122: Chapter 122 Judging the Heart

Chapter 122: Heart-Nature Assessment (Thanks to 'EPICAC' for the ten thousand coin reward, an extra chapter is added)

【As I write this, I hope readers will remember our domain name: Reading good books in Taiwan is super easy】

As time passed and the batches reached the two hundredth group, the atmosphere in the entire Jian Xin Hall seemed to pause for a moment.

Countless gazes, filled with intense anticipation and reverence, focused on the figure who had just calmly walked onto the testing area.

He wore simple training clothes, his figure tall and straight like a pine tree, his temperament serene like a deep, ancient well.

The moment he appeared, without needing words or an explosive Aura, he seemed to possess his own halo, becoming the absolute center of attention.

One of the undisputed Peak existences on the blue star youth platinum ranking—Du Yun.

He walked to the long weapon rack, his gaze sweeping over the dazzling array of weapons, and finally, he also chose a long spear.

The instant Du Yun grasped the standard-issue long spear, a sharpness condensed to the extreme, seemingly capable of piercing mountains, naturally permeated outward.

His expression was as calm as an ancient well. He slowly raised the spear tip, pointing it towards the vast, boundless wall of golden Qi and Blood array in the distance.

No running start, no roar.

He only took three steps forward.

The moment the third step landed, Du Yun's waist, spine, and arms suddenly transformed into a perfect lever for transmitting power. All his essence, energy, and spirit were condensed onto the tip of the spear.

"Duo!"

A short, sharp shout, like a thunderclap striking the ground, erupted from Du Yun's chest, yet it seemed to explode in the depths of everyone's Soul.

The spear shot out!

At this moment, the spear tip seemed to vanish instantly.

No, the entire spear shaft had transformed into a beam of light, condensed as if solid, flashing with the cold glint of metal.

It was no longer a spear, but the Incarnation of an unbreakable will.

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!

To describe it as crushing everything in its path was insufficient; it was absolute destruction and penetration.

The golden Qi and Blood wall layers, before this spear from Du Yun, seemed to have encountered their natural predator. They shattered and annihilated one after another, unable to even offer slight resistance. Wherever the spear light passed, a large area was instantly cleared.

The digital light screen flickered wildly like a burnt-out light bulb, completely unable to keep up with the speed at which the spear light tore through the barriers. In the blink of an eye, it broke past the hundred-layer milestone.

One hundred and fifty layers—one hundred and seventy layers—one hundred and eighty layers—one hundred and ninety layers! Without the slightest pause.

"Over—over one hundred and ninety?!" Someone shrieked.

The momentum was still unabated!

The spear light, condensed like a drill, carried an irreversible determination and fiercely broke through the two-hundred-layer milestone, which symbolized the absolute limit of power!

Finally, the terrifying power of this spear dissipated only after successively tearing through two hundred and nine golden barriers, reluctantly fading out before the surging, mighty energy of the two hundred and tenth layer.

The entire Jian Xin Hall was silent enough to hear a pin drop.

The air seemed to freeze.

All the Geniuses, including Ron Zaka and Fang Chenghong, who had previously shown astonishing performances, held their breath, eyes wide open, staring in disbelief at the digital light screen finally fixed on 'Two Hundred and Nine'.

Li Wen's pupils also contracted sharply.

Two hundred and nine layers, a full hundred layers ahead of himself.

Du Yun's power had already surpassed the scope understandable by his peers, reaching a Peak that made people look up to him.

"Du Yun----Two Hundred and Nine Layers----!"

The silence was broken. The attendant recording the results, using all his strength, almost shouted hoarsely, with undisguised shock and fanaticism, the score that made everyone's hearts tremble.

Whoosh!!! After a brief moment of holding their breath, the entire Jian Xin Hall erupted like a volcanic explosion.

Exclamations, gasps of cold air, and incredulous discussions echoed beneath the dome.

And at this moment, on the high main platform, all the Marquis-level Divine Demons had also become interested.

Their previously lazy, casual, condescending gazes instantly sharpened like lightning, filled with scrutiny.

Dozens of powerful Divine Sense intentions focused on the young man in the center of the arena without any concealment—the one who stood still, spear retrieved, with an expression still calm after delivering that world-shaking strike.

Deep within King Chu He's placid eyes, a faint ripple seemed to emerge.

Without a doubt, Du Yun had used this overwhelmingly dominant spear strike to declare that he was the undisputed Emperor of the Power aspect in this assessment.

The assessments continued batch by batch.

The shock of the power test had long faded, and the waves stirred up by Du Yun's astonishing spear strike were now being smoothed out amidst the waiting.

As the last participant stepped away from the Qi and Blood Wall, the first item of assessment for over three thousand people concluded.

The light screen flickered, recording the scores and rankings.

Beneath the cold data, the two hundred-plus Geniuses who failed to break the three-thousand-layer Qi and Blood Wall were immediately declared eliminated and left dejectedly.

The atmosphere became solemn again.

Without giving the remaining Prodigies any chance to catch their breath or adjust, faint light flowed within the Jian Xin Hall.

The Marquis-level Divine Demon who had been sitting to King Chu He's right, with an ancient countenance and a solemn Aura, slowly stood up.

He merely waved his hand lightly.

Instantly, in the central area of the plaza, the originally empty jade stone ground suddenly surged up with a hazy mist.

