Before entering the Endless Trial, one must first have their blood drawn to conduct a Blood Age test.
Through the Blood Age test, one’s age can be most accurately determined, leaving no room for falsehoods—however, when it comes to contestants as strong as Gu Tong, testing the Blood Age seems rather pointless.
Still, for the vast majority of people, this test is quite authoritative.
Firstly, participants must meet the conditions of the Endless Trial and be under thirty years old, and secondly, if they clear the trial, they will be eligible to be ranked on the leaderboard, which will also accurately display their ages.
Just from this point alone, the leaderboard is quite authoritative; at the very least, there would be no mistakes regarding age.
You must understand, during one’s teenage and twenties, missing out on two or three years of age can make a huge difference in cultivation and strength.
Take Shi Hao, for instance, in another year, couldn’t his cultivation improve by at least three or four minor realms?
That’s even without considering the chance of obtaining Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, which would enhance his advancements even further.
So, everyone began taking the Blood Age test one by one.
Knowing there was this Blood Age test, it was quite rare for anyone who was clearly over thirty to still come and try their luck.
For the Tianyun Temple, this was merely a procedure, not about who exceeded thirty years of age, but to record each person’s age precisely.
"A monster has appeared!"
"Nineteen years old and already at the Other Shore Realm!"
"Absolutely terrifying!"
This Blood Age test also happened to test one’s cultivation realm, so, naturally, when a true prodigy emerged, it caused a sensation.
A nineteen-year-old at the Other Shore Realm was certainly astonishing.
"Shi Yanyan from the Hua Yun Sect."
"What, you look down on women?"
With more detailed information, the crowd was even more shocked because among the overall population, female martial artists were much fewer than their male counterparts, and there were far fewer female prodigies. Just look at the major forces; most of the elders and sect masters are men.
Therefore, when a young female prodigy appeared, it was naturally startling to everyone.
Shi Hao also looked over. Shi Yanyan was tall and slender, her lustrous hair cascading down to her hips, her face exquisitely beautiful with two dimples.
With her astonishing martial arts talent coupled with her beauty, she naturally became highly sought after; even the most self-righteous prodigies couldn’t help but try to get close to her.
As time slowly passed, everyone finished their tests one after another, leaving fewer and fewer people.
Xiao Hei’s test also caused a stir because he was just twenty years old and had already reached the cultivation of the Second Island of the Other Shore, which was quite impressive.
—It seemed that the Purple Star Sect really hadn’t mistreated him.
Finally, it was Shi Hao’s turn.
He walked over, extended his hand, and someone pricked his fingertip. Fresh blood surged out, and that person swiftly collected a drop, placing it in a special instrument. In an instant, his age, cultivation realm, and other information were all revealed.
Blood Age, eighteen years and two months.
Realm, Other Shore Third Island.
Spirit Root, unknown.
"Eighteen years old and at the Other Shore Third Island!"
"Even more amazing than Shi Yanyan and Xiao Hei earlier."
"Indeed, speaking just in terms of realm, he’s stronger than Shi Yanyan and Xiao Hei, but he doesn’t have a special physique."
"True, physique is very important; take Xiao Hei for instance, he has a Sword Body which could potentially allow him to master the third realm of the Sword Dao, making him capable of climbing several levels in combat with ease."
"Shi Yanyan is even rarer with her Poison Spirit Root, which can subtly poison people!"
"However, it’s quite strange—why is his Spirit Root unknown?"
Everyone was curious. The Spirit Root is the easiest attribute to test, yet in Shi Hao’s case, an unclear Spirit Root situation had occurred.
Shi Hao’s brow furrowed slightly. This Blood Age test actually came with so much additional information, which he quite disliked.
However, participating in the Endless Trials was a must, and he could only accept it reluctantly.
After him, Gu Tong somehow popped up from nowhere.
He still bore the appearance of a youth, and the Blood Age test confirmed just that.
Seventeen and a half years old!
But this didn’t surprise the crowd, since his displayed cultivation was only at the fifth step.
A five-step cultivation at over seventeen could be considered a genius, but there are many who can achieve this. Therefore, he could only be called a genius, not a top one, and naturally couldn’t cause a sensation.
After passing the test, Gu Tong winked at Shi Hao as if to show off.
Are you not an Almighty who can fly? What’s so great about bluffing your way through such a minor place?
Shi Hao couldn’t help but complain inwardly.
Some time later, everyone had completed the Blood Age test.
The Endless Trials were about to begin!
Two monks led the crowd up the mountain, soon arriving before a cave.
"Enter one by one." An older monk instructed.
The crowd was astonished. Were the Endless Trials inside this cave?
But since that’s what they were told, they naturally had to comply.
The crowd entered the cave in single file.
Xiao Hei and Lin Yuyue deliberately lagged behind, following right after Shi Hao.
They walked into the cave, surrounded by people on both sides, creating a somewhat cramped feeling.
After a walk, when Shi Hao took a step, he suddenly realized that Lin Yuyue, who was ahead, had vanished.
Upon looking back, curiously, Xiao Hei had disappeared as well.
Shi Hao stroked his chin. It seems he had truly entered the Endless Trials, and he had clearly gone through a teleportation process that occurred without his awareness—for it had just happened moments ago.
If it wasn’t random teleportation, then this must have set up an "instance" for each person. That’s why Lin Yuyue, who had stepped in just before he did, had disappeared without a trace.
With this in mind, Shi Hao didn’t stop his stride and continued forward.
Soon, he emerged from the cave to find a forest before him covered with purple vegetation.
Although Shi Hao had never wandered inside the Tianyun Temple, he did not recall seeing such a vast expanse of purple from outside the temple gate.
So, was this another space?
Shi Hao speculated in his mind and stepped forward, walking within this forest.
He picked a flower, yet as soon as he plucked it, the flower turned to dust and scattered with the wind.
He extended his Soul Tentacles, surprised to find that these plants did not emit any signs of life.
Living things possess energy, however faint.
Were they fake, mere illusions, or actually dead?
Shi Hao took out the Spirit Exploration Compass. Since this was no longer the Tianyun Temple but the interior of a mysterious space, there might be treasures to discover?
As he walked, it was not long before he detected a light spot.
Shi Hao immediately dismissed his doubts about the purple vegetation and headed towards the light spot.
Shortly, he arrived at the location and quite easily found a chest hidden beneath the vegetation.
"It’s wrong to cheat !" a voice suddenly rang out behind Shi Hao.