107: Talent Pool

The two of them watched the golden light together, then looked at each other in dismay.

What should be done in this situation?

Are they supposed to have him stand back-to-back with Huang Shi and trick the golden light into going over?

Fortunately, the golden beam of light seemed to realize it had found the wrong person.

It hovered around Bai Ye twice, unwillingly, before slowly drifting in front of Huang Shi.

It floated up and down in front of Huang Shi, its radiance flickering on and off.

It seemed to be undergoing some kind of difficult internal struggle.

Finally, its light dimmed significantly, giving off a strong sense of disdain.

It merged into Huang Shi's body with extreme reluctance.

It was like a diner who had prepared to eat a Manchu Han Imperial Feast at a five-star hotel, only to be told the hotel had closed down and was forced to eat a bowl of spoiled spicy hot pot at a roadside stall.

He looked down at his hands, his expression extremely complicated.

"I feel like I've been despised."

He squatted on the ground, drawing circles with the dōyako, and said with a look of hopelessness:

"I'm really sorry for being so weak."

But soon he was no longer depressed; warm energy enveloped Huang Shi's entire body, giving him the feeling of soaking in a hot spring.

The cleansing counts that had been lost were being filled by a special energy, and he felt as if he were about to float away from comfort.

The weakness caused by consuming three cleansing counts in one go was also swept away.

As the golden light faded, Huang Shi leaned against the corner of the wall, his body twitching from time to time, making Bai Ye subconsciously want to stay away from him.

Are you really recovering cleansing counts? Why does it look a bit wrong?

Before he could go to check on Huang Shi's condition, the grand electronic voice rang out again.

But Bai Ye seemed to hear a hint of... guilt in the voice?

"It is detected that the contribution of Challenger 'Bai Ye' in this trial is ninety-seven percent, far exceeding the other Challenger."

"Re-evaluating rewards..."

"Evaluation complete."

"Challenger Bai Ye, you have earned the opportunity to enter the second half of the challenge. After successfully entering the Talent Pool, you will have a one hundred percent probability of obtaining a talent as an additional reward for this trial."

"Talent Pool?"

Huang Shi didn't know when he had woken up; he came to Bai Ye's side with his legs trembling, also looking confused.

He only knew that the Tower of Inheritance could indeed help people awaken new talents.

He had never heard of any "Talent Pool".

After all, his ancestors hadn't reached the second half when they were at Rank 4.

"The Talent Pool is one of the core areas of the Tower of Inheritance, containing gifts left behind by a super-ancient civilization, with a certain chance to help a Beast Tamer awaken a brand new Beast Taming talent."

Another civilization.

Bai Ye remembered the "Iron Man Rebellion" he encountered in the school Secret Realm last time.

It was also a relic of a civilization, and also primarily featured Mechanical System Demonic Beasts.

Could there be any connection between these two Secret Realms?

"Normally it only has a chance, so how high is the chance?" he asked the air.

"According to past data records, the probability of successfully Awakening a new talent is three point three percent." The electronic voice replied coldly.

Bai Ye curled his lips; this probability was truly too low.

If it weren't for the one hundred percent reward given by the Trial Tower, wanting to obtain a new talent would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"Which floor is the Talent Pool on?" he continued to ask.

"The twelfth floor."

"The twelfth floor, huh..."

When Huang Shi heard this number, most of the excitement on his face faded, and he decisively shook his head, "Um, how about you go up yourself? My frail body won't hold you back."

Following along would just make him a burden.

The tests in this tower likely scale with the number of people and their strength.

His presence might increase the difficulty of the challenge for Bai Ye.

"The rules of the Trial Tower state that if you enter as a pair, you cannot act alone unless you give up halfway."

The electronic voice ruthlessly shattered Huang Shi's fantasy:

"According to detection, adding Challenger Huang Shi will not increase the difficulty of subsequent levels."

Huang Shi felt like his heart had been pierced by another arrow.

Even the System has started despising me, right?

"Since that's the case, let's go together." Bai Ye patted Huang Shi on the shoulder.

"To enter the Talent Pool, you need to pass the second half of the trial."

"The second half of the trial starts from the eighth floor, and the difficulty will far exceed the first half."

"Challenger Bai Ye, do you choose to continue the challenge?"

"Challenge." Bai Ye answered without hesitation.

Just kidding, a one hundred percent chance to obtain a new talent? Only a fool wouldn't go.

"In view of Challenger Bai Ye's outstanding strength, the trial progress will be directly advanced to the tenth floor."

"Good luck, Challenger."

Accompanied by the final blessing of the electronic voice, the two were once again swept away by a powerful suction force.

When Bai Ye opened his eyes again, he found that he had arrived in a brand new place.

It was no longer a metal hall, but a vast, boundless... chessboard?

That's right, they were standing on a huge chessboard made of black and white squares.

The chessboard was so large that its edges couldn't be seen at a glance.

The sky was a hazy gray, giving a dull, oppressive feeling.

"Is this the tenth floor?"

Huang Shi looked at the chessboard under his feet and stomped on it hard.

"Could it be that it wants to test our wisdom?!"

This was his specialty; while his strength was indeed far inferior to Bai Ye's, he considered himself much better at chess than Bai Ye, who was not yet eighteen years old.

This is the victory of the elders!

"Welcome to the 'Corridor of Wisdom', Challenger."

An old voice rang out abruptly in their ears.

"I am the guardian of this floor; you may call me 'Sage'."

As the voice spoke, a huge chess piece made of light condensed and formed at the other end of the chessboard.

Huang Shi looked closely; it was a chess piece with the image of a king, wearing a crown and holding a scepter.

[Name]: King of Wisdom (Clone)

[attribute]: Psychic/Light

[Rank]: Initial Lord Rank

[Aptitude]: Commander Advanced

"Initial Lord Rank?"

Bai Ye looked at the information on the illustrated compendium and raised an eyebrow.

This guy's strength was much stronger than the 'Three Lucky Treasures' in the danger zone, mainly because of the 'Clone' marked after the name.

Even the Clone was Initial Lord Rank; the main body must be at least a Monarch-level Magical Beast.

"To pass this floor, you need to complete the test I have set."

"The test is simple: play a game of Demonic Beast War Chess against me."

"Demonic Beast War Chess?"

Huang Shi had a face full of question marks; he had never heard of it.

Could it be a game you old geezer invented yourself? If so, wouldn't his world-shocking wisdom be unable to shine?

"That is correct." The King of Wisdom tapped his scepter lightly.

On the chessboard, Demonic Beast chess pieces made of energy appeared out of thin air.

Rock Giant Rhino, Flame Demon Archer, Moonlight Elf, Shadow Assassin... all kinds of Demonic Beast chess pieces formed a complete legion.