Chapter 186: Enhancing Authority?

Above the ethereal sea of clouds, one hundred trial participants sat, stood, or lay atop the Shi Zhu pillars, listening as that majestic and resounding voice echoed through the world.

"The Divine Son Trial consists of two stages."

Only that majestic and indifferent voice echoed through heaven and earth: "The 'Survival' stage, and the 'Divine Selection' stage. Only trial participants who survive the Survival stage are qualified to vie for the final position of Divine Son."

"The Survival stage can be divided into twelve rounds of trials. One must withstand different races from the universe within the trial arena. In each round, passing the test requires either annihilating the enemy or surviving for one day."

"In the Survival stage, one is only qualified to withdraw before the start of each round. Once begun, there is no surrender; one must either kill all enemies or survive."

That majestic voice echoing through the world spoke indifferently: "As for the supervisors of this trial, they are the six Star Gods of the Liuda Sect."

Survival stage?

Divine Selection stage? Lin Qing pondered thoughtfully; this was indeed different from the other Primordial-level Divine Duty trials he knew.

Other Divine Duty trials usually test various capabilities related to the Divine Duty, ultimately selecting the most outstanding individual among the hundred, with combat occurring at most in the finale; the mortality rate is very low.

As for the 'Star God' supervision by the six Liuda Sects, this was quite normal.

Primordial-level trials for rare Divine Duties also have supervisors, similarly higher-stage Star Divine Duty practitioners supervising; besides the supervisory role, they also seem to represent certain forces within the universe.

And the Star Gods, as the Star stage of the Universe God series of Divine Duties, possess terrifying strength, likely capable of easily slaughtering through Level One civilizations one by one.

"Then, begin."

Accompanying that resounding voice, beams of light descended from the deep, misty firmament; a full hundred beams, each tens of meters in diameter, simultaneously shone straight down upon the one hundred trial participants, enveloping each one within them.

In the next instant, the one hundred trial participants vanished without a trace.

Between a range of rolling mountains, above the lush forests, a figure suddenly appeared here.

Lin Qing hovered in mid-air, observing this so-called trial arena.

With his vision and domain perception, he detected no universe or starry sky above; this did not seem to be a planetary environment.

Moreover, not only was the gravity shocking, but the key point was that the energy floating in the void exerted an extremely exaggerated pressure, as if the entire space was pressing down on him everywhere.

Had it not been for his flesh, transformed according to the World God Body, being extremely formidable, he likely could not even fly here.

"This trial arena is located within a fragment of the Tian Gu Secret Realm, a Level 2.4 civilization."

A cold voice rang in Lin Qing's mind: "The first round of the Survival trial; you are about to face the native life of the Tian Gu Secret Realm, the 'Nature God'."

Lin Qing casually found a smooth boulder atop a Shanfeng peak to sit on, continuing to fuse the World God Body.

Suddenly, a dense fog rolled in from the distance, spreading rapidly; in an instant, it covered the sky and earth. Within the churning thick fog, beams of light like sharp swords projected outward, as if real living beings were sizing up Lin Qing.

"Is this a natural life form?"

Lin Qing pondered thoughtfully as he observed the thick fog, making no move to attack, simply continuing to fuse the World God Body.

After all, this is a survival test; as long as one survives and endures for one day, it counts as passing. Whether one kills the enemy makes no difference.

He precisely needed enough time to fuse the World God Body; twelve rounds of trials meant exactly twelve days.

Before this, he had already waited three days, fusing a small portion of the World God Body. With another twelve days, even if he couldn't fully fuse it, he would be very close.

But if he wiped out the enemies too early, the Survival stage might end very quickly.

It would be better to drag out the time a bit.

Even though he was quite confident in his current strength, he was ultimately facing geniuses from a Level Two civilization.

Moreover, that silver-browed bald man seemed known by many geniuses from Level Two civilizations, obviously quite extraordinary; who knew what his strength was? For safety's sake, it was better to improve a bit more.

Perfect.

Lin Qing was also following the gene optimization method researched by Kadoan, digging as deep as possible into the genes of the Cosmic Ruin Giant Spirit, causing his gene optimization index to continue rising.

