The circular stone chamber led to a broader, deeper passage. The strange, viscous sensation in the air had vanished, replaced by an indescribable freshness and vibrancy, as if the spiritual energy itself had become active, waiting to be guided and harnessed.
Silas moved forward cautiously, noticing that luminous doorways had appeared along the sides of the passage. Some were already closed, with faint spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from within, indicating they were occupied. He chose an unoccupied doorway that felt somewhat compatible with him and stepped through.
Inside was a small, sealed meditation chamber. The moment he entered, the door closed silently behind him. Simultaneously, a beam of light illuminated the center of the chamber, and a jade slip with a warm, luster hovered within it. A cold, emotionless voice resonated directly within the chamber, and simultaneously in the minds of all trial-takers in similar rooms:
"Second Trial: Talent."
"Time Limit:Six hours. Comprehend and initially cultivate the technique recorded within the jade slip. Those who fail will be expelled."
"Begin."
As the voice faded, the jade slip within the light beam drifted slowly towards Silas. He reached out and touched it, and a massive stream of information instantly flooded his consciousness.
Starlight Guidance Art – Draw upon the power of the stars, open the body's hidden apertures, lay the foundation of the Dao.
The introductory summary alone shocked Silas to his core! This was completely different from any cultivation method he knew of! In the Emerald Glow Federation, and indeed throughout the kingdom he understood, all cultivation methods, whether the "Beast Taming Art" or the "Noble Bestowal Method," focused more on acquiring and merging with external power or relying on grants from higher authorities. The exploration of the human body itself as a "vessel" was crude, fragmented, more like borrowing external force rather than developing what lay within.
The core concept of this Starlight Guidance Art was to directly draw upon stellar power (or celestial spiritual energy during the day), using it to impact, open, and illuminate the dormant "apertures" within the body! According to the technique's description, the human body contained numerous key apertures, like stars scattered across the night sky. Opening each one not only significantly enhanced the efficiency and capacity for absorbing, refining, and storing spiritual power but was also a profound awakening of the body's latent potential!
Furthermore, this technique clearly pointed out a realm Silas had never heard of – the Aperture Opening realm!
This was an accumulative process focused on opening apertures within the body, gathering spiritual power, and laying a solid foundation. It didn't directly enhance combat prowess but continuously widened the "riverbed" and solidified it, preparing to bear greater power in the future. Although Silas didn't know which stage this corresponded to in the existing system, or what came after in this system, he could clearly feel that it shared a similar purpose with the "Beast Taming Art"s method of accumulating potential by absorbing magical beast traits and eventually breaking through to the Second Rank by fusing a Fated Beast Soul. Both were about deep accumulation for a qualitative transformation. However, the path represented by the Starlight Guidance Art was purer, more focused on the accumulation of spiritual power and the development of the body's own inherent treasure.
"This method... is incredibly profound!" Silas was utterly astonished. "To think one could directly draw upon stellar power to develop oneself... this is far superior to merging with beasts or receiving a title!"
But as he continued to study the specific cultivation methods, a chill ran down his spine. The technique explicitly stated that the best time for cultivation was at night, directly drawing upon the power of the myriad stars, for optimal results. During the day, while one could draw upon the celestial spiritual energy cognate with stellar power, the efficiency would be greatly reduced, and the difficulty of sensing and guiding it would multiply.
And right now, it was clearly daytime.
"How could this be..." Silas's heart sank. To complete the impact on the first aperture within six hours, during the day when spiritual energy was less potent, seemed an almost impossible task!
He looked up at the sealed chamber door, then down at the jade slip in his hand. Should he just give up? No, absolutely not!
"Might as well try the impossible," Silas gritted his teeth, sat down cross-legged, and began attempting to sense the elusive stellar power according to the method described.
Time passed minute by minute. Just as he feared, sensing stellar power during the day was incredibly difficult. He could only barely capture a faint, almost negligible thread of sensation, insufficient to actually draw upon it. Sweat beaded on his forehead and soaked his clothes.
"It's not working... completely useless..." A sense of despair washed over Silas. At this rate, let alone six hours, even sixty hours probably wouldn't yield any progress.
Just as he was on the verge of giving up, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind—if stellar power couldn't be sensed, could another form of energy be used instead?
He thought of his proficiency with the Law of Life. Since it could channel vital energy, and it was all energy, perhaps...
