The Nine Heavens Divine Body was known as an unparalleled foundational method, a path to the very pinnacle of gods and demons. They were all well aware of how demanding its cultivation was, and the grave risk of perishing that came with it.

If one successfully cultivated it, reaching the Marquis Level was merely the first step. Attaining the King Level would not be difficult either.

...

The strength-testing segment continued, round after round.

After Fang Chenghong, several more top-tier geniuses erupted with impressive strength.

Hunter, from Ancient Europa, shattered one hundred and fifty-five layers with a single, heavy punch; Alina, from the Nordic ice plains, pierced one hundred and sixty layers with a sharp glint of condensed ice... One by one, the number of geniuses who could break a hundred layers grew.

However, no one else appeared who could reach the dazzling heights of over one hundred and eighty layers, as Ron and Fang Chenghong had.

The strongest among them stopped at one hundred and seventy-two layers.

As the fifty-second batch of geniuses headed to the testing area at the staff’s signal, a tall, somewhat slender figure stepped out from the crowd—Li Wen.

His appearance also drew some attention.

As a dark horse who had risen to prominence in Jiangnan Province, and as someone who had won the championship as a skill-type Awakened, he was a person of interest to a small group, even if his physical level was the lowest among the crowd.

His companions from Jiangnan Province, such as Chu Feng and Nangong Xue, especially turned to look at him.

Li Wen’s expression was calm as he ignored the scrutinizing and assessing gazes.

He didn’t glance at the heavy or long weapons to the side, instead walking straight to the blade rack and picking up a Standard Rapier similar in style to the one he was used to.

It felt a little heavy in his hand, but was still manageable.

Strength had never been his strong suit.

’As he well knew, of the several thousand geniuses present, he was likely the only beginner Martial Artist who had just broken through to Level 10.’

’He didn’t have high hopes for his score in this segment.’

’His true strengths lay in the later stages.’

But even so, he had no intention of just going through the motions.

He took a deep breath, his focus sharpening, but he did not directly draw upon the power of his Primordial Spirit.

Instead, he used his Primordial Spirit’s terrifyingly precise internal vision to instantly and perfectly coordinate the surging stream of his Level 10 Martial Artist’s vital energy.

This time, he chose not to use the Shadow-Stealing Form, which was his fastest and most proficient technique. Instead, he opted for the Overlapping Waves Form from the Flowing Rainbow Shocking Magpie Chapter—a technique with the most ferocious explosive power and the most aggressive, domineering way of stacking strength.

His feet rooted to the ground as his waist twisted and tightened, the muscles in his arms instantly tensing into fine, taut lines.

Guided by the Overlapping Waves Form, his vital energy surged like a hundred converging rivers, madly pouring into the blade along the most perfect and efficient route.

"Hah!"

It was a short, powerful cry, not deafening, but the force contained within it made those nearby shudder.

There was no brilliant light, no dazzling display of power—only a grayish-white blade glow, twenty to thirty feet long. It was restrained to the point of near invisibility, yet incomparably condensed, faintly emitting the sharp whistle of air being torn asunder.

It shot out abruptly, swift as lightning and heavy as a mountain.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

The blade glow cut through them with unstoppable momentum.

Before its extremely condensed sharpness and immense explosive power, the supposedly indestructible walls of vital energy were sliced apart like thin paper.

Fifty layers... seventy layers... ninety layers... one hundred layers.

Only after cleaving through the hundredth layer did the blade glow’s momentum begin to visibly and rapidly decline.

It stubbornly sliced through five more barriers before finally being completely worn away by the dense, tenacious vital energy just before the one hundred and fifth layer.

"Li Wen, one hundred and five layers." The attendant recording the scores glanced at the light screen and read out the result in a steady voice. There was none of the excitement he’d shown for Fang Chenghong; his tone was matter-of-fact.

The crowd below watched the number freeze on the light screen, their reactions varied.

Most of the geniuses who didn’t know Li Wen, or had only heard his title as Jiangnan’s number one, nodded slightly. "Not bad. He broke a hundred."

For a beginner Martial Artist, this result was definitely considered excellent.

His companions from Jiangnan Province, like Chu Feng and Nangong Xue, were not surprised by this result in the slightest; they knew very well where Li Wen’s strengths lay.

