Internal time in the Inheritance Secret Realm.

The thirty-seventh hour.

Celestial Ladder Mountain, at an altitude of 13,300 zhang.

Here, the distance from the ground is already over forty kilometers. From this vantage point, everything on the ground is almost completely obscured by clouds and mist. Moreover, since it is now nighttime within the secret realm, nothing can be clearly seen, with only the howling wind echoing back and forth.

However, fortunately, the invisible force field that prevents trial takers from climbing the mountain by their own strength also remains when trying to descend, leaving a roughly five-meter diameter gap, so there is no chance of accidentally falling.

At this moment, seated cross-legged behind a wind-shielding rock, a young man in black opened his eyes, which gleamed with a purple brilliance, inexplicable energy radiating from him and causing ripples in the air around him.

One could see that his entire body, including his face, was somewhat purple, with a faint glow like jade, showing an expression of excitement.

In his hand, the Spirit Pattern projection on the compass suddenly dissipated, and in the blank space at the center of the compass, a somewhat complex Two-Star Spirit Pattern had been flawlessly drawn.

That Spirit Pattern did not disappear after completing its purpose for the trial but instead shrank several times, turning into a small dot of light occupying a corner of the compass.

The next moment, an inexplicable wave came through the air, and his black ring flashed.

He expertly used his Spiritual Power to probe inside, took out a piece of beast meat wrapped in paper that had been roasted and contained relatively abundant energy, then stuffed it into his mouth, took out a small wooden bucket filled with clean water, poured the white powder from a small medicine packet in the ring into the bucket, and then drank it down.

This was the supply obtained after completing each trial.

This white powder had the effect of restoring Spiritual Power, but its effect was not strong, roughly equivalent to Tier Two Spiritual Power recovery potions, and even had a slight side effect, causing dizziness in ordinary Spirit Masters if consumed excessively.

The conditions were quite meager, incomparable to the luxurious lifestyle he was used to enjoying.

However, there was not the slightest discomfort on the boy's face. Although his entire body seemed to be poisoned, he apparently had no issues, with a fire of determination and a Talent Spiritual Light shining in his eyes.

Chewing the meat in his mouth, he swallowed, then used his Spiritual Power to access the black ring and opened the leaderboard.

[First place: Ju Zuojing, 13,300 zhang]

[Second place: Ye Lihong, 11,700 zhang]

[...]

[...]

The numbers following the names change in real-time, but what they represent is not simply the current altitude of the trial taker but rather an estimate.

The Inheritance Compass scores trial takers based on the precision and speed of the Spirit Pattern they complete. Any mistake results in a deduction of the corresponding altitude (score), causing a drop in ranking.

However, only when a trial taker completes an entire problem does the Inheritance System finalize the score and teleport the trial taker to the corresponding altitude.

Looking at his already stabilized position on the leaderboard and then at the constantly changing data and rankings below, the young man showed an excited and determined expression, murmuring to himself, "The victor of this inheritance will be none other than me."

These words were not empty talk.

Because the name at the top of the list was indeed his.

Ju Zuojing.

His talent is the Talent Sequence 676 - [Poisonous Body].

Strictly speaking, he could just barely be classified among the elite competitors.

In fact, during these 27 hours, Ju Zuojing had not rested for even a quarter-hour, besides eating and recovering Spiritual Power, continuously pushing through challenges, sketching 3 One-Star Spirit Patterns and 3 Two-Star Spirit Patterns, passing the sixth challenge.

Although Ju Zuojing is a Three-Star Spirit Master, One-Star and Two-Star Spirit Patterns are relatively simple, and the pseudo-supreme difficulty is not as challenging as the supreme difficulty.

But even so, the compass still presented significant interference, and continuously sketching so many Spirit Patterns with hardly any breaks was a daunting challenge, almost indistinguishable from combat.

Being able to pass six challenges in such a short time attests to his endurance and fighting spirit, truly standing out among his peers.

In Ju Zuojing's Sea of Spirit, he sketched a Four-Star Spirit Pattern [Opposing Tune], which is the core of his family mystical technique [Poison of Activation], capable of transforming negative effects into positive ones. Combined with some strong but negative-effect Spirit Patterns, this results in a qualitative change.

