It took less than half an hour for all the Star Lords to be forced back to the start of the stairs.
“Which step did you reach?”
“The 18th.”
“The ninth.”
“I reached the 32rd!”
“The stairs are rather weird. It’s not entirely true that your Heavenly Tribulation will be powerful if you’re weak. Some people are quite strong, but they encountered a path-level Heavenly Tribulation too.”
Everybody frowned and thought hard.
All the Star Lords had revealed their strength on the stairs, so they knew each other quite well.
“The guys who retreated within the first ten steps are all weak. The leader of the Heavenly Fist Alliance is strong. His power of faith is perfectly integrated with his small world. He’s definitely a strong Star Lord, yet he was also blocked within the first ten steps. That didn’t make sense…”
The leader girl slightly frowned in confusion.
The ancient stairs were indeed perplexing.
“There has to be a pattern in the Heavenly Tribulations. They’re not random.”
“Indeed, no matter how many times I went there, the intensity of the lightning strike on each step was the same!”
“I’m thinking… Since it has nothing to do with strength, is it related to age?”
“Age?”
The Star Lords looked at each other in bewilderment; that was indeed a possibility.
“Those of you who made it past thirty steps, how old are you?” one of the Star Lords asked.
They had already been divided into several echelons. The first echelon included six people, who had gone beyond the thirty-step mark; one of them even reached the 40th step.
“You’d better report your own information first,” said the leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance in a casual manner. He was also in the first echelon. Although he was a guy, he didn’t like being asked about his age.
“Humph, what’s there to hide? Age is just a number for us. Nobody is old until they’ve lived ten thousand years!” said a Star Lord and snorted. He was in the second echelon and had only managed to reach the 20th step, but he was very strong. He was observing the guys in the first echelon.
According to his estimation, he was as strong as them.
Moreover—after piecing together through all the discussions—it was obvious that the stairs were not judging them based on their strength, so he didn’t mind, even if the leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance was in the first echelon.
Someone stood out and tried to soothe the atmosphere. “Everybody, this bridge is our only chance to enter the residence. I hope we can work together and figure out the pattern of the Heavenly Tribulations, so that we can all make it through and be able to look for treasures.
“After all, we’re here to hunt treasures, not each other. Don’t you agree?”
The others showed their contempt. They didn’t accept the idea, but they didn’t express disapproval either.
None of the Star Lords were willing to listen to orders of another Star Lord; they would only listen to Ascendant State warriors!
“Indeed, everybody, let’s all report our age, just to be fair,” someone suggested and then added, “I’m more than nine thousand years old. I don’t remember the specific number.”
“I think I’m in my six thousands,” said another Star Lord.
“If we’re talking about physical age, I should be about twelve thousand years of age.”
“What do you mean by physical age?”
“I’ve explored some mysterious realms where time flows at different speeds. A thousand years in those worlds equate to one day in reality. While you’ve lived several years in the Federation, I have spent thousands of years over there. So, my physical age increased by several thousand years.”
“That’s true.”
“Tsk, tsk. You’re all rather old. I’m only three thousand years old. I’m planning to prepare a big birthday celebration this year!”
“I think I’m around 5,600 years old.”
“It seems that you’re all juniors. I’ve lived more than 100,000 years. Haha.”
Very soon, all of them reported their ages. The Star Lords were almost immortal and could reforge their bodies in their small worlds. They virtually wouldn’t die, until they lost their faith. It was easy for them to live hundreds of thousands of years, long enough to witness the rise and fall of a civilization.
“Humph, is that a big deal? You’re just a Star Lord like me. You’re not in the Ascendant State yet!”
“Exactly, you’re still a Star Lord after living for 100,000 years. If I were you, I would have reached the Ascendant State a long time ago.”
“What do you know? You think you can just reach the Ascendant State without permission from the Heavens? There’s a good chance you’ll spend the rest of your life as a Star Lord!”
The oldest Star Lord said coldly, “Only one in a hundred can reach the Ascendant State. I became a Star Lord before I was even two thousand years old, but I’m still one at the moment. There’s a good wait ahead of you. Humph!”
Another Star Lord endorsed him. “That’s true. I also reached the Star State at around two thousand years old. I’ve lived thirty thousand years, and I’ve made little progress. The gap between the Star Lord State and the Ascendant State isn’t as simple as you think. It’s a hundred times more difficult than the leap from the Star State to the Star Lord State. You think the awe-inspiring Ascendant State experts grew up so easily?”
The faces of the other Star Lords changed slightly.
Many of them became Star Lords when they were two thousand years old or even older. Did it mean that they had to stay in that level for tens of thousands of years?
It felt unimaginable!
Hearing that, the leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance sneered and said, “What a bunch of old fogeys. I’m eight hundred years old, and I’ve been a Star Lord for more than a hundred years. What you said is just the norm, and geniuses are destined to break it!”
He was implying that the other Star Lords were just mediocre!
The other Star Lords present were angered by his remarks, especially those who had lived more than ten thousand years.
However, their expressions changed when they thought of his age. It took him seven hundred years to become a Star Lord? He’s indeed a rarely-seen genius!
“I’m 629 years old,” said the tall and brawny female overlord.
She looked at the leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance with obvious contempt on her pretty face. You think you’re young? I’m even younger!
She was rather proud of herself. After all, she was very strong for someone her age!
The leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance changed his expression. Only a bit over six hundred years?
He became quite solemn. He had seen the female overlord’s attack several times, which indicated a significant amount of power of faith; it didn’t seem that she had just cultivated for only a few hundred years.
The power of faith had to be collected, and that required time. The longer it took, the more one could collect!
