"That fast?"
Twelve figures were somewhat surprised.
Although the 'Mountain' secret technique was an entry-level technique for the Crimson Leviathan Star Lineage, comprehending it was no easy feat, especially for third and fourth-level evolvers.
But how long did Lin Yuan take? Half an hour? To be precise, twenty-three minutes.
All twelve figures were at least sixth-level Falling Star experts, with powerful minds.
A brief recollection confirmed Lin Yuan's time from sitting down to being transported to the fifth star cave.
"Who would have thought this gold-marked contender had such strong comprehension."
"Indeed, he performed moderately in the first three star caves, but exploded in the fourth, leaving the three crimson marks behind."
"Kawu, how do you feel now? Do you regret it a bit?" one of the nine figures below teased.
Kawu frowned.
He had noticed Lin Yuan during the second star cave when Lin Yuan was delving into the Yin-Yang attribute rules, which had areas overlapping with his Light rules.
A senior brother had suggested he take Lin Yuan as a disciple, but Kawu thought taking a disciple wasn't something to rush into, so he planned to observe Lin Yuan's subsequent performance.
Now he had seen it.
But.
"What a pity," Kawu sighed inwardly.
Comprehending the 'Mountain' secret technique in twenty-three minutes, leaving aside other matters, Lin Yuan's comprehension was undoubtedly the strongest among all participants in the seven star caves, even surpassing the three crimson-marked contenders.
But with this, he knew, and so did the other senior brothers.
If he had claimed Lin Yuan during the second star cave, the other senior brothers wouldn't have contested, as Lin Yuan's performance was moderate then, fitting the normal level for a gold-marked contender.
With over a hundred gold-marked contenders, enough for the twelve of them to share, Kawu asking for an average one wouldn't have prompted any interference from a senior brother.
But now.
Kawu glanced at the three figures above.
He could sense that these three, surpassing the sixth level, were also interested now.
With that, he had lost hope entirely.
The three figures above were also observing Lin Yuan, maintaining a calm demeanor compared to the nine figures below.
As beings that surpassed the sixth level, they clearly understood that compared to other aspects like bloodline, physique, or strength, comprehension was hard to measure.
A simple example was some evolvers having strong comprehension in Wind rules while being average in other rules.
"Gold-marked contender Lin Yuan, from the Dawn System's medium life-bearing planet Azure Wave Star, born to an ordinary family, aged twenty."
The three figures began reviewing information about Lin Yuan.
What they could access was mostly public data; anything deeper required higher access privileges.
"Access denied?"
"Is this a citizen secretly monitored by the three goddesses?"
"Seems like his background is legitimate. With the goddesses' attention, he surely isn't an alien in disguise."
The three figures found no surprise, as at their level, they knew the Universal Alliance's three goddesses also evaluate every citizen.
If a citizen had something special, they would catch the goddesses' eyes.
While the goddesses wouldn't directly aid, they would intentionally block the information.
Of course, blocking information might attract attention.
For instance, if everyone else has unblocked information and yours is blocked, isn't that a giveaway?
But it's important to note that the three goddesses' criteria for identifying special talents weren't restricted to the evolution field; they also considered humanities, science, cuisine, and other fields.
Information blocking wasn't permanent either.
Once judged no longer special, the blockage could be lifted at the goddesses' discretion.
On average, one or two citizens on every planet would have blocked information, deterring alien powers from targeting them for assassination.
Who knows what you're assassinating—a culinary expert?
"Even looking at public information alone, this gold-marked contender Lin Yuan seems to have had some fateful encounter; after all, an ordinary family can't support a third or fourth-level evolver's training."
"Regardless of any fateful encounter, with just twenty-three minutes to grasp the 'Mountain' secret technique, his comprehension is undoubtedly high. Now, we await his performance in the seventh star cave."
The three figures conversed.
Fateful encounters were nothing unusual to them.
Every trialer in the seven star caves, even the lowest silver-marked, had experienced one.
"Indeed, the fourth star cave tests comprehension directionally, while the seventh star cave truly tests alignment with our Crimson Leviathan Star Lineage."
The figures watched Lin Yuan with satisfaction.
They even decided that, without suited comprehension for their lineage's secret techniques, they'd seek other powers' techniques to try.
Such talent couldn't be let go.
Fourth Star Cave.
All evolvers in contemplation of the statue were abuzz.
When Lin Yuan left, the statue glowed, emitting a light pillar, indicating not a normal 'logout' but completion of the test.
Completing the test in less than half an hour.
Many contestants felt as though pigs were flying.
"My teacher said my aptitude was the best he'd ever seen, but for that very reason, I must join a stronger faction," a silver-haired woman mused silently from afar.
"Joining a strong faction gives not only a higher platform but also the chance to meet other geniuses. This prevents arrogance and helps one keep moving forward."
With a soft exhale, the silver-haired woman understood the truth of her teacher’s words deeply.
Seeing Lin Yuan pass the fourth star cave in far less time than her, she felt a surge of motivation.
"I'm almost there too."
"Just a bit more."
She refocused on the statue, continuing her deep contemplation.
"I'd love to smash this statue with an axe," grumbled a nearly three-meter-tall strongman, feeling anxious.
Originally already somewhat restless in his contemplation, seeing others pass the test, especially one he had overlooked, exacerbated his irritation.
"My Three-Eyed Race specializes in contemplation, and yet someone surpassed us," a man with a blood-red line on his forehead thought, "But I'm almost there too."
He glanced up at the statue, an eerie movement visible at his forehead's center.
Fifth Star Cave.
Lin Yuan appeared here.
"Directly transported to the fifth star cave?" Lin Yuan felt a bit of regret.
