King of Ten Thousand Years

As Luo Tian walked towards the Spiritual Stele, the watching geniuses from the Azure Cloud Kingdom shook their heads, a mixture of surprise and disbelief on their faces.

To earn the recognition of any of the five Ancient Steles before Profound Spirit Mountain, one had to be truly exceptional in the corresponding field.

The Spiritual Stele, as its name implied, tested Spiritual Power.

On the Dongchen Continent, Cultivation Techniques for Spiritual Power were exceedingly rare and notoriously difficult to practice.

Those with talent in this area were rarer still.

It was for this very reason that among the five steles before Profound Spirit Mountain, the Spiritual Stele was the only one that no one had yet received recognition from.

”That kid is heading straight for the Spiritual Stele. Does he actually have a few tricks up his sleeve?”

”I think he’s just trying to be different to win Princess Yunxiu’s favor.”

Several members of the Royal Family discussed this, snorting in contempt.

Just then, Luo Tian arrived before the Spiritual Stele and placed a hand on its surface.

Instantly, Luo Tian felt a vast, boundless spiritual aura surge from the stele, like a giant whale trying to engulf his spiritual consciousness.

The Creation Technique suddenly activated on its own.

Luo Tian’s own powerful Spiritual Power, like a sharp awl, pierced through that immense spiritual aura.

SQUELCH!

Luo Tian’s palm sank into the Spiritual Stele, leaving a Palm Seal an inch deep on its surface.

The depth of this mark was considered top-tier among the historical imprints on the Spiritual Stele, placing it in the first echelon.

There had surely been peerless geniuses above the Spirit Sea Realm with talent for Spiritual Power in the past.

”Such a deep Palm Seal!”

”How does this kid have such profound mastery of Spiritual Power?”

The crowd gasped in unison.

The faces of the few who had been mocking him earlier turned ashen.

The marks left by the other geniuses were all relatively shallow, barely visible upon close inspection.

Only Li Yunxiu’s Palm Seal on the Talent Stele had been relatively clear and a little deeper.

But as for Luo Tian’s mark, his entire palm had sunk into the stone.

HUMMM!

A bright, conspicuous mass of Five-Colored Streaming Light surged into Luo Tian.

In an instant, the blessing of Five-Colored Streaming Light enveloping Luo Tian surpassed that of both Wang Tian and Li Yunxiu.

The reward from a single stele’s recognition was greater than what the others had gained from two.

”Hmph!”

Wang Tian’s expression darkened, and he seethed with resentment.

’Fortunately,’ Wang Tian thought, ’Luo Tian only has high talent and mastery in Spiritual Power. He’s still not a threat to me.’

After receiving the Spiritual Stele’s recognition, Luo Tian smoothly moved on to the Enlightenment Stele next to it.

A smug smile touched the corners of Wang Tian’s lips.

’When it comes to Comprehension,’ he thought, ’my performance was the best among all the geniuses here.’

Wang Tian refused to believe that Luo Tian’s Comprehension could be greater than his own.

’Without his own supreme Comprehension,’ he reasoned, ’he never could have inherited the legacy of the Seven Evils Demon Lord after falling from that cliff.’

SLAP!

Luo Tian slapped his palm onto the Enlightenment Stele.

He closed his eyes. Mysterious, tadpole-like characters materialized in his mind, constantly outlining and evolving into various scenes and profound meanings, all of which his consciousness deciphered one by one.

Even before obtaining the Celestial Book, Luo Tian’s Comprehension had already been quite good.

Cultivating the Creation Technique had since elevated it to a level far beyond that of any ordinary genius.

Soon, Luo Tian’s palm sank completely into the Enlightenment Stele, leaving an imprint every bit as deep as the one on the Spiritual Stele—if not deeper.

”He left his mark on a second stele!”

”How can this kid possess such terrifying Comprehension?”

The geniuses were dumbfounded, finding it hard to believe.

Leaving such a deep mark on the Spiritual Stele was one thing.

But to also leave such a deep Palm Seal on the Enlightenment Stele, one that ranked at the very forefront of historical records, was astounding.

”How is this possible! Luo Tian’s Comprehension is so much greater than mine?”

Wang Tian’s pupils contracted, his expression flickering between shock and rage.

Luo Tian’s performance had dealt him a heavy blow; he was filled with a resentful disbelief he could not accept.

Without pausing, Luo Tian walked over to the ”Opportunity Stele” in the very center.

’Opportunity?’

Luo Tian thought about how he had obtained the Creation Celestial Book. His own opportunity could be considered heaven-defying.

’Celestial Book,’ he commanded mentally, ’infer the result of this test.’

