The first attempt ended quickly in failure, as the man's energy aura was unable to attract the black energy ball at all. The man looked at his palm and frowned, saying, "How… How is this possible?" He then changed to a different energy aura and tried again. This time, the black energy ball was attracted and slowly approached his right hand, eventually being successfully controlled by him, taking five minutes. For the third attempt, the man adjusted his state and managed to control the black energy ball in three and a half minutes. The second cultivator tried three times. The first two attempts failed, and in the third attempt, he barely managed to control the black energy ball in six minutes. The third cultivator took seven minutes. The fourth took five minutes. The fifth took five and a half minutes. Among the remaining twenty or so cultivators, everyone took more than five minutes, with no one achieving three and a half minutes. This piqued Wilbur's interest in the firs
"Alright." Wilbur agreed and then went to the tavern with Herbert. After ordering two beers, Herbert looked at Wilbur across the table and said, "Do you have confidence in completing all three tests? Although you passed the first test today, there are still two more tests. I think you might not be as lucky as you are now." "Same goes for you, Herbert. Are you trying to make me withdraw from the competition?" "There's only one spot available, so I hope you'll step aside." Wilbur looked at Herbert seriously and replied, "Everyone knows there is only one spot. It's not just me. If you plan to win the competition by convincing me to withdraw, I suggest you try persuading someone else first. If everyone is willing to withdraw, then I will too. Otherwise, I will compete until the final day." "You're quite the stubborn one. Well, let's see how it goes, then. Cheers!" Wilbur clinked his glass with Herbert's and then drank the beer. After leaving the tavern, the two parted ways. W
"Having something of this scale happening so recently, I don't think it's over so soon, Wilbur. From now on, we'll have to be more careful," said Heaton. "I understand, Mister Heaton," said Wilbur. The next day, all the participants who advanced to the second round returned to the competition venue. Sade stood beside a massive swimming pool, and he was holding a tiny black bead the size of a bean in his hand. He said, "I will throw this black energy bead into the water in a moment. It will dart around underwater once it enters. Each of you will only have ten minutes and one chance. If you can capture the black energy bead within ten minutes, your time will be recorded, and the best will be selected. Otherwise, you will all be eliminated. There are only ten spots available for this test. Now, let's begin." Sade threw the black energy bead into the water after speaking. The bead dove in and moved like a small fish. It darted and swam rapidly underwater. Its speed was over ten times
He lacked patience, so he chose to attack randomly, unleashing energy strikes across various parts of the water's surface. He created numerous splashes, but the black energy bead was never blasted out of the water. He was eliminated for exceeding the ten-minute limit as a result. The third contestant took notice of the first and second contestants' experiences. He stood there and observed for two minutes to figure out the route of the black energy bead. Then, he started to unleash energy strikes. He successfully completed the test on the eight and a half minutes mark at the end. Subsequently, the other cultivators followed the example of the first and third participants. Among them, five managed to record their times, while the rest were eliminated. The next participants with the numbers seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, were two spirit curse cultivators and one talisman cultivator. Unlike the previous contestants, they did not follow their method. Instead, they used their spiri
Herbert seemed to be able to read Wilbur's mind and said, "Mister Penn, please remember that the dimensional guardians are without emotions. They suppress their own will to serve the will of the universe dimension. Everything they do is an inevitable part of the universe dimension's operation. This means they won't give special consideration to you or me because of their emotions. I understand this is harsh, and I know your dream is to go back in time to prevent a disaster, Mister Penn. But to be blunt, it's almost impossible. Serving a dimensional guardian is like serving the will of the universe dimension itself. How could the will of the universe dimension, which is predetermined, be easily changed? Thus, becoming a servant of a dimensional guardian only serves to erase a cultivator's emotions and will, turning them into a servant of the dimension's will, and ultimately, enslaving them." … Wilbur kept contemplating what Herbert said on the way back. If what Herbert said was true
On the third day at the competition venue, nine out of ten participants arrived at the venue, leaving only Wilbur absent. There was only a minute left before the venue would be closed off at that point. Sade stood on the platform, his gaze sweeping over the nine participants below. When his eyes fell on Herbert, he saw a hint of smugness in Herbert's eyes. Herbert gave Sade a slight nod in acknowledgment. However, footsteps could be heard at that moment. "Sorry, everyone. I'm late." Wilbur walked into the venue, glanced at the crowd inside, and he smiled faintly. The guards sealed off the venue at that moment. A fleeting glint of coldness flashed in Sade's eyes, but it quickly disappeared. He then turned to Wilbur and said, "Go ahead and join the others since you're here." "Yes, sir," said Wilbur. Wilbur moved swiftly and appeared behind the ninth participant in the next second. He grabbed the last number tag, which was number ten. When Wilbur showed the number tag to Sade,
The clock was specially crafted to be driven solely by the enhancement of dimensional time. The clock hand would remain perfectly still with the same flow of dimensional time as the outside world, not moving a single inch. The first contestant emerged from the cubic space completely exhausted. Sweat poured down his face. He could not help but collapse to the ground the moment he stepped out. Then, the second contestant entered the cubic space. He moved the clock hand with his mind, and it moved forward three-quarters of a notch. However, it only retreated by one-quarter of a notch. The third contestant moved the clock hand forward by a notch and reversed it by a quarter of a notch. The fourth contestant moved the hand forward by a notch and reversed it by half of a notch. The fifth contestant advanced the hand by the one-and-a-half notch but could only reverse it by half of a notch. … Eight of the contestants participated in the competition, and it was soon the turn of t
One, two, three notches, then three and a half notches! The crowd gasped in astonishment when they saw that and burst into applause. Wilbur chose to stop at that moment, as the current notches surpassed Herbert's three notches. He knew that if he could later control the dimensional time to reverse by two notches, victory would be his. Wilbur had only used half a minute at that point. He reached the three-and-a-half notch in only half the time it took Herbert, clearly demonstrating that his skills were superior. Everyone had high hopes for Wilbur. However, while he was able to control the clock hand to move forward, he had never previously done anything to make the time flow in reverse. Consequently, he was not very familiar with this aspect. However, since there were still four and a half minutes left, Wilbur believed he should have no problem and could easily pass the test and secure first place. Herbert glanced at Sade with an apologetic look in his eyes at that moment. Sad