Under the river of stars, divine corpses floated within its endless current. By its banks, an ancient stone tablet stood tall, its surface shimmering with countless glimmering points. Many living beings gathered beneath it.
Some of the younger ones felt their spirits rise; they were restless with excitement, eager to inscribe their names upon the tablet and see how high their rankings might shine.
“Let me go first!”
A young man strode forward. His feet emitted rays of light, leaving behind streaks of glyphs upon the ground, radiant and sparkling, and his entire body seemed to ignite.
To test his combat prowess, he used his most extreme techniques, unleashing his full power in an attack directed at the stone tablet.
Showers of light rained down like blossoms dancing in the air. He released his strongest strike, accompanied by a deafening boom, impacting the three-thousand-zhang-high stone tablet, producing an immense thunderclap.
“Well, how high is my ranking?” the young man stumbled backward, his face filled with hope, searching the luminous points on the grand tablet for his name.
But after a long time passed, he found nothing, shock overtaking him.
“I don’t see it either,” others shook their heads.
These beings possessed powerful divine consciousness; carefully searching, they would miss nothing, scanning countless densely packed names—yet they found no trace of him.
“Could this ancient tablet be malfunctioning due to its age? Otherwise, why wouldn’t my name appear?” the young man questioned, disappointment evident on his face.
Several elder cultivators laughed gently, one old crone with azure hair leaning on a jujube wood staff, saying, “Not everyone can leave their name on this tablet—it only records the first three million names!”
The young man’s face flushed red with embarrassment. He clenched his fists tightly—the realization that he didn’t even qualify was deeply humiliating, and he hadn’t even thought of checking his ranking yet.
“Young man, don’t be too disheartened. Rarely does one see a name appear on this ancient tablet. Those who do are invariably geniuses whose feats shake heaven and earth,” an elder kindly consoled.
“Just think, these rankings accumulate from ancient times until today. Calculate it fully, and the numbers are terrifying,” the azure-haired old woman smiled.
With those words, the young man felt a little better, his humiliation fading.
“Has this truly recorded accumulations from the ancient past across the Three Thousand Provinces?” someone exclaimed in shock, calculating it out and almost being frightened to death.
Because, on average, it would equate to one thousand people per province. Spread that across thousands of generations, and it would mean even the top genius within a single generation from each province might still fail to leave their name on this tablet.
This … stunned everyone, overwhelming their minds!
“The rankings are mainly drawn from the ten provinces nearby. As for the ancient Three Thousand Provinces, the distance is just too vast. Who could possibly travel that far?” an elder smiled genially while explaining.
Such a thing was utterly unrealistic—each of the Three Thousand Provinces was vast, separated like the starry void. Ancient regions far away would never send their geniuses here.
Of course, some wanderers had passed through and left their test results here.
Everyone exhaled in relief—if this truly reflected the rankings of the Three Thousand Provinces, it would leave people breathless.
Even so, after further calculations, everyone still felt heavy-hearted. The rankings of even just these ten provinces, accumulated since ancient times, were still breathtaking and inconceivable!
“Let me give it a try.” A purple-haired man stepped forward. He wasn’t human, wearing golden armor while possessing a humanoid form with eight arms, exuding absolute confidence.
The tablet had three divisions: rankings for combat strength, talent, and potential. He chose combat strength, his whole body radiating with light as he roared and struck the tablet.
The crowd stepped back, sensing his immense power and intimidating glyph fluctuations—clearly a formidable being, far superior to many present.
However, after the strike ended, he stepped back, finding the tablet unchanged. The last name etched at its end remained calm and unshaken.
“This…” the crowd was astonished. Even a pure-blooded creature unleashing its full power could not displace the final name—how terrifying was that?
“Could it be that our cultivation level is still too low, so even when we test, we don’t rank highly?” someone whispered.
“Who can compare with the Demon Overlord? He transcends the shackles of heaven and earth, drawing the Celestial Dao Thunder Tribulation, with legends claiming he’s slain immortal beings. How could his abilities be measured?” an elder shook his head, explaining that the tablet assessed age, cultivation stage, among other factors, to determine the final ranking.
“I want to test my talent.” A boy said, seeing the results of the previous two fierce warriors, his confidence instantly shaken. He decided to test his talent.
Such testing required the individual to lie directly on the tablet, allowing its glyphs to enter the body, examining bloodline, foundation, and enlightenment. The individual would enter a state of emptiness.
Unfortunately, he too failed to leave his name.
The boy froze—he was hailed as a genius in his sect, an heir to the main bloodline, destined to lead an entire Dao tradition. Yet here, he was nothing.
One after another, many stepped up, only to leave disheartened, all considering themselves extraordinary geniuses, but ultimately walking away in shame.
“Cheer up—it’s important to understand you’re being compared against countless prodigies from ancient times across the ten provinces. Truly leaving your name here would be an extraordinary feat,” an elder reminded them.
These words eased the young hearts somewhat. They were all outstanding figures among their kind, proud and ambitious, daring to step foot in the peril known as Demon Island. Yet here, their confidence had suffered greatly.
A timid girl stepped forward. She appeared frail, yet to everyone’s surprise, when testing her talent, heavenly sounds resonated, and her treasure blood emitted emerald light.
“Ah, she succeeded—her essence resonated with the tablet. She can leave her name!” many gasped; she was the sole success among the gathered geniuses.
