The presence of any Holy King master could make even Cain's and Amber's very souls faintly tremble. The suppression of everything within the atmosphere radiated from the mere natural presence of any Holy King master.
Cain intently focused on perceiving the sensations from a grand Holy King master. With his gradually advancing Spiritual Sea, it became just slightly easier to perceive how distorted the surrounding space became. It's almost like the world itself could just barely contain the power of this extreme powerhouse.
Suddenly, an audible crack sounded out to everyone.
Elder Heng's expression already started to glower. Only one list of people can instantly shift her mood. And to her dismay, the annoyances really want to appear now.
Space cracked open as a middle-aged man suddenly walked out of the void space.
The man had a gentle look, appearing completely non-threatening. His Cloudsea robes were slightly dimmer than Elder Heng's, but his presence could still stall the air itself.
If not for Elder Heng, then this middle-aged man would've stunned Cain's group with disparity amazement.
The middle-aged man had a small smile curling his lips as he matched gazes with Elder Heng.
"As expected, Emperor Tier is quite special. But, Elder Heng? Do you not believe this is too inappropriate? No matter who the young one is, even the Divine Decree Lords had to take both parts of the entrance exam before officially joining. These are our ancestor rules."
Elder Heng's already worsening mood darkens to the pits of the abyss. Her visage became terrifyingly cold to the point it seemed like the air froze.
Cain's group could feel painful, freezing shivers gripping their souls. This was merely the slightest leakage of Elder Heng's killing intent. Yet, it already felt like they can be killed with a thought!
More than just killing, Cain faintly realized Elder Heng's cultivation mastery can erase his existence without a shred of blood.
The disparity of cultivation realms is far more shocking when experiencing it upfront. Jin Ya, Fan Fu, and Ren Bao were completely enraptured by this brief moment.
But Cain and Amber narrowed their eyes. Questions emerged and quickly swarmed through their minds.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtTruthfully, Cain and Amber were under the impression that those above the Divine Ruler realm have greater control over their emotions and feelings. They should possess an ethereal temperament, incomprehensible to lower realm cultivators.
However, it seems like this wasn't quite the case.
In the end, all lifeforms in between the Heaven and Earth all possess a soul. The soul itself is the very core of a person. Without a soul, any lifeform would become a husk of their former selves.
All of their personality, determination, goals, and everything in between form from the soul's core.
Thus, as long as one's soul doesn't get removed from their body, it was impossible for any lifeforms to completely negate their emotions.
High cultivation mastery certainly helps with tempering the mental state into an impenetrable fortress. But the power of the soul not only never stops but also continually grows and evolves into greater power.
Naturally, high cultivation masters won't be prone to being rash or showing their aggressiveness.
But for someone like Elder Hon, Elder Heng cared little about maintaining face.
Elder Heng made zero attempts to hide her contempt. "Elder Hon, I know full well of the ancestor rules. But instead of that, let me ask you, is this little attempt of yours completely genuine? Or perhaps you have something else you would like to say?"
Not for a single moment did Elder Heng believe that her fellow Elder came out of the good intentions of his heart.
Just when Cain and Amber were left in thought, Elder Heng cast a sound transmission to them. Because of her far superior cultivation, she didn't need to form any kind of soul link between them.
'Lee, Xun, I know you two are closely involved with Wen Dao's faction. This Elder Hon is closely involved with Wen Shao's faction and I have no doubt he wants to make things difficult for you with some sleazy scheme. But you have no need to worry. With me here, there's simply nothing Elder Hon can do.'
Realization gleamed in Cain and Amber's eyes.
Truthfully, this news wasn't that shocking at all. After all, they needed to deal with Wen Shao's previous killing attempts in the form of Divine Star groups. It would've been stranger if Wen Shao didn't attempt anything when they finally set first in the sect.
Still, simply being passive and letting things develop was never Cain's way. Even if the person Wen Shao got was a powerhouse infinitely close to the Divine Ruler's realm, he didn't have the slightest fear.
A chilling gleam sparkled within his and Amber's eyes. At this moment, coldness glinted across Elder Heng's face. Her pressure subtly increased, focusing squarely on Elder Hon.
With rising momentum, Elder Heng opened her mouth to speak.
