Chapter 722 – Perceiving the Source of Fire … … … Because the red-scaled youth’s performance was too dazzling, there was an awkward silence for a time afterwards. No one wanted to try right after. “I’ll give it a go too!” With a clear sound, a woman dressed in red stepped in front of the Ancient Phoenix Testament. She was also from the group of geniuses from the Realm of the Gods. She wasn’t too beautiful, but she had a very dainty appearance. She serenely looked at the red-robed old man and said, “Realm of the God’s Huo Clan, Huo Yu!” “Okay. You may begin.” The red-robed old man showed the Ancient Phoenix Testament to the woman dressed in red. A sharp light shone in her eyes, and then an incomparably burning hot, crimson true essence suddenly erupted. In the next moment, flaming lines appeared in her pupils, a trace representation of the source of all fire principles. Two breaths of time! She also took two breaths of time! The successive Realm of the Gods martial artists had only taken two breaths of time to fuse with the fire-attribute Laws. None of the lower realm martial artists were exasperated by this though; the disparity between them was too obvious. The woman dressed in red took several dozen breaths of time, and then, rice-sized grains of red light appeared before sinking into her body. “Two breaths of time in meditation, a small amount of fire source energy absorbed. Your result is the first-level, C-grade!” The red-robed old man said with a satisfied expression. For two new trial challengers to have a first-level comprehension was already a very good result. After two first-level results suddenly popped out from the Realm of the Gods group, the lower realm martial artists could only look at each other in blank dismay. For a long time, no one went on up. Going up now would only emphasize the great disparity between them. The pressure was just too great. If one couldn’t achieve an eye-catching result, then one couldn’t even hold their heads up anymore. Those martial artists from the Realm of the Gods had already all gone up. They happily looked over at the martial artists from the lower realms; the pressure on those martial artists who still hadn’t gone to determine their talent was suddenly enormous After several awkward breaths of time passed, Lin Ming moved towards the Ancient Phoenix Testament. “Brother Nuyan, it’s not too good if you go up now; the pressure is too great….” Yellowright Min kindly reminded him. He didn’t know how well Lin Ming comprehended the Laws of Fire, but he likely wouldn’t be able to compare with those two monstrous geniuses from the Realm of the Gods. “It doesn’t matter.” Lin Ming didn’t care if others made fun of him. His Concept of Fire wasn’t too impressive. Let alone his Concept of Fire, even his Concept of Space wasn’t comparable to the others. His advantage lay in his dual cultivation of law and body, and his foundation that was solid to the extreme. As Lin Ming stepped forwards, everyone immediately looked at him. “A boy from those lower realm dregs is coming up. Haha, if he has the courage to come up then he should have some skill. If he does well, he might reach the second-level, B-grade.” “Maybe even second-level, A-grade. Although those lower realm martial artists are mostly trash, there are occasionally one or two that are passable. If he can reach the second-level, A-grade then that’s about the same as you.” A Realm of the Gods martial artist teased Huo Ping. Huo Ping had been the first martial artist from the Realm of the Gods to go up. His evaluation had been at the second-level, A-grade.” “Humph, second-level, A-grade isn’t that hard to achieve either,” Huo Ping dismissively said. He didn’t like that others were comparing him to Lin Ming, a mere boy from the world of mortals. Lin Ming ignored these conversations. Instead, he stood in front of the Ancient Phoenix Testament and reported his name. “Sky Spill Continent’s Nuyan Family, Nuyan Ming.” “Mm, begin,” the red-robed old man said without expression as he showed the Ancient Phoenix Testament to Li Ming. As Lin Ming looked straight at the images and words of the Ancient Phoenix Testament, he didn’t feel anything at the start. But, after looking at it more carefully, he only felt that it contained infinite mysteries. Those strange lines and letters that looked like dancing dragons and phoenixes seemed as if they contained the very source of the Great Dao, from when the universe began forming! The truths and principles contained within were far too profound; for a time, Lin Ming fell into a trance. This sort of feeling was like his mind had been suddenly stuffed with a massive amount of information. It made his head ache and his consciousness blur. Lin Ming bit down on his tongue and the battle spirit in his spiritual sea trembled. It was only then that Lin Ming was able to calm his mind. One breath of time…two breaths of time…three breaths of time…. At the fourth breath of time, no images of the Fire Laws reflected yet in Lin Ming’s eyes. This caused Yellowright Ming to be nervous for Lin Ming. If he couldn’t show fusion with the Fire Laws at four breaths of time, then at most he would obtain a second-level, C-rank result. If he had this result at the very start, then it wouldn’t have been too shameful. But to have this result now, after those two Realm of the Gods geniuses had shown off, then others would simply laugh at him. The Realm of the Gods’ disciples grinned as they saw this, talking amongst themselves. Huo Ping had a smug expression as he said, “How mediocre. Although I didn’t reach the first-level, a second-level, A-grade is still a degree of glory that these lower realm martial artists will never hope to achieve.” Lin Ming still remained immersed in perceiving the Laws of Fire. Five breaths of time… Six breaths of time… …Six breaths of time? Yellowright Min was shocked. Six breaths of time was certainly “breaking a record,” but it was the record for being the worst. Out of everyone whom had gone up so far, no one had surpassed five breaths of time. “Six breaths of time! What? Six breaths of time most likely means he doesn’t have the qualifications to reach the second-level; he’ll be at the third-level. How could such a person have crossed the king level trial qualifications?” As a Realm of the Gods martial artist commented, even the red-robed man who was managing the test slightly frowned. He too suspected whether or not Lin Ming had the qualifications to past the king level smelting trial. Was it possible that his bloodline was light but his combat strength was extraordinary? Seven breaths….eight breaths… No trace of flame principles yet appeared