Chapter 136: Ryan’s mental strength test (Part-2)

It emerged from nowhere, calm and silent, and flowed directly into the sea of starlight within his mind. Wherever it passed, the brilliant white starlight changed color, turning into a soft cyan glow.

Even more astonishing, the starlight transformed in nature. It was no longer solid and oppressive, but fluid, like a shimmering liquid.

The liquid cyan starlight began to merge and dissolve into itself, spreading evenly throughout Ryan’s consciousness. The suffocating pressure instantly eased, as though an overfilled container had finally found room to expand.

Ryan gasped inwardly, the pain rapidly fading.

More starlight continued to pour in, only to be refined by the cyan energy and absorbed into the liquid within his mind. This cycle repeated again and again, lasting for nearly ten minutes.

Suddenly, Ryan’s consciousness trembled violently.

An immense suction erupted from deep within his mind, pulling in all remaining starlight at once. At the same time, a surge of cyan energy swept through, refining everything in a single, overwhelming motion.

The star-filled sky vanished.

Silence returned.

Within Ryan’s mind, the once-scattered starlight had completely disappeared, replaced by a vast pool of cyan liquid. It still filled his consciousness, but now it felt stable, calm, and perfectly balanced.

Then, a fist-sized mass of cyan energy appeared once more. It sank into the liquid, causing it to compress rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the liquid condensed into a single radiant cyan crystal, dazzling and flawless.

At the moment this crystal formed, a series of system prompts exploded within Ryan’s mind.

“Ding! Congratulations to player Ryan for awakening the Sea of Stars. All attributes increased by 100. Mental power increased by 500.”

“Ding! Due to awakening the Sea of Consciousness, player Ryan is rewarded with Heaven-rank martial art: Spiritual Shock.”

“Ding! Congratulations to player Ryan for obtaining 100 All-Attribute Pills (Intermediate).”

“Ding! Congratulations to player Ryan for obtaining 500 God of War Points.”

“Ding! Congratulations to player Ryan for leveling up. Current level: 45 (Five-Star Upper Exalt).”

A flood of notifications left Ryan stunned.

Then, overwhelming joy surged through him.

Just a mental strength test… and the rewards were this outrageous?

He had awakened something called the Sea of Stars, gained massive attribute bonuses, received another Heaven-rank martial art, advanced a level, and even obtained 500 God of War Points along with 100 intermediate All-Attribute Pills.

Those pills alone were worth a thousand God of War Points if sold.

In other words, without lifting a finger, Ryan had gained the equivalent of over fifteen hundred God of War Points, plus a Heaven-rank skill and a level increase.

If his consciousness weren’t still immersed within his mind, he might have laughed out loud from sheer excitement.

While Ryan was celebrating internally, the outside world was witnessing something entirely different.

From the moment his mental strength test began, the Brahma sounds had risen and fallen repeatedly. White light gathered around him, dispersed, and gathered again, over and over. Everyone watching grew more anxious by the second.

Later, Ryan’s expression twisted in visible pain, sending Wang Bi’er into deep self-blame and panic.

Then, minutes later, a brilliant cyan light suddenly bloomed above Ryan’s head.

As that light appeared, the Brahma sounds ceased completely, and the white light vanished.

The scene before them made it clear to everyone that the mental strength test was finally reaching its conclusion, and the results were about to be revealed.

Ryan’s complexion had turned rosy, his body no longer trembling. Whether it was an illusion or not, everyone felt that his presence seemed sharper and more spirited than before, as if something fundamental had changed within him.

Murong Liu glanced at him and spoke with the calm certainty of long experience. “The mental strength test is over. The results are coming. Your friend is fine.”

Hearing this, everyone let out a breath they did not realize they had been holding. Their gazes all shifted toward the statue’s massive mouth.

Now that Ryan’s safety was no longer in question, what everyone truly cared about was his spiritual talent.

Aside from Murong Liu, who still could not see through Ryan, everyone else already knew how terrifying Ryan’s strength was. Naturally, they were eager to know what level of spiritual power such a monster would possess.

At that moment, the statue moved.

With a soft whoosh, a translucent white wreath floated out of its mouth, brilliant and dreamlike.

One wreath represented one layer of spiritual cultivation.

The appearance of a single wreath meant Ryan possessed one layer of spiritual power. Among candidates, this was ordinary, nothing to be surprised about. Most new candidates were at this level.

But it did not stop there.

Another wreath emerged.

Two wreaths.

