The 158 steps was merely an entry stage of the competition. Eventually, every candidate arrived at the top and received the Demi-Mortal Blessing, purifying their bodies as a result. Despite their heavily gasping breaths and placement of arrival, not a single one of them felt dejected or uncertain about their chances, still holding firm onto their beliefs of success. The success that they'll become the next Holy Child.
This wasn't without any warrant, as the entry stage merely tested one's initial qualifications, not the true determining factor of it. To the candidates, they even knew that pressure based on bodily age wasn't the proper measurement of talent, and even the World Sea Phase candidate had a smile of confidence as he received the blessing.
To them, even the locals and natives of this world, knew that the real competition didn't test comprehension of Intent, bodily age, or manipulation of desolate power, but talent, foundation, and combat prowess. You could have the strongest Intent in the world, but without the proper cultivation base and foundation, it'll all amount to nothing in the real world.
This was a well-known and accepted fact that all cultivators understood. The dozens of hooded figures who stood at the peak of the Desolate Lands understood this principle even better, being true experts that toppled the world with their true talent, foundation, and strength.
The absorption process for all the candidates of the Boundless Essence Mist was quite long, taking nearly an entire hour to complete. The candidates could all feel their innate energies and bodies slowly dissolve the impurities within them, expelling it through their pores as turbid air.
Wei Wuyin couldn't help but feel somewhat awkward as he 'absorbed' the mist as no turbid air left his body. He didn't have any impurities in his body to begin with, so what turbid air could he expel?
He didn't even use ambient energies to cultivate. In fact, he hasn't cultivated his Astral Souls in a very, very long time. They were self-sufficient and functioning, and these four Astral Souls of his were extremely picky, only consuming the purest alchemical products for their cultivation, even for recovery. As long as a product was low-quality, it was completely pure without a hint of impurities, so it could be consumed with no drawbacks.
The vast majority of products concocted was impure of varying percentages, but he hadn't concocted impure pills in a long, long time nor consumed them since he started learning alchemy even during his Scarlet Solaris Sect days.
Hence, this purifying mist was of no use to him personally. However, if he could concoct the Boundless Pill to purify the bodies of his subordinates, this would greatly increase their cultivation speed, circulation of various forces, and bodily strength. He was a little excited at the prospect, so stored this mist and stealthily stole some more.
He had no idea what a high or peak-tier pill would do, but he had his own assumptions, and a ninth-grade secondary effect could not be underestimated. Ever.
After all eleven candidates finished their refinement of the mist, the blind lady spoke to them and the crowd. "I am Grand Priestess Si De, it is my honor to meet the Holy Candidates of the Divine Lord! Before all present, we will unleash the trials to find if one of you will become the Holy Child worthy of our Divine Lord's greatest token of divine grace!"
Wei Wuyin and the young woman's eyebrows twitched as they heard her name. Si De? Wasn't that just Desi spelt backwards? As if under a mutual understanding, they turned towards each other and faintly smiled with a hint of a laugh. These people were quite fanatical to these so-called deities.
The young woman was startled by her actions. She found herself connecting with Wei Wuyin abruptly for absolutely no reason! She turned away, ignoring Wei Wuyin. He might be handsome, but so what? She wasn't a superficial woman nor was any of her suitors back home lacking in comparison in regards to talent, and likely exceeded Wei Wuyin's mysterious background.
Wei Wuyin saw this and wryly smiled. What could he do if they had similar thoughts and thus similar feelings? Unlike the others, they were both exposed to far greater horizons and knew that these deities weren't real gods. The others had reverential and awed expressions filled with unyielding fighting spirit. Even Ai Juling wasn't any different. None of the elves were.
"People of the World! We will be testing the true age of each Holy Candidate, testing their success thus far on the endless path of cultivation! We will be testing the strength of their Spirit of Cultivation, the foundation forged from innumerable hours of effort! We will be testing the strength of their Martial Might, the strength of their fists! These factors will be determined by the Divine Lord's judgement to see if they are worthy of his grace!
