Chapter 169: Chapter 169: ???
Seeing the result, the Young Prince, Cai Ji, simply shook his head. He seemed completely unsatisfied and finally walked down with a look of regret.
"I wonder if I’ll be able to pass the test!"
Beside Shen Daoxing, Lv Yunsheng wrung his hands, looking quite nervous.
Shen Daoxing glanced at him and said calmly, "Go on up. You’re no worse than that Cai Ji."
Lv Yunsheng nodded, finally mustering his courage and stepping forward.
"Lv Yunsheng, from Wuyang City in the Martial Kingdom."
Lv Yunsheng stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Zhao Wufeng.
Zhao Wufeng nodded.
Lv Yunsheng hesitated for a moment before walking over to the Profound Spirit Stone and cautiously reaching out with both hands to touch it.
Immediately, Spiritual Power surged from his body.
The Profound Spirit Stone buzzed once when stimulated, but then it fell silent.
Lv Yunsheng’s heart sank into despair. But just as he had lost all hope, a faint green light suddenly appeared on the Profound Spirit Stone.
Lv Yunsheng stared, not yet processing what was happening.
Zhao Wufeng’s voice rang out, "Excellent! A supreme Profound Platform! You pass!"
As he spoke, his fingertip slid across a Jade Token, registering Lv Yunsheng’s name.
The surrounding crowd grew even more excited, breaking into a flurry of discussion.
"A supreme Profound Platform! That’s a quality only the top twenty on the Martial Arts Ranking can typically cultivate."
As Lv Yunsheng walked down, he was still in disbelief. "I have a supreme Profound Platform?"
Shen Daoxing said calmly, "I told you. You’re no worse than that Cai Ji."
It was as if he had known all along.
Afterward, the other candidates from the East Continent went up one by one, but most left in failure. Apart from Lv Yunsheng, not a single other supreme Profound Platform appeared. After all, the true geniuses of the East Continent were all seated on the Cloud Platforms on either side.
Before long, everyone had been tested, leaving only Shen Daoxing.
Shen Daoxing slowly stepped forward.
As he appeared, Shangguan Yiran, who had been conversing with Dongfang Wan’Er on one of the Cloud Platforms, finally turned her attention to the stage.
Following Shangguan Yiran’s gaze, Dongfang Wan’Er also looked at Shen Daoxing, but after a glance, she found him utterly unremarkable.
On the other Cloud Platform, Shen Mo Feng, seated comfortably in his private booth, turned to Sun Shufeng beside him. "What kind of Profound Platform do you think this Shen Daoxing will have?"
Sun Shufeng laughed dismissively. "What talent could some kid from a minor kingdom possibly have? How could he ever compare to you, Young Master Shen? You’re a once-in-a-generation talent in our East Continent’s history! He’ll barely pass, at best."
"Exactly!"
Shen Mo Feng couldn’t help but smirk. "How could that Shen Daoxing possibly compare to me?"
"Shen Daoxing, from Baiyun City in the Martial Kingdom."
Shen Daoxing stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Zhao Wufeng.
Zhao Wufeng gave Shen Daoxing a simple, assessing glance and nodded, not holding out much hope for this final candidate.
Then, Shen Daoxing walked up to the Profound Spirit Stone, raising his hands and placing them on it.
’Given my circumstances, I shouldn’t attract too much attention,’ he thought. ’Just passing the assessment is good enough.’
He then controlled a minuscule thread of Spiritual Power and let it flow slowly from his body.
The instant the Profound Spirit Stone came into contact with his Spiritual Power, it let out a BUZZ and suddenly emitted a flash of white light.
Shen Daoxing nodded, quite satisfied.
Shen Mo Feng shot him a disdainful glance, his expression clearly saying, ’Just as I expected.’
However, before he could even process it, the Profound Spirit Stone BUZZED again, and the white light turned yellow.
The entire crowd gasped in surprise. Nothing like this had happened before.
Shen Mo Feng glanced over but remained unconcerned.
’It’s just a superior Profound Platform. Mine is supreme!’
