There are too many applicants for Tiandao Academy every year, which is why they have added this entrance assessment process. People continuously reach out to grasp the black stone—sometimes it glows, sometimes it doesn’t. Some continue forward toward the building, while others are coldly signaled by the teacher to leave the line. The atmosphere in the queue is especially oppressive.

A young man grasped the black stone, but it showed no reaction. When he was signaled to leave, he was utterly desperate, crying and begging for another chance, clinging tightly to the stone and refusing to let go, only to be dragged away by the academy’s attendants. Aside from drawing a round of ridicule, it was all meaningless.

The assessment continued. Those who could make the black stone light up showed joy on their faces, while those who couldn’t were extremely dejected.

From across the creek came the faint sound of the older students’ mocking laughter, and the teacher in charge of the sensing stone looked increasingly displeased. From dawn until now, hundreds had gripped the stone. Although many could make it glow, proving they had successfully completed marrow cleansing, compared to previous years, this year’s candidates were all too ordinary. So far, only one had reached the third level of marrow cleansing, and not a single person had achieved the perfect stage. As for prodigies who could reach the Sitting Illumination Realm at such a young age, there was not a trace—no wonder the teacher was in a foul mood.

Human cultivation differs greatly from that of the demon and devil races. At the beginning, it emphasizes learning to open the mind, comprehending to nourish the spirit, using wisdom to understand the principles of heaven and earth, and using spiritual awareness to borrow the power of the world. Energy is used to temper the body, starting from the skin and hair, then the fascia and muscles, and finally deep into the bone marrow, refining it to become strong, able to lift stones, healthy and resistant to ordinary illness—hence the name “marrow cleansing.”

The devil race is innately as tough as metal and stone. If humans do not undergo marrow cleansing, they cannot possibly fight them on the battlefield. Thus, in the human army, one must at least have completed basic marrow cleansing to qualify as an elite field soldier. Beyond that, marrow cleansing has even more crucial importance in other areas—it not only strengthens the muscles and bones, but also sharpens the senses and opens the mind, greatly enhancing memory and analytical ability. As summarized in the Daoist Canon: “to see another world!”

The “three thousand great paths” is just a general saying. The world’s books are as vast as the sea, countless words representing endless knowledge. If one’s mind is not clarified and heart not cleansed through marrow cleansing, how could one dare to plunge into the sea of learning? Relying on courage alone, one would quickly lose their way, battered to death by the raging waves. From this perspective, the assessment step added by Tiandao Academy in recent years is actually quite reasonable—if you haven’t even succeeded in marrow cleansing, what right do you have to pursue the profound arts?

Yesterday at the Divine General’s Residence, Ethan Brooks had twice admitted he had never cultivated. Naturally, he had not succeeded in marrow cleansing either. This meant that when he soon grasped the black stone, it would not react, and he would be dismissed from the applicant line by the teacher. Yet, strangely, his expression was very calm, as if he wasn’t worried at all.

At this moment, he was already very close to the table, with only three people ahead of him. At the very front was a youth in a thin blue robe. The youth walked up to the table and, without waiting for the academy teacher to speak, directly reached out and picked up the pitch-black sensing stone. For some reason, at that moment, everyone felt a bit tense.

Perhaps it was because the blue-robed youth seemed far too calm.

In early spring, the capital was shrouded in clouds, the sun hidden behind them, and Tiandao Academy was tranquil. Suddenly, the grass on both sides of the creek became extremely bright. The tender, newly sprouted blades looked like fine jade, the lingering dewdrops like pearls, and the clear stream’s tiny fish stared up at the sky, their bodies frozen by the sudden brilliance.

People instinctively shielded their eyes, thinking it was sunlight breaking through the clouds. The next moment, they realized—even the brightest spring day could not be so dazzling. If it wasn’t sunlight… then where was this light coming from?

The brightness gradually faded, and as their eyes adjusted, people lowered their hands and saw the academy teacher’s mouth agape, his face full of disbelief. At the same time, they saw where the light was coming from—from the palm of the blue-robed youth. The pitch-black sensing stone now seemed like the hottest rock from a volcano, emitting countless rays of light from between his fingers, as if it were burning!

“Sitting Illumination Realm… it’s actually… the Sitting Illumination Realm?”

The teacher from Tiandao Academy spoke in a trembling voice. At this moment, he looked at the blue-robed youth as if he were a precious gem, hurriedly standing up and walking over, greedily staring at the youth’s palm and the light leaking from it. No one thought the teacher was out of line—after all, the blue-robed youth still had a childish face, clearly not yet sixteen, and yet he was already in the Sitting Illumination Realm!

What did this mean? What is a genius? This is a genius! The older students across the creek had long since stopped their mocking. They stared at the bamboo shed as if they’d seen a ghost. The one who had spoken most harshly before was so shocked he slid off his stone bench onto the ground, not even feeling the pain in his tailbone, his voice trembling in disbelief: “How is this possible? Brian Foster only reached the Sitting Illumination Realm at sixteen… This kid… is this kid just baby-faced? Otherwise, how could it be!”