Chapter 1003: Talent Still A Little Too Low! Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The elder’s words pulled Wang Teng’s thoughts back from the astonishment he received after hearing about the existence of the small worlds. He had a bad feeling. He initially thought that he would be able to get the baron’s title after passing the test. Now… They weren’t able to strip Cao Hongtu of his right to the title! This meant that they would be fighting with each other. “So, this will be a trial between both of you. The one with the greater potential and the one who gets more benefits in the small world, proving that you have stronger ability and intelligence, will inherit the baron’s title,” the head said. Wang Teng took a deep breath. Were they asking him to fight with a heaven-stage martial warrior? “May I say something?” Wang Teng interrupted the head of the chamber with a frown. “Go ahead.” The head nodded. “Are you telling me to enter a small world to compete with a heaven-stage martial warrior?” Wang Teng asked directly with a contemptuous smile. The head didn’t get angry. He understood Wang Teng’s concern and replied calmly, “When y’all enter the small world, Cao Hongtu’s ability will be suppressed to the cosmos stage.” “Also, you can look for reinforcements. However, including yourself, there can only be five people. Everyone that enters must be lower or at the cosmos stage.” “Five people lower or at the cosmos stage!” Wang Teng contemplated. “How can you ensure that there’s no one above the cosmos stage on both sides?” “The Flaming River World only allows cosmos stage and below martial warriors to enter. There’s only one last chance to enter this small world before it collapses and disappears forever. If someone uses an attack above the cosmos stage, the world will disintegrate immediately, and everyone inside will perish. “Are you satisfied with this arrangement?” the head finished his explanation and asked Wang Teng. Wang Teng’s expression was gloomy. He pondered for a moment before nodding. This was the best result at this stage. And it wasn’t like he didn’t have any chances. Wang Teng glanced at Cao Hongtu. The smile on his face was blossoming. He snorted. The guy must be thinking he would definitely win. He would be able to find three cosmos stage martial warriors if he wanted to. Wang Teng also decided to have An Lan suppress his ability to the cosmos stage and enter the Flaming River World with him. He didn’t mind copying Cao Hongtu’s tricks. Cao Hongtu probably didn’t know that he had a heaven-stage martial warrior on his team. Moreover, this martial warrior was at the peak of the heaven stage. As for talent, he had nothing to be afraid of. He didn’t mind dazzling them with his divine-level wind talent. But he wouldn’t do it unless it was necessary. Divine level talent meant that he had the potential to reach the eternal stage. Many people would be fearful of him, and it wouldn’t bring him any benefits. He needed to restrain his potential lest he invited trouble to his doorstep. “When are we taking the test?” Wang Teng asked. “The talent test will be held today. Then, you’ll have two days to prepare before entering the Flaming River World,” the head said. He got up and walked out of the hall. “Follow me.” Everyone stood up and followed him. No matter what their motive was, these people wanted to know who would win the talent test. Many of them looked down on Wang Teng since he came from a faraway planet. They were pure-blood nobles with honorable status. They found it a joke that this low-class monkey wanted to squeeze his way in and be a part of them. Rather than saying they wanted to know who would win, it was more accurate to say that they wanted to see how Wang Teng would lose and get exiled from this city. They didn’t think that he was comparable to Cao Hongtu. One was a planetary-stage martial warrior while the other was a heaven-stage martial warrior. It was easy to tell who had more potential. Who knew if Wang Teng could reach the cosmos stage, much less the heaven stage? 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚 As for Cao Hongtu, he was already a formidable character. A heaven-stage martial warrior deserved to be respected. Besides, he had gained many military exploits. Even if they didn’t like him, they wouldn’t belittle him. In summary, the universe was a place where one’s ability ruled. Wang Teng’s strength was just too low. After everyone left, only Wang Teng and Cao Hongtu were left in the hall. “Junior Brother, there’s still time for you to admit defeat. It’ll be a life-or-death battle in the Flaming River World. This isn’t what I want to see.” Cao Hongtu smirked as he stood up and patted his elegant and exquisite purple long gown. “That’s not for you to worry, Senior Brother Cao. You should think about the talent test later. Don’t lose to a planetary-stage martial warrior like me,” Wang Teng sniggered. He wasn’t angry at all. He turned and left the hall without waiting for Cao Hongtu’s answer. Cao Hongtu frowned and went out too. Everyone came to the fifth floor of the chamber. There was a place especially for testing one’s talent. When Wang Teng walked in, he noticed an enclosed area in the middle of this huge room. Its walls were transparent, so one could see the situation from the outside. “This is a talent testing device. You’ll enter and absorb the Force inside for ten minutes. The device will be able to detect your talent level.” “Who will go first?” The head looked at Wang Teng and Cao Hongtu. “Senior, please,” Wang Teng said. He allowed the other party to go first because he didn’t want to scare everyone too much. All he had to do was to make sure his talent was a level above the other party. “In that case, I’ll go first.” Cao Hongtu entered the device without any hesitation. As the device closed up, the entire space got filled up with earth Force. Cao Hongtu was an earth-element martial warrior. As he stood in the middle of the device, all the Force started surging to his body. The absorption rate was fast. In the blink of an eye, a Force whirlpool formed around him. “Cao Hongtu’s earth talent has reached the emperor level!” “Emperor-level earth talent. That’s barely a pass.” “However, he’s able to reach the heaven stage with his emperor-level talent. Cao Hongtu is someone with strong perseverance. He has encountered some good opportunities too.” … The nobles around started discussing in low voices when they saw this scene. Emperor-level talent??Wang Teng smiled when he heard the different voices. His lowest talent was at that level. Beating Cao Hongtu was a piece of cake. “Top-tier emperor-level earth talent!” After some time, the device reported Cao Hongtu’s talent level. Just as everyone predicted, it was at the emperor level. There was no surprise. But he had top-tier emperor-level talent. Every talent was segregated into top-tier, middle-tier, and low-tier. Top-tier emperor level was good enough. It was many times better than a middle-tier emperor-level talent. Cao Hongtu walked out calmly. He didn’t seem to think that possessing a top-tier emperor-level talent was something impressive. This was the truth. Most of the people here had a higher talent than him. The emperor level must be the lowest level present. He felt helpless. The lower one’s talent, the harder one’s path would be in the future. He was lucky and managed to advance to the heaven stage, but he was only at the second level of the heaven stage. As he went further, he felt his cultivation speed slowing down exponentially. It was getting extremely difficult to achieve a breakthrough. Talent was something one was born with. Unless one was a heaven-defying monster, there was no way one could change one’s innate talent. Although Cao Hongtu was an ambitious man, his path would get narrower in the future. He might not be able to reach the fifth level of the heaven stage. Heaven-stage martial warriors could still die. If he didn’t manage to break through to the universe stage before his life came to an end, he would perish. This was why he wanted to get the baron’s title by hook or by crook. With it, he could get more resources. If his talent wasn’t up to the mark, he would use more resources. He would immerse himself in resources until he reached the universe stage. In the Great Qian Empire, he could only become his own ruler if he reached the universe stage. That was the only way he could control his life and not be treated like a dog. At that time, he wouldn’t need to bend his back and sell his daughter to appease the powerful families. No one knew the emotions swarming in his heart under that calm expression. They didn’t know how frustrated and humiliated he felt. The others were aware that talent would affect one’s future, so they sympathized with Cao Hongtu. His talent was still a little too low!