More than ten hours later.

Ju Zuojing opened his eyes and let out a long breath. The exam questions were becoming increasingly difficult, and even with the persistent enhancement Ju Zuojing had, he couldn't proceed as smoothly as before.

The eighth level had been redrawn several times, consuming considerable time, and the score probably wouldn't be too high.

Moreover, for some reason, Ju Zuojing had an ominous feeling lingering in his heart.

It must be from the immense pressure and tightly wound nerves… He consoled himself this way.

Ju Zuojing decided to take a short break, opening the leaderboard. Each time he saw his name at the top, he felt at ease, filling him with more motivation and fighting spirit.

[First Place: Ju Zuojing, fifty-four thousand feet]

He curled his lips into a satisfied smile, intending to close the leaderboard, but for some inexplicable reason, he glanced at the ranks below.

In an instant, Ju Zuojing's pupils shrank.

[Tenth Place: Jiang Nalan, thirty-nine thousand feet]

[Eleventh Place: Lin Guang, thirty-seven thousand feet]

[...]

[Fourteenth Place: Zuo Qingtian, thirty-two thousand feet]

[...]

[Nineteenth Place: Heaven-slaying Demon, twenty-nine thousand feet]

What is going on?

Weren't these six people at the bottom?

How did they quietly start accelerating?

Having chosen the problematic [Supreme] difficulty, how could their speed be so fast? Shouldn't they be getting worse with fatigue?

In that moment, a slight panic arose within Ju Zuojing, a panic he himself did not notice.

——That was the lack of confidence coming from someone of "humble" background facing the true geniuses of "sects" and "aristocratic families".

Something must have gone wrong.

They probably got lucky and encountered Spirit Patterns they were familiar with or had even mastered.

The [Supreme] difficulty was something that a Three-Star Spirit Master couldn't complete.

Subconsciously, Ju Zuojing found a rationale for himself, not caring about its plausibility, hurriedly shutting off the leaderboard, entering meditation, quickly recovering some Spiritual Power before throwing himself back into the assessment.

The eighth checkpoint.

It was also a Three-Star Spirit Pattern, but more difficult than the previous ones.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

After failing three times in a row, Ju Zuojing finally realized something.

The intense drawing focus from the first seven levels had consumed too much energy and concentration.

This kind of daze and fatigue couldn't be dispelled simply by recovering Spiritual Power with the accomplished Enslavement Contract Technique of Entering the Hall level, but would instead accumulate in the consciousness.

He must get a thorough rest and enter sleep.

But… entering deep sleep now would bring a backlash from the opposing tune; how long would he sleep?

The scoring mechanism wasn't clear, and would rest time be counted in the travel time and score?

Would those behind catch up?

Ju Zuojing pondered for a few seconds and showed a desperate expression.

He must continue to push forward, maintaining the leading position.

Even at some cost!

......

As for the rise in rank of the six people, reactions varied among the masses.

The trial takers who hadn't attempted the Supreme difficulty didn't have much of a reaction.

Most of them weren't highly ranked to begin with and weren't particularly surprised or frustrated to see those reputable geniuses starting to exert power and surpassing them.

But those who had tried the Supreme difficulty, including some Spirit Masters who were already in college at the Three-Star peak, felt the pressure.

How did these people manage it? They were getting faster under that level of difficulty?

Those geniuses, their endurance, concentration, and Spiritual Power, just how exaggerated were they?!

Were they not fatigued, or did they recover at an unbelievably fast rate?

Or did they all have corresponding Skills, Spirit Patterns, or even Mystical Techniques?

...…

"Lin Guang tenth, Du Qing thirteenth..."

Ranked seventeenth, Leng Shengnan looked at the leaderboard, which showed six people surpassing her and still accelerating, a slight smile appeared on her lips as she sighed, "As expected of you."

She only got into the Inheritance due to the favor of Bai Wu, the newly appointed True Man. Not to mention she was already a considerable distance away from the geniuses of true sects and aristocratic families, drawing Spirit Patterns wasn't Leng Shengnan's forte either.

Yet she only took a glance during the gap between failure and the next attempt, and carried on with her drawing, without any sense of defeat, moving forward.

...…

"So the [Supreme] difficulty really is the proper way to open up this first trial?"

Ranked sixth, Gao Haoran of the Earth Demon Sect murmured, sensing something, "Does the difficulty decrease midway? Or is there some special mechanism?"

"But... if one doesn't have the corresponding means along with extraordinarily terrifying Spiritual Power intensity and stability to get through the initial mire, then they are likely to be stuck at the initial few stages."

——He had experienced the [Supreme] difficulty and thus sensitively perceived reality.

If even Jiang Nalan and Zuo Qingtian had to wait until now to start exerting effort, it meant that people like him weren't fit to choose this difficulty at all.

If spending time could forcibly draw high-difficulty Spirit Patterns, then why would the holding rate of high-star Spirit Patterns in this world be so low?

