Vahn’s inner inner demon surfaced. He wasn’t just walking on the trial; he was setting a trap of torment.
He slowed his pace just enough to allow the struggling Rudra to gain ground. Vahn was on the 35th step; Rudra was agonizingly stepping himself onto the 31st.
The crowd stirred.
"He’s slowing down! The pressure must have finally caught up to the peasant!" Helix hissed as a sliver of wicked hope returning to his eyes
Princess Camila also sighed in relief.
"See? I knew it. Our Holy Son Rudra will overtake him."
Rudra also assumed Vahn had reached his limit. So he gritted his teeth and used his deep reserves of energy to continue. He took another step, then another, closing the gap to just three steps.
The relief was intoxicating; he was about to prove that the earlier setback was nothing more than a momentary lapse.
However, just as Rudra stabilized his footing on the 32nd step, panting heavily, Vahn suddenly accelerated.
It was a sudden, smooth transition. Vahn didn’t even struggle; he simply continued forward as if gliding over the stone.
36th step. 38th step. 40th step.
The gap immediately stretched back to eight steps.
Rudra’s cold heart sank.
The hope that had bloomed on Rudra’s face was wiped instantly, replaced by a look of utter, strained confusion.
"What is happening? How did he suddenly gain so much energy?
As he thought about this, his breath turned ragged and he nearly stumbled back.
Meanwhile, Vahn reached the 41st step. This was the legendary point where the most exceptional talents usually failed. He paused and looked back over his shoulder. He gave Rudra a brief, cold smirk—the same look of disdain the royal’s entourage had given him earlier.
Then, Vahn simply turned and walked on.
This taunt was a cruel, precise blow. Rudra’s handsome face contorted in fury.
It didn’t take long to understand, the commoner boy was toying with him. This was unacceptable for a person who had been trained to be the best if best.
He refused to be dismissed. He drew every ounce of Spirit energy from his Dantian, pushing his body past its absolute limits.
’I must catch him! I must not be surpassed by a commoner!’
Rudra gave his all, as if his very existence was on the line.
He managed a few more agonizing steps, reaching the 41st.
But, his body was trembling violently,
His dark robe was already soaked in sweat, and a thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He felt the world tilt. The pressure here was not just spiritual; it felt like the weight of a physical mountain crushing his bones.
He glanced up with blood red eyes. He saw Vahn was already on the 45th step, moving only slightly slower than he had at the start.
Indeed, Vahn paused again, his hand idly moving in the air, seemingly enjoying the view from up here.
He didn’t even turn around this time, but his simple presence so far ahead felt like another mocking challenge.
’This is... Impossible!"
The despair was too much. Rudra let out a strained cry as his aura collapsed completely. His knee buckled, and he collapsed onto the 41st step, unable to proceed even an inch further. The Holy Son of Darkness, the prodigy, was broken.
The world went silent, all eyes locked on the collapsing figure of Rudra and the calm silhouette of Vahn far above him.
Vahn already stood at the 47th step. He glanced back one last time, just to confirm that Rudra was motionless and defeated.
The feeling of vindication was sweet, but the true goal was still incomplete.
He took the 48th step.
He took the 49th step.
Vahn was now one step away from the summit. The pressure here was astronomical, heavy enough to warp space and shatter an ordinary cultivator’s soul. Yet, for Vahn, it was merely an immense influx of rich, refined energy flooding his meridian channels. His Void Refining Physique hummed with satisfied power.
With a deep, steadying breath, Vahn took the 50th and final step.
His foot landed not on the step, but on the small platform at the top, directly in front of the ancient, weathered Statue of the Judge.
Vahn reached out his hand and placed his palm firmly against the cold stone of the Statue’s base.
The instant Vahn touched the Statue, the air shattered.
The massive, terrifying aura that had been crushing the onlookers vanished, replaced by a deep, resonating hum that shook the entire tower.
The Statue itself glowed with a faint, ethereal gold.
Below, pandemonium erupted at once.
The sheer shock of the feat caused some onlookers to faint outright.
Princess Camila clutched her brother, her eyes wide and unfocused. Prince Helix was stammering as well, unable to form a coherent word as stared at the motionless figure of Vahn beside the glowing monument.
The defeated Rudra, still collapsed on the 41st step, was too exhausted, too humiliated, to even move.
"He... he touched it!" an elderly man cried, his voice cracking with awe. "The Statute has been untouched for thousands of years!"
The crowd’s initial awe quickly transformed into frantic, calculating excitement. The question of Vahn’s identity became an urgent priority.
"Quickly! Who is he? Find his sect! Find his origins!" one man, clearly a high-ranking sect recruiter, barked at his subordinates.
"We must secure him at once!"
"A Heavenly Seed! A raw talent capable of touching the Judge’s Statue! Even the Ancient Holy Lands would fight over a prodigy like this!" a woman from another sect exclaimed, already running toward the staircase with wild determination.
They were no longer looking at a peasant to be shoved aside. They were looking at a living, walking legend; a genius whose talent had just surpassed every recorded history of the Grand Trial. The whispers of scorn for the "bastard" were replaced by the fervent shouts of those scrambling to claim the newly discovered peerless prodigy.
Meanwhile, Vahn suddenly heard a resounding, ancient voice echo not in his ears, but deep within his mind.
< So, you have come, My Child >