At the Desolate Old Monster’s question, Pingyangzi, Daoist Xuanqing, and the others all fixed their gazes on Chu Tianxiong, their faces filled with anticipation as they awaited his answer.
Having cultivated to their realm, every single step forward in strength was incredibly difficult.
Therefore, they had to seize every opportunity.
However, Chu Tianxiong shook his head.
These were the conditions set by the Qu Luo Ancestor of their Beast Taming Sect. He couldn’t change them unless he himself reached the Martial Emperor Level.
In an instant, the hearts of all the elder experts sank.
It was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over them.
An elder named Hu said, unwilling to give up, "No way. Just because you say it can’t be changed, it can’t be changed? I refuse to accept that."
"If Elder Hu refuses to accept it, you are welcome to go and try for yourself. I will not stop you."
Chu Tianxiong said nonchalantly.
"Fine!"
Elder Hu strode up to the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, pressed his right hand against it, and channeled his Spiritual Qi into it.
VMM!
A faint light glowed on the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, and a line of text materialized upon it: "Hu Song, eighty-three years old. Test failed."
’Failed?’
Elder Hu’s brow furrowed. Before he could pull his hand away, an extremely terrifying power surged from within the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, violently blasting him backward.
BAM!
Elder Hu slammed hard against a wall a hundred meters away. He spat out a mouthful of black blood, his face turning deathly pale.
His right arm was gone, instantly obliterated into a mist of blood.
"This..."
The expressions of the elder experts present changed dramatically. They clearly hadn’t expected the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele to contain such terrifying power.
The young geniuses, however, were thrilled.
Without competition from the older generation, their chances of obtaining the inheritance would increase dramatically.
"It seems this Martial Emperor Technique inheritance is completely out of reach for us old-timers."
"In that case, let the younger generation compete for it."
The elder experts shook their heads in resignation.
Just then, a young man stepped out from the crowd and said respectfully, "Elder Chu, I am Wang Heng. I would like to be the one to start the ball rolling. Please, grant me permission."
Chu Tianxiong nodded. "Very well. You may begin."
With permission granted, Wang Heng strode to the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, pressed his palm against it, and infused it with Spiritual Qi.
VMM!
A faint red light glowed on the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, and a line of text appeared: "Wang Heng, twenty years old, Mid Stage Samurai, Talent Value 1/10,000."
Huh?
Seeing Wang Heng’s talent level, everyone frowned.
They understood "Mid Stage Samurai," but they had no idea what the "1" and "10,000" meant.
’Does that mean you have to reach 10,000 to have maxed-out talent?’
’That must be it!’
’Does that mean it would take ten thousand Wang Hengs to reach the maximum Talent Value?’
Instantly, everyone shot Wang Heng a strange look.
Wang Heng’s face was flushed with embarrassment.
Reaching the Mid-stage Samurai Realm at the age of twenty meant his talent already surpassed that of most young Martial Artists. He was by no means untalented, yet the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele had just given him a resounding slap in the face.
With a Talent Value like that, he had no hope of obtaining the Martial Emperor Technique inheritance.
A young man sneered, "Wang Heng, you really are just a brick."
"Li Mao, shut your mouth! Don’t just stand there laughing at me. Your talent is hardly any better than mine. If you don’t believe me, go on up and try."
Wang Heng snapped.
Li Mao swaggered toward the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, taunting nonstop, "Fine, I’ll try. I’m definitely better than you. That pathetic Talent Value of yours is probably worse than a dog’s. Today, I’ll show you a defeat so complete you’ll have no choice but to accept it."
VMM!
With that, Li Mao slapped his hand onto the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele. "Li Mao, twenty-one years old, Talent Value 2/100,000."
Seeing the value on the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, everyone frowned.
’Li Mao’s Talent Value is only a 2?’
’What a joke.’
Wang Heng jeered, "Heh, Li Mao, you’re nothing special after all!"
"It’s still better than you."
Li Mao declared proudly, "My Talent Value is 2 and yours is 1. That means my talent is a full two times greater than yours."
"Are you blind?"
Wang Heng pointed at the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele and sneered, "Take a good look at the number on the bottom. Mine is out of 10,000, and yours is out of 100,000."
At these words, Li Mao froze.
’The maximum Talent Value on the bottom... it isn’t fixed?’
Didn’t that mean his Talent Value wasn’t better than Wang Heng’s at all? In fact, it was five times worse.
’What kind of cosmic joke is this?’
"Hahaha!"
In an instant, the entire crowd erupted in laughter.
Li Mao’s face turned black. "Fuck!" he cursed. "What retard designed this? It’s so fucking stupid."
’Just show the number.’
’But no, you had to add a maximum value on the end?’
’Isn’t that just to humiliate people on purpose?’
Li Mao wished he could find a hole to crawl into and die.
Just then, a chill ran down Li Mao’s spine. He looked up and saw that all the members of the Beast Taming Sect were staring at him with ice-cold eyes. Terrified, he quickly ducked his head and didn’t dare utter another reckless word.
"Dumbass."
’He’s trash, and that’s one thing, but to blame our Qu Luo Ancestor for it? I really want to beat him to death.’
’Forget it. No need to stoop to his level.’
The members of the Beast Taming Sect all shot Li Mao a vicious glare before turning their attention back to the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele.
Chu Tianxiong asked, "Who’s next?"
After the fiasco with Li Mao and Wang Heng, the once-confident young geniuses now just looked at each other, none daring to step forward.
In fact, many even took a step back, afraid of becoming a laughingstock like Li Mao and Wang Heng.
Chu Tianxiong couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly.
’They don’t even dare to step forward for the test, yet they fantasize about obtaining the Martial Emperor Technique inheritance?’
’In their dreams!’
Just then, Liu Wuzhou suddenly spoke up. "When it comes to talent, my Red Blood Mansion is naturally the strongest. Allow me to give it a try."
As he spoke, Liu Wuzhou deliberately glanced at Su Mo, as if afraid Su Mo might prevent him from taking the talent test.
If that happened, he wouldn’t be able to obtain the Martial Emperor Technique inheritance.
However, Su Mo paid him no mind, ignoring him completely as if he were a clown.
Liu Wuzhou breathed a sigh of relief, then said arrogantly, "Trash from the Eighteen Kingdoms, today I will show you what truly powerful talent looks like! Now get the hell out of my way!"
The crowd scrambled to either side, clearing a path for Liu Wuzhou.
Liu Wuzhou was so arrogant that they all wanted to beat him to death.
At the same time, they were also curious to see just how big the gap was between them and him.
VMM!
A brilliant light flashed, and the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele displayed its text: "Liu Wuzhou, twenty-three years old, Early Stage Martial Artist, Talent Value 8/1,000."
Huh?
’Liu Wuzhou’s maximum Talent Value is only 1,000?’
Everyone stared at Liu Wuzhou in astonishment.
After several tests, they had already figured it out. The number on top wasn’t what was important; the maximum value on the bottom was the true measure.
The smaller the maximum value, the stronger the talent.
Li Mao’s face was frozen in disbelief. "What? Liu Wuzhou’s Talent Value is four hundred times better than mine? That’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
He knew there was a gap between him and Liu Wuzhou, but he never imagined it would be this massive.
This was utter despair!