This idea invigorated him. He immediately changed his strategy, no longer fixating on sensing stellar power, but instead began to operate the Law of Life, summoning the vital energy around him.
Something marvelous happened. As the Law of Life circulated, the spiritual energy in the chamber began to converge towards him at a visible rate. Under the influence of the Law of Life, this energy became exceptionally docile and active, rushing into his body as if they had found their destination.
He guided this energy, imbued with the breath of life, according to the pathway described in the Starlight Guidance Art, and began impacting the "Bubbling Spring" aperture.
Boom!
A roar, audible only to himself, sounded within his body. The aperture, originally solid as rock, actually began to loosen under the impact of this vibrant, life-filled energy!
Silas didn't dare neglect it. He continued operating the technique with full force. He realized that under the boost of the Law of Life, the previously difficult-to-sense spiritual energy became exceptionally tame, and the efficiency of impacting the apertures increased several times over.
One, two, three...
Apertures were opened one after another. With each opened aperture, he felt a tighter connection to the world around him, and his speed of absorbing spiritual energy increased.
In other chambers, the trial-takers were also showcasing their abilities.
Karen received a technique called the Golden Edge Art, which required drawing upon the sharp, metallic energy of the world. He sat cross-legged, a sharp aura radiating from his body, his spirit power highly concentrated as he attempted to capture the spiritual energy carrying this keen characteristic. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Each attempt to draw the metallic energy felt like wrestling with a blade. Progress was slow but determined.
The jade slip before Lyna contained the Flowing Water Art, which required sensing moist, water-aligned spiritual energy. She closed her eyes, concentrating her spirit, her hands forming seals, with faintly visible water-like ripples flowing around her. Compared to Karen's forceful method, hers was gentler but demanded extreme precision. She could sense the water-aligned energy but found it difficult to guide it precisely to the target apertures.
Buck obtained the Heavy Earth Art, drawing upon the heavy energy of the earth. The burly man's face was now flushed red, his entire body muscles taut, as if carrying a mountain while cultivating. The earth energy was immensely heavy, requiring tremendous spiritual effort to guide even a small amount, but he pushed forward bit by bit relying on his tenacious willpower.
The middle-aged and elderly cultivators who had entered later were in a more dire situation. Most of them couldn't even effectively draw spiritual energy, let alone impact apertures. As time passed, despair began to spread within their chambers.
When the six-hour time limit arrived, Silas had successfully opened ten apertures! Spiritual energy circulated around him, and his aura was significantly stronger than before.
The chamber door opened silently, and the cold voice sounded again: "Standard met. You may proceed to the next trial."
Silas slowly opened his eyes, a glimmer of understanding within them. Although he couldn't fully grasp the profundity yet, this experience made him realize—perhaps all energies shared a common essence at their core.
He carefully stored the jade slip in his Mirror Space, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the chamber.
The passageway had gathered quite a few people. Karen, Lyna, Buck, and others had also passed the trial, but judging by their state, they had only barely managed to open one or two apertures, completely incomparable to Silas's ten.
Many more trial-takers were directly teleported out of the relic as time expired—they had failed.
When these failures returned to the outside world and brought news of the "Aperture Opening realm" and the new cultivation system, the camp erupted.
"Aperture Opening realm? Opening apertures?"
"No need to merge with beasts?No need to receive a title?"
"How...how is this possible!"
The news spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the ears of the higher-ups of the major powers.
When Elder Balor heard the news, the staff in his hand nearly fell to the ground. He immediately realized that the importance of this information had surpassed that of a mere relic inheritance.
"Quick!" He ordered his confidant, "Immediately send this intelligence to the family with the highest level of secrecy! Be fast!"
At the same time, Commander Rex of the City Lord's mansion made the same decision. He personally wrote a confidential letter and used the fastest griffon courier to send this shocking news to the royal capital.
"Aperture Opening realm..." Rex murmured, watching the departing courier, "I'm afraid the world is about to change."
Deep within the relic, Silas and the others who passed the trial were walking towards the next challenge. Unbeknownst to them, what they were experiencing would alter the destiny of the entire kingdom.
At the end of the passage, a spiraling staircase descending into the depths appeared before the crowd, a stern, murderous aura assaulting their senses. The entrance to the third trial had opened.