With the gate's opening, the Heavenly Jewel Palace disciples were forced to shelve their grievance until a later time. As the Dawn World group walked through the gate, they found themselves in yet another realm. It shared the same canopy of black clouds as the last, however, the ground was vastly different.
The Dawn World's group stood on the rocky shore of a massive sea of lightning. Its currents danced like water snakes, attracting lightning from the sky to strike down on its surface.
But before they could observe in detail, they realized that they were no longer alone. All around them, different portals opened and different groups emerged. Even discounting them, there were plenty of groups already standing at the shore.
"This trial seems pretty straightforward." A random genius spoke to no one in particular.
"Mm," a nearby practitioner agreed. "I've been here for a few minutes already and I've managed to grasp the pattern. But even then, this won't be an easy test to pass."
The Dawn World group began paying attention to these conversations. Before anything else, they needed to get a grasp of the trial itself.
"The lightning sea clearly becomes more dangerous as you go deeper. Even though the lightning's strength and frequency aren't too great near the shore, it isn't the same in the depths."
"That's true. Even I wouldn't have guessed the dangers of the depths if the Fallen Star Holy Land disciples didn't go ahead!"
"The Fallen Star Holy Land sent disciples this time?! Why would they enter this Mystic Realm?!"
The sudden large reaction drew Damien's gaze. He'd been searching for the peak genius that may have been present, but he couldn't find any traces. But now, his interest was piqued by this so-called Fallen Star Holy Land.
The genius who spoke first had a smug look on his face, as if giving out his knowledge was a gift to mankind. Seeing the reactions he wanted from the crowd, he continued loudly:
"Not only did the Fallen Star Holy Land send disciples, even their Holy Son, Atticus Flamesworth, is present! Only a few minutes before your group arrived, he led the Fallen Star Holy Land disciples into the lightning sea and disappeared into the horizon!"
A collective gasp spread. The Fallen Star Holy Land was a true peak Holy Land. It wasn't something anyone present could compare with. Compared to the Fallen Star Holy Land, the Eclipse Sect couldn't even be considered gravel.
And to become the Holy Son of such a prestigious Holy Land…this Atticus was truly a stunning character!
Still, most of those present were from smaller worlds without much contact with the Divine Realm as a whole. After all, transmission arrays weren't cheap to activate and not everyone could use them. Individuals from these smaller worlds had to use spirit ships to venture the starry sky and find opportunities or wealth.
Their worldviews would only expand through experiences such as the current one, where they met face-to-face with these true geniuses and witnessed their glory.
At this time, the gloating disciple finished speaking. After talking about Atticus Flamesworth for a few more minutes, he switched to retelling the events prior to their arrival.
In his words, the lightning sea became exponentially more difficult as one traveled deeper, and the quality of lightning increased as well.
When Atticus and the Fallen Star Holy Land disciples vanished, the gloating genius swore he saw a flash of silver lightning.
These geniuses all experienced the might of silver lightning in the previous trial. If there was silver lightning on the horizon, what kind of terrifying lightning would be beyond it?
Once again, these regular geniuses marveled at the depths of a true peak influence. Comparing oneself to a genius from these influences was merely seeking disappointment.
Nevertheless, with a rough outline of the trial's contents, the surrounding geniuses began to move in droves, flying out over the lightning sea to join those already present within.
Some only flew a few meters before stopping to temper themselves with the ambient lightning essence, while some continued much farther. However, none managed to make their way over the horizon.
Seeing this sight, Damien shook his head. With a goal in mind, he no longer needed to mingle with these lesser geniuses. Thinking about the strength of a Divine Realm Holy Son, Damien's blood boiled with fighting spirit.
Besides, he was different from the rest.
Damien bid a quick goodbye to Jiao Mei, giving her some words of encouragement and telling her that he'd meet her past the horizon. After doing so, he grabbed Zara's hand and vanished.
Their figures waded through the spatial layers and easily bypassed a large majority of the lightning sea. As they looked into the Real Plane, they could clearly see the color and aura of the surrounding lightning changing and becoming more brutal.
Boom!
When Damien and Zara exited the spatial layers, they were immediately met with booming lightning. It struck from above and below, connecting with them at the center point.
Yet, a single wave from Zara was enough to disperse it. This lightning wasn't even pseudo-heavenly lightning yet. How could it harm them?
The duo calmly stepped forward, crossing into the next territory of the lightning sea. At the same time, two tiny black dots vanished on the horizon.
The only person who witnessed their existence at all was Jiao Mei. And even then, she could only sigh as her own weakness. Damien and Zara were her introduction to a grander and more magisterial world, not to mention they were fun people to hang around. Jiao Mei wanted to continue forward with them, but she knew she lacked the ability.
'I must temper myself well in this trial. If I don't push my limits, I'll never catch up to them or even be able to see their backs!'
Jiao Mei charged into the lightning sea without hesitation. Her body was struck by lightning soon enough, but she shrugged it off without worry.
She continued doing this until she made it three-quarters of the way to the horizon. She could see the silver lightning cover with her own eyes now, though sadly, she'd reached her limit.
Jiao Mei didn't fret over this. She knew it would happen. She sat down in the air, allowing the surrounding lightning to baptize her while doing her utmost to suppress her pain.
This could only be a long and grueling process. Jiao Mei had absorbed a great deal of lightning above her caliber due to Damien's aid. Now, what she needed to do was make that power her own and thoroughly understand it.
First, she sat for hours on end, tempering her body with lightning so she could withstand the pseudo-Heavenly Lightning on the horizon. Afterwards, she internalized her consciousness and sunk into comprehension, studying the principles of Damien's Heavenly Lightning.
After spending a few days or weeks like this, she was guaranteed to enter the silver lightning level. But time was always a variable in Mystic Realms.
Some Mystic Realms would only stay open for a set amount of time, while others would only close after a certain condition was met. Within a Mystic Realm, one always had to act as if they had no free time at all.
And while Jiao Mei cultivated in this environment, a different scene was taking place beyond the silver lightning wall…