Luo Tian’s consciousness made contact with the Creation Celestial Book inside his mind.

’The stele will explode,’ the Creation Celestial Book replied.

’Explode?’

Luo Tian was inwardly shocked. ’That’s too much!’

’Is there a way to conceal it?’

’Yes. The Creation Celestial Book can conceal the secrets of heaven and the Power of Destiny.’

Immediately, an obscure aura enveloped Luo Tian’s entire body, concealing over ninety percent of his Power of Destiny.

SLAP!

Luo Tian pressed his palm against the Opportunity Stele, leaving behind a very deep Palm Seal.

The Opportunity Stele flared with a brilliant Five-Colored Streaming Light.

”He earned the recognition of three steles?”

The scene erupted into a shocked uproar.

Luo Tian was the only person present to have earned the recognition of three steles.

Moreover, the depth of the Palm Seal Luo Tian left on the Opportunity Stele was several times deeper than Wang Tian’s!

”This Luo Tian... his fortune is incredible!”

Amid their shock, the crowd couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy and jealousy.

”According to the records, fewer than three people have earned the recognition of three steles in the past thousand years.”

A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of the Third Prince, Li Yi.

In a sense, Luo Tian had already shattered a several-hundred-year-old record.

This record wasn’t just limited to the Royal Secret Garden or the Azure Cloud Kingdom, either.

The Secret Realm Space originally created by the Jin Dynasty had splintered into several fragments, one of which was the Royal Secret Garden.

Profound Spirit Mountain had a small chance of appearing in any of these fragments, which were all similar to the Royal Secret Garden.

Even the Royal Secret Garden itself wasn’t exclusively accessible to the Azure Cloud Kingdom; several other kingdoms and factions could also open passages to enter it at different times.

...

After receiving the recognition of three steles, the Five-Colored Streaming Light swirling around Luo Tian became dazzling, several times more brilliant than Wang Tian’s.

’He left his mark on three steles! And his fortune far surpasses my own!’

Wang Tian gritted his teeth, a strong killing intent brewing in the depths of his eyes.

He would never allow Luo Tian’s gains and opportunities on Profound Spirit Mountain to surpass his own.

Even less could he accept that Luo Tian possessed such immense potential to surpass him.

Luo Tian sensed Wang Tian’s killing intent but paid it no mind.

He then walked over to the Talent Stele.

At this moment, everyone’s gaze was fixed intently on Luo Tian.

Leaving a mark on three steles had already broken a record that stood for hundreds of years, making him the object of extreme envy.

SLAP!

With a calm expression, Luo Tian slapped his palm against the Talent Stele, leaving behind a relatively deep Palm Seal.

The depth of the Palm Seal was comparable to Li Yunxiu’s.

Li Yunxiu possessed a Martial Vein suspected to be Earth Tier Middle Grade or higher.

This result was achieved because Luo Tian was using the method he had obtained from the Celestial Book to conceal the true level of his Divine Vein.

As Luo Tian’s Creation Technique progressed, he had developed a keen intuition for danger.

He felt that if the true grade of his Divine Vein were ever exposed, it would bring a cataclysmic disaster upon him.

The reason for this feeling was impossible to fathom.

”He passed the Talent Stele’s test, too?”

”He left his mark on four steles!”

Seeing the Talent Stele light up, the geniuses from the Azure Cloud Kingdom were stunned, their minds reeling in shock.

Afterward, however, came deep suspicion.

After all, Luo Tian’s performance in the tests for Spiritual Power, Comprehension, and Opportunity had been utterly astonishing.

And now, even his Martial Vein was at least Earth Tier Middle Grade or higher.

”Does this Luo Tian have some way of cheating?”

Those who hadn’t passed any tests clenched their fists, their faces filled with bitter resentment.

”Brother Luo is as talented as expected, peerlessly brilliant...”

Li Yunxiu’s face was full of joy, without a shred of doubt.

At the same time, a flicker of worry crossed her heart. ’Someone as exceptional as Luo Tian will surely leave the Azure Cloud Kingdom one day. It will be hard for him to ever belong to me.’

Before the crowd could recover from their daze,

Luo Tian took a great stride and arrived before the first stele on the far left: the ”Power Stele.”

”He’s going to attempt the fifth stele!”

The geniuses were shaken to their core, crying out in shock.

Li Yi, Hong Peng, Senior Jin, and the others could not hide the astonishment in their hearts.

”Someone who can pass the fourth stele only appears once every two or three thousand years. That is the mark of a peerless prodigy.”

Li Yi took a deep breath.

By leaving his mark on four steles, Luo Tian had already broken a millennia-old record.

As for passing all five steles?

