"Our teacher has finally opened the Seven Star Caves world."
"When was the last time our teacher opened the Seven Star Caves world?"
"I think it was three hundred years ago."
Twelve figures chatted leisurely with each other.
It was rare for them to gather together as usually, each senior and junior brother was busy with their own affairs.
"This time, the test has brought forth many promising talents; otherwise, our teacher wouldn't have opened the Seven Star Caves world."
"I heard there's a person from the Three-Eyed Race. If Senior Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother aren't interested, I'll claim that Three-Eyed Race person."
"Hehehe, the Three-Eyed Race holds a special status in the Human Alliance. Accepting a Three-Eyed Race disciple is like creating a connection with other high-level Three-Eyed Race members. I'm definitely in for this!"
The twelve figures all spoke up eagerly.
The Three-Eyed Race was few in number but their talent was exceptionally strong.
Currently, in human civilization, the Three-Eyed Race numbered less than ten thousand and they were scattered across various territories.
Even without direct blood ties, members of the Three-Eyed Race felt a unique sense of kinship with each other, like meeting a fellow townsman in a foreign land.
With the innate talent of the Three-Eyed Race, it's easy for high-level evolvers to emerge.
Having a Three-Eyed Race disciple meant building ties with these high-level evolvers, making future endeavors much easier to manage.
Of course, even without these connections, the twelve figures would still be eager to take them in under their wing.
Talent was a clear advantage.
With careful nurturing, one from the Three-Eyed Race could easily reach the sixth rank.
"I'm not interested in the Three-Eyed Race, but that Silver Spirit is mine."
At this moment, the first figure at the top spoke slowly.
The Silver Spirit referred to a silver-haired woman with impressive spatial talent, highly praised by the Crimson Leviathan Star Lord, and was one of the top three red marks, standing out among over a million evolvers.
"Since Senior Brother has spoken, the Silver Spirit is yours."
"With such spatial talent, only Senior Brother has the capacity to nurture her."
"Indeed, indeed."
The remaining eleven figures made their comments and then shifted their focus to other evolvers.
Among the millions, only those with red marks and a few with golden marks were worth vying for.
The rest had to reach the seventh star cave to be considered worthy of competition.
"Is this the First Star Cave?" Lin Yuan began to observe his surroundings.
According to Fang Qing's information, the test for the First Star Cave likely involved the physical body.
However, it wasn't an absolute certainty; it could test the soul, mind, comprehension, or other qualities.
As Lin Yuan was observing, other evolvers were also being transported from the White Jade Plaza.
Many of them looked around nervously.
The scene wasn't too complex, resembling a wilderness with a wide black track dozens of miles wide in the middle.
Once all the evolvers had gathered, an imposing figure reappeared.
"The test of the First Star Cave is simple: walk to the end of this black track."
The imposing figure raised a hand, pointing at the black track.
"Anyone who reaches the end within a month can proceed to the Second Star Cave."
After speaking, the imposing figure vanished, leaving the place filled with uproar.
The test wasn't too difficult; it was that it was too simple.
The black track was dozens of miles wide and no more than a hundred miles long.
With a month's time to traverse a hundred miles, it seemed an easy task even for an ordinary citizen, who could typically walk that in a day or two, let alone the lowest rank of evolvers present, who were at least at the third tier.
"Reaching the end?" Lin Yuan didn't act immediately but stood observing.
He believed the test wasn't that simple, as the First Star Cave usually had a shocking elimination rate in past tests.
"Let others test it out first."
Lin Yuan wasn't in a rush.
Each star cave allowed for a month of staying time.
Even if he spent this month here, as long as he entered the Second Star Cave before time ran out, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
"Someone will surely get impatient."
Lin Yuan scanned his surroundings.
It didn't take long before a few Silver Mark evolvers started itching to move.
Among over a million evolvers, most were Silver Marks, while the Red and Gold Marks combined barely surpassed a hundred.
Because of this, the Seven Star Caves test this time greatly stimulated the Silver Mark evolvers.
