Chapter 122

Compared to the other testers under a hundred years old, Lin Yuan had gone through three shuttles, with a true age nearing three hundred years.

Beauty, wealth, status—Lin Yuan had experienced them all.

…

In a certain mysterious space in the Seven Star Cave World.

Twelve figures almost simultaneously noticed Lin Yuan, who was passing through the Sixth Star Cave at an extremely fast pace.

“How is he so fast?”

“Those illusions, do they not affect him at all?”

“It can’t be, a twenty-year-old kid, how can he have such a state of mind?”

The nine figures below exchanged glances.

The test of the Sixth Star Cave wasn’t difficult to pass, but to do so like Lin Yuan, almost unaffected by the illusionary realm, was rare.

The testers who had passed through the Seventh Star Cave before had almost all wasted several hours, or perhaps half a day, on those ten steps.

To the twelve figures, this was nothing out of the ordinary.

After all, all testers were under a hundred years old; at such a young age, to possess Third or Fourth Rank strength meant that besides their talent, they surely spent most of their time immersed in cultivation.

Where would they have the chance to experience such trials?

The three figures above silently watched Lin Yuan.

“The path of evolution is an exceedingly difficult one; if one stops due to some temptation halfway, no matter how strong the talent, the eventual achievements would be extremely limited,” reflected Gu Ze inwardly, with increasing satisfaction in his gaze towards Lin Yuan.

At Lin Yuan’s age, to pass the Sixth Star Cave so decisively indicated an extraordinarily firm heart towards the Dao.

As such, future influences from external factors would also be reduced to the minimum.

“Remarkable, at such a young age.”

“Indeed, at our age, it would also be a challenge to suppress our many desires.”

“This Lin Yuan, he’s just twenty years old, right?”

The other two figures also voiced their admiration.

Up to now, the fastest to pass through the Sixth Star Cave was Yin Ling with her Red Pattern Silver Spirit.

But even for Yin Ling, it took over an hour to walk those ten steps.

And Lin Yuan… based on his current speed, it would take at most another four or five minutes to finish.

And the reason why Yin Ling was so fast was that she had followed a Sixth Rank Fallen Star Warrior as a teacher from a young age.

With such a Sixth Rank Fallen Star Warrior teacher’s protection, Yin Ling had access from a young age to everything that countless citizens look up to but can’t have.

Under such circumstances, it’s naturally much easier to walk through those ten steps of illusionary realm.

It’s like a native from a backward tribe who suddenly arrives on a high-level life planet or even the main planet of the Human Alliance.

They would definitely be dazzled by the various high technologies and thus fall into decadence.

But for a citizen who has lived on such a high-level life planet from birth, they would find it normal and could easily break free.

Therefore, in the eyes of the three beings beyond the Sixth Rank.

Lin Yuan is far more remarkable than Yin Ling.

According to public records, Lin Yuan comes from an ordinary family on Canglan Star.

Even under the attention of the Goddess of Wisdom, what could a twenty-year-old have experienced?

…

The Sixth Star Cave.

Lin Yuan took the tenth step, arrived “on the other side,” and passed the test.

“Love?”

The last step of the illusion flashed through Lin Yuan’s mind.

This step’s illusion was a test of “love.”

The “love” here didn’t refer to romantic love, but to the broader concept of love.

Parental love, affection between friends and family, and so on.

“No matter which emotion it is, love? hate? or something else, they are just adjustments on the path of life’s evolution; one can enjoy them in moderation, but one must never sink into them or let these emotions affect oneself,” Lin Yuan thought to himself quickly.

He had the Door to the Myriad Realms and was destined to travel through countless worlds, possessing countless identities.

If he indulged in the emotional entanglements each identity brought, then he might as well stop cultivating; sooner or later, he would go insane and die from inner demons.

“Them?”

Lin Yuan glanced behind him.

Dozens of evolvers were still unmoving, either experiencing the illusionary realm, not wanting to wake up so quickly, or adjusting their thoughts to shake off the effects of the previous illusions they had experienced.

“The Seventh Star Cave.”

Lin Yuan took another step forward, and his figure vanished as he left the Sixth Star Cave.

…

The Seventh Star Cave.

Lin Yuan’s figure appeared.

“What is this?”

Lin Yuan’s eyes widened.