From the beginning until now, twelve days had passed; his gene optimization index had risen from just over 2000% to 3100%.

Furthermore, the digging speed had not slowed, obviously not yet reaching its limit.

According to Kadoan's research, even energy of the sixth energy level could be dug into at a deeper level.

"In another twelve days, it will definitely improve even more..."

Lin Qing was not in a hurry; he sat quietly on the boulder, patiently fusing the World God Body while simultaneously developing and optimizing deeper-level genes.

This Divine Son Trial must not fail.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

At this moment, the thick fog within a range of tens of kilometers enveloped Lin Qing; the dense mist churned wildly, and the massive friction of the fog formed a muffled roar like thunder.

Lin Qing paid no heed.

"Crack—crack—"

Beams of powerful golden lightning erupted within the churning fog, instantly transforming into sharp lightning bolts that pierced through the air and struck Lin Qing simultaneously!

Lin Qing's domain sensed these bolts of lightning energy; with a flick of his fingertips, streams of light danced and circled, quickly forming the Whirling Star Divine Technique.

"Boom!"

Countless electric snakes dispersed like a rout; wisps of residual golden lightning scattered everywhere, yet they were completely unable to shake the Whirling Star Divine Technique.

Lin Qing glanced up slightly, then continued cultivating in peace.

In fact, for attacks of this level, he had no need to deliberately defend.

With his body containing the characteristics of the four Divine Techniques of the World God, his current physical defense was even stronger than the Whirling Star Divine Technique!

It was just that he needed to cultivate in peace; the Whirling Star Divine Technique, being an area-of-effect defense, was more suitable.

For this simplest first round of trials, the purely defensive Whirling Star Divine Technique was enough.

Merely maintaining a small-range Whirling Star Divine Technique, the replenishment could completely keep up with the consumption.

"Boom!"

This thick fog seemed to grow angry; the mist churned even more wildly, colliding and rubbing to produce more lightning, which then condensed together, forming an even larger golden lightning bolt that thundered toward Lin Qing.

Yet it still could not shake the Whirling Star Divine Technique.

"Hmm... I can cultivate in peace now..." Lin Qing sensed briefly, then immediately closed his eyes again to fuse the World God Body.

For him, these twelve rounds of trials in this survival phase were no challenge at all.

……

Above the misty cloud world, deep within the heavens, a vast divine temple hung suspended.

As the site of the Divine Son trials, it was also an extremely mysterious place.

At this moment, six figures within the temple, using the permissions granted by this space, casually observed and monitored the hundred trial participants.

As Star Gods, though their power far surpassed these mere mortals who weren't even Divine Sons by countless times, they were still merely Star Divine Officials, and could only monitor each trial participant sent to various spaces by relying on this space.

"Gentlemen, this time the Divine Son trial has the most Destruction-system trialists?"

"The quality of this batch of Divine Below Walkers is rather mediocre."

"Only that silver-browed Star Tribe kid is decent—fifty-something years old? Such power at such a young age is quite impressive."

"A high-grade primordial lifeform with a gene optimization index exceeding 12,000%? What a lucky birth."

"Indeed, though his Divine Art is merely decent, with such a high foundation, even learning a couple of powerful Divine Arts would let him pass the sixth layer of the Yu Xingyuan."

"The technique he's using now is the Destruction-system combined Divine Art 'Divine Punishment,' right? Though he hasn't fused it into the full Divine Punishment, its power is still impressive—this kind of Divine Art… is only slightly inferior to 'Divine World' and 'Genesis,' right?"

"Heh… such perfect Divine Arts? Even if you can learn them, you need to belong to a major power or be someone favored by the cosmos to even have the chance of receiving their transmission."

"Over there is another even younger kid—a twenty-two-year-old primal human? He's participating in the Divine Son trial at this age?"

"In the Divine Selection phase, the younger you are, the greater your advantage—but his gene optimization index is too low; he must come from a poor background, naturally weak. Still, his Command Art looks familiar."

"Isn't this defensive Divine Art the signature technique of that Lord of the Abyssal Precipice?"

"Oh? Then this kid's origins must be significant—that lord rarely leaves behind transmissions…"

The six Star Gods observed the trialists while casually conversing.