"If all three are met by any contestants as satisfactory by our Divine Lord's will, a Holy Child will be born and bestowed the true Divine Blessing of our world's greatest Divine Lord!" Grand Priestess Si De's words grew louder and more impassioned as she spoke. The crowd was riled up, feeling hyped at the possibility that a new Holy Son or Daughter will be decided today!
Wei Wuyin was watching her quivering figure beneath the robe, realizing she was quite well-endowed in many ways, not just a beautiful face. He soon found out that he was distracted, not feeling an ounce of pressure in this holy competition. He bitterly smiled in his heart. Was it because the contestants were just too beneath his notice? Was he being arrogant and dismissive?
But even the Grand Spirit Trials held his interest more than this and he was mostly a spectator.
"Let's begin!" Grand Priestess Si De said, waving her two arms about as two golden bracelets that glowed with white light shot into the sky. They rotated rapidly, erupting with multicolored light until they formed two man-sized rings that heavily crashed into the ground.
They stood upright and a faint veil formed around both rings tightly, creating a curtain of sorts through its gap.
"Walk through; prove your worth to our Divine Lord!" The Grand Priestess shouted, indicating for the candidates to walk through the two veil-like curtains.
Wei Wuyin's Celestial Eyes inspected the rings, finding their functions to be basic, but extremely advanced. They seemed to sense auras. He didn't hesitate, walking through the veil of the nearest one to him. As he did, the other candidates watched on with curiosity. Even the young woman was staring at Wei Wuyin's figure with interest.
How long has this guy been cultivating?
She wanted to know if the disparity was of any note, or if he formed his Spirit of Cultivation in the womb like some extremely gifted children with powerful parents, explaining his young age relative to his cultivation.
When he walked through, Wei Wuyin felt his aura be inspected, not his bones, blood, or skin. It was the aura of his Spirit of Cultivation, startling him instantly. When he heard about 'true age' he thought it meant the age of himself, and when he inspected its functions, he thought it sensed lifeforce auras. To be honest, he wasn't certain if his bodily age would even reveal anything with his Void Bloodline or if it'll be accurate after he had crossed through time during the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation.
The surprising matter that concerned and shocked him was that he had four Spirits of Cultivation, and Kraros decided to take the bullet!!!
When he felt its innately protective nature, shielding its siblings from a foreign force, he felt warmth in his heart. In a way, Kratos represented his fleshy body, so it was always the first line of defense to protect the others. And when large, mountain-like characters started to glitter out of the ring, he felt a strange, extremely awkward expression overtake his bitter smile.
"…!"
There was a cacophony of cold, heavy, and horrified gasps! The amount of gasps was enough to notably change the air density in the entire True Desolate for a brief moment! If it wasn't for the event, some might think this was a practiced unified performance by the millions present! Those spectators weren't the only ones who sucked air, the hooded figures, Grand Priestess Si De, even the young woman were wide mouthed and gasped in shock!
The old man below was eating his delicious dates peacefully watching the ongoing show, but at the moment of the reveal, even his eyes bulged out, nearly popping out of his skull, unsure what he was looking at or if it was true. No, if it was even possible! The dates fell out of his wide mouth, falling unfairly on the floor.
It didn't deserve that.
Wei Wuyin felt extremely awkward. The true age was determined by the Spirit of Cultivation's birth date, not the cultivators'. After all, the time prior to being a cultivator couldn't really be considered in terms of true talent, right? For a brief moment, Wei Wuyin wondered why his own starfield didn't use the same type of standard. After all, why even test bodily age? Geniuses aren't defined by how long they lived, but how far they've gotten in cultivation relative to their age!
Looking at the giant mountain-like characters that revealed Kratos's true age and cultivation phase, he couldn't help but chuckle while rubbing his nose. Kratos was his youngest Spirit of Cultivation, so one could imagine the absurdity reflected in these characters. It was formed last! It read:
"Eight Years, Seven Months, Thirteen Days! Spatial Resonance Phase, Astral Core Realm!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