Compared to the previous six Star Caves,

the sight of the Seventh Star Cave was somewhat inconceivable.

It was a huge mountain peak, floating in the cosmic starry skies.

And Lin Yuan had appeared at the very top of this mountain peak; from this angle, he couldn’t see the full extent of the mountain, only vaguely feeling that it was incredibly majestic.

“A peak within the cosmos?”

Lin Yuan was a bit stunned,—he had a vague sense that this mountain was exceedingly real, not just a virtual image.

“Those stone statues?”

Lin Yuan looked around.

He saw that at the top of the mountain peak, stone statues were situated at intervals.

Compared to the statues in the Fourth Star Cave, the statues here varied in form, with some like the ‘Sky Roc’ poised to fly and others like a ‘woman’ holding high the fire of life.

In short, not a single statue was alike.

“The trial of this Star Cave is…”

Lin Yuan’s gaze moved about, finding the familiar stone tablet.

“There are a total of one hundred and thirty-six statues in this Star Cave, each containing a certain Evolution Path.”

“To observe the statues and comprehend the Evolution Path within, and then touch the statue with your hand, is to pass the trial.”

“Hint: What suits you best is the best; do not aim too high and seek to forcibly understand those grand statues.”

…

“One hundred and thirty-six statues?”

“One hundred and thirty-six Evolution Paths?”

Lin Yuan was slightly startled.

At this moment, he also noticed that speckled atop the mountain were over a hundred stone statues of various sizes.

The largest statues were over ten meters tall, but such tall statues only summed up to sixteen.

The rest of the statues were only two to three meters in size.

Lin Yuan walked toward the nearest statue.

This statue was a Sky Roc with outstretched wings, nearly three meters in size,—its wings spread as if ready to soar into the skies.

“Perfect, just like the real thing….”

Lin Yuan observed for a while, and his mind soon immersed itself.

He could feel as if the statue had come to life, each feather seemingly quivering.

“Wind, the wind of heaven and earth.”

Lin Yuan sensed that this Sky Roc seemed to be the incarnation of the winds between heaven and earth,—with just a slight flap of its wings, merging with the wind, it could cross hundreds of miles in an instant.

Soaring with the wind for a hundred thousand miles.

[Your perception is extraordinary, watching the ‘Sky Roc’ statue, you’ve grasped the ‘Skywind’ Evolution Path…..]

…

“Finally arrived at the Seventh Star Cave.”

In the Mysterious Space, twelve silhouettes all looked at Lin Yuan with expectation.

Given Lin Yuan’s performance in the Fourth and Sixth Star Caves, in the minds of these twelve silhouettes, he was already second only to those three with the red patterns.

Even in some aspects, he surpassed the three with the red patterns.

After all, the perception Lin Yuan had demonstrated in the Fourth Star Cave was truly astonishing.

The three silhouettes above, similarly looked toward Lin Yuan.

Gu Ze, in particular, stared unblinkingly at Lin Yuan.

“The Fourth Star Cave, although also a test of perception, is far less detailed and specific than the Seventh Star Cave.”

The three silhouettes understood this clearly.

The one hundred and thirty-six statues in the Seventh Star Cave, containing one hundred and thirty-six Evolution Paths, in fact symbolized one hundred and thirty-six different directions of paths.

Examinees comprehending among them, without written guidance, just by perceiving the Evolution Path within the statues,

meant that they were very suitable for that Evolution Path.

If not suitable, it would be difficult to comprehend.

The kind of trial in the Seventh Star Cave was exactly to reveal the talents and potentials of all examinees,

so as to provide guidance for what comes next.

“I hope it’s one of those statues…”

Gu Ze thought to himself.

The ‘several statues’ he was thinking of were naturally those evolution paths broadly similar to his direction.

Though Lin Yuan’s current path embodied the extreme attributes of Yin and Yang,

it did not mean that he could only walk on this Evolution Path; perhaps there were more suitable ones that Lin Yuan had not encountered before.

Hence this choice.

If Gu Ze found an Evolution Path more suitable for Lin Yuan, he could completely intervene to forcefully change it.

In Human Civilization, as long as one’s cultivation has not reached the Sixth Rank, it’s possible to choose a different Evolution Path after paying a certain price.

Just like Loulan He from the ‘Rainstorm’ Star Domain,

who had changed at least dozens of Evolution Paths by replicating his flesh.