The first wizard emerged from the circular ripples spreading across the surface of the Spirit Lake, surrounded by glowing crystals of purple, red, and blue.
Then came the second, the third, and more wizards participating in this selection trial stepped out from the three towers, each accompanied by varying numbers of the three-colored crystals, some bright, some dim.
Soon, the vast Spirit Lake was illuminated by countless lights, as if a boundless sea of stars was slowly rising from its depths.
At this moment, the Spirit Lake wizard responsible for overseeing the trial stepped forward, his voice amplified by a spell, resonating with authority throughout the space.
"Those with a soul aptitude rating of five stars or above and a total evaluation of ten stars or more... may enter my Spirit Lake."
As his words fell, he waved his staff, and patterns of a Rune Array appeared in the void. A vast, invisible force swiftly descended, beginning the selection process.
In an instant, the magnificent sea of stars was scattered, and a large number of wizards were filtered out.
Blue rifts opened in the void around the lake, resembling eyes, just as they had when the wizards were first brought in. Each wizard who failed the selection quickly fell into these rifts and was transported away.
A portion of the wizards continued to rise, each surrounded by more than ten of the three-colored crystals.
The more crystals they had, the brighter each one shone, like stars clustering around them as they ascended.
The sea of stars split into upper and lower layers. The many Spirit Lake wizards above silently watched this scene, but their gazes were all fixed on the surface of the lake below, as if they were all waiting for something in unison.
As time passed, the number of people surrounded by "stars" above the Spirit Lake increased. At a certain moment, the once calm surface of the lake suddenly surged with massive waves! A huge whirlpool formed at the center of the lake, and as the water parted, indescribably dazzling lights burst forth from within.
The waiting Spirit Lake wizards' eyes shifted in unison, their gazes tightly fixed on the location of the anomaly.
Even the three gray-robed figures standing at the very top lowered their eyes, their calm expressions tinged with anticipation.
Finally.
The light within the whirlpool fully erupted.
In that instant, it was as if multiple blinding suns had risen.
Nine purple suns, nine crimson suns, and seven deep blue suns.
A total of twenty-five "suns" surrounded a tall, graceful figure as they stepped out of the Spirit Lake, one step at a time.
In the sky above, waves of intense spiritual energy rippled through the air. The wizards standing in the void, the pillars of the three major schools, remained silent, yet it felt as if they had just experienced a moment of profound astonishment.
The spectacular sight of twenty-five "suns" rising together made the entire "sea of stars" pale in comparison.
The figure surrounded and guarded by these twenty-five "suns" seemed to radiate an overwhelming brilliance. Everyone participating in the trial looked up at them, completely overshadowed by their radiance.
"No wonder the Black Sorcerer King holds such high hopes for him..."
High above, a gray-robed figure holding a staff as tall as a person spoke in a low voice, his eyes filled with deep emotion. "Yoventus is even more remarkable than the Black Sorcerer King was in his time. With his current foundation, the grade of his Primal Spirit should reach eight stars. It's not impossible for him to even challenge the legendary Supreme Nine-Star Primal Spirit."
The gray-robed figure holding a staff glanced to the sides, and one of the individuals beside him let out a soft grunt, "After all, it's the advantage of bloodline enhancement."
The gray-robed figure did not respond. After a moment of calm in his gaze, he spoke lightly, "Since we are here, we might as well watch until the end before leaving."
At that moment, beneath the three of them, the wizards from the three major schools of the Spirit Lake, after experiencing a brief tremor, gradually settled down, redirecting their focus back to the selection trial itself.
Figures began to shift.
Those who had risen from the Spirit Lake, having undergone a round of selection and surrounded by a notable number of "stars," were chosen by the wizards descending from the heights and joyfully entered their corresponding schools.
Outstanding talents were continuously "guided" up, standing in the areas designated for their respective schools.
The rising sea of stars gradually dispersed, with the number of participants decreasing, like a river of stars splitting into three directions.
Only at the highest point of the sea of stars, Juventus, surrounded by twenty-five great suns, remained undisturbed, like a solitary king sitting alone on his throne.
This process of selecting and distributing candidates continued for a long time, with the wizards from the three major schools exhibiting a special tacit understanding, everything proceeding in an orderly manner.
Until another whirlpool emerged from the Spirit Lake, the fragile harmony was finally broken.
All eyes turned sharply to the location where the second whirlpool appeared.
Compared to Juventus's earlier entrance, this whirlpool was clearly smaller by more than one circle, yet it still stood out remarkably against the lake's surface, filled with circular ripples.
A woman with long emerald-green hair stepped out from the whirlpool.
She was not particularly beautiful, nor did she appear youthful like a girl, but surrounded by eight purple "stars," representing her soul's qualifications, she seemed to possess an unparalleled radiance that no other female wizard in this space could match.
After a brief silence, several figures in the sky fell like shooting stars, all rushing towards the woman's position.
It was not uncommon for multiple wizards from different schools to simultaneously take an interest in a single trial participant, but previous situations had been resolved quickly and amicably; this time, however, it fell into a "stalemate."
Several descending wizards stopped not far from the green-haired woman, their consciousness waves interacting continuously, causing even the void in that area to tremble slightly, as if engaged in a secret and intense dispute.
The three gray-robed figures at the pinnacle watched this scene with indifference, showing no intention to intervene.
Juventus, who held a transcendent status among the trial participants, shifted his gaze from the eight purple "stars" surrounding the green-haired woman to the four crimson and deep blue crystals, then naturally turned to the wizards from the Spirit Lake who were in the midst of the "dispute."