The mist was not thick, but it flowed with mysterious halos, seeming to isolate space and form its own world within.

"The second assessment, testing Heart-Nature!" That Marquis-level Divine Demon's voice was deep, yet clearly reached every person present, carrying an unquestionable majesty, "The rules are the same as the previous item, entering in batches. This Formation is quite large, one hundred people at a time."

His gaze swept over the bustling crowd below, finally landing before the mist.

"Enter this mist barrier and just walk forward. The farther you walk, the higher the score. One step brings an illusory heart, ten steps lead to a confusing barrier, and a hundred steps reveal trials and tribulations. Those who cannot endure will naturally be protected and sent out by the Formation."

"Begin."

As the command was given, the first hundred Geniuses lined up stepped forward and walked towards that mysterious wall of mist.

Almost all the observers' gazes focused at this moment on the tall, sturdy blonde figure in the ninety-something position—Ron Zaka of the Federal Republic of America.

This Genius, ranked second in power, how would his Heart-Nature fare?

One hundred people stepped into the thin mist in unison, their figures instantly becoming blurred, only their outlines moving slowly or quickly within the haze.

From the outside, their movements seemed normal, just a bit sluggish.

But the scene inside the Formation had long since turned upside down.

The mist seemed alive, stirring up the deepest emotions, memories, desires, and fears within those entering the Formation.

Every wisp of mist that brushed past wove countless bizarre illusions.

These illusions were not fabricated out of thin air but were rooted in the individual's experiences and state of mind, fitting perfectly and striking directly at the core of their being.

With every step forward, the illusions surrounding them intensified, and the power eroding their will doubled.

Soon, the speed hierarchy among the hundred people in the Formation became clearly visible.

Some, after taking only a dozen steps, already had pale and terrifyingly twisted faces, as if undergoing torture like flaying and scraping bones, emitting silent screams from their mouths.

Others walked past twenty steps, their steps slow, but their faces could still maintain calmness.

But Ron Zaka, on whom great expectations were placed, showed unexpectedly mediocre performance.

He was not at the forefront, nor even in the top thirty, but lingered in the lower middle of the hundred-person group, having taken around twenty-something steps.

His strong body appeared slightly stiff in the mist, and his tightly furrowed brow showed that his inner world was far from 'smooth sailing' like his power.

Suddenly, a muffled groan came from within the mist.

A figure near the outer edge shook violently, his eyes instantly stained with dense blackness, losing all consciousness. He looked on the verge of collapsing to the ground.

"Chi!" On the main platform, the Marquis-level Divine Demon presiding over the event flicked his finger casually.

A gentle yet irresistible force pierced through the mist, accurately enveloping the unconscious youth, lightly pulling him, and sending him back safely outside the crowd.

Once separated from the illusion Formation, the youth quickly woke up, looking around blankly. Upon realizing he was the first one eliminated and sent out, his face instantly flushed red. Too ashamed to even lift his head, he quickly slipped back into the crowd.

As if triggering a chain reaction, after him, geniuses one after another stagnated at a certain point, falling into the vortex of illusions and being unable to extricate themselves, sent out by the Formation's power.

In just a few minutes, the entire first batch of one hundred people had left.

Ron Zaka's final score stopped at the thirtieth step. It wasn't the bottom, but compared to his power, it could only be described as average.

The best performer in this batch turned out to be an ordinary boy from an unknown small city, who gritted his teeth and walked to the seventy-third step, causing slight discussion in the observation seats.

Immediately following were the second, third, and fourth batches of Geniuses entering one after another.

The scores mostly fluctuated between twenty-something steps and sixty or seventy steps. The top performers were still ordinary Geniuses, similar to those in the first batch, who were unknown but walked with firm steps.

This seemed to confirm a certain characteristic of the Heart-Nature test—talent and background were not a guaranteed pass in front of the misty illusions.

It wasn't until the fifth batch.

After a brief silence, a slight commotion stirred in the crowd.

On the light screen, the data for the top spot on the step ranking had broken past one hundred.

This person was from an obscure small country, his appearance ordinary. At this moment, he was gritting his teeth, taking firm steps towards the region of one hundred and five steps.

Although he finally stopped at one hundred and seven steps, it was enough to temporarily make him the focus of everyone's attention.

The light of Heart-Nature, for the first time, surpassed pure Power.

Soon, the list of one hundred people for the sixth batch lit up on the light screen.

In the area where the Geniuses from Jiangnan Province were concentrated, Li Wen, who had been sitting quietly regulating his breath, opened his eyes, which were clear and calm.

He stood up and walked unhurriedly towards the assessment area shrouded in thin mist.

He was in the same batch as Chu Feng, Nangong Xue, and others, but at this moment, most people's gazes, including those two, fell upon the figure wearing simple clothes but possessing an Aura like a hidden, ancient blade.

"Li Wen has this Heart-Nature trial locked down," Chu Feng whispered to Nangong Xue beside him. "His experience before his Awakening, the level of desperation, someone with weak willpower simply couldn't have made it this far."

"Mmm," Nangong Xue nodded, a trace of admiration in her cool eyes. "This level of Heart-Nature is not something that greenhouse flowers piled up with resources can compare to. Heart-Nature carries immense weight in the Kindling assessment, even determining one's future limit. This round of elimination will probably be even crueler."

The surrounding Jiangnan Province Geniuses also heard this and deeply agreed.