"So this is the boy you mentioned?" The elderly man, now fully alert, gazed at Kael with newfound intensity, his eyes gleaming with intrigue.
"Indeed. What do you think? Even at his age, I was never this monstrously strong. The younger generation these days... truly terrifying," Zorath the Silent remarked, his tone a mix of admiration and solemnity.
"Striking the Goldstone is nothing extraordinary. Don't get too excited—let's see if he can handle the Miststone first." The elder chuckled dismissively. After all, among Sacred Council newcomers, one or two out of ten could manage the Goldstone. It wasn't that impressive.
Yet Kael's effortless success had drawn every eye in the room.
"That easy? Just standing there and casually flicking his wrist...?" Dylan stared in disbelief. He had poured every ounce of his magic into striking the Goldstone, barely managing a faint chime. Yet Kael had done it from a greater distance, with far less effort—and produced a resonance that dwarfed his own!
The louder the chime, the greater the strength behind it.
This meant Kael had not only surpassed him but left even Ethan far behind. How could Dylan notbe stunned?
"Incredible..." Dylan murmured, his eyes alight with awe. In just a few months, Kael's growth had been meteoric—leaping far beyond Ethan's level.
"Amelia, your turn. It's a breeze," Kael said with a shrug.
His casual remark nearly made the onlookers collapse. A breeze?! Did this guy have no regard for others' feelings? The sheer audacity was brutal.
Amelia smiled, then stepped forward. At the white line, she unleashed her Frost Aura, which condensed into a pale blue streak. Though the spatial domain weakened her energy, it still struck the Goldstone—
Ding.
The clear chime, while not as thunderous as Kael's, was remarkable in its own right. Even the elder couldn't help but glance her way.
"Zorath the Silent, where do you keep finding these little freaks? At their age, they're already capable of striking Orlando's Goldstone..." The old man sighed in reluctant admiration.
"Heh, just wait. This kid won't stop at the Goldstone—he'll challenge the Miststone next,"Zorath replied confidently. Kael was never one to settle.
A faint smile curled Kael's lips. Orlando's three stones were indeed fascinating. The trial tested the purity and control of magic and combat aura to the extreme. The Goldstone was just the beginning—the Miststone and Veilstone would be far more daunting.
Kael's gaze sharpened, locking onto the Veilstone.
"This kid is actually eyeing the Veilstone?! Damn it, is he seriously considering it? No one has ever struck that thing!" Zorath the Silent's eyes widened as he noticed Kael's intense focus.
Goldstone, Miststone, Veilstone.
Among these three trials, the Goldstone was the simplest—yet even then, only one in ten newcomers succeeded. And let's not forget, those admitted to the Sacred Council were already the continent's elite geniuses!
As for the Miststone, the odds were far more daunting. Fewer than a handful could manage it.
But the Veilstone? That was pure legend. In the thousands of years since the Sacred Council's founding, not a single newcomer had ever struck it upon their first trial.
Not one.
So when Kael's attention lingered on the Veilstone, even Zorath the Silent was taken aback.
Fortunately, Kael only glanced at it briefly before shifting his focus to the Miststone. Zorath exhaled in relief—he'd half-expected the kid to recklessly skip straight to the impossible challenge.
This trial, inherited from the Star Legend Orlando, was designed to identify prodigies. Those who excelled would earn the Council's utmost attention. And if someone did strike the Veilstone? They'd instantly become the organization's top priority for cultivation.
"Kael, are you going for the Miststone?" Amelia, ever perceptive, studied him with starlit eyes.
Kael grinned and nodded. The more stones he struck, the greater the rewards—why leave benefits on the table?
Stay low-key? Don't be ridiculous. This was the Sacred Council's stronghold, where power reigned supreme. The stronger he demonstrated himself to be, the more respect and resources he'd command.
"He's attempting the Miststone," the elder remarked with an amused smile.
Zorath the Silent fell silent as well, his gaze fixed intently on Kael's movements.
Kael stepped forward, this time without any hint of arrogance. He positioned himself precisely at the white line, staring at the Miststone hundreds of meters away.
The Miststone resembled a wisp of ethereal smoke, elusive and intangible. Even without the spatial domain's interference, striking such an insubstantial target would border on impossibility.
A faint smile curled Kael's lips as his body tensed—then moved!
He adjusted his posture to peak condition, raised his staff, and unleashed his domain. A crackle of lightning flickered around his form.
"A domain! To master one at such a young age?!" The elder's jaw slackened, his mind reeling. This boy before him was not only a peak seventh-rank expert but had also comprehended a domain!
The observing youths paled. These were geniuses handpicked from across the continent, accustomed to being coddled for their talents. Yet the power Kael wielded was unmistakable—and utterly humiliating in comparison.
What kind of geniuses are we next to him?
The boy looked younger than most of them, yet his strength defied reason. Peak seventh-rank. A domain. It was monstrous.
With a thunderous surge, Kael's magic shot forth like a honed blade, slamming into the mist-like stone.
The spatial domain meant to weaken magic? It might as well not have existed for him.
Ding. Ding. Ding!
Three consecutive chimes—each clearer than the last. The Miststone had resonated three times!
"Holy—! This kid is insane! That mist-like stone actually resonated!"
"Unbelievable! It's like the spatial domain doesn't even exist for him—his magic wasn't weakened at all!"
Even the observing elder sucked in a sharp breath. "The younger generation these days is terrifying. This boy wields a domain—using domain against domain. Combined with his unimaginably refined magic, he exploited a fleeting gap in Orlando's spatial barrier to strike the Miststone three times consecutively. It's nothing short of miraculous."
"True. At his age, I could barely handle the Goldstone, let alone the Miststone. Sigh, comparisons are brutal. This kid's a straight-up monster," Zorath the Silent chuckled. Though new talents always surpassed the old, Kael's performance was absurd—he was the most unbelievable prodigy Zorath had ever seen.
"This must be a new record for Sacred Council initiates, no? Effortlessly striking the Goldstone, then hitting the Miststone three times in a row. Zorath, is this why you came here?" the elder mused.
"Indeed. But even I'm stunned by his performance," Zorath admitted, shaking his head.
After Kael's attempt, both Ethan and Amelia tried the Miststone—but fell just short. Unlike solid stones, the Miststone dispersed at the slightest touch. Only a domain-wielding anomaly like Kael could control his power with such precision.
Yet even their near-misses left the crowd awestruck.
Let's not forget: the Veilstone had remained untouched for millennia, and the Miststone was considered the absolute limit for geniuses. That Amelia and Ethan came so close marked them as rare talents worthy of the Council's utmost investment.
But as the crowd marveled at the duo, Kael's gaze drifted toward the Veilstone...