Originally, after grasping the 'Mountain' secret technique, he didn't plan to rush off.
He wanted to stay in the fourth star cave to see if any other statues offered insight.
Even though all statues looked identical and presumably held the same secrets for fairness, one never knew.
"The 'Mountain' secret technique is indeed peculiar."
After a moment's thought, Lin Yuan began sensing changes within.
While using the 'Mountain' technique, his blood and Qi solidified, his entire being akin to a mountain, unshakable.
He felt his physique slowly enhancing.
Though nearly imperceptible, the improvement was real.
Lin Yuan then surveyed his surroundings, "The fifth star cave."
According to Fang Qing's data, the first three star caves tested the body—with gravity in the first star cave, speed in the second, and reflexes in the third—all challenges applying to the physical form.
The fourth star cave tested comprehension.
After the fourth, the fifth and sixth star caves tested the soul.
"This cave's test: Climb to the mountaintop via the mountain path to pass."
"Note: This cave's test poses no threat to life."
"Climb to the top?" Lin Yuan looked up, spotting a mountain not far off.
The summit stood about a hundred meters high, with a narrow path leading up from its base.
With a serious demeanor, he knew the climb wouldn't be straightforward.
"No threat to life."
Lin Yuan reviewed the stone slab's note.
The seven star caves' test rules mentioned two elimination conditions: staying in one star cave for over a month or dying.
"Let's try climbing."
Lin Yuan moved to the base of the mountain, paused briefly, then stepped onto the path.
Buzz!!
An invisible force descended upon him.
In his mind's Niwan Palace, the power of black and white Taiji manifested as a 'galactic system' and trembled.
This force ignored Lin Yuan's defenses, assaulting his soul directly.
Rumble.
The Taiji grindstone began turning slowly, quickly shattering the intangible force.
"This is a soul attack?" Lin Yuan realized instantly, understanding the test content of this cave.
It was soul defense.
Every step involved enduring a soul attack.
Survive it, and one could step onto the next.
Fail, and you'd briefly lose consciousness, rolling back down.
Lin Yuan now knew why there was no life threat here.
With the body resilience of third and fourth-level evolvers, even a hundred-meter fall wouldn't harm them.
Moreover, all soul defense weaponry was unusable here, including Lin Yuan's Soul Suppression Bell.
As Lin Yuan pondered, another soul attack descended.
Buzz.
In the Niwan Palace, the Taiji grindstone turned, rendering the soul attack to dust in no time.
Suddenly.
[Your comprehension is heaven-defying.
Enduring the soul attack is perfecting your soul defense.]
In a trance, Lin Yuan sensed a newfound stability in the Taiji 'galactic system' within his Niwan Palace.
"There's such a benefit?" Happiness spread on Lin Yuan's face.
His heaven-defying comprehension allowed him not only to grasp techniques, evolution paths, secret arts, and rules far beyond other evolvers but also to enhance tolerance and adaptability.
This adaptability covered a broad range.
For example, in the Dragon-Tiger World, when Lin Yuan's consciousness descended into a baby, nearing death by freezing or starvation, he devised ways to resist cold and hunger.
Now, as Lin Yuan faced soul attacks, the Taiji 'galactic system' was shaken, prompting him to discover a method to stabilize his soul.
Of course, such adaptability had limits.
In the Divine Weapon World, stepping into a space rift meant instant obliteration without time for insight.
But the initial step's soul attack couldn't swiftly break Lin Yuan's soul defense.
"Excellent."
Lin Yuan was delighted, knowing well the importance of the soul.
Stronger soul defense meant greater personal safety.
Boom.
Another soul attack hit.
This time, the Taiji system showed increased stability.
It only spun slightly faster, nullifying the soul attack.
[Your comprehension is heaven-defying.
Enduring the soul attack is perfecting your soul defense.]
Immediately, the Taiji galactic system grew even more robust.
Witnessing this, Lin Yuan decided not to proceed up the steps.
He stood at the first step, allowing soul attacks to fall and stimulate gradual, metamorphic improvements in the Taiji system.
Ten minutes later, the soul attacks on the first step could no longer shake the Taiji system.
The intangible force couldn't even reach the edges, dissolving of its own accord.
Reluctantly, Lin Yuan moved up to the second step.
The soul attack there was stronger but remained manageable for Lin Yuan.
Unless it could instantly break him, every encounter simply strengthened him further.
By the time Lin Yuan stepped onto the sixth step.
Whoosh.
Another figure appeared in the fifth star cave—Silvery-haired contender Yin Ling.
"The fifth star cave."
Yin Ling immediately saw Lin Yuan climbing.
At once, she understood the nature of this test.
"With so much time taken to climb just a few steps, the test must be difficult."
Considering Lin Yuan a fellow crimson-mark competitor, Yin Ling felt compelled.
Although in the seven star caves trials, participants weren't in direct competition—all could join the Crimson Leviathan Star Lineage upon completing the seven star caves, with no limitation on numbers—Lin Yuan's performance stirred a subconscious rivalry in Yin Ling.
"I'm coming as well."
Yin Ling moved to the base of the mountain, stepping onto the first step without hesitation.
"Hmm?"
"Not too challenging."
The descending soul attack barely jarred the periphery of her soul before being thwarted.
The second step.
The third step.
The fourth step.
The fifth step.
Yin Ling steadily climbed toward the summit.
Unknowingly, she reached the fortieth step.
The mountain, a hundred meters high, had about three hundred steps.
By now, the soul attacks made Yin Ling tread cautiously.
She glanced downward instinctively.
Seeing Lin Yuan still lingering on the seventh step, Yin Ling’s face showed mixed emotions.
(This chapter ends)