Ordinary

Lu Yuan stowed away the Black Steel Force inheritance crystal along with the hundred drops of Moonstone Spirit Essence.

He had already absorbed every drop of Moonstone Spirit Dew before reaching this point. With these hundred drops added to what he'd collected earlier, his total Moonstone Spirit Essence supply now stood at a hundred and thirty-nine.

His absorption had hit its limit for now. He'd hold onto the rest and work through them gradually once he'd recovered.

If he managed to absorb all hundred and thirty-nine drops, he'd climb to close to ninety percent tempering even without hitting a perfect hundred. When that day came, he'd be ready to shatter the Gene Lock and advance to First-Rank Warrior.

Considerably faster than he'd originally expected.

A voice rang out through the ruin space:

*"Challenger XI9201 — do you wish to attempt Genius Trial Level 2? Declining will result in expulsion from Shiman Tower."*

Lu Yuan turned the offer over quietly in his mind, then shook his head. "Exit Shiman Tower."

He wanted those Level 2 rewards — there was no pretending otherwise. But at his current level of strength, clearing it was a pipe dream. One black stone man had already wrung every last ounce of effort out of him. Ten wouldn't be twice as hard; it would be a completely different order of problem.

And if he died in the trial, he'd be expelled from the Land of Origin. Everything he'd earned, gone.

He knew when to fold. Quitting while he was ahead was always the right call.

The moment the words left his mouth, white light enveloped him and swept him out of Shiman Tower.

Outside, at the stone gate of Shiman Tower.

A flash of white light — and the broad, powerful frame of 'Iron Axe' Kaman materialized.

His armor was riddled with cracks. He stood there mouth slightly open, dragging in rough, labored breaths. But his eyes burned alive with fierce satisfaction.

Several gnolls who had been watching the gate came rushing forward at once.

"My Lord! You've come out!"

Kaman swept his gaze across the plaza. "What's the situation? Have Ping Xing or Sun Qian emerged yet? Any anomalies inside the ruin?"

"No notable figures yet, My Lord. The only ones to emerge so far are 'Blood Swordsman' Miqiu and 'Big Hammer' Wang Lang. No one else."

"How many are still inside?"

"Difficult to estimate. Those who fail the trials die and are expelled from the Land of Origin — there's no way to judge how many remain."

Kaman glanced over his gnolls, then scanned the crowd. "Do you know who entered the Elite Trial?"

The gnolls exchanged looks. The gray-furred gnoll spoke up.

"So far, thirty-seven challengers have entered the Elite Trial. And one of them triggered the Genius Trial — trial number XI9201."

Kaman blinked.

A grin spread slowly across his face. "Interesting. So thirty-seven total broadcasts?"

"Yes, My Lord. Thirty-seven for the Elite Trial. And one went further — XI9201."

Kaman let that settle, then suddenly spun, scanning the area around him.

*Could that be him?*

His gnolls watched their lord's stunned expression and felt their hearts quietly sink. They understood — Kaman hadn't entered the Genius Trial himself.

"XI9201? The *Genius* Trial?!"

"How did you know someone entered it?" he demanded.

The gnolls traded another glance. The gray-furred gnoll answered carefully:

"During the trial, My Lord, whenever a challenger advances to the Elite Trial, the ruin space broadcasts their trial number — not their name, just the number. And when someone triggered the Genius Trial..." He paused. "There was thunder. It gave everyone quite a fright."

Kaman processed this. "Any anomaly details?"

"One — challenger XI9201 opened the Genius Trial. We weren't initially certain whether it might be My Lord Ping Xing."

The gray-furred gnoll continued: "That said, identifying the person will be difficult. Many challengers are loners who keep their real information entirely to themselves — even if they cleared the Elite Trial, they'd be hard to track. Some may have failed and been expelled from the Land of Origin, making them impossible to find. As for XI9201 specifically — the Genius Trial must be extraordinarily demanding. The odds of surviving it and walking back out aren't high."

The air went quiet.

Kaman's expression darkened, degree by degree. The gnolls exchanged nervous glances and bowed their heads, not daring to speak.

After a long silence, his voice came slowly and deliberately:

"I don't care how difficult it is. Find them. Identify who XI9201 is — no excuses."

He looked over the assembled gnolls. "Keep eyes on everyone who comes out of that gate. Scrutinize them carefully. Anyone who could open the Genius Trial is no ordinary warrior. If they turn out to be cat-kin — invest everything in cultivating them. If they're from another race..." A pause. "Try to bring them over to our side first. If that proves impossible, make sure their growth is contained."

"Yes, My Lord!"

Kaman said nothing more. He turned and led his contingent back to where the rest of his gnolls had gathered.

Not long after, another flash of white light.