But at this time, Cain's confident voice boomed into the air. "Elder Hon, this junior completely understands Elder Heng. If we simply need to complete the second part of the exam, then there is no problem."
"Oh?" Both Holy King masters turned their attention to Cain at the same time.
Slight concern flashed on Elder Heng's face while Elder Hon kept his calm smile.
In fact, Elder Hon directly nodded to Cain, explaining, "I do not want to seem like I am being unjust or unfair. Thus, if Lee can simply deal with his battle, then there is no reason for Xun to fight. We would have seen all that we need by then."
Elder Heng shifted her gaze from Elder Hon and back to Cain. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she patiently explained, "Firstly, you must understand the next part. On paper, it will seem as simple as a combat performance exam. However, this exam is specifically set up so that you will be pushed to your very limits. There is no easy route or easy picking here. Just like the last part, we don't want any slouches in terms of cultivation comprehension and combat potential. Thus, you must be fully prepared for anything that will come your way."
"Ah, if it's just that, then there would be no problem, Elder Heng. Any opponent you have, no matter where they come from, I will face them. And might I add, the more powerful they are, the eager I am to challenge them."
Cain calmly spoke, his lips curling into a hint of a smile. His confidence was fully exuded to its extreme.
In his stature, there wasn't even the slightest possibility of failure, only absolute success!
'So we're going to watch him fight in person!' This line of thought eagerly flowed through Jin Ya, Fan Fu, and Ren Bao's minds.
Recording rings simply can't match up to the real deal. In person, they would have a far better opportunity to analyze Cain's cultivation and perhaps derive some of their own success from his comprehension.
As for Elder Heng, she took a deep look at both Cain and Amber's serene faces. Their stride certainly had pride, confidence, and perhaps a touch of arrogance within them.
But truly, they had the strength to back up this kind of great boastfulness. They held the elegance of a true genius without the more obnoxious qualities youths' their age tends to have.
Appraisal shines through Elder Heng's eyes. She smilingly nodded and said, "Ah, the youth are always eager to prove themselves. But this will also be a good learning experience for you and the others."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAlready, she was liking the Emperor-tier genius. Amber may be silent, but Cain has a true aura of a courageous man. Any challenge to him would be completed with absolute certainty.
It may only be a vague sensation, but with Elder Heng's cultivation mastery, she didn't doubt for a moment that she was wrong.
In that brief moment of pause, Elder Hon quickly spoke up. "Indeed it will be. In fact, I already have the perfect candidate in mind. I already attained approval from the highest Elders so there will be no problem in verification."
Cain didn't miss a beat, directly accepting Elder Heng's challenge before anything could change. "If it's so, then I eagerly await Elder Hon's candidate."
Calmly nodding at Cain, Elder Hon gazed over to Elder Heng, his eyes dancing with delight. His gaze practically translated over that since it's already agreed upon, is there any point in denying it further?
That kind of smugness inevitably irritated Elder Heng. On normal days, she would've swatted Elder Hon like the annoying fly he is. But because of the rules of the Holy Land, she had no other choice but to go along with it.
Still, Elder Heng kept her cool, believing that an Emperor Tier genius would be able to overcome significant odds.
With a wave of her hand, Elder Heng tore through the void space with Cain's group in tow.
The next instant, the group of youths found themselves in an extravagant battle arena.
Because of how sudden everything was, nobody currently occupied the audience. But even with this, news would inevitably spread out because of Elder Heng's own battle recording ring.
Seeing that it was only Cain currently fighting, Ren Bao and Fan Fu eagerly jumped out off the battle stage in high anticipation of a good show.
While Jin Ya gave Cain an encouraging look and brightly said, "Your probability of winning is already very high, but I still must wish you good luck. Victory will come naturally for you, Martial brother."
With her piece said, she then quickly flew out of the battle stage.
Amber only gave Cain a bored look while crossing her arms. "Since we're on this route, don't take long with this. We already have some sort of fancy courtyard with our name on it."
Cain wryly smiled. "I'll try my best. But don't count on it. I want to fully experience the authentic power of a high-tier Holy Land."
Softly snorting, Amber flew back, joining the other youths, albeit with some distance put between them.
Unbeknownst, for now, great geniuses were about to have a climatic showdown. It wasn't an exaggeration to say this is the start of Cloudsea's immense change.