At the lower part of the tablet, a radiant space appeared, glittering. She could inscribe her name there.
“Quickly, write your name!” the elder beside her urged excitedly.
The girl was elated, fingers trembling slightly, as she carved the words “Qing Yu.” Then the multicolored radiance faded, leaving her name engraved permanently on the towering monument.
“Her… she’s Qing Yu, the famous genius girl of the Jiao Clan, renowned throughout the Five Elements Province—everyone knows her!”
The crowd fell silent, realizing that even someone who shook an entire province could only barely leave her name here, and not even highly ranked.
At this, everyone was completely convinced—being among the leading geniuses of a single province resulted only in such a fate.
Looking now to the upper portion of the stone tablet, they all wore looks of reverence. It was truly unattainable—throughout the history of the ten provinces, countless extraordinary talents shone together, dazzling enough to inspire worship.
Especially upon seeing the name “Qin Hao” at the very top, everyone’s minds shook violently—this person… lived in the same era as them!
The more they learned, the more fearful they felt—the gap between them and such a being was just too immense.
“The Evergreen Mountain is truly remarkable, producing such a monstrous genius—the first-ranked talent since ancient times!” people whispered, mouths dry, hearts heavy. When they first heard of it, they hadn’t thought much of it, but now they felt suffocated, as if facing an immortal myth.
Qin Hao ranked higher than the Evergreen Celestial Sovereign, Qin Chang Sheng, in the talent test, sharing the top position across the ten provinces with two other individuals.
The other two names were obscure, belonging to ancients whose names had been lost to history, with legends suggesting they were pseudonyms, possibly originating from the Heavenly Kingdom or the Immortal Hall.
“Astonishing! The Qin Clan is destined for great prosperity. Qin Hao is unstoppable, surpassing Qin Chang Sheng. No one can foresee how far he will eventually reach,” the azure-haired old woman said.
“This is a person favored by heavenly fortune, destined to become a forbidden existence whose brilliance shakes past and present alike,” another elder added.
“Young ones, don’t be discouraged. This youth possesses two Immortal Bones, a king among the Heavenly Supreme Sovereign, whose rivals are not limited to this age but extend across all history!” some elders told the group, encouraging the younger generation not to lose heart—some individuals were simply destined to conquer mountains and rivers, unparalleled across the Three Thousand Provinces of ancient and modern times.
Such things were inevitable; no one could block their rise.
“Why didn’t he test his combat strength?” a young man murmured.
“It is said his two bones are still resonating, undergoing growth and integration. He will wait a while before coming here to claim the top spot in combat strength across the ten provinces of history,” an elder responded.
Hearing this, the crowd opened their mouths but found no words—what kind of self-confidence and brilliance that implied.
“Is there still anyone who wants to give it a try?”
Hundreds had gathered here, all drawn along the Celestial River. Most had already tested themselves, leaving only a few like Shi Hao yet to act.
“Brother, won’t you give it a try?” someone egged Shi Hao on.
“Yeah, don’t be shy,” others nearby chimed in. Most had already taken their turns, with only the Jiao Clan’s Qing Yu leaving a name behind.
“No, I don’t want to embarrass myself up there,” Shi Hao smiled calmly, shaking his head. With so many watching, he had no desire to draw further attention to himself.
He believed in his own ability to leave his name upon it—that was his confidence.
“Pfft, a coward who doesn’t even have the courage for this,” a girl scoffed disdainfully.
Shi Hao looked at her indifferently and paid her no mind.
“Young man, you lack confidence. Whether you succeed or not, you should have the courage to try!” an elder stroked his beard and advised.
“He’s only showing self-awareness. Better not to participate than to humiliate oneself,” someone mocked.
The crowd shook their heads, losing interest in him.
By now, others had mostly finished testing. The Heavenly Tablet remained calm, though those with sharp eyes noticed that names belonging to two geniuses—the Gluttonous Beast and the Ancient Golden Phoenix Clan—were already engraved upon it.
“Ah! They’ve been here all along—how powerful!”
“Their rankings aren’t low either!”
…
Finally, the crowd scattered, moving along the glittering Celestial River in search of great blessings, hoping to catch a glimpse of Immortal Tombs.
After a long while, it became quiet here, with everyone departing, leaving only Shi Hao behind.
Shi Hao circled the tablet once, tapping it with his hand. It rang like metal and stone, crisp and clear—it was unyielding and eternal.
He had no intention of testing talent or potential, for that would require the tablet’s glyphs to enter his body, a process full of uncertainty he dared not risk.
“I’ve already lost my Sovereign Bone twice. Testing these things no longer matters to me,” Shi Hao murmured.
Standing before the Heavenly Tablet, he finally emptied his heart and mind. His body began to radiate light. A deep, low roar sounded as he unleashed his strength, and with a thunderous boom, he shook the divine tablet!
Radiant divine light soared into the sky, the ancient tablet resonated deeply, showering one blooming flower of Dao after another. Then, brilliant Immortal Light engulfed the entire area.
Shi Hao soared into the air, and with a light gesture, gently inscribed.
“What happened?” Many hundreds of miles away, countless people turned back, astonished—the tablet had produced a miracle, as if someone were sitting cross-legged atop it!
“Quick, return and see!”
When some returned, they were absolutely stunned.
“Heavenly! That is…”
“Defying heaven itself—who could this be?!”
“A being such as this has appeared—he is destined to shake the world!”
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