Chapter 77

As I expected, he tore through 299 layers . The sloppy-looking man raised his eyebrows in satisfaction when he saw this . After Ji Yuantong struck out, he immediately made a deduction and increased the number of light barriers by 100! Everything was as he had expected . Ji Yuantong had only failed to strike the last layer . This precise control was something that a powerful Godfiend needed .

The sloppy man flicked his sleeve, and the last light barrier disappeared as well . He turned his head and walked back to his seat . At the same time, he smiled and said, “This Ji Yuantong is not bad, right?

A black-robed Godfiend beside him smiled and said, “Ji Yuantong’s Godfiend Body is comparable to Chu Yong, Yan Feng, and Dong Fang . His Arts realm is also on par with theirs, with them being at the Force realm . However, the power he unleashed is much stronger . Despite having the same kind of body, he can produce two times their strength . He is very suitable for being a strength-type . ”

“Yes, demons generally have powerful bodies . However, Ji Yuantong should be able to crush demons of the same level with his strength . ”

“One can be very powerful once they take the strength path to the end . ”

The Godfiends were full of praises .

Although there were hundreds of people participating in the entrance examination every year, only twenty of them were admitted . Only a few were able to light up the eyes of the Marquis and Regis Godfiends .

They discovered Ji Yuantong at the preliminaries’ first segment .

…

Ji Yuantong calmly walked to the end of the line . Many geniuses looked at Ji Yuantong, each having their own thoughts .

Impressive . Although Chu Yong and Yan Feng’s attacks are very powerful—twice as powerful as mine—my saber artis much faster . This gave him the confidence to fight them head-on! However, Ji Yuantong is different . His attack power is four-fold mine . The difference is too great . Only by using the Power of the Soul can I defeat him .

By using the Power of the Soul, his strength would increase tremendously, making his attacks comparable to Ji Yuantong’s . His speed was also far superior to Ji Yuantong’s . When he had used the Power of the Soul against the second Firmament demon monarch—Poison Pool—he had easily widened the gap between them . The only flaw was that the Power of the Soul drained him too quickly .

Out of 311 geniuses, 12 of them managed to break through a hundred light barriers . I broke through 79, and am ranked 23rd . Yan Jin is 7th .

The other geniuses had their own plans . They knew their ranking .

Among geniuses, the strong became stronger . Those who were stunning in their youth could be nearly twice as strong as the other geniuses . A family clan would be willing to pay any price to forge them a strong Godfiend foundation! This could make them four times stronger than other geniuses .

Ordinary geniuses who failed the entrance examination couldn’t enter Archean Mountain . The stunning geniuses would become even stronger after they entered Archean Mountain thanks to their careful grooming .

The gap between them would grow bigger and bigger .

This was how powerful experts were . They would seize every chance to become stronger! In the end, they would have a chance of becoming a Marquis Godfiend or even a Regis Godfiend . If they were weak from a young age and were weak in every aspect… the difference in strength over time would be night and day .

The path Meng Chuan chose for himself was speed . He seized every single opportunity to make himself faster! He was so fast that even the equally stunning genius, Yan Jin, had headaches when fighting him .

…

The first segment of Archean Mountain’s preliminaries ended . Friends and relatives watching from afar had different moods, but they were all watching nervously . There were still other tests .

The cyan-clothed woman seated beside King East River rose to her feet .

She took a few steps forward and looked at the geniuses . She calmly said, “The first segment of the entrance examination was to test one’s attacking strength . There are 17 people who have failed to reach the minimum requirement . You don’t need to continue with the assessment . Just go to the side and watch the competition . ”

As soon as she finished speaking, stewards led the eliminated geniuses to their friends and family .

“I’m a sharpshooter . My arrows are far inferior when it comes to close combat, but my arrows are even faster . I…” one of the youths shouted out unhappily .

Oh?

The cyan-clothed woman frowned and took a look . The young man who wanted to continue speaking stopped . He immediately flew up and was thrown to where his family and friends were . The other geniuses who were eliminated didn’t dare utter a sound . However, there were quite a few who felt somewhat aggrieved . They were directly eliminated without even finishing the preliminaries .

“Archean Mountain naturally has its reasons for setting these rules,” said the cyan-clothed woman calmly . “One does need to consider various factors when killing enemies . However, if an attack is too weak and you are unable to kill a demon despite them standing still in front of you, what’s the point of admitting you? Breaking 20 light barriers is the lowest Archean Mountain can accept .

