John felt his blood boil with excitement, as the thought of fighting against all the other races nearly sent him over the edge.
‘I can’t wait to fight against a giant barehanded. How fun will that be?’
After thinking about such things for a moment, he breathed out a deep breath as he calmed himself to focus on the task ahead of him. Fights against other races would come in the future, but his current goal was the talent testing steps before him.
“So, the different powers use these talent testing steps to test their youths?” Iris asked the Grand Elder.
“Indeed. Each power tests their most promising youths each year, and many use their placements to determine the amount of support they will give them. We ourselves weigh this test quite heavily, as it has identified our most heavenly of talents in the past,” the Grand Elder explained.
His gaze shifted to the side of the platform, which was where the large tablet rested. It was made of pitch-black stone and had a soft metallic sheen to its exterior. He began walking over to the tablet and was quickly followed behind by John and Iris.
They arrived there shortly after, and both John and Iris gazed intently at the tablet as they started to read over it. The tablet seemed to be broken down into ten different sections, each section several feet wide and tall. The bottom nine sections were arranged in a three-by-three grid, while the tenth section spread across from one side to the other at the very top of the tablet.
The sections were divided by straight lines that were carved into the tablet’s surface, and each section was filled with words that Iris and John quickly read.
“These are names,” Iris stated. “And there’s a number next to each name…in ascending order.”
“Indeed,” the Grand Elder replied. “This stone tablet is broken into ten sections. The bottom nine sections you see belong to the nine different talent testing steps scattered across this continent. The number next to their name represents how many steps they ascended, and each talent testing step has a recording tablet just like this one. Each year the names recorded on this list are erased and replaced with the next year’s participants,” the Grand Elder explained.
“There is no testing age limit to this tablet, as it tests talent and not power, but almost all those who are on this list are twenty years of age or younger. Those who are older have already taken the test and see no reason to take it again as the result would not change,” the Grand Elder continued.
Both John and Iris stared at the tablet and continued reading the names. However, they did not recognize any of them, and many of the names from several of the tablets were quite strange, most likely belonging to those of the other races.
“Does this mean these tablets update themselves, and are linked together?” John couldn’t help but ask.
“Correct,” the Grand Elder replied. “This is one of the reasons why these talent testing steps are so sought after. Not only do they identify which youths have the greatest talent, but it also reveals to the world just how talented they are. Many youths strive to have their names etched into these tablets as proof of their heavenly talent.”
John glanced at the Grand Elder as he revealed this, before quickly gazing back at the tablet.
“Why are some of the names on here so…unique,” Iris couldn’t help but ask. Some of the names were not normal names, but instead were closer to cultivation names.
“That’s because many of these youths keep their identity to themselves, either due to their race’s policies, or for their own safety. Some of the races, such as the Faeries, prefer to avoid conflict, and having your name on here will only draw conflict from other geniuses looking to make a name for themselves. There are many reasons for it, but that’s just one example. As such, they use aliases to keep their identities confidential,” the Grand Elder replied.
“I guess that makes sense,” Iris replied. “It would be quite annoying to have to fend off other youths non-stop just because they want to make a name for themselves.”
While Iris and the Grand Elder were talking, John was looking at the names on the black tablet. He started mumbling the names, as well as the numbers next to them.
“Rijer Pridelan, thirteen. Zulos Stonefist, fourteen. Vargoth Plaagul, thirteen. Luth Chaster, fourteen…quite unique names indeed.”
There were ten names for each of the bottom nine sections, for a total of ninety names. The number of steps ascended by each name was between eleven and fourteen steps, except for two names.
“Amber Bloodrose, fifteen, and Asuros…sixteen. Who are these two youths?” John couldn’t help but ask. Both of them were separated from the rest of their peers.
“Ah, those two,” the Grand Elder replied with a slightly heavy voice, as if something was of concern.
“The first, Amber Bloodrose, is from the Forbidden Alliance,” the Grand Elder explained. John raised his eyebrow upon hearing the Forbidden Alliance, as he had quite the history with them, but remained silent as he continued to listen to the Grand Elder.
“She is their most talented youth to appear in the past thousand years, and her talent is incredibly frightening. She is currently eighteen years old, and has never been beaten in combat according to the rumors surrounding her.”
“Until she runs into me,” John couldn’t help but blurt out loud.
“Do not underestimate her,” the Grand Elder scolded slightly. “You might have confidence in your power, but that girl is beyond terrifying. Her killing arts are unparalleled, and most who face her die without even knowing how they died. Of all the talents to rise over the last hundreds of years, she is one of the most fearsome. You would be wise to run away if you ever run into her.”
John remained silent, as he knew the Grand Elder was only saying this to help him but was still unconvinced. He had never run into someone who could contest against him evenly, and with his cultivation advantages, doubted such a thing would ever occur.
“What about Asuros?” Iris asked with much curiosity. If Amber was so amazing, surely Asuros was as well.
“That…we do not know,” the Grand Elder replied.
“You don’t know?” John asked, before realizing the likely reason. “Is he listed on the unaccounted-for testing formation?”
“Indeed,” the Grand Elder replied. “We do not know who owns the last tablet, but they do test talents every year. Their youths have been growing more and more powerful each year, and this year they have seemingly produced their finest talent yet. However, no one knows who this talent is, or where they are located. As of right now, they are a complete mystery to this world.”
John frowned upon hearing this, as he would have liked to hear more about Asuros, but dropped any questions as he knew he would find no answers. His gaze shifted to the top of the tablet, where the last section was. On it were ten names, each larger than the names in nine sections below.
He had noticed these names first, but decided to ask about them last. However, they were completely shocking, as their scores were unparalleled. The lowest of the names were at seventeen, with five of them at that rank. There were four at eighteen, and a singular one with nineteen.
The Grand Elder noticed John’s gaze, and a small smile appeared on his face, as he knew they would be asking about them.
“The names on the top section of this tablet have been here since before the calamity,” the Grand Elder explained. “They are the heroes from the ancient past, whose talent far surpassed the standards of today. Unlike the names of the nine sections below, these names do not reset, but instead display the top ten talents this world has ever seen for all time.”