Orderly tyrant

Above the ethereal sea of clouds, a hundred trial participants sat, stood, reclined, or lay atop stone pillars, listening as a majestic and grand voice reverberated throughout the world.

“The Godchild Trial is divided into two stages.”

Only to hear that dignified and indifferent voice echo between heaven and earth: “The ‘Survival’ stage, and the ‘God Selection’ stage. Only trial participants who survive the Survival stage are qualified to compete for the final Godchild position.”

“The Survival stage can be divided into twelve rounds of trials, requiring you to defend against different races in the universe within the trial arena. In each round, you can pass the trial by either eliminating the enemy or surviving for one day.”

“During the Survival stage, you are only qualified to give up before the start of each round. Once it begins, there is no surrender; you must either kill all enemies or survive.”

The majestic voice that resounded through the world said indifferently: “As for the supervisors of this trial, they are the six Star Gods from the six major factions.”

Survival stage?

God Selection stage?

Lin Qing pondered, this was different from the other original-level divine trials he knew.

Other divine trials often tested various aspects of divine abilities, ultimately selecting the most outstanding person among the hundred, with at most a final battle, and a very low mortality rate.

As for the supervision of the six major factions' 'Star Gods,' this was quite normal.

Original-level trials for rare divine positions also had supervisors, similarly supervised by higher-level Star Gods. Besides supervision, it seemed to represent certain forces in the universe.

And Star Gods, as the Star stage of the Universe God series of divine positions, their strength was terrifying enough to easily crush a level one civilization.

“Then, let's begin.”

Along with the grand voice, beams of light descended from the depths of the misty sky, a full hundred beams with diameters of dozens of meters, simultaneously shining down on the hundred trial participants, enveloping them one by one.

In the next moment, all one hundred trial participants disappeared without a trace.

…

Among a range of undulating mountains, above the lush forests, a figure abruptly appeared.

Lin Qing hovered in mid-air, observing this so-called trial arena.

With his vision and domain perception, he did not detect the presence of the universe or starry sky above. This did not seem to be a planetary environment.

Moreover, not only was the gravity astonishing, but the energy wandering in the void exerted an extremely exaggerated pressure, as if the entire space was omnipresently pressing down on him.

If his body, modified according to the World God Body, were not extremely formidable, he probably wouldn't even be able to fly here.

“This trial arena is located in a fragment of the 2.4-level civilization, the Heavenly Valley Secret Realm.”

A cold voice sounded in Lin Qing's mind: “For the first round of the Survival Trial, you will face the native life form of the Heavenly Valley Secret Realm, the ‘Nature God’.”

Lin Qing casually found a smooth boulder on the peak of a mountain and sat down, continuing to fuse with the World God Body.

Suddenly, a dense fog billowed from afar, spreading and expanding rapidly, becoming overwhelming in an instant. Within the churning fog, beams of sword-like light projected out, as if real living beings were scrutinizing Lin Qing.

“This is a natural life form?”

Lin Qing thoughtfully examined the fog, with no intention of attacking, simply continuing to fuse with the World God Body.

Anyway, this was a survival test. As long as he could survive and persist for a day, he would pass, whether he killed the enemy or not made no difference.

He needed enough time to fuse with the World God Body. The twelve rounds of trials would provide twelve days.

Before this, he had already waited for three days, fusing with a small portion of the World God Body. With another twelve days, even if he couldn't completely fuse, it wouldn't be far off.

But if he killed all the enemies early, the survival stage might end quickly.

It was better to delay longer.

Even though he was quite confident in his current strength, he was, after all, facing the geniuses of level two civilizations.

Moreover, the silver-browed, bald man seemed to be recognized by many geniuses from level two civilizations, obviously not ordinary. Who knew what his strength was?

Just to be safe, it was best to improve a bit more.

That's right.

Lin Qing was also following the gene optimization methods researched by Kadoan, trying to excavate the genes of the Cosmic Ruin Giants as much as possible, which allowed his gene optimization index to continue to rise.

From the beginning until now, twelve days had passed, and his gene optimization index had increased from just over 2000% to 3100%.

Moreover, the excavation speed had not decreased, obviously not yet at its limit.

