Qu Luo curled his lip in disdain.
’Regret my ass!’
The very next second, however, he was dumbfounded.
He watched as Su Mo pressed his hand against the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele. The stele immediately began to shine with a blinding light that grew continuously stronger.
"Su Mo, age eighteen, Martial Disciple Great Perfection, Talent Value: 100,000..."
"What? 100,000..."
Seeing the value displayed on the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, Qu Luo was utterly flabbergasted, his jaw hanging open in shock.
’A person’s talent can actually reach a value as high as 100,000?’
’This has to be fake.’
The surrounding crowd fell silent.
Although they had long guessed that Su Mo’s Talent Value would be extraordinary, they never imagined it would be this high, actually reaching 100,000.
"Look! There’s no ’Max Talent’ indicator after Elder Su’s Talent Value."
"What? It’s not at maximum talent?"
"Could it be... the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele is broken?"
The crowd broke into a flurry of discussion.
During all the previous tests, no matter how high the talent, the stele would always display "Max Talent" at the end. Su Mo’s result, however, did not.
Everyone thought the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele was broken.
Only Qu Luo understood the truth.
’The Martial Emperor Ancient Stele isn’t broken. It just can’t display the full number.’
’In other words, Su Mo’s talent isn’t 100,000, it’s 1,000,000!’
At this, Qu Luo’s mind went completely blank.
He had never imagined that Su Mo, the person he’d looked down on the most, had actually shattered the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele’s record.
Heavens!
’What kind of monster is this?’
’Even a descended deity couldn’t be more impressive.’
BANG!
Just as everyone was reeling in astonishment, a violent fluctuation erupted from within the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele, and it exploded.
"Just as I thought, the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele was broken."
"I knew it. How could anyone possibly break 100,000?"
Everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Qu Luo, however, remained frozen in place, his face a mask of shock.
The Martial Emperor Ancient Stele wasn’t broken.
To be precise, Su Mo’s talent was so immense that it exceeded the stele’s testing limits, causing it to overload and explode.
It was simply unheard of.
Xiao Lang said speechlessly, "Qu Luo Ancestor, your Ancient Stele doesn’t seem very sturdy."
"Old man, how do you score this?" Xiao Dong demanded.
Qu Luo’s thoughts raced before he said, "My apologies. This stele has undergone many rounds of testing and can no longer bear the strain. Please forgive me, everyone."
"Hmph!"
Xiao Lang said coldly, "Even if your Martial Emperor Ancient Stele couldn’t handle the strain, our Young Master still broke 100,000. You must honor your earlier promise and eat the Martial Emperor Ancient Stele."
"This time doesn’t count!"
Qu Luo said, steeling himself.
Xiao Lang shot Qu Luo a look and thought with exasperation, ’Hmph, I knew an old coot like you wouldn’t keep his word. Figures.’
He didn’t press the issue, however.
Qu Luo composed himself, stared at Su Mo, and said, "Although the test was not successful, your talent is for all to see. I have decided to pass the Martial Emperor Technique on to you. You may kneel and accept me as your master."
Hearing this, the geniuses from the Eighteen Kingdoms all grew envious.
Just as they had guessed, the inheritance of the Martial Emperor Technique had fallen into Su Mo’s hands.
"Sigh..."
The Desolate Old Monster shook his head and sighed.
This Martial Emperor Technique inheritance should have belonged to his granddaughter, Huang Yunan, but then she had to run into Su Mo and those freaks from the Xiao Family.
Now, there was no chance at all.
But Huang Yunan shook her head and said, "Grandfather, why are you sighing? Elder Su is from our Desolate Empire. You should be happy that he is receiving the inheritance."
"Right, I’m happy!"
The Desolate Old Monster forced a smile, thinking, ’Happy my ass! A sure thing slipped right through my fingers. What a fucking tragedy.’
Liu Wuzhou, Wu Hao, and the others were equally dejected.
They had traveled tirelessly for thousands of miles to reach the Beast Taming Sect, only for someone else to obtain the Martial Emperor Technique inheritance.
It was the worst luck imaginable.
