In front of the ruin—
Silence.
So silent that even the chirping of birds deep within the distant forest could be heard clearly.
Everyone—
including Lian Jie, the Guildmaster of the Tongcheng Ability Users' Guild, and Di Ruqing, among others—
Everyone present stood frozen in place at that moment.
Their eyes were blank.
Their faces—
filled with shock.
Filled with disbelief.
Filled with astonishment.
Filled with utter incredulity.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds…
Time passed quietly.
After nearly half a minute—
Crash!!!
The entire area erupted in an uproar.
The air trembled with disbelief and wild shouting that echoed into the sky.
"Wh—what the hell?! What the hell just happened?!"
"What's going on inside the assessment space?!"
"He… he cleared the eighth trial too?!"
"Ten seconds—it was ten seconds again! He cleared the eighth trial in just ten seconds!?"
"Is this guy really just a Tier Three ability user? Ten seconds to take down nine Tier-3 Darkfeather Birds—are we sure he's not Tier-4?!"
"Monster! This guy's a monster!"
"Not human! Absolutely not human!!"
"…"
Every pair of eyes was locked onto the eight glowing golden steles.
Every voice cried out, venting the shock bursting in their chests.
Off to the side, Di Ruqing bit her cherry-red lip tightly, fists clenched.
Meanwhile—
Inside the assessment space.
Zhao Xuan was in the middle of receiving his reward—the Baptism of the Ruins.
That's right.
Anyone who successfully passed the ruin's trial would not only obtain the Heart of the Ruin and become its new master,
but would also receive a one-time baptismal blessing from the ruin itself.
Within the assessment space, Zhao Xuan sat cross-legged in silence.
Above his head, a massive vortex spun violently.
Countless streams of spiritual energy were being drawn into the vortex, compressed again and again—
until finally, they condensed into a single drop of spiritual liquid that fell from the vortex's center, landing squarely on Zhao Xuan's head.
At that instant—
Zhao Xuan's mind cleared to a degree he had never experienced before.
Instinctively, he entered a meditative state, rapidly focusing his consciousness.
Normally, meditation consumes spiritual energy.
But this time—
each bit of energy he expended was instantly replenished the next moment.
If Zhao Xuan had opened his status panel at that moment, he would have seen:
His Spiritual Power was skyrocketing.
43.11!
43.31!
43.51!
43.71!
…
Every two seconds, it rose again.
Each time, by 0.2 points.
The process lasted for a full three minutes.
When the drop of spiritual liquid's energy finally dissipated,
Zhao Xuan slowly opened his eyes—
and felt his mind sharper and clearer than ever before.
"Could it be…"
Without hesitation, he pulled up his status panel.
The number before him made his heart leap.
His Spiritual Power—a staggering 61 points!
A look of pure joy spread across his face.
"This trip to the ruin was so worth it!" Zhao Xuan muttered, elated.
"My Spiritual Power jumped by eighteen whole points! Over sixty already! If I'd tried to achieve that with Spirit-Nourishing Pills and meditation alone, it would've cost me millions and at least half a month!"
After reveling in his excitement for a while, Zhao Xuan finally calmed down.
"The assessment is complete. It's time to leave."
His gaze turned toward the crystalline sphere beside him.
"So this is the Heart of the Ruin?"
Murmuring softly, Zhao Xuan reached out and grasped it.
With a thought—
Whoosh!
His figure vanished from the assessment space.
At the entrance of the ruin, a flash of white light appeared.
Zhao Xuan's silhouette emerged before everyone's eyes.
The uproar that had filled the air moments earlier instantly fell silent.
Swish, swish, swish!
Every gaze turned toward Zhao Xuan.
Curiosity. Shock. Disbelief. Awe.
A storm of emotion rippled through the crowd.
Under their watchful stares, Zhao Xuan walked steadily toward Lian Jie,
then casually held out the Heart of the Ruin.
"Guildmaster Lian," he said calmly, "I did not disappoint you."
"Good! Good! Excellent!"
Lian Jie exhaled in deep relief,
Then, his face alight with excitement and pride, clapped Zhao Xuan's shoulder with a hearty laugh.
"Young and brilliant—truly remarkable! Hahaha!"
Meeting the Guildmaster's sincere, gleaming gaze,
Zhao Xuan couldn't help but smile as well.
It was then that he realized—
his greatest gain from this ruin exploration wasn't just the surge in Spiritual Power,
nor the ten-million-yuan reward,
but the favor and goodwill of Lian Jie himself.
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