(TL/N: Azure Firmament is Qing Qiong/Qingqiong in pinyin. Since it's a name, i will use that from now on.)
Luo Fan was the last person to undergo the first round of screening.
It was unclear whether the middle-aged man had done this intentionally.
However, Luo Fan did not care.
"The last one, you go."
The middle-aged man looked at Luo Fan as he spoke.
There was a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
Because, for now, he was still the master of the Eternal Ancient City.
Although it was only a remnant of consciousness.
Even so, he could tell at a glance that Luo Fan was merely a Venerable.
Moreover, this was only one of Luo Fan's clones.
After all, he had previously seen the scene where the space worm clone entered the Eternal Ancient City and attacked the invisible barrier.
Although at that time Luo Fan held the Rift Splitting Blade, a true god-level supreme treasure,
and relied on activating the secret patterns on it to unleash the strength of a fifth-tier Universe Master,
it still surprised the middle-aged man.
After all, even with a supreme treasure, it was not easy for a Venerable to display the strength of a fifth-tier Universe Master.
And he had also noticed something.
Although Luo Fan was only a Venerable, the quality of his divine power was the same as that of a Universe Master.
This was mainly because Luo Fan kept his enhancement innate ability active almost at all times.
The consumption was negligible for him now.
Moreover, when not actively using divine power, there was barely any cost.
So the middle-aged man assumed Luo Fan's divine power was equivalent to that of a Universe Master.
Then he saw Luo Fan's wormhole technique.
This technique completely overturned the worldview of this general from the Wu Kingdom of the Universe Boat.
As a general of the Wu Kingdom from the Origin Continent, a Chaos Ruler, and the final successor of the Star Abyss Sect,
Qingqiong had seen countless extraordinary things.
But this wormhole technique was something he had never seen before.
There was actually a technique that could escape from a palace-type supreme treasure.
He had never even heard of such a thing.
There were many who could break out of a palace-type supreme treasure by force.
There were even those who, after being suppressed inside, used willpower techniques to kill the owner and seize the treasure.
But to directly leave using a technique without damaging either the treasure or its owner, he had truly never heard of it.
This move from Luo Fan was simply too powerful.
Not to mention anything else, his ability to preserve his life was outstanding.
Moreover, he had also heard the discussions among those Universe Masters just now.
Things like a million clones and reaching the level of a Law Master within one epoch.
Although he could not directly verify these claims,
he had learned about them through their conversations.
The more he listened, the more shocked he became.
A million clones was already astonishing, but reaching the level of a Law Master in a single epoch was even more terrifying.
On the Origin Continent, it was not difficult to reach the level of a Law Master after reaching adulthood.
There were quite a few who could achieve it within one epoch.
Moreover, Luo Fan was not a Law Master, but a Law Venerable.
On the Origin Continent, there were also many who, as Law Venerables, possessed the strength of Law Masters.
But this was the Universe Sea.
Although geniuses did occasionally appear in the Universe Sea,
Luo Fan's displayed talent was simply outrageous.
In such a barren place, his growth speed was this fast.
It had to be known that those geniuses from the Universe Sea typically only rose after transcending reincarnation, joining major forces, and gaining access to advanced inheritances.
But Luo Fan had no inheritance, yet at the level of a Law Venerable, he already possessed the strength of a Law Master.
This proved just how terrifying his talent was.
If it were only due to an innate ability granted after achieving perfect genes by the Primal Universe, Qingqiong would not have been too surprised.
But Luo Fan's self-created techniques also possessed the strength of a fourth-tier Universe Master.
That was no simple matter.
It had to be known that the geniuses of the Origin Continent could create high-level techniques at low realms mainly because of their inheritances.
Moreover, their natural perspective far exceeded that of geniuses from the Universe Sea.
In the Primal Universe of the Universe Sea, one could at most comprehend the ten fundamental laws and the eight fusion laws.
But the geniuses of the Origin Continent could begin fusing lower laws even at the Immortal being stage.
And they also had guidance and experience from their elders.
How could the two be compared?
If it were a secret pattern path, it might still be possible to create something by luck.
But Luo Fan relied purely on laws to create the strongest techniques at the Universe Master level.
That was truly extraordinary.
Because of this, Qingqiong was very curious about Luo Fan.
At this moment, the other Universe Masters were also staring closely at him.
They silently prayed that Luo Fan would fail the screening.
After all, no one wanted to compete alongside someone who might become the next supreme existence. That would be too despairing.
Under everyone's gaze, Luo Fan walked toward the spherical machine.
He could not see what was inside from the outside.
As for whether anything would happen to him, Luo Fan did not care.
Without hesitation, he stepped in.
The moment his foot entered the machine, he realized he had entered a separate space.
Some special lifeforms had enormous divine bodies.
So the interior of the machine contained its own space.
The testing mechanisms were also inside.
As Luo Fan entered, the machine slowly closed.
Soon, as it activated, bright yellow secret patterns began to appear on its surface.
…
Inside the machine, Luo Fan arrived in an independent space.
As soon as he entered, he floated in the void.
Not long after, changes began to occur in the surrounding space.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Bright yellow secret patterns appeared throughout the void.
These patterns were similar to the ones Luo Fan had seen outside.
At that moment, strange streams of energy began flowing toward him.
These energies directly penetrated his body.
He felt as if his divine body and even his soul were being completely examined.
At that moment, he began to test an idea he had previously considered.
In the next instant, Luo Fan suddenly transformed into a lifeless stone with no life or soul fluctuations.
The surrounding energies immediately stagnated.
They had lost their target.