Though they were deeply unwilling to accept it, there was nothing they could do. After all, they couldn’t beat him, so they could only force a smile.
However...
Su Mo waved his hand dismissively. "Sorry, I’m not interested in your garbage Cultivation Technique."
"What? He said he’s not interested? That’s the inheritance of the Martial Emperor Technique!"
"Holy shit, is he always this arrogant?"
Hearing Su Mo’s answer, everyone’s eyes widened. They simply couldn’t believe their ears.
"Kid, what did you say?"
Qu Luo asked in disbelief.
Su Mo said impatiently, "I’m not interested in your garbage Cultivation Technique. Can you stop bothering me now? You’re so damn annoying."
Hearing this, Qu Luo’s face immediately darkened.
’Fuck!’
His inheritance was the Martial Emperor Technique, something that could dominate the entire Northern Profound Domain, yet someone had just publicly called it a garbage technique and found him annoying.
It was so damn infuriating.
Su Mo couldn’t care less whether Qu Luo was angry or not.
He had already said he wasn’t interested in the Martial Emperor Technique inheritance, but Qu Luo had insisted on forcing him to take the test.
"Hmph! Since you’re so arrogant, I don’t want to pass it on to you anyway,"
Qu Luo snorted, then turned his head to look at Xiao Qingxue.
Before he could even speak, however, Xiao Qingxue said, "Sorry, I’m not interested in your garbage Cultivation Technique either."
What!
Xiao Qingxue wasn’t interested either?
What about the rest of the Xiao Family?
All eyes turned to the Xiao Family. Xiao Lang stepped forward and said, "You can all stop looking. No one from our Xiao Family will accept the Martial Emperor Technique inheritance. You all can fight over it."
"Are all the people from the Xiao Family this arrogant?"
"Let them be arrogant. If they don’t want it, that just works out for us."
"That’s right! Once we obtain the Martial Emperor Technique, cultivate to the Martial Emperor Realm, and rule the entire Northern Profound Domain, we’ll see how arrogant they can be then."
The crowd started discussing amongst themselves.
They could understand Su Mo’s arrogance, since his own strength was extremely formidable, but they couldn’t understand the Xiao Family’s attitude.
But this also meant they now had a chance.
Excitement welled up in everyone’s hearts.
This was especially true for the Desolate Old Monster.
He had thought a sure thing had flown away, but now it had landed right back in his hands in the blink of an eye.
HAHAHA!
’The heavens have eyes!’
Qu Luo, however, couldn’t take it anymore.
He thought he had discovered a genius and had come out excitedly to bestow the Martial Emperor Technique inheritance, only to find that no one even wanted it.
"AHHHHHH..."
Qu Luo roared, on the verge of a breakdown.
Chu Tianxiong stepped forward. "Ancestor, are you..."
"I’m fine!"
Qu Luo suppressed his inner collapse and said to the crowd, "Who is Huang Yunan? Come forward and receive my Cultivation Technique inheritance."
"Huang Yunan pays her respects, Elder."
Huang Yunan said as she hurried forward.
Qu Luo asked, "Are you willing to accept my Cultivation Technique inheritance?"
Huang Yunan replied respectfully, "This disciple is willing."
Phew...
Hearing Huang Yunan agree, Qu Luo finally let out a heavy sigh of relief, the great stone that had been weighing on his heart finally lifted.
He had become afraid of rejection.
If Huang Yunan had also refused him, he would have rather dissipated his Residual Soul on the spot and let the Martial Emperor Technique inheritance be buried forever than stay here and suffer more humiliation.
It was too damn humiliating.
Thankfully, Huang Yunan finally agreed.
Qu Luo instructed, "Good. Kneel and receive my Cultivation Technique inheritance."
THUD!
The moment Huang Yunan knelt, a ray of light shot from Qu Luo’s fingertip and entered her body.
Instantly, a massive amount of information appeared in Huang Yunan’s mind.
"Hm? Advance to Martial Monarch in three years and Martial Emperor in five?"
Huang Yunan exclaimed in delight, "This Martial Emperor Technique inheritance is truly powerful enough."