Through this space, they could observe trialists scattered across all locations, but could only observe—nothing deeper was possible.

Suddenly—

"Hm?"

At that moment, all six Star Gods involuntarily gasped in surprise, turning their gazes to one trial arena.

"Did we see that right? A Dominion-system Star Demon combined Divine Art?"

"Correct—it's 'Yu Xingyuan Walker.' That Divine Art is no weaker than 'Divine Punishment.'"

"Though his gene optimization index is average, with this combined Divine Art 'Yu Xingyuan Walker,' he's definitely stronger than the others."

"This batch of Divine Below Walkers has terrible luck—encountering one with such outstanding genes is bad enough, but now they've run into a genius like this? Really…" Each Star God couldn't help but sigh.

Even in a Level Two civilization, only the supreme geniuses might truly master combined Divine Arts—rare as one in ten thousand.

In a hundred Divine Son trials, you might not see even one such genius.

Moreover, the top major powers would often notify each other in advance, trying to ensure their own geniuses avoided such rivals.

……

As time passed, more and more participants entered the next round of trials, and the difficulty of each round continuously increased, becoming harder and harder.

Starting from the eighth round, some trialists chose to abandon.

After all, most trialists came with the intention of quitting—just to see the world. If they died during the survival phase, it would be too great a loss.

Even if they abandoned the path of the Cosmic Divine series, their talents still allowed them to progress smoothly along the Rare Divine Office path.

There was nothing to be done about it.

The difficulty of the Divine Son trials was simply too high.

In the One-in-a-Million version!

Of the hundred trialists, nearly all had mastered Divine Arts, some even powerful ones, yet they still had to be winnowed down one in a hundred—the difficulty was obvious.

If you couldn't master a Divine Art within a short time, it meant your comprehension talent was insufficient and the cosmos didn't favor you—waiting longer would bring no hope.

So even if you endured, it was useless.

……

On the very first day, two trialists had fully completed all twelve rounds of trials.

Inside the majestic, vast temple, the six Star Gods silently supervised the trials.

Suddenly, a bald man with silver brows appeared within the hall—he glanced around the temple, then bowed slightly toward the six Star Gods above.

Suddenly, he turned his head sharply toward the opposite end of the hall, staring in disbelief at the blue-haired girl standing there.

He had rushed through the survival trial as fast as he could—how could someone be even faster?

"Who are you?" the silver-browed bald man frowned and spoke.

The blue-haired girl glanced at him expressionlessly, then looked away without speaking.

Among the six Star Gods above, one smiled faintly as he turned to glance at the two and said: "She completed it half a day before you, but don't worry—passing the survival trial is all that matters; it won't affect your subsequent trials."

The silver-browed young man frowned.

He had thought this Divine Son trial was already in his grasp—his family had already warned all other powers in this cosmic region; logically, he shouldn't encounter any rival geniuses from other factions.

Moreover, he had personally visited several potential rival geniuses to prepare for this trial.

But… how could someone have finished faster than him?

"Could it really be what Father said—that using such methods to balance things might provoke cosmic backlash, deliberately increasing the difficulty?"

He couldn't help but frown.

……

As day after day passed, the number of trialists inside the temple grew steadily.

But from the seventh day onward, the number of trialists inside the temple stabilized at forty-one and no longer increased.

Because…

Aside from the one remaining trialist still in the survival trial, all others had either abandoned or already passed the trials.

Generally, any aspirant who masters one or two powerful Divine Arts can pass the Survival Trial with ease.

If one's Divine Arts are weaker, it's uncertain—such as those formed from seven or eight elemental essences, whose strength naturally diminishes; unless their genes are exceptionally strong, passing the Survival Trial remains extremely difficult.

Most who have passed the Survival Trial so far are those who mastered powerful Divine Arts.

At this moment, the aspirants inside the Temple could only wait patiently.

"He's only on the seventh round… and he's still enduring it like this?"

"Maybe he only knows this one technique. This defense is indeed strong, and his energy reserves must be astonishing."