This mystical technique is his greatest reliance in this trial.

Ju Zuojing has a Contracted Spirit Beast called [Rotting Poison Dragon], covered in poisonous, foul-smelling sludge.

During the designated rest periods when he can summon his Spirit Beast, he easily gathers toxins, and with the Four-Star Spirit Pattern [Opposing Tune] and the augmentation of [Poisonous Body], consuming the toxic sludge does not result in any negative effects, but rather brings strong positive effects.

At the cost of additional consumption of Spiritual Power and the Spirit Beast's Ether, Ju Zuojing has significantly enhanced his physical strength, Spiritual Power intensity, control power, and even willpower.

Additionally, if he foregoes rest periods for sketching, there is another added benefit.

Ju Zuojing realized early on that the rest period setting was exceedingly subtle.

If it was merely for physical reasons to rest, trial takers could stop at any time, so this time is provided for Spirit Beasts, but as Spirit Beasts do not participate in combat, such extensive rest and feeding time seems somewhat out of place in a speed-based inheritance trial.

Unless... the Spirit Beasts can do something else during the rest periods.

In fact, they can.

Given that the interference on the compass largely corresponds to the omnipresent force field on Celestial Ladder Mountain, conversely, if one could block the surrounding force field, it would reduce a significant amount of interference.

A mandatory course for talented Spirit Masters and their Contractual Partners is mastering the surrounding Ethereal Environment.

During each rest period, Ju Zuojing has his Contractual Partner help shield the surrounding force field, reducing the difficulty of sketching.

Under this dual reinforcement, coupled with an inner fire of determination, Ju Zuojing has unleashed immense potential, becoming a true War God vigilantly battling through the night, and, without respite under intense Spiritual Power expenditure, claimed the top spot.

Satisfied, he used his Spiritual Power to scan through the information below the leaderboard.

One could see some anomalies at the bottom of the rankings.

[Twenty-fifth place: Jiang Nalan, 4,100 zhang]

[Twenty-sixth place: Lin Guang, 3,900 zhang]

[Twenty-seventh place: Zhao Yue, 3,800 zhang]

[Twenty-eighth place: Zuo Qingtian, 3,100 zhang]

[Twenty-ninth place: Du Qing, 2,900 zhang]

[Twenty-ninth place: Heaven-slaying Demon, 2,700 zhang]

[Thirty-first place: Jin Lengyue, 1,000 zhang]

[Thirty-second place: Dongfang Bufan, 900 zhang]

Ju Zuojing's eyes flashed with an "as expected" look: "Those fools."

Despite their renowned prestigious titles, they didn't even know their limits, stubbornly challenging the highest difficulty, truly overestimating themselves.

Thinking of this, Ju Zuojing couldn't help but slightly curl his lips.

He was naturally referring to those who chose the [Supreme] difficulty.

It's not something difficult to deduce, or, in other words, a discerning person could immediately understand by looking at the leaderboard.

Excluding the last two people, the six names above are all renowned. Normally, these individuals shouldn't be at the bottom but leading the charge.

The only possibility is that they chose the anomalous [Supreme] difficulty, leaving them at an impasse, finding it difficult to advance.

To speak the truth, Ju Zuojing is quite wary of those individuals, seeing them as his biggest competitors in the Celestial Ladder Mountain inheritance.

Apart from Lin Guang, whose circumstances are unclear due to a lack of information, the remaining individuals were born with at least one intact Dao Mark, distancing themselves from ordinary beings as though separated by dimensions.

Ju Zuojing, too, is considered a rising star of Fenghai Province's generation. His talent, in terms of pure strength aside from attributes, is quite formidable. Yet, even so, when he encountered these individuals outside, he felt immense pressure.

The forces behind each of them far eclipse the Ju Family standing behind him, and their enjoyed resources are unimaginable.

In front of them, his previously high-standing figure in front of civilians seemed to become just another civilian.

If they also chose the [Pseudo Supreme] difficulty, whether he could attain the peak was truly uncertain.

Initially, he also chose the [Supreme] difficulty, though after personally experiencing its difficulty, he decisively opted to switch to [Pseudo Supreme] difficulty, a wise decision that has kept him in the leading position for a long time.

However, that Lin Guang... is still somewhat intriguing.

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