Chapter 188: Chapter 186: Earth Martial Hall

The Martial Soul Talent Testing Spirit Stele was icy to the touch, like a block of thousand-year-old glacial ice.

Placing a hand on it was enough to make it feel like it would freeze solid.

A piercing cold surged through him without warning, nearly causing Jiang Chen to snatch his hand back from the Testing Spirit Stele.

’This thing is rather bizarre. It can actually test the grade of a Martial Soul. I wonder what grade my God-slaying Sword Martial Soul is...’ Jiang Chen thought, his eyes half-closed. The God-slaying Sword within his Spiritual Sea vibrated faintly, and a surging tide of Martial Soul Power poured into the Testing Spirit Stele.

HUMMM—

The entire Testing Spirit Stele pulsed with light, which instantly exploded outward in a magnificent display.

It was as if a peerless treasure had just been born into the world!

"Young Master Nalan, how many stars do you think Jiang Chen will reach?" Chen Huan asked curiously.

Niu Geng and Sunx Peng also looked toward him.

At this moment, Nalan Qingtian was the most dazzling star, and all eyes were gathered on him.

Nalan Qingtian crossed his arms, his face brimming with confidence. He lectured with the air of an expert, "From what I can see, Jiang Chen’s talent shouldn’t be too bad. His Martial Soul Talent should be able to surpass ten stars, I suppose! As for his Martial Arts Talent, he’ll get two stars at most!"

"If Young Master Nalan says so, it must be right!"

"Look, the first star just lit up!"

"Something’s not right! Look, the speed at which he’s lighting up stars is a bit too fast!"

A sudden cry of alarm came from the crowd.

Everyone hurriedly looked toward the Testing Spirit Stele. They saw the light on the Spirit Stele explode, countless dazzling rays of iridescent light bursting forth, blindingly brilliant.

One star...

Two stars...

Three stars...

Jiang Chen’s Martial Soul Talent shot past ten stars, then fifteen...

Nalan Qingtian’s face had already turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Recalling the confident pronouncements he had just made, his face burned with shame. His gaze was incredibly grim. ’It can’t go any higher. It has to stop... Damn it, it’s already at seventeen stars, how is it still going...’

Twenty stars!

Twenty-five stars...

It actually broke past fifty stars, and it was still climbing.

"A D-Divine-level Martial Soul? A-Am I seeing things?" Tangg Ning was completely dumbfounded. He stared at the Testing Spirit Stele, dumbstruck, feeling as if he had fallen into an Illusion Realm.

Nalan Qingtian, Li Ke, and the others were already stunned speechless!

Before the Testing Spirit Stele, Jiang Chen himself was startled by the star-like brilliance before him. ’Damn, it’s about to hit the top? The God-slaying Sword is too insane, isn’t it? Why do I feel like the fifty-four stars on this Testing Spirit Stele aren’t even enough! No, I can’t let this continue. My strength isn’t great enough right now. If I show off too much and attract Lan Haichen’s attention, it’ll be a huge problem!’

Within the Saint Martial Sword Sect, Lan Haichen’s prestige was immense!

Number one on the Earth List, holder of the Saint Child position, and Alliance Leader of the Celestial Alliance!

Any one of those titles was enough to crush Jiang Chen with its weight.

While it was true that the greater the talent one displayed, the more attention and favor one would receive from powerful figures, with Lan Haichen’s status and position, if he was determined to eliminate Jiang Chen, no one would be able to protect him.

After all... for the Saint Martial Sword Sect, a Saint Child currently at the height of his power was far more important than a peerless genius who had yet to mature!

’God-slaying Sword, rein it in a little!’ Jiang Chen immediately began to suppress his Soul Power.

HUMMM—

The light on the Testing Spirit Stele, which had already lit up fifty-three stars, suddenly dimmed. One by one, the bright stars began to grow faint again.

Forty stars...

Thirty stars...

It finally stopped at the eighteen-star mark. A Profound Tier Ninth Grade Martial Soul. He would only be considered an ordinary genius, not attracting too much attention!

"What’s going on? Is the Testing Spirit Stele broken? The stars are actually decreasing?"

"I think the Testing Spirit Stele must have malfunctioned just now, letting him reach over fifty stars. What we see now is Jiang Chen’s real talent!"

"That must be it! I was so naive. A Divine-level Martial Soul... even the Holy Son only has a Celestial Tier Martial Soul. How could this Jiang Chen possibly possess a Divine-level Martial Soul?" Tangg Ning also breathed a sigh of relief. He gave Jiang Chen a strange look and said, "Jiang Chen, Profound Tier Ninth Grade Martial Soul. It’s time for the Martial Arts Talent test!"

"Alright!"

Jiang Chen nodded. Having learned his lesson, this time he deliberately controlled it, and his Martial Arts Talent stopped at the Three-Star level.