Not a single person had accomplished that in the last ten thousand years.

If he were to earn the recognition of the fifth stele...

Luo Tian’s achievement would be the first of its kind in all of recorded history!

”Luo Tian doesn’t seem to have any talent for raw power, does he?”

”And I’ve never seen him practice any Body Refining Techniques.”

Several geniuses from the Wu Mansion tournament discussed this in low voices.

Hong Peng confirmed, ”I’ve fought Luo Tian before. He’s strong, but not strong enough to earn the recognition of the ’Power Stele.’”

’Even if Luo Tian stops at the fourth stele,’ the Third Prince thought, ’a genius of his caliber, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in a thousand years, is valuable enough that the powers of every nation will compete to win him over.’

The Third Prince took a deep breath. He felt a sense of urgency; if he could recruit Luo Tian, it would be an immense boon to his future imperial ambitions.

BOOM!

Luo Tian’s palm struck the ”Power Stele,” sending out a low, rumbling shockwave.

”That level of power...”

Hong Peng’s eyes bulged. That strength was nearly on par with his own, and he was a dedicated Body Refining Martial Artist!

It had only been a few days since they last met, yet Luo Tian now possessed such monstrous strength.

Although Luo Tian’s strength wasn’t greater than Hong Peng’s,

the Palm Seal he left was actually a fair bit deeper.

After all, Luo Tian was only about sixteen years old—several years younger than Hong Peng—so the component of recognition he received was higher.

”He left his mark on all five steles!”

As the Power Stele lit up with Five-Colored Streaming Light, the onlooking geniuses looked as if they had been struck by lightning. Their bodies trembled, and their faces were dazed, completely petrified.

They had just witnessed Luo Tian create an unbelievable miracle.

It all felt like a dream.

”Did he really earn the recognition of all five steles?”

”He’s the first in all of recorded history!”

The voices of Third Prince Li Yi, Senior Jin, and the others trembled, unable to hide the tempest raging in their hearts.

The first in all of recorded history!

Although this achievement was limited to the ”Profound Spirit Mountain” within the Jin Dynasty’s Secret Realm Space, it was still enough to leave a mark on the history of the entire continent.

”Impossible! That kid must be cheating!”

Wang Tian’s voice was Yin Cold, his face twisted in a ferocious snarl, his fists cracking as he clenched them.

The instant Luo Tian earned the recognition of the fifth stele,

BOOM—HUMMM!

the entire, massive Profound Spirit Mountain trembled slightly. Waves of five-colored light intertwined in the air as auspicious clouds drifted by.

The five great Ancient Steles resonated in unison, unleashing a flowing river of five-colored light that illuminated the land for miles around.

An immense pressure from Ancient Times descended!

”Ugh...”

The faces of the geniuses before Profound Spirit Mountain flushed red, and they found themselves unable to move.

Only Luo Tian remained unaffected.

The flowing, five-colored radiance blooming from the five giant steles formed a vortex, circling above his head.

「At that same moment.」

Several hundred meters away, behind a ruined wall.

”He left a mark on all five steles!”

”He earned the recognition of all five steles? How is that even possible!”

Several geniuses from the Qiu Yue Kingdom stared, dumbfounded and shaken, at the vortex of five-colored light that stained half the sky.

The people from the Qiu Yue Kingdom had also discovered Profound Spirit Mountain after it appeared.

However, a large number of geniuses from the Azure Cloud Kingdom had gathered nearby, so the one or two from the Qiu Yue Kingdom who first discovered it didn’t dare to act rashly.

After a short while, the group from the Qiu Yue Kingdom had only grown to four or five people.

Their leader was none other than the silver-haired youth Dongmen Lin, number one on the Qiu Yue Kingdom’s Human List.

”He left his mark on all five steles! To think the Azure Cloud Kingdom would produce such a genius!”

Killing intent flared in Dongmen Lin’s eyes.

’With that kind of aptitude and potential,’ he thought, ’once Luo Tian is allowed to mature, in a few decades he might even have a chance of advancing to become a Celestial Level Martial Artist.’

’At the very least, he would become a powerhouse in the Earth Element Realm, enough to make the Azure Cloud Kingdom ten times stronger and easily annihilate the Qiu Yue Kingdom.’

A few breaths later,

the vortex of Five-Colored Streaming Light blooming from the five giant steles continuously compressed, growing smaller and smaller.

Finally, the vast, flowing, five-colored radiance condensed into an object the size of a baby’s fist, forming a crystalline, Five-Colored Jade Pendant.

’What’s this?’

Luo Tian started, watching as the Five-Colored Jade Pendant, as if possessing a spirit of its own, descended into his waiting palm.