C20 Broken.

"Group three, commence testing!"

With Su Yun, Lin Feng, and eighteen other youths ascending the stage, a shout echoed from the middle-aged man with black hair in the loft.

Simultaneously, all twenty youths reached for the crystal balls.

"Buzz!" "Buzz!" "Buzz!"...

Beams of light erupted from each crystal ball at once.

Whoosh!

One beam outshone the rest, soaring above the other nineteen in a mere instant, climbing swiftly.

"It's Young Master Lin Feng! Young Master Lin Feng!"

"His ascent rivals even Dong Tianlong's!"

"Push through, Young Master Lin Feng, surpass Dong Tianlong!"

...

The arena erupted in cheers.

All eyes were on Lin Feng, the sole standout whose light clearly originated from the crystal ball before him.

"Heh."

The surrounding accolades brought a slight smirk to Lin Feng's lips, and his gaze shifted to Su Yun beside him.

Noticing that the light from Su Yun's crystal ball had barely risen half a meter, trailing behind the other eighteen, Lin Feng couldn't contain his scoff, "Pfft. To think the one who dared to kill my brother had any real skill, turns out he's nothing but trash!"

Su Yun paid him no mind, eyeing his crystal ball with a hint of hesitation.

He had a hunch that if he channeled all his Soul Power into the crystal ball, it might just shatter then and there, so he had only infused a fraction of his power.

"Enough, it doesn't matter!"

But as he saw the lights of others around him continue to climb, Su Yun shook his head in resignation.

In the square...

"What's going on?"

Watching Su Yun lag far behind the other nineteen on the stage, Yun Yan and the senior members of the Yun family were visibly puzzled.

Yun Yilan's brows knitted in concern.

Su Yun had bested Yun Feng in the clan contest. Even if his Soul Power was a bit weaker, it couldn't possibly be this deficient.

"What a waste of time!"

Yun Linguang couldn't suppress a disdainful snort.

Yun Liyao chimed in, "This loser must have cheated to beat my brother!"

At her words, skepticism spread among the Yun family's elders.

Did Su Yun actually cheat?

Yun Yan's expression darkened at the sight, and he was just about to speak when a crude exclamation cut through the air.

"Damn!"

A voice erupted suddenly beside them.

Yun Yan and the others turned with furrowed brows to see a young member of the Yun family, eyes wide and staring at the stage in utter astonishment.

They followed his gaze in confusion.

"What the..."

Their own eyes widened and mouths dropped open in shock.

Boom!

On the stage, the light that had been at its lowest point just a second before was now skyrocketing.

Like a rocket launch, it shot up in a straight line.

Before the crowd could process what was happening, Lin Feng's previously unmatched light was caught up to and surpassed by this new contender.

It had been overtaken!

"What's happening?"

"Holy shit, is that a volcanic eruption? How is it still shooting up?"

"Oh my god, am I seeing this right?"

...

The entire place buzzed with commotion.

Up in the pavilion.

The three middle-aged men, who had been focused on Lin Feng's light, now shifted their attention to Su Yun.

They watched, dumbfounded, as the light that had suddenly soared past Lin Feng's continued to climb, reaching five meters high.

This kind of Soul Power test set five meters as a benchmark, the line between the ordinary and the genius. Anyone whose Soul Power exceeded five meters and was under twenty years old was considered a genius!

In normal circumstances, they wouldn't have been so astonished. But this abrupt surge...

In all their years of recruitment, they had never witnessed anything like it.

Yet, their amazement was far from over. The light that had surpassed five meters didn't stop there but kept climbing.

Six meters, seven meters, eight meters...

"This..."

As the light hit nine meters, the trio of middle-aged men stood with their mouths agape.

But the light didn't halt at nine meters; it soared, nearly reaching ten meters.

"This... This can't be possible!"

On the stage, Lin Feng's face was a mask of disbelief.

Just a moment ago, it was merely half a meter tall, but now, it towered more than twice the height of the light in front of him. How could that be? He refused to believe it. The crystal ball must be faulty—it had to be Su Yun's crystal ball!

Frantically, he infused the crystal ball with Soul Power, but no matter how much he channeled, the light stubbornly hovered around four meters and eighty-nine centimeters, refusing to climb any higher.

"Crack!"

Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed across the stage, causing everyone in the audience to pause.

"Crack, crack..."