in Lin Ming’s pupils. All of the martial artists had strange expressions on their faces. Where did this fellow come from? This performance was just too disappointing! Did he come here to waste everyone’s time? Finally, at the tenth breath of time, small flickering lines finally reflected in Lin Ming’s eyes. People thought that Lin Ming had finally fused with the Flame Laws, but what followed afterwards left everyone speechless. That little trace of flame source principles hadn’t even spread out when they had already hidden themselves again, vanishing without a trace. “This…” Even Yellowright Min couldn’t continue watching such an embarrassing sight. To use to breaths of time to finally achieve fusion with the Fire Laws and still fail at the end! What a joke! 11 breaths of time… 12 breaths of time… The tiny traces of fire source principles appeared again. But, just like the last time, these traces didn’t even grow before they disappeared again, restoring Lin Ming’s pupils to darkness. “Good heavens! He failed again! This fellow’s comprehension of the Concept of Fire is simply at a trivial level!” a Realm of the Gods martial artist impatiently exclaimed. “Sir Protector, he’s obviously wasting our time here. I have no idea how he got in, but his understandings into the Concept of Fire might as well be the same as a 13- or 14-year-old child,” another Realm of the Gods martial artist said. “If he continues being unable to fuse with the Fire Laws, do we just continue watching? The Ancient Phoenix Testaments are handwritten scriptures left behind by our Ancient Phoenix Clan’s Patriarchs before they died and ascended to Nirvana. Thus, their numbers are limited. Even a genius might not have a chance to perceive them. And yet currently it is currently being squandered on this fellow here. This is truly a waste!” a martial artist said in a gratingly harsh voice. The red-robed old man’s face became gloomy and he said in a low voice, “This old man is the director of the test here. Whether or not anyone has the qualifications to participate in the smelting trial, do you think that is something you can comment on? When a trial challenger is meditating on the source of Fire Laws, no one can fight, no one can cause a disturbance! Otherwise, any and all offenders shall be expelled from Timeworn Phoenix City!” As the red-robed old man spoke, he released an invisible aura. As the pressure pushed down on that Realm of the Gods martial artist, his face paled and he suddenly dared not speak further. The truth was that, even if they fiercely argued with each other, Lin Ming wouldn’t have heard them anyways. At this time, he was deep in meditation. He had sealed off his five senses and wasn’t even aware of the passing of time. With the support of the ethereal martial intent, he was completely focused on comprehending the source of Fire Laws. Lin Ming’s understanding of the Concept of Fire could truly only be considered at a very basic level; within the Ancient Phoenix Clan, it was equivalent to that of a 13- or 14-year-old child. He had to use a full ten breaths of time in order to touch upon these principles, producing a trace of it in his pupils. However, just as these tiny traces formed, they had actually vanished. To Lin Ming’s surprise, he discovered that these trace principles were actually being absorbed by the Heretical God Seed! After these traces were absorbed, they sealed themselves on the surface of the Heretical God Seed, forming a small circle of totems. Lin Ming had never imagined that this would occur. He continued to perceive the source Fire Laws from the Ancient Phoenix Testament. After several more breaths of time, he once more became faintly aware, producing yet another tiny trace of fire principles within his eyes. However, after another brief moment, these traces were again absorbed by the Heretical God Seed. This repeated itself several times. More and more runes were engraved on the Heretical God Seed, becoming increasingly clear. Lin Ming carefully observed these engraved flame seals on the Heretical God Seed and found that they were similar to those of the Ancient Phoenix Testament. However, there were some slight differences. The ones within him were even more mysterious and incomprehensible. Lin Ming was shocked. He continued to perceive them—he faintly felt that within these capricious mysterious, the most enigmatic power of source Laws sealed there was slowly beginning to open their doors to him. A vast and vibrant breadth of the Great Dao seemed to blow out, the mysteries of the universe’s essential Laws wrapped within its grasp! 20 breaths of time… 30 breaths of time… As Lin Ming was in meditation, he felt that all the mysteries of the Ancient Phoenix Testament were being engraved onto the Heretical God Seed! In half an incense stick of time, Lin Ming still didn’t move. Now it wasn’t just the Realm of the Gods martial artists who were becoming impatient, even the martial artists from the lower realms were also growing antsy. They had come to Timeworn Phoenix City in order to perceive the root of Flame Laws, not see someone meditate on the most elementary level of the Concept of Fire. However, because of the red-robed old man, no one dared to speak. Yellowright Min looked at Lin Ming, his mouth crooked; just what was Lin Ming doing? If he couldn’t even fuse with the power of Laws within half an incense stick of time, then this was a once-in-a-lifetime performance that really defied the heavens. Just how had he managed to mingle himself into Timeworn Phoenix City? While Yellowright Min was lost in thought, at this moment, Lin Ming’s body suddenly shook. Within his eyes, complex lines of fire began reflecting within his pupils. These lines were constantly evolving and changing, as if they contained the endless riddles of the universe. The less knowledgeable young martial artists didn’t seem to think anything was strange, but as the red-robed test director saw this, his eyes lit up and he held his breath. “This is….” The red-robed old man muttered to himself. But at this time, around Lin Ming, a crazy amount of flame source energy began rapidly condensing. A group of fist-sized red orbs of light grew at a noticeable pace, illuminating the dark hall with a luminous glow. “What are these lights?” The martial artists present were all stunned. “Could…could this be the power of fire source energy? Is this a joke…” Huo Ping was bewildered. The red-scaled youth from the Realm of the Gods had only been able to form a bean-sized amount of this energy, but Lin Ming had formed those the size of a fist! The energy contained within was dozens or even hundreds of times richer!