Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Xiao Lang in astonishment.
Su Mo turned to look as well.
Xiao Lang explained, "I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just curious to see what level my talent has reached."
Su Mo nodded. "Go ahead."
’It’s just a simple talent test, nothing more.’
"Alright!"
Having received Su Mo’s permission, Xiao Lang strode to the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele and pressed his palm against it.
HUMMM!
The Martial Emperor Ancient Stele erupted in a brilliant light, so dazzling that no one could keep their eyes open.
"The light is so blinding!"
"Yeah, why is it so strong? I can barely open my eyes."
"Oh no, my eyes! I’m going blind!"
Everyone’s faces turned pale with alarm.
They hurriedly covered their eyes. After a long wait, the light from the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele finally dissipated, revealing a line of text: "Xiao Lang, age eighteen, Mid Stage Warrior, Talent Value 800/1."
"Heavens, Xiao Lang’s Talent Value is 800/1!"
"Look! The number after his Talent Value is a 1!"
"Could it be that Xiao Lang has perfect talent? No, he’s surpassed perfect talent. He’s eight hundred times greater than perfect talent!"
Everyone was so shocked their jaws dropped.
It was utterly astounding.
None of them had ever imagined that someone could surpass perfect talent.
Xiao Lang himself was also stunned.
He had only been curious, never expecting his talent to be so immense as to shock everyone present.
’Am I really that powerful?’
Xiao Lang began to doubt himself.
"No, no, there’s no way such a monstrous genius exists in this world. The Martial Emperor Ancient Stele must be broken."
"Right! When we were tested, the denominator for perfect talent was in the tens of thousands, but his is one."
"The denominator for perfect talent is missing zeroes. It’s definitely missing zeroes."
Almost everyone present believed the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele was broken.
Because no one’s talent was this high.
Even Huang Yunan, who ranked first, had a perfect talent denominator of 1000 when she was tested.
No matter how exaggerated Xiao Lang’s talent was, the denominator couldn’t possibly be a 1.
"HAHAHA!"
Just then, an aged laugh suddenly echoed through the space. "Unexpected, truly unexpected. To think such a monster truly exists in this world."
"Who’s there?"
Hearing the sudden laughter, everyone grew vigilant.
"I am Qu Luo!"
As the aged voice faded, a phantom-like image of a white-haired old man emerged from the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele.
"Holy crap! It’s the Qu Luo Evil Demon! Everyone, defend yourselves! Don’t let him bewitch you!"
Everyone’s expression changed drastically as they stared intently at Qu Luo’s phantom.
Su Mo, however, wore a look of utter astonishment.
’Didn’t I already kill the Qu Luo Evil Demon? How did he get out again?’
The phantom spoke faintly, "Rest assured, I am not the Evil Demon. I am merely a Residual Soul I left behind before my death."
Su Mo asked curiously, "If you’re Qu Luo, then who was the Evil Demon from before?"
"Sigh... To tell you the truth, that Evil Demon was also me. However, that was my evil side. What you see now is my good side," Qu Luo lamented with a sigh.
There are two sides to every story.
And people are no exception.
Before his death, Qu Luo had obtained not only the inheritance of the Martial Emperor Technique but also an Evil Demon Technique. His soul subsequently split, creating the good Qu Luo and the evil Qu Luo.
Before the good Qu Luo passed, he set up the inheritance for the Martial Emperor Technique. The evil Qu Luo, on the other hand, laid out the Array of Ten Thousand Undying Demons, wanting to cultivate into a powerful Evil Demon.
And so, the events from before came to pass.
"Such a thing is possible?"
The crowd looked on in disbelief.
However, they truly could not sense any hostility from the Qu Luo phantom before them, which proved he was telling the truth.
Su Mo frowned. "So, in other words, you’re mentally ill?"
"Ahem, ahem. You could say that."
Qu Luo’s face was filled with embarrassment.
Su Mo was speechless.
Who would have thought that the founding patriarch of the Beast Taming Sect, a dignified Martial Emperor Powerhouse, was actually mentally ill and had a split personality?
"Do you have any idea how many people your mentally ill self has killed?"
Su Mo questioned him in a cold voice.
The Undying Demon Tiger roared in anger, "I was one of your victims! You used my soul as a sky lantern! Sob, sob, sob... Do you have any idea how much I suffered? You nearly tormented me until my soul dissipated completely!"
"This..."
Qu Luo’s face was filled with guilt.
Chu Tianxiong stepped in to smooth things over. "What’s done is done; there’s no use dwelling on it. Besides, our ancestor is just a Residual Soul now, so blaming him is pointless. Let’s talk about the inheritance of the Martial Emperor Technique."
"Yes, yes, yes! This old ancestor only emerged for the inheritance of the Martial Emperor Technique."
Qu Luo quickly asked, "Who is Xiao Lang?"
"I am!"
Xiao Lang stepped forward openly.
Qu Luo said with satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad at all. You are indeed a gen... oh, no, a monster."
"Genius" was no longer sufficient to describe Xiao Lang’s aptitude; only "monster" would do.
Xiao Lang said humbly, "Senior, you flatter me. I’m nothing special. In our Xiao Family, people like me are a dime a dozen."
The term "monster" was reserved for the most talented geniuses in the world.
Xiao Lang felt he didn’t qualify.
After all, the Xiao Family had dozens of people just like him.
But Qu Luo was stunned.
The Martial Emperor Ancient Stele he had set up was actually quite simple. Only someone who surpassed perfect talent could summon his Residual Soul and receive the inheritance of the Martial Emperor Technique.
And those who surpassed perfect talent were extremely rare in the world. Forget the Northern Profound Domain; you couldn’t even find many in the Central Profound Domain.
Otherwise, he would have found a successor long ago.
Qu Luo shook his head. "Kid, stop boasting in front of me. Don’t try to fool me."
"What’s there to fool you about? Never mind our Young Miss and her husband, anyone we pick from the Xiao Family can surpass your ’perfect talent’. If you don’t believe me, I’ll have them test it for you."
Xiao Lang pointed at Xiao Lin. "Xiao Lin, you go first. Let Senior Qu Luo broaden his horizons."
"Yes, Brother Lang!"
Xiao Lin walked to the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, pressed his hand on it, and the stele immediately displayed: "Xiao Lin, age eighteen, Mid Stage Warrior, Talent Value 799/1."
"What? Xiao Lin’s Talent Value is that high too?"
Everyone present was dumbfounded.
They thought Xiao Lang’s was already high, but it turned out Xiao Lin’s was just a tiny bit lower, at seven hundred and ninety-nine times perfect talent.
"This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Qu Luo’s face was a mask of disbelief as he hurriedly turned to inspect the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele.
However, the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele was completely undamaged.
"Let me try too."
Xiao Dong placed his small hand on the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, and it displayed: "Xiao Dong, age eight, Martial Disciple Perfection, Talent Value 1500/1."
"Holy shit, 1500!"
Everyone was so shocked their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Including Qu Luo.
Xiao Lang chuckled. "This kid Xiao Dong has always been smart. His talent is truly amazing—almost double mine."
"Hehe!"
Xiao Dong laughed and said, "Actually, my talent is just average. The truly powerful ones are our Young Master and Young Miss. Those two are leagues ahead of me."
"That’s right. The most talented are the Young Master and the Young Miss."
Xiao Lang nodded in confirmation and asked, "Young Miss, why don’t you test yours too? Let us see your Talent Value."