…
Outside the machine, the bright yellow secret patterns suddenly turned red.
The surrounding Universe Masters looked at this sudden change with curiosity.
At the same time, they felt uneasy.
They all knew how outrageous Luo Fan's talent was.
Previously, when others entered, the patterns were always bright yellow.
Now that they had turned red, did it mean Luo Fan was different from them?
If so, would he have an advantage in the later tests?
Thinking of this, everyone felt uneasy.
Seeing this, Qingqiong frowned.
Unlike the Universe Masters of the Universe Sea, he came from the Star Abyss Sect.
Moreover, he was the master of this Eternal Ancient City.
He understood everything here very well.
When the machine's patterns turned red, it meant the person inside had suddenly died or disappeared.
He immediately thought of the wormhole technique Luo Fan had used earlier.
"Did he leave using that innate ability?"
"But even if he left, the patterns should not turn red."
"Did he destroy his own clone?"
Qingqiong could not figure it out.
At that moment, the red patterns suddenly turned back to bright yellow.
He finally relaxed.
But before he could fully relax, the patterns turned white.
At this moment, his expression nearly broke.
Fortunately, in the next instant, the patterns returned to bright yellow again.
The surrounding Universe Masters looked at the machine, which now resembled a flashing light sphere, with complicated expressions.
The colors kept changing between red, white, and yellow, leaving them completely confused.
Could it be that the human Hunyuan Master's talent was simply too monstrous?
Thinking of this, they all transmitted the information they had observed back to their respective races.
In fact, ever since the invisible barrier had shattered, these Universe Masters had been constantly relaying everything they saw.
They were even recording who passed the first round.
Qingqiong looked at the machine glowing with bright yellow patterns and let out a breath of relief.
He had thought Luo Fan might leave.
Among everyone present, Luo Fan was the one he valued the most.
Although this time two inheritors were to be selected,
one for the Star Abyss Sect and one for the Wu Kingdom,
the inheritance of the Wu Kingdom was something even he found extremely difficult.
Even at his level, he was not confident in passing it.
Among everyone present, only Luo Fan had even the slightest, extremely slim chance.
Most likely, he still would not pass.
He might not even pass the Star Abyss Sect's test.
Qingqiong did not want both inheritances to end up without successors.
Among so many people, Luo Fan was the only one with even a small possibility.
That was why he had arranged for Luo Fan to go last.
…
Inside the machine.
After turning into a stone and seeing the surrounding patterns turn red, Luo Fan reverted to his original form.
The patterns returned to bright yellow.
The previously stagnant energy resumed flowing into his body.
Next, he activated the wormhole again to test it.
He mainly wanted to see whether it could be used here.
After all, even if he died, it did not matter.
He could simply send his true body in later or have the space worm clone disguise itself and enter.
Because of the system, his true body and space worm clone could essentially be treated as separate individuals.
Even the Primal Universe could only determine their connection through subtle details.
If he were outside the Primal Universe, even its will would not recognize the connection between his clones.
Each clone could obtain its own innate ability upon achieving perfect genes.
There were things even the Primal Universe could not decide.
Its will was still bound by the supreme rules.
Just like that former leader.
Releasing him was not something the Primal Universe could decide.
It required approval from the supreme rules.
The same applied to innate abilities granted by perfect genes.
If the supreme rules did not allow it, Luo Fan could not have obtained an innate ability for each clone.
Since they allowed it, it meant even the supreme rules treated his clones as separate individuals.
The supreme rules were less intelligent than the will of the Primal Universe, functioning more like rigid laws.
The Primal Universe still had some degree of awareness.
For example, when it sensed the birth of realm beasts, it introduced the God King of Jin.
When it sensed anomalies within itself, it could issue tasks through the Ancestral God Sect.
It could even convey thoughts through the three Ancestral Gods.
But the supreme rules were more like a fixed program.
Because of this, Luo Fan did not believe Qingqiong could see through his disguise.
As long as he did not use the same techniques, even bringing in his true body would not be a problem.
It would only be slightly suspicious if multiple Venerables all had fourth-tier Universe Master strength.
But one or two would not matter.
That was why he dared to experiment here.
He was also considering the human race.
If they failed to obtain the inheritance but he could open a wormhole, he could bring them out.
As he activated the wormhole, the surrounding patterns turned white again.
However, after confirming the wormhole worked, Luo Fan was satisfied.
He immediately dispelled it.
The patterns returned to bright yellow.
After that, Luo Fan stopped causing trouble and allowed the strange energies to probe his divine body.
These strange energies penetrated every part of his divine power.
Only after scanning all of it did the patterns finally stop.
Soon, the energies dissipated.
The patterns in the void gradually disappeared.
A passage leading out appeared before him.
He stepped forward and exited the machine.
As soon as Luo Fan came out, he saw that all the Universe Masters were staring at him, including Qingqiong.
At this moment, Qingqiong looked at Luo Fan with a strange expression.
He had not expected that an opportunity others would treasure so much would be treated so casually by Luo Fan.
In Luo Fan's view, even without this inheritance, he could still grow.
If necessary, he could go to that inheritance as a backup.
Even without any inheritance, with the system, he could still reach the Origin Continent.
Because he had a fallback, he had confidence.
Since that was the case, he could act however he pleased.
"You have passed."
Qingqiong looked at Luo Fan and said calmly.
Luo Fan simply nodded.
"Human Hunyuan Master, what did you experience inside? Why was it different from ours?"
"Yes, why were you different from us?"
"Were the test conditions different?"
Luo Fan glanced at the Universe Masters who asked these questions and did not respond at all.
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