Translator: CinderTL
Jiang Ye has passed the first trial.
A subtitle flashed across the screen.
"Finally passed the first one."
"That was tough."
"How long has it been? Almost an hour."
"At this rate, Jiang Ye will struggle immensely to clear even the tenth trial." Hundreds of Chen Clan members exchanged worried glances.
Over the years, only the Chen Clan's top-rank geniuses had ever entered the Hundred Cosmic Refinements.
The first trial was the simplest, typically completed in under ten minutes.
Yet Jiang Ye had taken an entire hour to clear the first level.
His performance was utterly dismal.
"Daughter, is this the man you've set your sights on?" A middle-aged man with a stern face watched the projection, sighing inwardly.
He was Chen Yuan, Chen Zilu's father.
Previously, Chen Yuan had outwardly shown no objection to Jiang Ye, but he harbored reservations.
Now, Jiang Ye's performance left him deeply disappointed.
"Jiang Ye..." An elder murmured, "Why is he so slow?"
"Indeed, such a performance is far from satisfactory."
"The ancestor..." Several elders quietly glanced in Chen Jiuxuan's direction.
Previously, Chen Jiuxuan had strongly supported Jiang Ye.
Now that Jiang Ye's performance was so dismal, Chen Jiuxuan's reputation was undoubtedly at stake.
The elders dared not provoke the ancestor's displeasure and communicated only through telepathy.
But when they looked at their ancestor, they were all stunned.
Chen Jiuxuan's expression remained utterly calm, as if he had anticipated this outcome all along.
"Ancestor, you don't seem surprised?" Chen Fang finally couldn't help but ask.
He had never been convinced of Jiang Ye's merits, and now that Jiang Ye's performance was so poor, he could no longer contain his resentment.
"Surprised by what?" Chen Jiuxuan replied indifferently.
"Jiang Ye," Chen Fang quickly answered.
"You think Jiang Ye's performance is poor?" Chen Jiuxuan said calmly. "What if I told you he triggered the highest level of trial difficulty?"
"Highest level?" The Chen Clan elders were stunned.
Trial difficulty? There's a highest level?
None of the elders had ever heard of such a thing.
Wasn't the Hundred Cosmic Refinements supposed to automatically adjust the difficulty based on each individual's realm?
"The Hundred Cosmic Refinements has its own selection mechanism," Chen Jiuxuan explained.
"If it deems your potential to be exceptionally high," he continued, "it will transport you to an extremely difficult 'instance.'"
"Passing this trial will yield far greater rewards."
"Of course, the risk of death will also be significantly higher," Chen Jiuxuan added calmly.
Upon hearing this, Chen Fang and the other Chen Clan elders exchanged astonished glances. This was the first time they had ever heard such a claim.
"You're unaware because you've never experienced it," Chen Jiuxuan said dismissively. "But this old man has!"
"Back then," he recalled, "during my first entry into the Hundred Cosmic Refinements, I battled for several minutes in the very first trial."
"To think," he mused, "that after all these years, someone else has triggered this level of difficulty. It truly fills me with mixed emotions."
The Chen Clan elders exchanged uneasy glances. They couldn't miss the ancestor's unspoken implication.
Among all the elders present, none had ever triggered the Hundred Cosmic Refinements' highest difficulty. Yet a mere outsider had managed to do so.
"This..."
For a moment, the elders' faces flushed with embarrassment.
"Ancestor," Chen Fang couldn't help but ask, "what level did you reach back then?"
He immediately regretted his words, wanting to slap himself. If the ancestor had already said this much, his performance must have been poor. Why had he asked such a foolish question?
"It's fine. It's no secret," Chen Jiuxuan said calmly. "Back then, I only reached the thirtieth trial before being unable to proceed."
"The thirtieth?" Chen Fang and the others were astonished.
They had all reached the seventieth trial in their own time. How could the ancestor have stopped at thirty?
The elders present were certain this wasn't because the ancestor's strength was inferior to theirs in his prime. Rather, it was because the ancestor's trials were of an exceptionally high difficulty.
"At the time, I classified that difficulty as 'nightmare-grade'," Chen Jiuxuan explained. "But when I entered the hundred cosmic refinements a second time, I never encountered trials of that difficulty again." He sighed. "And no one else in the clan has ever triggered nightmare-grade difficulty either."
"Unbelievable," Chen Jiuxuan murmured, "Jiang Ye actually managed to do it."
"This..."
The elders exchanged stunned glances, speechless.
"Jiang Ye can trigger nightmare-grade difficulty?" Chen Fang thought, his surprise growing.
Does this mean Jiang Ye's potential rivals that of the ancestor himself?
Meanwhile, Chen Yuan was equally astonished.
Could my daughter have truly found a treasure?
"Ancestor," Chen Yuan couldn't help but ask, "how many trials do you think Jiang Ye can clear?"
"I don't know," Chen Jiuxuan replied, shaking his head.
He genuinely didn't know.
Chen Jiuxuan had secretly observed Jiang Ye for a long time.
But for the past six months, Jiang Ye had been isolated in the Star Realm Sea, cut off from the outside world.
Even Chen Jiuxuan had no idea what Jiang Ye's current combat power was.
"Twenty trials? Thirty trials?" Chen Jiuxuan shook his head again. "Either is possible."
"Thirty trials?" Chen Fang, Chen Yuan, and the other elders gasped.
Does the ancestor hold such high expectations for Jiang Ye?
He's practically placing him on equal footing with himself.
"Very well."
"I'll see how far he gets," Chen Fang muttered to himself, watching the projection ahead. "Just how many trials can Jiang Ye conquer?"
Meanwhile, Chen Yuan, Chen Zilu's father, was also closely monitoring Jiang Ye's progress.
"This Jiang Ye kid... he's not as simple as I thought."
"Fine," Chen Yuan thought. "Let's see just how capable he truly is."
Jiang Ye remained completely unaware of the outside world.
After an hour of fierce combat, he finally broke through the great formation's blockade and annihilated all the alien races in the first trial.
Whoosh! Jiang Ye soared into the sky, quickly ascending to the ancient celestial body.
You have completed the first refinement of the Hundred Cosmic Refinements.
A faint subtitle appeared.
"Finally, it's over."
"And this was just the first trial," Jiang Ye thought. "The difficulty is insane."
"Still, my spear technique has improved significantly."
Jiang Ye glanced at his status panel.
(End of the Chapter)
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