Chapter 436: Long Tian’s Talent

Just as Ye Feng was about to focus on observing those eighty-one secret patterns, Tian Dao’s expression suddenly changed. He raised his eyebrows and smiled at Ye Feng, saying, “I didn’t expect two candidates for inheritance to appear at once this time.”
“What?” Ye Feng was slightly shocked.
“That kid named Long Tian has already reached the ninth level of the Selection Tower,” Tian Dao added, leaving Ye Feng even more astonished.
“Brother Long?” Ye Feng had always suspected something strange about Long Tian and believed his rapid progress was due to that entity within him. But it seemed now that Long Tian’s innate talent was also extremely remarkable, even on par with his own.
“The ninth level is different from the first eight. It will take him some time to come out,” Tian Dao said, turning to Ye Feng. “You don’t need to wait either. Start understanding the secret patterns now.”
“Mm!” Ye Feng nodded and focused his mind, gazing at the starry sky.
As the stars filled his vision, he felt a slight vibration spread through his mental sea, and the images before his eyes suddenly changed. The stars formed a simple pattern based on strange patterns—resembling characters but much simpler in structure, drawn in a single stroke. At the same time, the pattern emitted strange energy fluctuations, making it seem incredibly mysterious.
After observing for a while, Ye Feng couldn’t figure anything out. With no other choice, he continued to watch while using his mental power to replicate the secret patterns. Once completed, a faint aura emanated from his replicated pattern. The pattern in the sky disappeared, replaced by one nearly twice as complex as before.
Ye Feng studied it for a moment before replicating it again, completing it in one go. A third pattern appeared in the void…
The patterns in the void grew increasingly difficult, and Ye Feng’s speed gradually slowed. It didn’t take long before he had mastered over twenty patterns, earning Tian Dao’s satisfied nod.
However, Ye Feng also identified a pattern: no matter how complex the secret patterns were, they had to be replicated in one go without interruption. Otherwise, the replicated pattern would vanish instantly. The difficulty lay in the fact that the patterns became more complex as he progressed, and he wasn’t sure what order to follow to ensure continuity. Moreover, the more he progressed, the more mental energy it required to replicate them.

Just after Ye Feng understood the 27th secret pattern, a slight spatial fluctuation came from not far away. Ye Feng turned to look; he knew it must be Long Tian. Once the spatial fluctuation subsided, a tall young man with a confident smile appeared in the void. “Xiao Feng?” The man was slightly surprised upon seeing Ye Feng. “Brother Long, have you passed the ninth level of the Selection Tower?” Ye Feng asked deliberately. “Mm, the ninth level is different from the first eight—it took me quite a while,” Long Tian nodded. “You arrived before me, so you should have already passed the Selection Tower, right?” “Mm, not long ago. It took me almost a year to complete the whole tower,” Ye Feng replied. “A year?” Long Tian was taken aback. “What’s wrong?” Ye Feng asked in confusion. “So, you’ve been here for over twelve years?” “Over twelve years?” Ye Feng was even more puzzled. “Yes. I spent thirteen years in that tower, while you only spent a year. That means you’ve been out for twelve years already, right?” Long Tian’s expression was strange, as if Ye Feng hadn’t noticed the passage of time at all. “Actually, I finished the first eight levels in my first year, but the ninth level requires extremely high mental strength. So I had to retreat to improve my soul cultivation. That retreat lasted twelve years, and I only finished it a few months ago, raising my soul cultivation to the mid-stage of the Supreme God level.” “I didn’t even realize time had passed…” Ye Feng glanced at the Heavenly Dao with a strange expression before turning to Long Tian and saying, “This is the Senior Heavenly Dao. It is he who wants to select the successor for this trial.” “Senior!” Long Tian bowed respectfully to the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao sized Long Tian up, a strange look flashing briefly in its eyes, though it hid it well, so neither Ye Feng nor Long Tian noticed. “Good, exceptional talent. It’s great that I can encounter two basically qualified candidates at once! You don’t need to go through the intermediate tests either—start right here. Let Ye Feng explain the rules to you. If you have any questions, come ask me.” Ye Feng was a bit puzzled. The Heavenly Dao didn’t seem as enthusiastic about Long Tian as it was about him. But this thought passed by quickly and was ignored by Ye Feng. “Maybe it has already explained the rules once and is too lazy to repeat them. Anyway, since I’m familiar with Brother Long, it’s more convenient for me to explain…”

Long Tian didn’t see anything special about it. He simply thought the old man was a bit lazy. However, having Ye Feng explain things to him made him feel more at ease, as Ye Feng would surely tell him everything without reservation. After Ye Feng’s explanation, Long Tian finally understood that this starry sky contained secret patterns. As long as he grasped a certain number of them within the specified time, he could become a legitimate successor. After Ye Feng finished explaining, Long Tian asked the Heavenly Dao a few simple questions. Upon learning that he only needed to master seventy-two secret patterns to qualify as a successor, he sat cross-legged and focused on understanding them. “This boy’s fate…” The Heavenly Dao watched Long Tian’s seated figure and shook his head softly, as if talking to himself, but his voice didn’t carry anywhere. Neither Ye Feng nor Long Tian heard it, nor did they see his head-shaking motion. Gradually, the figure of the Heavenly Dao disappeared… The first secret pattern, the second, the third… Long Tian made remarkable progress, completing the simulations of the first twenty patterns almost without any difficulty. By the time he reached the twenty-first, he found the simulations becoming increasingly challenging. His mental energy struggled to carve out the patterns, and any slight carelessness caused the planned path to be disrupted by resistance. Long Tian’s expression also grew serious… On Ye Feng’s end, it took him immense effort to complete the simulation of the thirtieth layer. Sweating profusely, he took a few deep breaths before turning to glance at Long Tian, who was still in meditation, then turning back to study the thirty-first secret pattern. Although Long Tian was his closest friend, now that they were both part of the same inheritance, it was inevitable they would want to compare themselves. It wasn’t out of mutual distrust, but rather because of their mutual understanding, they wanted to compete. Of course, given Long Tian’s competitive nature, such thoughts were only natural. Even on Earth, he had always been the leader wherever he went, treating Ye Feng as his younger brother. But after Ye Feng surpassed him in strength, he felt somewhat resentful. Yet, with his strong character—someone who grew stronger when faced with challenges—Ye Feng’s progress only fueled his fighting spirit. What truly changed him was when Ye Feng was captured in the cultivation world. That incident made him resolve to become stronger at any cost, leading to his later reputation as the Bloodstorm God in the Demon Realm.

The competition between the two began in silence, and as the years passed, in the vast emptiness, two tiny figures sat motionless, as if through eternity…