Strength!
How could he prove it?
Only by fighting.
But before he could prove his strength, he needed to do a test first.
To prove one's talent and potential, one had to look at a few aspects. First, age. The younger one was, the higher one's cultivation level, the higher one's talent and potential.
Second, the density and purity of one's spirit power. To a certain extent, this was the foundation.
"Take a drop of your blood." Elder Lu took out a bronze compass. The compass was covered in strange patterns, looking very ancient and mysterious. "This is used to test one's age. If one is less than fifty years old, it will emit a blue light. If one is more than one hundred years old, it will emit a red light. If one is more than two hundred years old, it will emit a green light."
Chen Zong didn't refuse. He cut his finger and squeezed out a drop of blood. Under his conscious control, the blood returned to its original red color.
As the blood dripped down, it was quickly absorbed by the compass. The patterns on the compass seemed to come to life, like ten thousand snakes slithering about. It gave off an indescribable feeling of horror.
Everyone stared at it. Not long after, the countless lines stopped and a dot of light began to bloom from the center of the compass. At first, the light was very faint and no color could be seen. However, everyone stared at it with their eyes wide open.
When the light truly bloomed, it immediately shocked the four people, including Sword Sovereign Azure Dragon.
Blue light!
It was an extremely dazzling blue light. Immediately, the four Sky Profound Realm practitioners shifted their gazes to Chen Zong. Their eyes were filled with surprise, as if they wanted to see through Chen Zong.
"Less than fifty years old!"
"The early stage of the earth spirit realm!"
Breaking through to the extreme mortal realm before the age of fifty meant that one was a genius. Breaking through to the earth spirit realm before the age of fifty meant that only the top geniuses had the chance to do so, and one had to have enough luck.
Judging from this point, Chen Zong was undoubtedly a top genius.
"Not bad, reaching the early stage of the first level of the earth spirit realm before the age of fifty is indeed not bad." Elder Lu put away the compass as he spoke with a nod. Then, he changed the topic, "However, the fact that you were able to break through to the Earth Spirit Realm is inseparable from the fortune of obtaining the Earth Tide. It still cannot fully prove your qualifications."
It sounded like Elder Lu wanted to make things difficult for Chen Zong.
"I'll do it." Elder Su opened his mouth and smiled. Immediately, he waved his hand and a crystal pillar appeared in front of him. It was about two meters tall and was as thick as an ordinary person's waist. "This is a small toy that I obtained in my early years. It does not have much use and can only be used to test the strength and purity of one's strength. In other words, it is used to test one's foundation. It is a comprehensive test."
"Insert your spirit energy into it. If a red light flashes, it represents the standard foundation of the first level of the earth spirit realm. If a blue light flashes, it represents the second level of the earth spirit realm. If a purple light flashes, it represents the third level of the earth spirit realm." Elder Su's tone and attitude were clearly much better than Elder Lu's. "Come, inject your spirit energy into the crystal pillar."
Whether it was the compass or the crystal pillar, both made Chen Zong feel mysterious. But although he was curious, Chen Zong had no intention of delving into it. He reached out his hand and placed it on the crystal pillar. An icy cold feeling immediately flowed from his palm to his arm and spread throughout his entire body. Chen Zong couldn't help but quiver, as if his cultivation level had been clearly probed.
The king's earth vein spun as the earth vein spirit energy flowed from his arm and into the crystal pillar through his palm. Immediately, threads of faint red light appeared within the crystal pillar and gradually spread out, filling the entire pillar.
A faint red light represented the foundation of the initial first level of the earth spirit realm. In other words, if it was still a faint red light at the end, it meant that Chen Zong's foundation was very, very ordinary. Initial first level of the earth spirit realm, initial first level of the earth spirit realm.
At this moment, the faint red light gradually deepened and turned into a faint red. This represented the foundation of the mid first level of the earth spirit realm.
Any cultivator with decent potential who didn't purposefully pursue breakthroughs and instead sought stability would be able to achieve this.
The faint red light wasn't the end as the color continued to deepen until it turned red. This represented the foundation of the late first level of the earth spirit realm.
If one's cultivation level was at the mid first level of the earth spirit realm but the light they emitted was faint red, it meant that their foundation wasn't strong enough.
"His foundation needs to be at least at the initial second level of the earth spirit realm to pass." Elder Lu transmitted his voice, and the other two elders nodded in agreement. Sword Sovereign Azure Dragon didn't express any opinion.
The Empyrean Summit wasn't ordinary. If one didn't have enough potential, how would they be qualified to receive important training from the headquarters?
The red light turned into a deep red, which represented the foundation of the peak of the first level of the earth spirit realm. However, it didn't stop there as it turned from deep red to dark red.
Gradually, threads of almost undetectable blue appeared within the dark red light. The three elders all stared with wide eyes, an indescribable sense of nervousness and anticipation in their hearts.
Initial first level of the earth spirit realm with the foundation of the second level of the earth spirit realm wasn't a simple matter. It was also the standard to determine whether one was a true genius or not.
More and more blue appeared and finally replaced the dark red light to become a faint blue.