According to Kadoan's research, even sixth-level energy could be used for deeper excavation.

“In another twelve days, it can definitely increase a lot more…”

Lin Qing was not in a hurry, quietly sitting on the boulder, patiently fusing with the World God Body, while developing and optimizing deeper levels of genes.

This Godchild Trial must not fail.

“Whoosh whoosh—”

At this moment, the fog, spanning dozens of kilometers, enveloped Lin Qing. The dense fog churned wildly, and the friction of the massive fog formed muffled roars like thunder.

Lin Qing turned a deaf ear.

“Crackle—”

Powerful golden electric lights bloomed in the churning fog, then transformed into sharp lightning bolts, instantly piercing the air and striking towards Lin Qing!

Lin Qing's domain sensed the energy of these lightning bolts. With a flick of his fingertip, streams of light flew and swirled around him, quickly forming the Revolving Star Divine Skill.

“Boom!”

A large amount of electric snakes dissipated, and strands of residual golden electric light scattered everywhere, but they were completely unable to shake the Revolving Star Divine Skill.

Lin Qing glanced up slightly, then continued to cultivate in peace.

In fact, he didn't need to deliberately defend against this level of attack.

With his body containing the characteristics of the World God's four great divine skills, his current physical defense was even stronger than the Revolving Star Divine Skill!

However, he still needed to cultivate in peace. A range defense like the Revolving Star Divine Skill was more suitable.

Maintaining the Revolving Star Divine Skill within a small range was enough to offset the consumption.

“Boom!”

The fog seemed to become angry, the fog churning even more frantically, colliding and rubbing out more electric light, then condensing together to form even larger golden lightning bolts to bombard Lin Qing.

But it still could not shake the Revolving Star Divine Skill.

“Well… I can cultivate in peace…” Lin Qing sensed it, and immediately closed his eyes to fuse with the World God Body.

For him, these twelve rounds of the Survival Stage were not difficult at all.

…

Above the ethereal world of clouds and mist, a huge divine hall was suspended in the depths of the sky.

As the location of the Godchild Trial, this place was also extremely mysterious.

At this moment, there were six figures inside the divine hall, using the permissions granted by this space to freely observe and supervise the hundred trial participants.

As Star Gods, although their strength far exceeded these little fellows who were not even Godchildren by countless times, they were ultimately just Star Divine position holders, and could only use this space to monitor the trial participants sent to various spaces at any time.

“Everyone, this Godchild Trial, there are actually the most Destruction-type trial participants?”

“The quality of this batch of God's Chosen is so-so.”

“Only that silver-browed Starfall Clan kid is not bad. He's only in his fifties, right? To have such strength at such a young age is quite impressive.”

“A high-level primitive life form with a gene optimization index exceeding 12000%? He was really born well.”

“Indeed, although his divine skill is only decent, with such a high foundation, learning two powerful divine skills at random can also break through the sixth level of Star Abyss.”

“What he is currently using is the Destruction-type combined divine skill, 'God's Punishment,' right? Although it hasn't combined into God's Punishment, its power is not bad. This kind of divine skill… is only slightly inferior to perfect divine skills like 'World God' and 'Genesis,' right?”

“Heh… Even if you can learn this kind of perfect divine skill, you have to be from a large force or someone with great cosmic favor to have the opportunity to inherit it.”

“There's an even younger kid over there, an Initial Human who is only twenty-two years old? To participate in the Godchild Trial at such a young age?”

“During the God Selection stage, the younger you are, the greater your advantage. It's a pity that his gene optimization index is a bit low. It seems he had a poor background and was naturally weak, but this Commander's divine skill looks a bit familiar.”

“This defensive divine skill seems to be the unique skill of that Army Lord from the Facing Abyss Realm?”

“Oh? It seems this little guy has a significant background. That lord rarely leaves behind inheritances…”

The six Star Gods observed the various trial participants and casually discussed them.

With this space, they could observe the trial participants in various locations, but they could only observe; deeper levels were impossible.

Suddenly—

“Hmm?”

At that moment, the six Star Gods couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, simultaneously looking at one trial arena.