Imagine every Silver Mark evolver as a top ten figure on their respective planets, held in high regard and courted by many factions.
But upon entering the world of the Seven Star Caves, they found themselves to be among a million others.
The stark difference in status caused a shift in mindset for some of the Silver Mark evolvers.
"Let's see what makes the Seven Star Caves test so special."
A burly man with a wild appearance stepped forward.
His third-tier aura was evident the instant he moved, drawing the attention of the evolvers gathered.
"Damn, the pressure's intense."
Sweat formed on his forehead, aware that the gazes of millions were on him, many from third and even fourth-tier evolvers.
Under everyone's scrutiny, the burly man stepped onto the black track.
"Huh?"
His expression shifted slightly, taking another step.
Two steps.
Five steps.
After about a hundred meters, he stopped.
"It's the gravity. Once you step into the black track's range, you're in a gravity zone. The further you go, the stronger the gravity. From where I stand, the gravity is about five to seven times that of a normal planet."
The burly man spoke openly, yet he wasn't lying; other evolvers could easily test it themselves.
"Gravity zone? Does this test physical strength?"
"Heh, well, this works out since physical prowess is my specialty."
Countless evolvers murmured among themselves, eyes fixed on the long black track with varied expressions.
"Just a hundred meters in, and the gravity is five to seven times stronger. Wouldn't the gravity near the end be thousands of times greater?" a Gold Mark evolver pondered aloud.
A hundred-mile black track meant increased gravity near the end.
"The end must have gravity over three thousand times stronger, something that will eliminate seventy to eighty percent of evolvers," thought another Gold Mark evolver, glancing at the eager Silver Mark evolvers around.
To a third-tier evolver, a gravity of tens or hundreds of times was manageable, but once the figure went over a thousand, it was a different story.
Gravity affects the internal organs, deep down to the cellular level.
Just having a strong exterior or tough skin wouldn't be enough to withstand it.
"So it's a gravity test," Lin Yuan mused, realizing it was a proficient test of physical capabilities.
Compared to simply testing strength or endurance, gravity tests from the outside in, eliminating those evolvers who pursued extreme paths for physical enhancement.
"Nevertheless, the furthest evolvers have only gone a thousand meters as of now, so I'm in no rush to know what gravity awaits later on."
While Lin Yuan was contemplating, thousands of evolvers had already entered the black track.
Among them, dozens had reached positions seven or eight hundred meters in.
Through communication, the gravity in those areas was clarified to have reached several tens of times.
After half an hour, ninety percent of the evolvers moved onto the black track.
Lin Yuan, noticing nothing unusual and confirming the black track only held gravitational challenges, stepped onto it as well.
Ten meters.
A hundred meters.
A thousand meters.
Ten thousand meters.
Without realizing it, Lin Yuan had walked over ten thousand meters, approximately a fifth of the track's total length, which equated to about twenty miles.
"Finally starting to feel it."
Lin Yuan thought to himself.
While the Divine Weapon World's cultivation system was quirky, the body refinement approach was indeed solid, starting from skin refinement to blood, organs, and bones, forging one's flesh through and through.
As a result, the gravity in the black track didn't strain Lin Yuan much at all.
Only past ten thousand meters did it prompt him to take it seriously.
So far, he had covered those kilometers without any stress, purely relying on drawing back his muscles without resorting to techniques like activating the Taiji Domain or temporarily boosting his body's strength through secret arts.
At the two thousand meter mark on the black track, "I was one of the first few evolvers on the track, covering nearly half the track's length in a few hours. This pace should put me in the top dozens, right?" Trista took a deep breath and stopped to rest.
As a fourth-tier evolver under the age of a hundred, Trista's strength was unparalleled on their planet.
Whether it was the current tournament or past ones, rarely did anyone reach the fourth tier.
On a medium life-bearing planet like the Azure Wave Star, no one had reached it even in tens of thousands of years.
