While John was ascending the talent testing steps, Iris and the Grand Elder were watching him intently, curious as to see just how far he could ascend.
"It appears he's reached his limit," Iris sighed as she looked at John on the trial. Both her and the Grand Elder had been completely shocked at his quick ascension rate to start, but lost confidence as John stood on the sixth step for several minutes without moving.
The Grand Elder stared at John for a moment as well but remained silent as his eyes shifted slightly in color.
"I'm not so sure about that," the Grand Elder replied, causing slight surprise to appear on Iris's face. "He stopped, but doesn't appear to be struggling as the others usually show when they reach their limit. He must be trying to become accustomed to the testing protocols. He's quite levelheaded."
"Is that so?" Iris replied while staring at John. Based on her visions she had seen, she had truly decided to follow John. However, she had no idea just how high his talent was, but was looking forward to seeing just how high the one she followed could go.
On the talent testing steps, John continued to stand there for several minutes as he worked out the nature of the tests, before a small smile appeared on his face.
'All three steps focus on the three things I identified, but each step focuses on one of those aspects a bit more than the others. The tests that focus on the dantian compressions and meridian quality will be quite a breeze. The steps that emphasize comprehension talent will be a bit harder, but I have confidence in that as well. Afterall, even my master called me a monster when it came to comprehension talents.'
John's gaze shifted from the step he was on to the next one.
'The first step focused primarily on dantian compressions, the second meridian, and the third comprehensions, then the fourth dantian compressions again. With all that figured out, its time to climb.'
Bang!
John's foot slammed onto the seventh step as he comprehended the nature of the pressure, allowing him to press through it with ease. However, even if he didn't comprehend it, his dantian compressions and meridian pathways were so monstrous that he would have been able to brute force his way through regardless.
"He took another step!" Iris exclaimed happily as John finally moved again. "I wonder how long it will take for him to take anothe-"
Bang!
Iris's words were cut off by the sound of another loud step as John ascended to the eighth step immediately after the previous step. Iris's face lit up in shock, and even the Grand Elder couldn't help but be a bit shocked by what he had seen. The eight step was the threshold for becoming a Direct Disciple, and even the most talented disciples in the sect would start to show signs of wear by now.
Bang!
Without missing another beat, John stepped onto the ninth step, once again shocking Iris and the Grand Elder. After three quick steps in succession, John finally came to a brief halt as he arrived at the comprehension focused step.
'My comprehension talent might be monstrous, but it's still foolish to think it can match the talent of my dantian and body.'
John stopped his quick succession once again as he remained on the step for a short while. Both Iris and the Grand Elder couldn't help but breathe out a small sigh, mostly recovering from their shock.
The Grand Elder's gaze locked onto John as his eyes seemed to change a bit. His gaze seemed to pierce through everything, which returned to normal after a while. The Grand Elder shook his head slightly at himself as he sighed once more.
"Even with my eyes, I cannot tell what secrets this boy's body holds, only that he is beyond special."
"You too?" Iris said to the Grand Elder. "When I use my special eyes to look at him, its like its being shrouded, as if I'm staring through mist. When I do peer through that mist, it's like I'm being given a false image. I've never had anything happen like this before. What do you see, Grand Elder?"
"The same as you, child," the Grand Elder said with a small sigh. "I too have never seen anything like this in my thousands of years of existence. There is much more to this boy than meets the eye," the Grand Elder said as his head turned to look at Iris.
"But for you to already see what I see, your eye talents truly are remarkable. I cannot tell what type of eyes you have yet, and I can tell you yearn for that answer as well. Together, we will discern the truth of your eyes."
A smile broke out on Iris's face as she heard this, as it truly was one of the things in her life that she had the greatest question about. She had always grown up knowing her eyes were special, but no one had ever been able to tell her what type of eyes she had.
The Grand Elder was able to see through that matter instantly, which filled Iris with joy.
"Thank you, Grand Elder," Iris replied with great sincerity.
Bang!
Breaking them out of their conversation, another loud bang sounded out as John's foot slammed onto the tenth step.
"I wonder how long he-"
Bang!
Bang!
As he had just done prior, John took three steps in almost instant succession once again, reaching the twelfth step almost immediately after leaving the ninth step.
"Wha….what's going on, Grand Elder?" Iris couldn't help but mumble out as she stared at John in shock.
The twelfth platform was the highest step anyone in the Heavenly Lightning Sect had achieved this year, but John had reached it almost instantly after leaving the ninth step. However, as had happened before, he came to a halt once more.
The Grand Elder, who was equally stunned despite his many years of watching such tests, remained silent for a short while before replying to Iris's question.
"These steps focus on many aspects of talent, but primarily focus on three main aspects. Dantian talent, meridian talent, and comprehension talent. Each step leans more heavily into one of these aspects than the next, and alternate in the order I listed." the Grand Elder explained.
"So that means.." Iris replied.
"Yes. He is instantly shattering through the dantian talent and meridian talent tests without pause, while only briefly pausing on the comprehension tests," the Grand Elder replied. "I can only say that based on what I have seen so far, his comprehension talents are monstrous, while his dantian and meridian talents are even more preposterous. I've never seen anything like it before."
Iris's gaze shifted from the Grand Elder to John as she stared at him in a daze.
"It seems as if I truly chose correctly," she mumbled to herself.
"However," the Grand Elder spoke up once more, snapping Iris out of her daze. "This twelfth step is quite the hurdle to ascend. None of our disciples in the last ten years have been able to surmount it, and even in the other powers, getting past this step places them amongst their foremost geniuses. It tests comprehension talent to a level that stumps almost all geniuses. I wonder if he will truly be able to-"
Bang!