Ryan had two layers of spiritual cultivation.

This already placed him above average among the candidates. Murong Liu’s expression relaxed slightly. After all, he was about to open the Door of Six Spirits for Ryan. If Ryan had turned out to be someone with pitiful spiritual talent, Murong Liu would have felt extremely uncomfortable, even if he still honored Wang Bi’er’s request.

Two layers, at least, meant Ryan had talent.

Then, the statue trembled again.

A third wreath drifted out.

Three layers of spiritual cultivation.

Ryan had never practiced spiritual power deliberately, yet he had reached three layers. Among the candidates, this was already considered outstanding.

“I knew Brother Li wouldn’t disappoint,” Wang Bi’er said, her earlier guilt and anxiety finally easing. Her expression was full of pride, as though this talent were her own.

Murong Liu nodded slowly. “The snake ancestor’s mouth is still moving. There should be more.”

At this point, even Murong Liu could not help but look at Ryan differently. Three layers of spiritual power were already rare. Four layers would be enough to call him a genius among candidates.

No wonder Wang Bi’er had insisted so confidently. No wonder she had begged him to open the Door of Six Spirits. With this level of talent, this young man was absolutely worth it.

As long as Ryan passed the entrance examination, entering Dui Palace would be effortless. In fact, not only Dui Palace, but any of the outer palaces would likely compete to recruit him. Spiritual power directly affected cultivation speed. The higher it was, the faster one advanced.

As for why Dui Palace still ranked at the bottom despite this, the reason was simple. Its disciples devoted almost all their time to cultivating spiritual power, which was slow, difficult, and often yielded no results for years. Martial arts cultivation was neglected, leading to overall weakness in combat.

At this moment, Li Wujie tugged at Wang Bi’er’s sleeve and whispered, “Sister Bi’er, three wreaths mean three layers, right? You said there might be more. Does that mean Brother Wei has four layers? Is four layers really that impressive?”

Wang Bi’er smiled and explained patiently. “Before reaching the Exalt realm, most people who haven’t cultivated spiritual power only have one layer. Three layers already mean exceptional talent. Four layers can already be called a true genius.”

Li Wujie nodded, excitement rising in his eyes. Based on everything he knew about Ryan, he felt certain this was not the end. His cousin never did things halfway.

And sure enough, just as that thought formed, the statue shook again and released a fourth wreath.

Then a fifth.

As if a dam had broken, the wreaths poured out in succession.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

If four layers were enough to be called a genius, then what did eight layers mean?

Even calling him a monster seemed insufficient.

Yet the statue did not stop.

Nine.

Ten.

Eleven.

The wreaths continued to emerge, one after another, until finally, when the fifteenth wreath floated out, the statue fell silent. Its trembling ceased, and the hall returned to stillness.

Fifteen layers of spiritual cultivation.

Murong Liu stood frozen, his mind blank.

What was this?

Something had clearly gone wrong. First, the test had taken far too long. Now, the result itself defied all logic.

Even the most outstanding disciples of Dui Palace did not possess such terrifying spiritual power. Even Murong Liu himself, as one of the palace’s lords, had only reached the nineteenth layer after years of arduous cultivation.

Yet Ryan, without deliberately training spiritual power, had reached the fifteenth layer.

It was beyond imagination.

“This… there must be a mistake,” Murong Liu muttered to himself.

On the other side, Wang Bi’er stared wide-eyed, her mouth slightly open. She had always known Ryan was strong, but she had never imagined his spiritual talent would be this absurd.

Fifteen layers.

More than ten times that of ordinary candidates.

Then suddenly, Wang Bi’er seemed to remember something important. Her expression tightened, and she hurriedly said, “Six Grandpa, don’t wait any longer. The mental test has ended. Quickly open the Door of Six Spirits!”

“Ah… oh, right, I almost forgot.”

Wang Bi’er’s reminder finally snapped Murong Liu out of his shock. Only then did he remember that he still had one crucial matter to complete, opening the Door of the Six Spirits for Ryan.

At this moment, Murong Liu no longer cared whether Ryan’s mental strength test results made sense, nor did he bother to analyze the strange phenomena that had occurred earlier. With a flip of his right hand, a radiant gem appeared in his palm, its surface shimmering with flowing light.

He clasped the gem between his fingers, brought both hands together, and began chanting in a low, ancient tone.

A moment later, Murong Liu abruptly stopped. He raised his hands and released the gem into the air, where it hovered silently, defying gravity.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep