Everyone witnessed the disrespect Patrick received, but no one cared as strength meant everything in this world. Some disapproved of the announcer's actions, but no one said a thing; Kang Mu saw this as he smirked; this scene made him feel slightly better.
But unbeknownst to everyone, a dark gate opened above the broken world; it was completely devoid of light and had chaos energy swirling inside it. This gate was the infinite punishment gate; Grace created it to punish those who disrespected Patrick for eternity. Their world was about to be destroyed if not for Patrick because of the stupid action of a cultivator.
Patrick walked closer to the testing stone. He slightly raised his pinky as he held it in the flickering position; seeing this, the announcer was slightly disappointed in how this person acts. The Emperor paid close attention, using his spiritual sense to probe this man for any strange signs.
The next moment, the man flicked his pinky as the stone tablet incinerated into dust particles. The next instant, the crowd burst into commotion as many powerhouses stood up to observe this man closely.
"Lord, I think we should bring this person to our sect; he must be cultivating some body strengthening technique to be able to cause such impossible feats."
A man spoke to another while accessing Patrick. Many of this conversation was going all around the stadium as many powerhouses became interested in Patrick. The once mocking crowd was now completely silent.
Patrick used his pinky and slightly tapped the stone; his main goal was to control his power, but his strength was boundless; even after restricting himself to the lowest, he was still strong.
The other candidates lowered their heads in shame. Kang Mu was the worst; he was almost going to burst with anger; he sent a mental message to the elder that warned him.
"Use this opportunity to call out his abnormal strength and declare him a demon."
The elder received the message but did not take action; he wanted to see if the emperor will act.
Ju Han, the emperor, saw the impossible feat this man just did; he wanted to act, but if he did, many others would also act, especially the sects who were almost on the verge of flying to Patrick and accept him as their disciple. Even after using his spiritual sense, he couldn't find anything strange about Patrick; and his realm was indeed in the qi co sensation realm, but how does he possess such strength?.
The emperor became more interested in Patrick as this boy might have a cultivation method for the body that might be far better. He smiled as greed filled his eyes. He thought of getting what Patrick possesses.
The host stood on the platform with a shocked and panicked face as he regretted his words of disrespect earlier; he changed his perception of Patrick and valued him as much as the emperor. He continued with the third phase.
Usually, only the strength of a spirit emperor and above can destroy the stone tablet; even a ninth stage spirit king would at most scratch it if they used their full power. This man who was at the Qi condensation realm could destroy this stone meant that his strength was beyond his cultivation.
"The third phase of the competition is the comprehension phase; there are three cultivation methods here; if you can master them within the given time, which is thirty minutes, then you pass the test. You will demonstrate these cultivation skills after; the more proficient you are at using it, the more points you earn with the highest being 1000."
The man pointed to a table with three cultivation books copied fifty times; the conductors' eliminated most candidates after the second test. The crowd went in an uproar of gossip and arguments of who will win; some were arguing over Patrick and the influential families, including Kang Mu.
Patrick was the first to pick this time; he took three cultivation books as he saw their names. The first one was called lightning dragon punch, the second ghost shadow steps, and the third golden budda shield. These were the most common methods as they can be found all over the empire for low prices.
[Skills: Lightning dragon punch, Ghost shadow steps, and golden budda defense are comprehended.]
[Upgrading skills to the highest stage, God grade cultivation methods.]
[Upgrade complete. Master, should I add it to skills?]
Grace's voice rang out when Patrick set eyes on the books; he heard Grace's question as he replied.
"No need, these are trash anyway; I am just trying to understand what mortals go through before fully acquiring immortality."
Kang Mu had a disgruntled expression as he began cultivating the skills; since fifty candidates were left, they could fit the stage. The next moment, all the kids went into a cultivating position, legs crossed. Patrick was the only exception as he stood over the other candidates; the host saw this as he asked in a polite tone.
"Why has young brother not started yet?"
The same question was going in everyone's heads. Some began assuming that maybe Patrick has given up, but from the last test, they canceled this thought. Patrick heard the man as he turned to answer with a dull gaze.
"These trashy methods are not worth my attention."
"......."
The entire crowd fell into silence as Patrick replied arrogantly; these words echoed the stadium as even the emperor had a slight grin on his face. The host was more confused more than ever, he first humiliated this man, but after the man demonstrated his strength, he changed his views of him. But now, he doesn't know how to approach him.
Kang Mu and the other candidates were still cultivating, unaware of the commotion happening.
"Is not that I couldn't use them, but that I have already comprehended seconds after seeing them."
"What, how is that possible?"
"Although these are lower grade techniques, it should take some time before one fully comprehended them."
The crowd fell in an uproar as people began reasoning that Patrick must be lying as it should be impossible to comprehend this quickly by just looking at it.
Even though the host had respect for Patrick now, he still had doubts about what Patrick just said; he turned to the stand where the powerful people sat, including the sect representatives. He wanted to see what the emperor would say, but the emperor didn't show any signs of a surprise.
He turned to Patrick as he spoke more respectfully.
"Since young brother has comprehended the skills, then we should move to the fourth phase of testing the level of your comprehension."
Athena and Anna watched everything while sitting in the air with glasses on and drinking juice like two hot girls on a beach during summer. Athena introduced modern culture to Anna as they got used to each other.
The man led Patrick to a training ground; the training ground was a closed area, but it had crystals installed inside for people to see.