The sound of something splitting filled the air, drawing all eyes to its source. The crystal ball on the table before Su Yun was now laced with a spiderweb of cracks and, in the blink of an eye, it burst into countless shards with a loud 'pop'.

"It's broken!" Lin Feng yelled out, "I knew it! Your crystal ball is definitely broken!"

Su Yun paid him no mind, gazing at the scattered crystal fragments on the table, his face a picture of resignation. He had suspected the crystal ball would shatter.

"So it was broken after all!" The crowd, witnessing the spectacle and hearing Lin Feng's cries, came to a sudden realization. They had been puzzled by the abrupt surge, but now it was clear—the crystal ball had malfunctioned.

In that instant, all eyes turned towards the loft at the front. But before their gazes could settle, a snapping sound preceded them, emanating from the loft.

A tea cup slipped from the grasp of one of the seated middle-aged men, shattering into pieces upon the floor. The faces of the three High Sect's special envoys were a study in shock, their expressions frozen as if turned to stone.

"Three High Sect's special envoys, this young man has destroyed the crystal ball. Shouldn't he be punished?" Lin Zongshan couldn't contain his indignation, his voice booming across the space.

His outcry jolted the three envoys from their stupor. They turned their gaze upon Lin Zongshan, their looks one of incredulity—as if they were staring at an utter fool.

Lin Zongshan's brow furrowed deeper, but he restrained himself, mindful of their esteemed status.

The envoys, however, were no longer concerned with him. Their attention had already shifted to Su Yun below on the stage. Their eyes gleamed with intense interest, as if they had discovered an extraordinary gem.

Su Yun involuntarily shuddered.

He had merely damaged a crystal ball; surely that didn't warrant such a piercing stare.

"Little guy, you're Su Yun, aren't you?"

At that moment, the middle-aged man with black hair suddenly asked, his eyes crinkling with a smile.

"Uh..."

The intensity of the man's gaze left Su Yun feeling uncomfortable, yet he nodded in affirmation, "Yes."

"Excellent!"

Without missing a beat, the middle-aged man declared, "Group three, Su Yun takes first place and advances to the next round!"

His words echoed through the arena, which fell into a hushed silence.

Su Yun, first?

The crowd was visibly taken aback.

The Soul Power contest hadn't even commenced, and he was already moving on?

"This isn't right!"

Lin Feng, from his position on the stage, couldn't contain his protest, "His crystal ball is broken! He should be penalized, not promoted!"

At his outburst, the trio of middle-aged men turned their attention to him.

The same foolish look they had seen in his father, Lin Zongshan's eyes, was now directed at him.

This irked Lin Feng immensely. Unlike his restrained father, the fiery youth couldn't hold back his indignation and bellowed, "I won't accept this! You're making arbitrary decisions. It's completely unfair!"

"Arbitrary? Unfair?"

Upon hearing this, the three men exchanged glances and couldn't suppress their laughter.

"What's so funny!?"

Lin Feng's anger flared even more at the sight, and he barked out in fury.

Their laughter ceased as their expressions turned icy. "Who are you to question us? Do we owe you an explanation for our amusement?"

The chill in their eyes sent a shiver down Lin Feng's spine, and he suddenly realized the gravity of his outburst. He fell silent, his head bowed, no longer daring to speak.

"Hmph."

Seeing this, the men in black simply snorted dismissively, uninterested in further engagement.

To them, an ordinary Soul Cultivator like Lin Feng was utterly insignificant.

"Um..."

Meanwhile, Su Yun spoke up from the stage, "So, I'm exempt from the Soul Power test and advance directly?"

"Exactly!"

The black-haired middle-aged man's stern look softened into a smile as he nodded, teasingly adding, "We certainly don't want to risk breaking another crystal ball!"

Su Yun gave a nonchalant shrug and stepped down from the arena, a move that saved him further effort and caught the envious gazes of the young men and women watching.

Yet, they were no fools. After witnessing the stark contrast in the black-haired middle-aged man's tone when addressing Su Yun compared to Lin Feng, they came to a realization.

Su Yun's crystal ball wasn't faulty—it couldn't be.

There was only one plausible explanation...

Su Yun's Soul Power was so immense that it shattered the crystal ball!

With this thought, many in the crowd involuntarily inhaled sharply, their eyes widening as they regarded Su Yun with a mix of awe and fear, as if he were some kind of extraordinary creature.

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