A Profound Tier Ninth Grade Martial Soul and Three-Star Martial Arts Talent!

This result was second only to Nalan Qingtian’s. Tangg Ning’s attitude toward Jiang Chen became a bit more courteous. "Junior Brother Jiang, congratulations!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother Tangg!" Jiang Chen smiled.

"Mm."

Tangg Ning nodded, then swept his gaze over the crowd and said coolly, "The Second Stage of the assessment is now over. A total of 18,000 people have been eliminated. You have the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn to leave Martial Saint Mountain. The remaining 10,089 people may enter the Earth Martial Hall to proceed to the Third Stage of the assessment!"

The more than ten thousand people who were brutally eliminated looked dejected as they turned and left Martial Saint Mountain.

"Junior Brother Nalan, Junior Brother Jiang, follow me into the Earth Martial Hall!" Tangg Ning led the crowd into the Earth Martial Hall.

The Saint Martial Sword Sect had three great halls: the Earth Martial Hall on the mountainside, which belonged to the Outer Sect; further up was the Inner Sect’s Celestial Martial Hall; and at the very peak of Martial Saint Mountain was the Saint Martial Hall.

These three great halls corresponded to the Outer Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples, and the top figures like the Sect Master, Elders, and the Saint Child, respectively.

Tangg Ning walked at the very front, explaining as he went, "The Earth Martial Hall has twenty-seven floors, the Celestial Martial Hall has nine floors, and the Saint Martial Hall has only three. For Outer Disciples, those who stay within the first nine floors of the Earth Martial Hall are considered ordinary disciples. Those between the ninth and eighteenth floors are Elite Disciples, and those between the eighteenth and twenty-seventh floors are Core Disciples! If you can break through the twenty-seventh floor, you can enter the Inner Sect and become a True Disciple!"

"As for the Celestial Martial Hall, clearing the 1st Floor makes you a One-Star True Inheritor, the second floor a Two-Star True Inheritor, and so on. Only by becoming a Nine-Star True Inheritor do you earn the right to challenge the Saint Martial Hall. Senior Brother Lan successfully cleared the 1st Floor of the Saint Martial Hall, which is how he became the Saint Child of our Saint Martial Sword Sect." Tangg Ning explained patiently. When he mentioned Lan Haichen, a look of involuntary admiration appeared in his eyes.

Just then, they arrived before the Earth Martial Hall.

The ice-mountain beauty, Lin Feifei, had been waiting before the Earth Martial Hall for some time. Her gaze was chilling, like two beams of cold light that pierced straight into one’s heart. She knitted her fine brows slightly and said coolly, "There are still over ten thousand of you? The quality of this batch of disciples isn’t bad. However, ninety percent of you will only ever be ordinary disciples. It would be quite good if even one or two hundred of you manage to become Elite Disciples!"

"..."

"Isn’t Senior Sister Lin looking down on us a bit too much?"

"Only one or two hundred becoming Elite Disciples would be ’good’? She’s underestimating us!"

"Silence!"

Lin Feifei snorted coldly, frightening the crowd into silence. No one dared to speak. With a disdainful expression, she said coolly, "Did you think I was joking with you? A bunch of frogs in a well. My Saint Martial Sword Sect has millions of disciples, and we recruit tens of thousands each year. But of those, seventy percent are ordinary disciples, fifteen percent are Elite Disciples, ten percent are Core Disciples, and only the remaining five percent are True Disciples or above. Do you still think I’m joking now?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"This..."

"The competition in the Saint Martial Sword Sect is actually this fierce?"

"That’s terrifying..."

Everyone was deeply shaken.

Lin Feifei said coolly, "Don’t waste my precious cultivation time. Enter the Earth Martial Hall in groups of one hundred. First group: Zhao Xiaowei, Lin Yue, Sima Chen, Wu Lin..."

The one hundred people Lin Feifei called out quickly stepped forward and entered the Earth Martial Hall.

However, after a mere five minutes, all one hundred of them walked out with ugly expressions. Among them, the one who had advanced the furthest had only reached the second floor of the Earth Martial Hall.

All of them were ordinary disciples!

The second group followed, then the third, the fourth...

In the blink of an eye, the tenth group had already completed the Third Stage assessment and emerged from the Earth Martial Hall. Among those one thousand people, only twelve had cleared the fourth floor, thirty-six had cleared the third floor, and one hundred and nine had cleared the second floor.

For a moment, the mood outside the Earth Martial Hall grew heavy.

"Next group..."

Lin Feifei’s cold voice was devoid of any emotion. Just as she was about to announce the names for the next group, a gentle and pleasant voice drifted down from the sky, causing even Lin Feifei to glance over...

"Senior Sister Lin, this little sister wishes to challenge the Earth Martial Hall and make a bid for a Core Disciple position. I wonder if Senior Sister would allow this little sister to enter first?"