Just ten seconds after reaching the thirteen step, John found himself on the fifteenth step. The thirteenth step testing his dantian and the fourteenth step testing his meridian talents were still below what could cause him strain, and John instantly shattered through those steps.
On the fifteenth step, he once again found himself running into a wall of energy, the nature of which seemed to be like a foreign language to him. It's chaotic nature thwarted him from parting it aside and moving forward, causing John to sigh.
'Ahhh, why can't my comprehension talent keep up with my body talent? Is that too much to ask?'
John shook his head at himself, but knew if his thoughts could be heard by others, that they would curse him for his greediness. He had already passed by the twelfth step which thwarted many profound geniuses, and yet he wanted more. Those geniuses would curse him into an early grave if they could hear his thoughts.
'Oh well, nothing else to do other than comprehend this energy and ascend beyond this step.'
John's divine sense and soul power flared out around him once again as he focused his mind on the task of comprehending the nature of the strange energy. His face remained calm as he studied the energy, which seemed to allude to his every attempt to understand it. At the same time, the energy seemed to slam into his divine sense, and even his soul space, causing sharp aches and pains to appear in his mind and soul.
If it was a cultivator with a weaker divine sense and soul, their soul spaces were at risk of shattering unless they retreated. Thankfully, John had forged his soulspace into a formidable fortress due to his training sessions before the holy gate and sinister gate, and was able to withstand the dangers of this step.
'While these soulpains are quite annoying, this is nothing compared to what the sinister gate does to my soul. It's becoming more and more apparent just how amazing cultivating before those gates are for me.'
However, a frown appeared on John's face as he knew he had finally come to a large hurdle.
'It seems as though this step is going to take me quite some time to solve. In that case, I might as well make myself comfortable.'
To the side, Iris and the Grand Elder continued to watch John, their eyes never leaving him for a second. His actions thus far had been beyond shocking, and he was already at the fifteenth step. As they had discussed just earlier, only two other youths this year had managed to achieve such a thing, with Amber Bloodrose achieving fifteen steps, and Asuros achieving sixteen.
With such a monumental event happening before them, neither dared to look away for a single moment. As was the case before, John had slammed by the body testing steps and came to a halt on the comprehension step.
Both Iris and the Grand Elder were wondering how long it would take John to pass the trial, or if this was the final hurdle he would be thwarted at. However, their eyes widened once again as a reclining seat suddenly appeared on the step, which John quickly laid down on and closed his eyes.
Although they knew better, it appeared to Iris and the Grand Elder that John had decided to take a nap during the test, his actions completely shocking them. The Grand Elder was especially shocked, as he knew just how tremendous the soul pressure was on this step. It was enough to shatter the souls of almost all geniuses and render them stupid for life.
As such, only the most formidable of geniuses were able to reach this step, and those that did struggled with all their might to withstand the pressure and understand it. However, John had brought out a reclining seat, and was currently lying there without a single expression of pain or discomfort, as if he was sleeping peacefully.
"Grand Elder, are these steps truly so easy to withstand?" Iris couldn't help but ask as she stared at John.
"That is not the case," the Grand Elder replied. "The soul pressure the fifteenth step exudes is beyond terrifying, and if you were to step onto that step, your soul would most likely collapse within a minute of being on it."
"Is that strong?" Iris replied with surprise on her face. "Then why does John look so…relaxed right now? Shouldn't his soul be in excruciating pain?"
The Grand Elder remained silent for a moment as he inspected John, before a soft sigh escaped his lips and his head shook to the side slightly.
"It's not that he doesn't feel any pain, but that he is already used to such pain. The pressure of this step is so great that no cultivator can stand on it and not feel pain. However, with his current attitude, the only explanation is that he has experienced soul pain far greater than he is experiencing now, and has experienced it quite often. So while he is feeling great pain right now, it pales in comparison to his other experiences, allowing him to withstand it."
After hearing the Grand Elder's words, Iris fell into a silence as she stared intently at John. The minutes continued to tick by as John laid there motionlessly, as if he were sleeping. After an hour of John not moving, Iris couldn't help but speak up once again.
"Grand Elder, how long has it taken those in the past to get to this step, and then past this step?" Iris asked, wanting to compare John's performance to the others.
"Are you sure you want to know?" the Grand Elder asked as he glanced sideways at her. "If you know the truth, it may further crush your pride as a genius yourself if you compare yourselves."
"I want to know," Iris replied quickly.
The Grand Elder remained silent for a moment, before replying to Iris.
"I'm not sure exactly how fast the other youths have completed these steps, but the highest anyone in our Sect has ever gone is the fifteenth step, and it took him six hours to reach it. It happened thousands of years ago, but his record still stands."
"Fifteen steps in six hours?" Iris exclaimed in slight surprise. "But John took less than ten minutes to reach it."
"Which is why I warned you," the Grand Elder replied. "This boy you see before you cannot be comprehended by common knowledge anymore. If he is able to get past this trial and ascend even higher, than he will truly be able to be considered a prodigious monste-"
Bang!