“Although sharpshooters—who are best at killing demons—shoot extremely fast arrows, arrows are much lighter than spears and hammers . They are generally less powerful . In the first assessment, only two archers were eliminated . The other sharpshooters have reached the minimum requirement . Among them, the strongest sharpshooter is called Zong Sha from the Desolate State . His arrow pierced through a total of 65 light barriers . The threat he poses towards demons is no less than Ji Yuantong .

“Now, the second assessment will begin—speed!” The cyan-clothed woman stared at the geniuses coldly . “After becoming a Godfiend, you will encounter life-and-death battles . When you are weak, you can rely on speed to flee . When you are powerful, you can rely on speed to slay demons . Speed is an extremely important aspect of Godfiends! If you are too slow—even if you are powerful—you will die once you fail to escape . Once you die, everything is for naught .

“Speed is almost equivalent to your lives . ”

Whoosh!

The cyan-clothed woman waved her hand .

The air in the palace began to distort as the Heaven and Earth powers gathered . It formed a deep blue tunnel, shaped like an anaconda .

“This winding path is 1,500 feet long . ” The cyan-clothed woman pointed to a large copper bucket not far away . “That’s the Leaking Copper Kettle Clepsydra . It measures time through the dripping of liquid . You need to cross through the entire path within 20 droplets . The shorter the time you take, the better . Anyone who exceeds 20 droplets will be eliminated! Remember, keep your weapons on you and no forbidden Godfiend spells . Begin!”

“First up, Dragoncloud State’s Wu Chang,” the goateed man immediately shouted .

Wu Chang carried his thick saber on his back . It weighed 29 kilograms . When moving, the weapon weight affected his speed . However, Archean Mountain’s rules forbade one from discarding their weapons .

Boom!

Wu Chang pushed his movement technique to the limits and transformed into a black shadow as he traveled down the tunnel . One moment, he was charging forward in a straight line, and the next moment, he was curving in an arc . Droplets fell from the Leaking Copper Kettle Clepsydra at very fast speeds .

Whoosh .

Wu Chang finally traversed the 1,500-foot curvy tunnel .

“19 droplets! Next Jiang State’s Zhang Ping!” the goateed man said .

Only then did the swarthy youth, Wu Chang, heave a sigh of relief . Speed was not his forte, so he had been afraid that he wouldn’t meet the minimum requirement .

One genius after another entered the winding tunnel .

Everyone was nervous .

The faster one was, the harder it was to increase one’s speed . Even if one’s body was several times more powerful than an average person’s, one’s speed could only increase by a few dozen percent . Some people had extreme explosive strength, but they were somewhat clumsy and slow .

The geniuses began to nervously calculate as they looked at the ancient Leaking Copper Kettle Clepsydra .

It was almost noon, but the sky was beginning to turn gloomy . As geniuses crossed the tunnel, snow began to fall .

“It’s Chu Yong turn . ” Many people stared at Chu Yong .

Chu Yong was the most famous among the top 60 geniuses .

Chu Yong—who was dressed in a black robe—carried a large saber on his back . His entire body was covered by black water and lightning . When he transformed into a black stream of light and flew into the tunnel, his speed was clearly much faster than the others, causing many to be astonished .

Whoosh . The moment Chu Yong exited the tunnel, the goateed man immediately shouted, “12 droplets!”

Amongst the geniuses before Chu Yong, aside from a few that exceeded 20 droplets, most of their times were between 18 to 20 droplets . This was because if one didn’t have Godfiend bodies that excelled in speed, it would be very difficult for them to increase their speed . One genius—who cultivated the Lightning Divine Body—had attained the previous best time of 15 droplets . Chu Yong’s time, however, was 12 droplets .

He was 50% faster than those who passed with a time of 18 to 19 droplets . In a life-and-death battle, being slightly faster could determine one’s fate, let alone being 50% faster . Being 50% faster than his peers was in no way less difficult than achieving strength that was several-fold theirs .

Numerous geniuses appeared one after another . Yuan State’s Yan Feng took 13 droplets of time . This was an astonishing result .

“20 droplets . Next, Wu State’s Meng Chuan,” shouted the goateed man .