"True. These two innate Ultimate Stellar Beings in the seventh round, though lacking divine offices, each possess top-tier Yu Xingyuan Level Five power through talent alone—and yet they can't harm him at all."

"Boring. Someone with this level of strength can never become a Divine Child—why not just give up early?"

"Probably from a weaker Level-Two civilization. Trying to endure until the Divine Selection phase to gather intelligence for their civilization?"

Each aspirant casually glanced at the surveillance images inside the Temple, but all they could see was that single luminous sphere, steadily rotating like a star.

…

"The twelfth round of the trial is about to begin. Continue?"

On the scorching dark red land, the terrifying weight crushed nearly everything to dust, while Lin Qing sat atop a dark red rock, surrounded by the swirling star-like Divine Art of Xuanxing.

Outside, continuous thunderous impacts rang out, each one causing the Xuanxing Divine Art to tremble and ripple—as if slightly stronger, it would shatter the technique entirely.

The difficulty of the eleventh round of the Survival Trial had risen sharply from the start; the dangers now neared the absolute defensive limit of the Xuanxing Divine Art.

But Lin Qing paid no heed, simply saying: "Continue."

The next instant, as boundless power descended, the surrounding space-time shifted, and he was swept away from this world by that force.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a pure underwater world, where crushing water pressure instantly bore down on him.

Yet the unyielding solidity of Lin Qing's body, infused with World God traits, rendered this water pressure utterly imperceptible.

"Xuanxing!"

"World Skin!"

This time, Lin Qing didn't just activate the Xuanxing Divine Art—he also reinforced it from within with a layer of World Skin Divine Art.

No matter what dangers lurked in this seemingly endless deep-sea world, he didn't care—he only needed to endure, to buy enough time.

"Already over ninety percent fused…"

Lin Qing silently sensed his own transformation: "My gene optimization index has reached 4200%. But the optimization speed has slowed dramatically—this must be the limit…"

He was already satisfied.

He didn't expect his gene optimization index to surpass the level of Level-Two civilization geniuses—just getting close was enough.

Although today was the final day of the Survival Trial, he still had no intention of rushing to pass it.

The World God fusion progress had exceeded ninety percent; even if he didn't finish today, another day or two would suffice—he'd naturally drag it out as long as possible.

…

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

In a daze, space-time shifted again, and Lin Qing appeared inside the dimly lit Temple.

Dozens of aspirants filled the hall, each unable to resist glancing at him.

To pass the Survival Trial by pure endurance for twelve straight days was uncommon.

Even those skilled in defense usually had other means to compensate for offensive weakness; even if they couldn't learn powerful Divine Arts, they'd at least master one formed from seven or eight elemental essences. Otherwise, with obvious weaknesses, they wouldn't have entered the trial at all.

Yet this man hadn't moved a single finger—purely endured for twelve days. It was truly peculiar.

The Star Gods above barely reacted, except one belonging to the Life Line who couldn't help casting extra glances at Lin Qing.

"Survival Stage concluded."

The cold, majestic voice suddenly echoed through the Temple: "Forty-two aspirants have passed. Begin the Divine Selection Stage."

At this moment, an invisible will descended, and all six Star Gods stepped forward simultaneously, gazing at the aspirants below.

One Star God spoke: "The Divine Selection Stage consists of 'Three Trials, Five Assessments.' The first trial measures Divine Authority. Those whose authority falls below Eighth Authority Level, step forward."

Two aspirants immediately stepped out.

"You two both possess Seventh Authority Level power."

Another Star God spoke: "With such talent, becoming a Star God will be extremely difficult. You must pay a greater price to elevate your authority. Therefore, in the upcoming 'Will Trial' or 'Comprehension Trial,' you must exceed the standard by one level in one, and meet the standard in the other—or be eliminated immediately. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

The two clearly had prepared themselves mentally and responded immediately.

Lin Qing's heart stirred slightly.

Divine Authority levels could be improved post-awakening? He had assumed once awakened, authority was fixed forever.

But… this couldn't be something a Level-Two civilization could achieve—otherwise, they wouldn't deliberately increase the difficulty for these two geniuses.

Could it be that the Divine Child Trial—or the Divine Child office itself—could compensate for authority?

(End of Chapter)