Ping Xing stepped out.

Her leather armor showed a scattering of damage marks, though far fewer than Kaman's. Her aura was steady, virtually unchanged.

The instant she appeared, every cat-kin in the faction's section of the plaza brightened.

Several cat-kin warriors surged forward.

"My Lord Ping Xing!"

A plump cat-kin with a pair of orange ears rubbed his hands together with a wide grin. "Whoever it is must be an extraordinarily talented genius. Maybe even really handsome?"

Ping Xing frowned faintly and scanned the area around her. Then she drew her attention back.

One of her subordinates stepped forward. "My Lord — there was one anomaly during the trial. A challenger numbered XI9201 opened the Genius Trial. We weren't sure whether it might be you."

Ping Xing's pupils contracted sharply. "The Genius Trial?"

She narrowed her eyes, the shock in them undisguised.

"The *Genius Trial*? How is that even possible?! The dark-gray stone men in the Elite Trial aren't overwhelmingly strong, but their defense is solid — it takes real effort to take them down. Level 3 alone sends a hundred of them at you; just getting through that drains enormous amounts of spirit power. And after Level 3 comes Level 4 — *one thousand* dark-gray stone men. Even using spirit power serums, cutting down that many should be next to impossible. How could anyone have cleared Level 4 of the Elite Trial?!"

She stood very still.

"Someone actually cleared Level 4? At the Trainee Rank — besides Her Highness Yeye, is there really another genius capable of killing a thousand dark-gray stone men?"

She took a quiet breath. Then she shook her head.

"It wasn't me."

She gave a brief nod to her escort and walked back into the cat-kin section.

One by one, more challengers continued streaming out of Shiman Tower. Some returned to their respective factions. A few powerful loners took a single look around and slipped quietly into the crowd.

Then another flash.

Lu Yuan's figure materialized.

The moment he appeared, he felt a wall of gazes converge on him from all directions.

He raised an eyebrow.

*Is it because I'm too handsome?*

He glanced around. Gene Warriors from across the plaza were watching his direction.

*Gnolls don't exactly share human aesthetic sensibilities. So why are they staring too?*

He kept his expression neutral and walked toward the human section.

The moment he arrived, Zhuo Ming and the blond youth came rushing over.

"Yuan-bro! You made it out — I knew you'd survive! So? You made it to the Elite Trial, right?"

Lu Yuan nodded, smiling. "I did."

Zhuo Ming's whole face lit up. He grabbed Lu Yuan by the shoulder.

"Yuan-bro, you're incredible — you only Awakened such a short time ago and you've already cleared the Elite Trial! Give you a bit more time and who knows, maybe even the Genius Trial would be within reach."

The blond youth gave a lopsided smirk. "I've always thought Yuan-bro was already plenty handsome *and* ridiculously talented. Turns out there's apparently an even more exceptional genius out there somewhere. Really puts things in perspective."

Zhuo Ming nodded vigorously and turned back to Lu Yuan: "Right! If you'd Awakened a year earlier, you'd have definitely gotten into the Genius Trial for sure! Oh — Yuan-bro, did you hear? Someone actually *entered* the Genius Trial! How insane is that? No idea who it could be."

Lu Yuan: "..."

*I'm the one who entered the Genius Trial. How do they already know?*

He blinked, affecting puzzlement. "Oh? Really?"

"Of course!" Zhuo Ming waved his hands. "The ruin space broadcasts it — every time someone enters the Elite Trial, it announces their trial number. Not their name, just the number. And when someone triggered the Genius Trial..." He gave a theatrical shudder. "There was actual thunder. Nearly scared me out of my skin."

*Huh. The ruin space has a broadcast system.*

Lu Yuan's expression stayed perfectly calm. Internally, he allowed himself a quiet exhale.

*Good thing it only announces the number.*

"Really curious who that big shot is," Zhuo Ming said, shaking his head in admiration. "Out of everyone here — thirty-seven people made it into the Elite Trial — only *that one* got into the Genius Trial. Unreal."

The blond youth chimed in thoughtfully: "Whoever it is must be a truly exceptional talent. Probably really handsome, too."

"I always assumed Yuan-bro set the ceiling for looks *and* talent," he added. "Turns out there's apparently someone even more impressive out there."

Lu Yuan gave a soft laugh. "There are always mountains beyond mountains. Plenty of people more gifted than me out there. I'm pretty ordinary, when you get down to it."

Zhuo Ming looked at him with the expression of a man who had just witnessed something fundamentally wrong with reality.

"…Yuan-bro," he said slowly. "I think your definition of 'ordinary' might be a little off."

Zhuo Ming and the others all nodded in solemn, earnest agreement.

Lu Yuan nodded back, with equal solemnity.