Some things simply have a divide between what can and cannot be done; hard work alone doesn't bridge that gap.

Choosing [Quasi-Supreme] really isn't a problem for him.

"Don't rush, this is only the first trial. There will be more opportunities later."

However, he furrowed his brows: "Given Du Qing's character of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, he actually chose [Supreme] difficulty? He's not the type to 'challenge himself,' nor is he someone without self-awareness."

"Or perhaps, did the past few months in Zhen Sheng City change him?"

"Is it because of Lin Guang, who faced the Demon King head-on?"

If Gao Haoran knew that Du Qing had recently rejected the chance to change difficulty given by the inheritance system, he might be even more surprised.

At this moment, on the leaderboard.

At this moment, the six of them had not stopped to rest, but continued to outline Spirit Patterns, so the heights behind their names kept changing.

Jiang Nalan and Lin Guang were the fastest among them, closely racing ahead and even showing signs of leaving the other four prodigies behind.

Gao Haoran revealed a look of shock on his face: "Damn, they're real monsters."

...

As time passed.

In the anxious gazes of those originally in the lead.

The rankings of the six soared rapidly.

Eventually...

Jiang Nalan's name, like a reigning king, unquestionably ascended to first place.

But what surprised everyone was...

The second place was a somewhat unfamiliar name.

Lin Guang.

......

The complex Spirit Pattern at the center of the compass gradually perfected, emitting an inexplicable resonance.

Like a wisp of green smoke, the Spiritual Power between illusion and reality completed the final stroke.

Then, it was completely finished.

Amid the luminous glow, it withdrew from the center to the corner.

Zhao Yue's body also solidified from illusion, revealing her slightly pale face.

—Activating Talent Ability and Inheritance for a long time was indeed a considerable burden even for a prodigy like her, who had a fast recovery speed.

[Ninth Level Completed]

[Difficulty: Supreme]

[Rewards: Beast Meat ×5, Clear Water ×5, Qi Recovery Powder ×5, Inheritance Core Permission (1%).]

She took a deep breath, the deep brilliance in her eyes faded like a kaleidoscope, as she began to calm her somewhat dizzy mind.

The Three-Star Spirit Pattern of the ninth level was even harder than the sixth level when the compass was unrefined.

It took her a full twenty hours and three attempts to succeed.

Although after repairing the compass, a single mistake wouldn't completely disintegrate the Spirit Pattern, keeping it stable still required exceptionally strong Spiritual Power intensity and control power.

After resting for a moment and recovering some energy, Zhao Yue opened the leaderboard.

"…!!"

[First Place: Jiang Nalan, Twenty-two thousand three hundred zhang]

[Second Place: Lin Guang, Twenty-one thousand nine hundred zhang]

[Third Place: Zhao Yue, Twenty thousand one hundred zhang]

[Fourth Place: Ju Zuojing, Nineteen thousand one hundred zhang]

[Fifth Place: Zuo Qingcang, Eighteen thousand seven hundred zhang]

[Sixth Place: Ye Lihong, Eighteen thousand six hundred zhang]

[...]

"Merely third?"

She frowned slightly, directly ignoring Ju Zuojing and others, leaving only those who chose Supreme difficulty and started to exert themselves.

Everyone has their strengths, as well as relatively weaker areas. Even those praised as all-rounders just have no shortcoming.

They cannot maintain a consistent level in everything, there will certainly be tendencies.

Zhao Yue knew that drawing Spirit Patterns was already her forte.

Her talent was [Dream Entering].

A talent that allows oneself and the Spirit Beast to fully immerse in a spiritual dream realm, manifesting various peculiar effects.

Moreover, she had already practiced a significant part of the core inheritance [esteem dreams classic] of the Great Dream Sect, deeply ingrained in her bones and instincts.

She had a considerable advantage in this level.

When drawing Spirit Patterns, she could slightly enter the spiritual world to better sense the Spirit Patterns projected by the compass. During the drawing process, she could also simulate some scenarios in her mind through dreams to avoid errors.

Zuo Qingtian's [Great Dark Heaven], Du Qing's [Wings of the Morning Star], and Heaven-slaying Demon's [Profound Qilin Transformation] might all have abilities that can enhance the drawing of Spirit Patterns, but relatively speaking, they are certainly more adept at combat, and their inheritance too, isn't as convenient as her [Dream Entering].

Even if these individuals might have greater combat power, in this level, I will still surpass them...

However, both Lin Guang and Jiang Nalan not only completed the ninth level before her but also began to significantly distance her and the few below.

This meant two things.

Jiang Nalan and Lin Guang's talents and inheritances might be even more suitable for drawing Spirit Patterns.

And their Spiritual Power and endurance might also be stronger than hers.

"An unknown talent, a talent not on the ranking list, eh."

Jiang Nalan was expected, she had somewhat expected it.

But this Lin Guang, clearly just a high school sophomore, actually...

Just how strong is this emerging dark horse?

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