“Am I seeing things? The Power-type Starry Sky Demon's combined divine skill?”

“That's right, it's 'Star Abyss Walker.' This kind of divine skill is no worse than 'God's Punishment.'”

“Although his gene optimization index is average, relying on this 'Star Abyss Walker' combined with multiple divine skills, this little guy is definitely stronger.”

“This batch of God's Chosen is really unlucky. To encounter someone with such excellent genes is one thing, but to also encounter this kind of genius? Really…”

The Star Gods couldn't help but sigh.

Even in a level two civilization, only top geniuses could truly learn combined divine skills, which could be called one in ten thousand.

A hundred Godchild Trials might not even see this kind of genius.

Moreover, truly top-level forces would also inform each other in advance, trying to keep their genius figures from running into each other.

But… there was actually someone faster than him?

“Could it really be like what Father said, using this kind of method to restrain, and if it goes too far, it might cause a cosmic backlash, deliberately increasing the difficulty?”

He couldn't help but frown.

…

As time passed, more and more people entered new rounds of trials, and the difficulty of each round was constantly increasing, becoming more and more difficult.

From the eighth round, trial participants began to choose to give up.

After all, most trial participants were actually participating with the intention of giving up, just to see the world. It would be too much of a loss if they actually died in the Survival stage.

Even if they gave up on the Universe God series path, with their talents, they could still walk smoothly on the rare divine position path.

This was unavoidable.

The difficulty of the Godchild Trial was simply too high.

A hundred trial participants, almost all of whom had mastered divine skills, and some even had powerful divine skills, had to be selected from among the best, so the difficulty was conceivable.

If you can't succeed in cultivating a divine skill in a short time, it means that your comprehension talent is not enough, and you don't have enough cosmic favor. There is no hope in waiting any longer.

So, even if you persevere, it's useless.

…

On the first day alone, two trial participants completely passed the twelve rounds of trials.

Inside the majestic divine hall, the six Star Gods quietly supervised the trial.

A silver-browed, bald man abruptly appeared in the hall. He looked around the divine hall, then bowed slightly to the six Star Gods above.

Suddenly, he abruptly turned his head to look at the other end of the hall, looking in disbelief at the blue-haired girl standing there.

He had already killed his way through the Survival Trial as quickly as possible, but someone was actually faster than him?

“Who are you?” the silver-browed, bald man asked, frowning.

The blue-haired girl glanced at him expressionlessly, then withdrew her gaze and did not speak.

Among the six Star Gods above, one turned his head to glance at the two with a smile that was not a smile, and said, “She was half a day earlier than you, but you don't need to worry. As long as you pass the Survival Trial, it won't affect the subsequent trials.”

The silver-browed youth frowned.

He originally thought that this Godchild Trial was already in the bag. His family had also informed other forces in this cosmic region in advance. In principle, he should not encounter any threatening geniuses from other forces.

Moreover, for this trial, he had also specifically visited several geniuses who might pose a threat.

But… someone faster than him actually appeared?

“Could it really be like what Father said, using this kind of method to restrain, and if it goes too far, it might cause a cosmic backlash, deliberately increasing the difficulty?”

He couldn't help but frown.

…

As the days passed, the number of trial participants in the divine hall also increased.

But from the seventh day, the number of trial participants in the divine hall remained at forty-one and no longer increased.

Because…

Apart from the one person still in the Survival Trial, all the other trial participants had either given up or passed the trial.

Generally speaking, trial participants who had mastered one or two powerful divine skills could basically pass the Survival Trial.

It would be hard to say if the divine skills were worse, such as divine skills formed by seven or eight power essences. Their strength would naturally be weaker, unless their genes were strong enough, otherwise it would be difficult to pass the Survival Trial.

Currently, most of those who have passed the Survival Trial have mastered powerful divine skills.

At this time, the trial participants in the divine hall could only wait obediently.

“This guy is only in the seventh round… is he just resisting all the time?”

“Maybe that's the only move he knows. This defense is indeed very strong, and his energy reserves are probably amazing.”

“Indeed, although these two natural ultimate Star beings in the seventh round don't have divine positions, they rely on their talents to have the peak strength of the fifth level of Star Abyss, but they can't hurt him at all.”

