Chapter 1009: A Message That Shocked Jiang Chen

An examination of this intensity and speed—even with Jiang Chen's mastery of escape arts reaching the pinnacle of perfection—was proving extraordinarily demanding.

Because this trial had already surpassed the limits his current cultivation level could bear.

Pushing toward the absolute limit, the examination tested Jiang Chen both in terms of reaction speed and physical endurance, posing an immense challenge in every regard.

Fortunately, Jiang Chen possessed the experience of two lifetimes. At critical moments, he could always steady his mind and never lost his composure as a result.

Quite the opposite—he grew more courageous as the battle wore on, and amid his constant dodging and weaving, a torrent of new insights kept flooding in.

During the initial period, Jiang Chen still found things somewhat grueling. But as the final stretch approached, bursts of inspiration came one after another, granting him fresh understanding of relative speed.

As a result, Jiang Chen actually grew more at ease as the trial progressed.

A quarter of an hour eventually passed.

When every attack finally ceased, Jiang Chen's entire body was drenched as though he had been plunged into water—soaked through with sweat.

He could never have imagined that a mere quarter of an hour could drain his physical strength and mental energy to such a degree.

Still, he had to admit that the examination had been thoroughly thrilling. No matter which aspect was being tested, it had been nearly flawless.

Relative speed, neural reaction time, micro-speed adjustments, and spiritual perception judgment—this single round had included virtually every testable element.

"I suppose I really can't afford to be careless about these Six Inheritance Palaces. I thought I was well prepared, but just now the line between success and failure was razor-thin." After this round, Jiang Chen gained an entirely new appreciation for the difficulty of the Glazed King Tower's Six Inheritance Palaces.

"This is only the first gate. The trials ahead can't possibly be any easier. The difficulty can only increase. If I rush in recklessly—even the slightest flicker of arrogance or complacency—negative thoughts will creep in. During the last trial, if my mind had wavered even a little, I probably would have failed."

Jiang Chen shuddered at the thought, silently congratulating himself.

After a brief adjustment, Jiang Chen stepped out of the chamber and into another expanse of space. This time, the examination tested his mastery of the Sky Kun Flowing Light Escape.

Of course, if Jiang Chen passed this round, he would have completely cleared the Sky Kun Palace trial and would receive the reward symbolizing this gate—the Kunpeng Bloodline.

The Kunpeng Bloodline served as the token of the Sky Kun Sovereign. Once obtained, it would signify that Jiang Chen had earned the acknowledgment of the Sky Kun Palace and, by extension, of the Sky Kun Sovereign himself.

This round bore some resemblance to the trial of the Glazed Tablet. Jiang Chen needed to use his spiritual perception to deduce the workings of the Sky Kun Flowing Light Escape.

He had to say, this round had been designed with remarkable ingenuity.

Before a colossal stone tablet, Jiang Chen infused his spiritual perception into it, and the shadow of a Kunpeng instantly appeared on its surface.

*Screech!*

The Kunpeng roared across the heavens and launched itself forward at speed.

What Jiang Chen had to do was use his spiritual perception to trace the Kunpeng's escape-light velocity, follow its shadow with his mind, and even predict where the escape-light would land next.

This trial was exquisitely precise.

However, Jiang Chen's adaptability was formidable. He quickly acclimated to the rhythm of the examination. With his judgment and comprehension, he managed to keep pace with the escape-light shadow throughout, even anticipating in advance where the next burst would land.

Such fine-grained control tested not just keen sight but an intimate, detailed grasp of this particular escape art's characteristics.

Even a slight deviation in precision could throw things off by a thousand li.

Moreover, alongside precision, predictive ability was equally critical. But prediction demanded a deep foundation. If one hadn't trained this divine ability to a high level of proficiency, how could one even begin to predict?

At this moment, Jiang Chen's martial experience across two lifetimes and his outstanding martial talent finally proved their immense advantage.

Though this round was no cakewalk, the pressure it placed on Jiang Chen was actually less than that of the second round.

After completing the examination, Jiang Chen finally finished this phase of the trial.

The cheerful voice of the Sky Kun Sovereign rang out: "Impressive, lad. I told you that your chances of passing were high, and sure enough, you didn't disappoint me."

Having passed three consecutive rounds of trials, Jiang Chen felt completely drained. He sat where he was, adjusted for a while, then opened his eyes, revealing a faint, gratified smile.

"Senior, I'm grateful for your high regard. This was really nothing more than a stroke of luck."

The Sky Kun Sovereign laughed heartily: "That was no stroke of luck. It's clear you've got real skill."

The Sky Kun Sovereign rarely praised others, and during the ancient era, he had seldom praised his juniors either. He believed that if you praised the younger generation too much, they were bound to become conceited.