The few who had looked into Li Wen’s background had looks of sudden understanding:

"Just as expected. His formidable technique compensates for his lack of strength. That explosive power already far surpasses that of a typical skill-type Awakened. He’s worthy of his title as provincial champion. Still, in this particular test, his physical level is ultimately a major weakness."

In short, under the dazzling brilliance of top-tier, strength-focused geniuses like Ron and Fang Chenghong, a score of one hundred and five layers failed to make much of a splash.

It was a respectable result, merely another piece of evidence that he possessed decent strength amidst the grand army of geniuses.

It only confirmed Li Wen’s status as a genius, but it didn’t cause much of a shock.

However, on the main dais, the dozens of Marquis Level gods and demons looking down on the proceedings possessed Insight that far surpassed that of the geniuses below.

The moment Li Wen’s name was called, their gazes had almost instantly locked onto him.

In front of each of these beings was a top-secret dossier on the top students from every province.

One of the Marquis Level figures, his face as stern and sharp as if carved from stone, glanced at the "Physical Level" section of Li Wen’s file on his screen. A flicker of imperceptible surprise crossed his eyes before he chuckled and quipped:

"Well now, this kid’s physical level... I’m guessing it’s the lowest among all three thousand people here, isn’t it?"

Beside him, another Marquis Level figure with a scholarly air, dressed in a star-patterned robe, added with a sharp gaze:

"Mm, he just broke through. His aura isn’t yet complete, but his foundation is quite solid. Time since Awakening... I estimate it hasn’t been long." He turned his gaze to Marquis Jiangling, Lu Feng, who was seated among them.

Marquis Jiangling, Lu Feng, who was responsible for Jiangnan Province, gave a slight nod and voluntarily explained:

"Brother Hunyuan is correct. Our definitive intelligence indicates his Awakening occurred sometime between late December of last year and early January of this year."

His tone was flat, but he had highlighted a crucial point: all told, it had only been a little over five months since Li Wen Awakened.

"Oh?" another Marquis Level expert, clad in ornate, ancient armor and possessing an aura as deep as an abyss, raised an eyebrow, his interest seemingly piqued.

"Five months? To go from Awakening to becoming a Martial Artist, and to achieve such a level of technique and explosive power..."

"Probably a talent-fueled growth spurt combined with extremely focused, arduous training."

The stern Marquis nodded, agreeing with the previous assessment.

"Add to that the bonus from a skill-type Awakening... and he is indeed a rare and promising talent. Though his physical body is a weak point, the technique, power generation, and exquisite control in that one slash far surpass those of an ordinary skill-type Awakened. This kid has put an insane amount of work into his bladework; his fundamentals are unbelievably solid."

He used phrases like "promising talent" and "unbelievably solid." His tone might have sounded casual, but his evaluation was already quite high.

"Mm, he can be considered a decent prospect."

The scholarly Marquis nodded slightly. When he looked down at Li Wen again, his gaze held a little more appreciation.

To go from a foundation of zero to becoming a Martial Artist in five months, push his mastery of blade techniques to the limit, and even begin to condense Blade Intent—all while winning the provincial championship—was a rate of accumulation and growth that no ordinary genius could hope to match.

Even beings like them could see Li Wen’s potential and his extraordinary willpower.

However, their feelings for Li Wen were limited to slight appreciation; they were far from truly valuing him.

To these Marquis Level figures, who stood at such a great height and had witnessed the turn of ages, ordinary geniuses were like the stars in the night sky—numerous, but unable to light up their path.

Only "peerless prodigies" who shone with immense brilliance, those with a high probability of reaching the Marquis Level and who might one day fight alongside them on the battlefield, could truly enter their core field of vision and receive their genuine attention and resources.

And at this moment, while Li Wen had potential, he was still a fair distance from that threshold in their eyes.

Whether he could truly leap over the dragon gate would depend on his performance in the subsequent, more critical core assessments—especially the combat and aptitude tests.

’In their eyes, a physical weakness isn’t a true weakness at all. Future potential is the key.’

...

The testing rounds proceeded like a flowing river.

Batch after batch of geniuses came forward, doing their utmost to display their strength.