It seemed he was more interested in the latter than in the wizard with eight-star soul qualifications appearing in this trial.
Just as the debate over the ownership of the eight-star soul qualifier was about to reach a conclusion, suddenly, "Boom!"
A loud sound erupted from the lake's surface.
The sudden explosion of noise caused the vast space of the Spirit Lake to fall into an abrupt silence, all movements freezing as everyone instinctively turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Following that, countless pairs of pupils constricted. On the tranquil Spirit Lake, amidst the naturally rippling waves, an enormous vortex, almost comparable to Juventus from before, was quietly forming.
It was as if one could hear the increasingly rapid breaths of countless people.
High above, three gray-robed figures simultaneously cast their gazes downward, piercing through layers of void, their focus as solid as substance.
Juventus, surrounded by the suns, rose from his "throne," his expressionless face turned toward the direction where the vortex was forming.
Blinding!
Dazzling! An unprecedented intense light emerged from beneath the Spirit Lake, followed by ten blazing, deep blue suns, their light almost taking the shape of flames, rising from the depths of the lake.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment, and the rapid breaths of countless people suddenly ceased.
A dazzling light burst forth from Juventus's eyes. Standing at the pinnacle of the Spirit Lake, the gray-robed figure to the left of the staff-wielder had his robe silently billowing, his immense spiritual power about to burst forth.
Below him, the wizards of the Spirit Lake belonging to the Deep Sea faction, upon realizing what was happening, almost all sprang into action.
However, in the next breath, behind the ten deep sea sun-like orbs, three dim and tiny purple crystals appeared, so small that one might instinctively overlook them.
Everything extinguished within a second.
The billowing robes of the gray-robed figures settled, their spiritual power retracted, their gazes lowered, their expressions calm as if nothing had happened.
Juventus "sat" back on his throne, shifting from a direct gaze to a lofty, overlooking one.
The Deep Sea halted, and the wizards of the Fire and Black Moon schools, who had been eager to act, returned to their original positions.
Everything happened suddenly and ended even more quickly.
"What a pity..."
Someone murmured softly, and everyone turned their sympathetic and regretful gazes toward the youth who was both incomparably dazzling and as dim as dust, surrounded by the ten blazing suns.
In that short span of time, the emotions of almost everyone present underwent dramatic, wave-like fluctuations. Only the person at the center of everyone's attention remained completely unperturbed, as calm as the mirror-like surface of the Spirit Lake.
"Soul aptitude nine stars, spell ability nine stars, even knowledge has a high seven-star rating..."
Ronan narrowed his eyes, looking up at a figure whose face was obscured by the light, and thought to himself, "Juventus... is this the talent possessed by a seventh-level Decaying Blood progenitor?"
"He has a great chance to surpass his bloodline bestower and completely shed the name of Decaying Blood."
Alazan said indifferently, "Your soul aptitude is still lacking, falling short by two stars compared to what they require.
If you had listened to me and stopped after the third dream, then taken another soul test, the treatment you would have received would have been worlds apart from now... You don't seem worried at all that you might not even qualify for entry?"
"The Spirit Lake is not a must."
Ronan withdrew his gaze from Juventus and said calmly, "But the opportunity to comprehend the Ancient Spirit Scripts might be the only one I have during the Mist stage."
"I almost forgot how steadfast your will is, unshaken even by four cycles of reincarnation..."
Alazan's voice carried a hint of weariness, as if he was eager to see Ronan in a state of nervousness and panic.
Ronan was likely the last trial participant to emerge from the Three Towers. After him, the Spirit Lake no longer rippled.
The wizards who were eliminated were quickly transported away by the power of the formation, and those who passed the selection were also being rapidly "picked and divided" among the various factions.
The power of the selection formation did not fall upon Ronan, nor did any wizard from any school take him away.
Ronan, like Juventus, became one of the only two who were left unclaimed on the field.
He remained calm, having anticipated this outcome to some extent.
He observed those trial participants who were "chosen" and the process of their selection.
Although the entire trial was conducted according to the standards of the Three Towers, theoretically, the results of the three trials should have carried equal weight in the final outcome.
However, the wizards of the Spirit Lake, regardless of their school, still preferred disciples with outstanding soul aptitude.
Soon, all the passers were chosen, and the woman with an eight-star soul aptitude ultimately joined the Black Moon faction.
Many gazes fell upon Ronan, scrutinizing him before shifting away again. Ronan felt like a commodity placed on a stall, open for anyone to pick, with certain "flaws" that made every interested party hesitate.
A wizard from the Flame School even approached Ronan, his eyes repeatedly wandering between the ten deep blue suns and the five crimson stars on Ronan's body, but ultimately, he shook his head and walked away.
"What a pity. If only your soul aptitude were slightly better... even if not at this moment..."
Ronan was well aware of the hesitation and indecision the other party displayed.
Soul aptitude could indeed be improved through later means, but in this period of the prophet's death and the empire's turmoil, the many wizard factions, having opened their doors wide to recruit disciples, were in a critical moment of urgently needing resources.
The intense "turbid" aura emanating from the depths of Ronan's soul made him appear like a "bottomless pit" in front of many high-level wizards—a pit that would require a vast amount of resources to fill, with no clear guarantee of any return.
There was a certain competitive relationship between factions, schools, and wizards themselves.
A single wrong decision could lead to defeat in a certain contest.
Thus, no one wanted to take that risk.
Ronan noticed that Juventus had been observing him all along. Everything happening to him seemed to greatly interest this figure who had always stood high above the clouds.