Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage-Chapter 588: The Physique Stele’s Trial of Intellect

CH588 The Physique Stele’s Trial of Intellect

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The sight caused Alex a great deal of worry.

’If only I had Spirit Sight,’ he thought to himself.

Then, suddenly, his vision changed.

Vibrant glows of various colours flooded into his sight.

’Spirit Sight?’ Alex’s eyes widened in shock.

He immediately focused inward on his eyes and realised that his Truth-Seeker Eyes had quietly recovered.

Alex quickly deduced that the rebirth he experienced after the tribulation was responsible for the rapid recovery of his Truth-Seeker Eyes.

With his Spirit Sight restored, Alex examined Zora once more, now viewing her through an entirely different lens.

Around her body, he could see streams of mana constantly leaking outward.

The moment that mana touched the surrounding air, the atmosphere froze, creating a resonance that drew even more Water elemental mana to gather around her.

Under normal circumstances, Alex would have been delighted by such a development, since it meant Zora’s mana control had significantly improved.

However, the situation was not entirely reassuring.

Within the mana she released, Alex could clearly see traces of Yin Energy, intertwined with the mana flowing through what appeared to be the Dragon Kumite method.

Zora stared into his eyes and immediately realised that he had understood what she was doing.

She rolled her eyes at him in her usual fashion.

Then she quickly halted the release of mana around her, allowing the gathered Water mana to disperse back into the atmosphere.

Afterwards, she nodded apologetically to the others nearby.

The trial itself had ended rather abruptly once Zora figured out the method she was currently using to gather Water mana within a volcanic environment.

She had intentionally infused her mana with Yin Energy.

Yin Energy naturally lowered the energy state of whatever surrounded it.

By mixing Yin Energy into her mana and releasing it outward, she cooled the scorching volcanic environment around her.

The surrounding air froze slightly, which in turn caused Water elemental mana to accumulate nearby.

She then used that gathered ambient Water mana in the usual manner to fuel her spells — allowing her to defeat her trial opponent.

In truth, the opponent had barely fought back.

The figure only moved perfunctorily to defend herself while observing Zora, waiting to confirm whether Zora could reliably utilise the method she had deduced.

Once the opponent confirmed that Zora could use the technique as intended, she simply lowered her guard and allowed herself to be defeated.

This immediately triggered the end of the trial, ejecting Zora from the trial space.

Caught off guard by the sudden conclusion, Zora had returned to the Stele Mountain while still unconsciously maintaining the method she had just developed.

She turned toward Alex, who clearly had many questions written across his face.

"Don’t worry. I did it intentionally," she said. "I’ll explain later. For now, focus on your trials."

Alex glanced at her once more, carefully examining her condition.

He noted that although she had used Yin Energy directly through her body rather than through her Rune Tattoo, she appeared perfectly fine, showing no obvious side effects.

Although the mysterious old man had not done anything suspicious so far, it still felt improper to discuss certain matters in his presence.

Besides, now that everyone had completed the trials they intended to take, Alex’s Physique trial was the final one among the Seven Trials of Heaven and Earth.

’After that will come the divergent trial of Heavenly Secrets,’ Alex mused inwardly.

He nodded briefly toward his companions and the old man before walking over to the Physique Stele.

Taking a deep breath, Alex prepared himself.

However, before sending his Spiritual Force into the stele to activate the trial, he paused and stared at the structure through his Truth-Seeker Eyes.

’Mana... lots of mana,’ he muttered inwardly.

Through his enhanced vision, he could see dense streams of various elemental mana constantly flowing into the steles.

’Just how many Sigils must be embedded within these steles if they require this much mana merely to maintain themselves?’ he wondered.

’And if this amount of mana is required simply to sustain them while they are idle... how much mana would be needed when the steles are actually active?’

Another question surfaced in Alex’s mind.

Where exactly was all this mana coming from?

Such a vast concentration of mana could not exist in a place without generating some form of unique natural phenomenon.

’The concealment method of this Heaven–Earth Concordance Formation, as he calls it, must be far more complex than I initially estimated,’ Alex thought.

After gathering what little information he could through his restored Truth-Seeker Eyes, Alex finally extended his Spiritual Force into the stele.

And began the trial.

Alex found himself inside a luxurious building, as evidenced by the potent mana emanating from almost every item within his immediate sight.

Looking around, he realised the room was most likely a study or a library.

’If there’s a study...’

Alex quickly scanned the surroundings— and soon found the owner of the room.

Standing before a large, eastern-style window that stretched all the way to the ceiling was an old yet somewhat muscular man.

Judging from the deep wrinkles on his face, the man appeared to be in his eighties.

However, his body radiated the vitality of someone in the prime of life, exuding a powerful life force that many youths in their thirties might not be able to match.

’An old man with a youthful body, huh...’ Alex muttered inwardly.

The old man stood quietly by the window, reading from a scroll beneath the cascading light of the midday sun.

Alex chose to wait patiently.

Strangely, the usual heavenly voice that announced the nature of each trial never appeared.

Instead, the old man simply continued reading the scroll until he finished it completely.

Only then did he turn to face Alex.

"You have some patience... good," the old man said as he rolled up the scroll.

He cast Alex a cold, appraising gaze.

A moment later, he nodded expressionlessly.

"Good. I was afraid that old goat’s choice would be a muscle-headed fool like himself. It seems he developed a few functional brain cells after his death," the old man muttered.

"You appear to be a student of knowledge with at least some measure of intellect. You will do... I suppose."

Alex stood there, momentarily stumped, unsure how he was supposed to respond.

"You may refer to me as Heavenly Venerable," the old man continued.

"It is my belief that the path of Heaven and Earth is ultimately a path of knowledge."

"A fool who knows nothing —who understands nothing about the grand repository of knowledge within Heaven and Earth— has no business walking its grand path."

"As such, my trial will test your intellectual capacity."

The Heavenly Venerable walked away from the window toward one of the countless shelves lining the study —easily numbering well over a thousand— and returned the scroll to its place.

Then he turned back toward Alex, the endless shelves of scrolls forming a vast backdrop behind him.

"My trial has two stages," he continued.

"The first will test your ability to acquire and retain knowledge."

"The foundation of every intellect lies in the knowledge it possesses."

"If you seek my approval to become the Legatee of Heaven and Earth, you must prove that you can acquire and retain any and all knowledge presented to you."

"And for that..."

He gestured toward the endless shelves surrounding them.

"...you must read and memorise every scroll contained within this hall."

***