But just as he looked away, the Profound Spirit Stone in front of Shen Daoxing BUZZED and changed color again, turning green!
Shen Mo Feng’s eyelid twitched, and he stared at the platform in disbelief.
’How is this happening?’
Just then, the Profound Spirit Stone’s color shifted once more, emitting a dazzling purple glow.
The entire venue erupted in an uproar. Purple! That signified a peerless Profound Platform, something only Dugu Sheng had possessed centuries ago—the greatest figure in the history of the East Continent!
Shen Mo Feng was even more stunned, his eyes wide with shock.
’Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could Shen Daoxing possess a peerless Profound Platform? How could his talent be greater than mine?’
But it wasn’t over. The Profound Spirit Stone BUZZED once more, its color changing again as a blinding orange light flared out, illuminating the entire venue.
"What?!"
Shen Mo Feng jumped in fright, his courage shattering. He stared at Shen Daoxing, his face a mask of utter disbelief.
’A divine Profound Platform! Something that has never appeared in the entire history of the East Continent! This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!’
’The Profound Spirit Stone must be broken!’
’Yes, that has to be it. The Profound Spirit Stone is broken.’
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
On the Cloud Platforms, the disciples representing the Seven Great Sacred Mountains all shot to their feet in unison.
"What is your name?" Zhao Wufeng hastily tried to confirm Shen Daoxing’s identity, because he hadn’t been paying attention at all when Shen Daoxing had introduced himself earlier.
However, at that very moment—
CRACK! CRACK!
A thin fissure appeared on the Profound Spirit Stone and immediately began to spread like a spiderweb.
The dazzling light radiating from the Profound Spirit Stone abruptly changed color, turning white. It then immediately shifted to yellow, and the color changed again.
White, yellow, green, purple, orange.
The stone flickered nonstop between these five colors, the cycling growing faster and faster, as if trying to blind everyone watching.
Finally, a SIZZLING sound came from within the stone. A puff of white smoke drifted up, and the Profound Spirit Stone finally came to a stop, glowing with a simple white light.
"???"
"???"
"???"
Instantly, everyone present was dumbfounded.
Up on the Cloud Platforms, the representatives from the Seven Great Sacred Mountains all sat back down, exchanging strange glances.
Only Shangguan Yiran looked from the Profound Spirit Stone to Shen Daoxing, a uniquely profound meaning in her eyes.
Shen Mo Feng instantly let out a sigh of relief.
’I knew it! The Profound Spirit Stone must be broken!’
’Just as I thought!’
Then, Shen Mo Feng shot a disdainful look at Shen Daoxing.
’Some stinking brat from a remote little kingdom... how could he possibly possess a divine Profound Platform?’
Down on the platform, Zhao Wufeng stared at the shattered Profound Spirit Stone and rubbed his chin in confusion. He examined it closely but couldn’t figure out what had just happened.
Finally, he announced the result: "White light. Ordinary Profound Platform. You pass."
’Elder Blood Dragon, what was that all about?’ Shen Daoxing couldn’t help but ask in his mind, just as shocked as everyone else. He had only channeled a minuscule amount of Spiritual Power, never expecting the Profound Spirit Stone to react so violently.
Elder Blood Dragon’s disdainful voice echoed in Shen Daoxing’s mind: ’It’s nothing. That Profound Spirit Stone simply couldn’t handle the power of your Seven-Colored Profound Platform. It was destroyed because it was incapable of measuring your Profound Platform’s true quality.’
’Elder Blood Dragon, are you saying my Seven-Colored Profound Platform is even higher than the divine grade?’ Shen Daoxing asked cautiously in his mind.
"That’s right," Elder Blood Dragon stated calmly.
"!!!"
Shen Daoxing was speechless.
After the brief commotion, the venue quickly calmed down. Since everyone assumed the strange phenomenon was simply due to a malfunction in the Profound Spirit Stone, they dismissed Shen Daoxing, and no one paid him any more attention.
Shen Daoxing walked off the platform, his expression serene.