The three elders all heaved a sigh of relief as a trace of joy appeared in their eyes.
Chen Zong had met the second standard.
However, the faint blue continued to change rapidly until it turned light blue.
The light blue turned back to dark blue.
This time, even Sword Sovereign Azure Dragon was astonished.
The blue turned back to dark blue, but it didn't stop there.
The three elders stared with wide eyes, their eyes filled with shock.
Dark blue!
Then, threads of purple light appeared within the dark blue, gradually increasing in number.
Faint purple!
Even Sword Sovereign Azure Dragon was dazed when this color appeared.
If it was said that an initial first level of the earth spirit realm with the foundation of an initial second level of the earth spirit realm was considered a genius, then an initial first level of the earth spirit realm with the foundation of an initial third level of the earth spirit realm was something that couldn't be described as a genius.
A peerless genius!
Only these two words could describe such a foundation.
The difference between each level of the earth spirit realm was even greater than that of the Extreme Mortal realm. The color of the crystal pillar finally stopped changing from faint purple to light purple. This meant that Chen Zong's foundation was stronger than the standard of an initial third level of the earth spirit realm, but not the middle of the third level of the earth spirit realm.
The three elders and Sword Sovereign Azure Dragon all stared at Chen Zong, dumbfounded. Their minds seemed to have frozen.
After a while, the three elders and Sword Sovereign Azure Dragon finally reacted. They couldn't help but smile, their eyes filled with excitement.
The strength of this foundation was indescribable.
Who could achieve it?
At least, none of the geniuses tested in the Empyrean Association could achieve it.
It was also certain that no one in the Bright Sword Continent could achieve it.
Even an expert like Sword Sovereign Azure Dragon couldn't achieve it.
"Such a foundation is simply unprecedented." Elder Su was so excited that his entire body was trembling.
"That's right. Focus on nurturing him with resources. We must let him grow as quickly as possible." Elder Wang also said with short breaths, extremely excited.
"Wait, wait, wait." Elder Lu said, but one could hear the excitement in his voice. One could also see the excitement in the depths of his eyes. He subconsciously rubbed his hands together, and his eyes emitted a blazing light, as if he wanted to melt Chen Zong. "Chen Zong, you are already qualified to receive resources from our headquarters, but I still hope that you can proceed to the third test."
"The third test is also a combat test." Without waiting for Chen Zong to answer, Elder Lu quickly spoke again. His hurried tone revealed the excitement in his heart. "A truly powerful cultivator must have innate talent and potential, a strong temperament, and a solid foundation. However, it is inevitable for cultivators to fight with others …"
Some cultivators may have amazing talent, but they can't fully utilize their strength, or their battle awareness is not good enough. In other words, their combat ability is weak.
Some cultivators might have an extremely solid foundation, but at the same time, their actual combat ability was relatively weak.
A truly powerful cultivator must be well-matched in all aspects, and there can't be any obvious flaws.
The world of cultivators is very cruel. As long as one wants to continue to cultivate to a higher level, fighting is inevitable.
Many opportunities are not obtained by waiting, but by fighting for them.
Fighting with people is like fighting with the heavens, and enemies are everywhere. If one doesn't have strong combat ability, no matter how good his talent is or how solid his foundation is, he is no different from a decoration. At the end of his cultivation, he can't protect himself, his companions, or the things he wants to protect. Instead, he'll live a life worse than death.
Elder Lu explained a lot in order to get Chen Zong to agree to the third test.
"Okay." Chen Zong also answered without hesitation.
Combat!
So what?
All along, he had been challenging those of a higher level. Combat for him was nothing at all.
Hearing Chen Zong's answer, Elder Lu was suddenly stunned, and then he was ecstatic. He suddenly found Chen Zong more pleasing to the eye.
"How will this combat test be tested?" Chen Zong asked again.
"In our headquarters, there is a formation called the Illusory Sword Hundred Kill Formation." Sword Lord Azure Dragon said with a smile, "This formation is called an illusory formation. Once you enter the formation, you will encounter a strong enemy and have a life-and-death battle with the enemy. After killing the enemy, you can enter the next stage. If you are defeated and killed, you will exit the formation."
Chen Zong nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Do you want to rest for a while?" Elder Su asked.
"Thank you for your kindness, Elder, but I don't need to rest." Chen Zong said.
"Okay, let's go to the Illusory Sword Hundred Kill Formation now." Elder Lu quickly grabbed Chen Zong's arm and took a step forward. Then, he quickly headed out of the side hall's door.
"This Old Li." Sword Lord Azure Dragon couldn't help but shake his head and smile.
Among the three elders with real power, Elder Lu's temper was the most impatient and the most direct. Therefore, when he knew that Elder Tang Yaohe sacrificed himself to save Chen Zong, his reaction was the most intense. His words also showed that he wanted to make things difficult for Chen Zong.
But now, he didn't make things difficult, because Chen Zong's talent, potential, and foundation convinced Elder Lu wholeheartedly. Elder Tang Yaohe's sacrifice was worth it.
Now, there was only the final test left, the combat test.
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