there, the view opened up dramatically.
They could even clearly see the gentle curve of the planet’s horizon in the distance.
White clouds churned below their feet, like something out of an Immortal Realm.
And atop this peak, there was indeed a strange lake.
The lake was about three hundred meters in diameter and no more than three or four meters deep. The water was clear enough to see the bottom, yet it shimmered with a dreamlike blue-purple hue.
Within the water, countless fine sparks of electricity seemed to flow and leap, emitting soft CRACKLE sounds and filling the air with a mysterious and dangerous aura.
This was the Qiming Thunder Pool.
"The Thunder Crystals are suspended in the water."
The guide pointed at the blue-purple lake and said, "When you enter the Thunder Pool shortly, grab a Thunder Crystal, hold it tightly in your palm, and focus your mind to begin absorption."
He checked the time, then announced loudly, "The time has come! Enter the pool!"
SPLASH!
SPLASH!
SPLASH!
With a series of splashes, the young men and women leaped into the Thunder Pool one after another.
Qin Feng followed close behind, his body sinking into the blue-purple water.
The pool water was bone-chillingly cold, but the vast and pure Spiritual Energy contained within it made him feel utterly refreshed.
Following the guide’s instructions, he searched in the water for a moment and grabbed a crystal suspended beside him. It was about the size of a thumb, completely translucent, with sparks of electricity flashing inside.
This was a Thunder Crystal.
He clenched it tightly in his palm.
A violent surge of energy instantly erupted from the Thunder Crystal, rushing up his arm and into his body!
That energy was like thousands of miniature lightning bolts, rampaging through his meridians and flesh, bringing a tingling, stabbing sensation.
Qin Feng frowned slightly, but he soon discovered that this so-called "violence" wasn’t that hard for him to bear.
It was even... a little gentle.
The moment this Thunder Energy entered his body, it seemed to have been tamed, flowing docilely as it cleansed his body bit by bit, altering his fundamental biological structure.
’Perhaps it’s because my body was already refined by Master Sun and Lord Zhou Xiong’s Ten-Complete Hand.’
’It could also be because I’m already a Gold Standard Human II.’
Understanding dawned on Qin Feng.
He looked around.
He saw that the other young men and women all wore expressions of extreme pain.
One by one, their brows were knitted, their teeth clenched, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably in the pool from the intense pain, like small boats caught in a storm.
A few had even let out suppressed cries of pain, unable to endure the piercing agony.
In contrast, Qin Feng’s expression could only be described as "at ease."
The energy of the first Thunder Crystal was quickly and completely absorbed.
Without hesitation, he immediately grabbed a second one.
The pain from the second Thunder Crystal was several times more intense than the first.
But for Qin Feng, it was still well within a comfortably tolerable range.
He floated in the pool like a quiet Cultivator, silently and efficiently absorbing one Thunder Crystal after another.
Meanwhile, a brutal process of elimination had already begun among the others.
"I can’t take it anymore! Ahh!!"
While absorbing his third Thunder Crystal, a young man let out a piercing scream, his entire body curling into a ball from the pain.
A guide on the bank immediately leaped into the pool and quickly pulled him out.
The further one progressed in absorbing Thunder Crystals, the greater the pain became, increasing exponentially.
Soon, while absorbing the fourth Thunder Crystal, a dozen more people chose to give up, unable to withstand the bone-deep agony.
At the fifth crystal, even more people gave up—more than half of the total number.
By the time they reached the sixth crystal, only three or four figures remained in the Thunder Pool, which had once held nearly a hundred people.
They were all gritting their teeth and persevering, their faces contorted in pain and the muscles all over their bodies spasming violently.
Zhou Heyuan was among them.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he bit his lip so hard he didn’t make a sound.
’The sixth one!’
’Only two more to go to reach the eighth!’
’If I can just hold on a little longer and absorb eight Thunder Crystals, I’ll become a ’Gold Standard Human I’!’
’That’s a level of physical potential far greater than any Special Constitution!’
However, as lofty as his goal was, the reality was harsh.
The twofold torment originating from body and spirit was like an endless tide, crashing wave after wave against their fragile Wills.
In the end, just as the energy of the sixth Thunder Crystal was about to be fully absorbed, everyone except for Qin Feng reached their limit.
One after another, they gave the signal to give up and were pulled from the Thunder Pool by the guides and their own elders, their faces filled with reluctance.
The entire Thunder Pool was left with only Qin Feng.
On the bank, everyone’s gaze was fixed on the figure still floating calmly in the center of the pool.
Zhou Heyuan gasped for breath, staring at Qin Feng with a look of utter shock and disbelief.
"Is that guy... even human? He’s absorbed six and isn’t showing any reaction at all?"
Day after day passed as the crowd waited.
Atop the towering Thunder Mountain, the thunderclouds reconverged, and flashing lightning cast an even more mysterious glow upon the blue-purple Thunder Pool.
And Qin Feng, like an old monk in deep meditation, silently absorbed one Thunder Crystal after another in the Thunder Pool.
The expressions of the crowd on the bank also changed from initial curiosity, to shock, to numbness, and finally, to deep reverence.
Day one, he absorbed fifteen.
Day two, thirty.
Day three, he successfully broke the forty-crystal mark!
A collective gasp echoed from the shore.
Day four, fifty.
When he absorbed the fiftieth Thunder Crystal, an expression of pain finally appeared on Qin Feng’s perpetually calm face for the first time.
His brows locked tightly together, his face turned somewhat pale, and the muscles in his face twitched slightly as he endured the intense pain.
The real test had begun.
But he showed no sign of giving up.
Day five, seventy-five.
Fine cracks began to appear on his body. Traces of blood seeped from beneath his skin, only to be instantly vaporized by the violent Thunder Energy.
Day six, ninety!
When the guide on the bank announced this number, the entire area fell deathly silent!
Ninety crystals!
He had already surpassed the record set on the Thunder Pool Stele by the legendary Master, Sun Chan Hall!
Everyone held their breath and widened their eyes, as if they were witnessing the birth of a new legend.