Unless, she had a powerful believer who provided a great amount of power of faith for her!
“Haha, you’re truly weaklings!” nearby, the leader of the Ouhuang Alliance laughed and said, “I’m only 580 years old. I must be the youngest Star Lord here. Haha, it seems that all the Star Lords I know are older than me. Is training really so hard? Don’t you just grow stronger by eating and sleeping?”
The others were slightly shocked. 580?
The man wasn’t even six hundred years old yet?
It had to be noted that most people of that age had yet to reach the Fate State!
Some geniuses had barely made it to the Star State at such an age, and not many could achieve that!
That guy was definitely extremely good at cultivation!
The lips of the leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance twitched. He didn’t expect that the idiot he had never liked was that young. Didn’t it mean that the man was even more talented than him?
How unfair!
The face of the female overlord also changed. She frowned, and then snorted.
She was somewhat angry after finding out that she was older by several decades.
Even though several decades were just the blink of an eye in their entire cultivation life, she was slightly slower anyway.
At this moment, the leader girl suddenly opened her mouth. “Are you all done?”
She wore a strange expression, which was a mixture of excitement and pride. The contempt and condescension in her eyes, plus the curled lips on her face suggested that she couldn’t wait any longer.
I didn’t know you were all this lame!
Back off, it’s time for me to dazzle you!
“Huh?”
All the others looked at her. The leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance had a bad feeling when he saw the unusual excitement on the girl’s face. He became even gloomier.
“Why? Are you even younger than me?” The leader of the Ouhuang Alliance looked at her in surprise.
That was the first time he had encountered a younger Star Lord.
There was no longer the teasing look in his eyes, and he was rather solemn.
He seemed crazy and unreliable, but he was actually quite calm, and knew what the age meant.
Maybe they would be Star Lords for tens of thousands of years, but to become a Star Lord at a younger age would usually mean that they had a greater talent!
The journey would depend on the future opportunities. Some people were gifted, but they could die accidentally.
Some people might be untalented, but they could later be enlightened by sages!
“Well, well!”
The leader girl smiled in disdain; she couldn’t have looked more arrogant.
She laid her hands on her eyebrows and spoke in a lowered and cold tone, “I’m 89 years old right now!”
Silence!
Nothing but silence!
Everybody looked at her as if she were crazy.
89 years old?
89?!
All the Star Lords were shocked. The people in the Star State traveling in their small worlds were also wide eyed, jaws almost hitting the ground.
The girl is only 89 years old?
Fine, she was technically not a girl anymore, being 89 years old. However, considering a Star Lord’s longevity, she was almost an unborn baby!
The leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance had seen it coming, but he still blurted a response in shock when he heard her age, “That’s impossible!”
Even if she had started training back when she was still a fetus, she couldn’t have become a Star Lord in less than a hundred years!
Besides, the girl had a significant amount of power of faith. She could have hardly found any believer in such a short amount of time. How could she have collected power of faith?
“Well, well!”
The leader girl was very satisfied after seeing their responses, flashing a scornful smile.
Su Ping was at a loss for words when he saw how snobbish that girl… or maybe grandma, was.
89 years old?
Are you sure?
You’re already ancient, and yet you’re as juvenile as a kindergartner?
But very soon, Su Ping understood.
Her young age suggested that she was not only talented but also quite diligent!
Nobody could succeed with just talent, leaving hard work out. That was the cruel reality!
If she had been devoted to training, it was reasonable to see her act as a child in other aspects, since she hadn’t truly grown up yet.
“89 years old… I was still in the Void State back then.”
“Oh my god, she must be lying, right?”
“I reached the Fate State at a hundred years old, and I was already a super genius. But…”
Those in the Star State could only sob silently, devastated.
Comparison could really be hurtful.
The other Star Lords looked at each other and fell silent.
89 years old… If you’re not lying, then you’re truly awesome!
Although age didn’t represent strength, many people felt awed by her unusual talent. What the leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance said was partly right. Geniuses were bound to break the norm. Maybe the girl wouldn’t stay in the Star Lord realm for tens of thousands of years as they did.
After a brief silence, everybody resumed the business and continued reporting their ages. Then, they found that the three echelons might have truly been decided by age!
It wasn’t true in every case, but it was definitely a tendency!
All of the people in the first echelon were of a young age, such as the leader girl, the leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance and the leader of the Ouhuang Alliance, except the one who reached the 40th stair. He was already two thousand years old.
However, the age order didn’t apply to the second echelon.
Someone in the second echelon was thirty thousand years old, while others were seventy thousand. In the third echelon, there were people who were only seven thousand years old.
“Age does not seem to be the only factor, but those who are younger are indeed ahead of the others.”
“I think it may be something related to age… Wait, does this order depend on your talent?”
Everybody was surprised by that sudden insight. They had gone to many mysterious realms, some of which had been left by ancient experts who had set up tests to ensure that only the talented heirs would inherit their gifts.
That was not a rare occurrence. After all, the concept of “inheritance” was in the genes of human beings, and all the other intelligent creatures!
Reproduction was just one form of inheritance.
It was a habit that had been etched deep inside their souls.
“Do the stairs test your aptitude? Are the legacies of the divine residence at the end of the stairs?” someone couldn’t help but guess. The moment they thought that, everybody’s eyes were glittering with madness.
The legacies of the divine residence were right over there? They couldn’t begin to believe it!
“There might not be any legacies. Maybe this is just a test for us to enter the gate. In any case, we can just see if it’s true with our pets!” someone proposed.
Nobody else objected. Instantly, someone summoned a pet and sent it to the stairs to try that theory.