“It's boring. With this kind of strength, it's impossible to become a Godchild. Why not give up earlier?”

“Maybe he's from a weaker level two civilization and wants to resist until the God Selection stage to collect intelligence for his civilization?”

Each of the trial participants casually surveyed the monitoring screens within the temple, but all they could see was the light sphere that remained as stable as a star, rotating continuously.

...

“The twelfth round of trials is about to begin. Do you wish to continue?”

On the incomparably scorching dark red earth, terrifying gravity crushed almost everything. Lin Qing, however, sat on a dark red rock, surrounded by the star-like Rotating Star Divine Skill.

Terrifying impacts echoed from outside, each one causing the Rotating Star Divine Skill to tremble and ripple, as if a bit more force would shatter it.

The difficulty of this eleventh survival trial was much higher than at the beginning, and the danger faced was nearing the defense limit of the Rotating Star Divine Skill.

But Lin Qing turned a deaf ear, simply saying, “Continue.”

In the next moment, accompanied by the arrival of boundless power, the space-time before him shifted, and he was carried away from this world by this force.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a pure underwater world, the terrifying water pressure instantly bearing down on him.

But Lin Qing's body, infused with the characteristics of a World God, was so sturdy that he didn't even feel the water pressure.

“Rotating Star!”

“World Skin!”

This time, Lin Qing not only used the Rotating Star Divine Skill, but also reinforced it from the inside with a layer of the World Skin Divine Skill.

No matter what dangers lurked in this seemingly endless deep-sea world, he didn't care. He just needed to endure and stall for time.

“Already fused over ninety percent…”

Lin Qing silently sensed the changes within himself. “The gene optimization index has also reached 4200%, but the optimization speed has slowed down a lot. It seems this is the limit…”

He was already very satisfied.

He didn't expect his gene optimization index to surpass the level of a genius from a second-level civilization, just to get as close as possible.

Although today was the last day of the survival trial, he still wouldn't rush to pass it.

The fusion progress of the World God had already exceeded 90%. Even if he couldn't complete it today, another day or two would be enough, so he would naturally stall as long as he could.

...

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

In a daze, space-time shifted, and Lin Qing appeared inside the slightly dim temple.

Dozens of trial participants could be seen in the hall, each unable to resist glancing at him.

It wasn't common to see someone purely endure for twelve days to pass the survival trial.

Even those skilled in defense often had other means to compensate for their lack of offense. Even if they couldn't learn a powerful divine skill, they could still learn a divine skill formed from seven or eight types of power essence, right? Otherwise, they wouldn't have come to participate in the trial if they had obvious weaknesses.

But this person hadn't made a single move from beginning to end, simply enduring for twelve days. It was quite peculiar.

The Star Gods standing above had almost no reaction, except for the Star God belonging to the life system, who couldn't help but look at Lin Qing a few more times.

“The survival phase is over.”

The cold, majestic voice suddenly echoed within the temple: “A total of forty-two trial participants have passed the trial. The God Selection phase begins.”

At that moment, an invisible will descended, and the six Star Gods simultaneously stepped forward, watching the trial participants below.

One of the Star Gods spoke: “The God Selection phase is divided into ‘Three Gates and Five Tests’. The first gate is the measurement of authority. Those whose authority is below the eighth level, step forward.”

Two trial participants immediately stepped forward.

“Both of you have authority at the seventh level.”

One of the Star Gods said: “With this level of talent, it will be difficult to achieve ‘Star God’. You will need to pay a greater price to improve your authority. Therefore, in the upcoming ‘Will Gate’ or ‘Comprehension Gate’, you need to exceed the standard by one level in one gate, and reach the standard in the other gate. Otherwise, you will be directly eliminated. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

The two of them were obviously prepared and immediately responded.

Lin Qing couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart.

Authority level can actually be improved after awakening?

He had thought that once authority was awakened, it could never be improved again.

However… this shouldn't be something a second-level civilization can do, otherwise, they wouldn't deliberately increase the difficulty for these two geniuses.

Could it be that the God Child Trial, or the divine office of ‘God Child’, can compensate for authority?