Initially, Trista was confident, coming from a prominent family that knew of the Crimson Leviathan Star Lord's tests and the Seven Stars Cave challenges.
However, when brought into the Seven Star Caves world, she was bestowed only a Silver Mark, the same as those third-tier guys? This left Trista unable to accept it, not hoping for the highest Red Mark, but at least the Gold Mark.
According to Trista's knowledge, all evolvers for this test were between the third and fourth tiers.
Meaning those with Gold and Red Marks were like her, fourth-tier.
If that's the case, why were they Gold and Red, while she, Trista, was Silver? "Initial rankings mean nothing. I, Trista, will pass all seven star caves and join the lineage of the Crimson Leviathan Star," she gathered her spirit and resolutely stepped forward again, trying to continue the test.
Then suddenly, Trista heard light footsteps.
"Someone's catching up?" She glanced back, witnessing a young man walking toward her with casual strides, as if the two-thousand-fold gravity was non-existent or his home garden.
“How is he, how can he be so relaxed?” Trista could hardly believe it.
Though she admitted the two-thousand-fold gravity wasn't her ultimate limit, being this unbothered was far off compared to her efforts.
"It's a Gold Mark."
Noticing the hint of gold on the young man’s profile, Trista quickly pieced the fact together.
"So this is the chosen one, this Gold Mark test taker?"
His astonishing performance in physical endurance, especially exceeding hers, seemed impossible to rival.
"It’s terrifying. His pace was consistent from start to finish," Trista sighed quietly.
As Trista observed Lin Yuan, he likewise glanced over at her briefly.
"Greetings, Gold Mark Master."
Trista instantly turned around, bowing respectfully despite the immense pressure surrounding them.
She had no choice.
The First Star Cave's test was to reach the black track's endpoint alone.
With no rules against interactions, Lin Yuan displayed a carefree demeanor, showing that his strength was likely unaffected by the environment's gravity.
In such a situation, if Trista dared to express any disrespect, and Lin Yuan felt displeased, he could easily eliminate her on a whim.
"This is what the strength of a Gold Mark test-taker looks like," Trista sighed again, her earlier discontent almost entirely subdued.
"Well-mannered," Lin Yuan merely gave Trista a glance, then continued forward.
Along the journey, Lin Yuan casually surpassed other evolvers; most revealed shock or fear upon seeing him, worried about being swept out.
As time passed quickly.
Lin Yuan soon entered the forty-thousand-meter zone, having already traversed four-fifths of the black track.
By this point, the gravity had reached four thousand times the norm.
"I can still endure," Lin Yuan maintained his pace, still refusing to employ the Taiji Domain, relying on sheer physical strength.
Fang Qing did mention the Seven Star Caves challenge would be observed by the Crimson Leviathan Star Lord's twelve disciples.
Since his first star cave test was primarily about physical strength, Lin Yuan decided to use raw bodily power to withstand it.
Even if not enhancing his ratings, it shouldn't adversely affect his performance.
By the forty-thousand-meter zone, hardly anyone else was around.
"Huh? Someone else is ahead."
After walking for a while, Lin Yuan faintly discerned a figure in the mist ahead, taking slow, halting steps as if adjusting to the pressure.
"Hmm?" he muttered, spotted by a female figure.
It was a woman with green hair exuding an ethereal aura.
Plus, she was another Gold Mark candidate.
“Hello,” the green-haired woman looked at Lin Yuan, her nervousness momentarily visible.
The four-thousand-fold gravity hadn't used up all her trump cards, but Lin Yuan's calm state compared made the prospect of a confrontation concerning.
Elsewhere, if one struggled, one could flee.
Yet under the thousands-of-fold gravity, speed was drastically reduced on the black track.
"Hello," Lin Yuan nodded, continuing his pace towards the endpoint.
The green-haired woman visibly relaxed upon seeing this.
After a few more hours, Lin Yuan completed the hundred-mile track, entering the Second Star Cave.
"Hmm?" Lin Yuan surveyed his surroundings.
The two chapters of eight thousand characters have concluded.
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