Chapter Eight: Racing Up the Rankings

“Sangsang, you can’t compare yourself to children. Here, humans don’t come of age until a hundred years old, and some races are still infants at twenty.”

“I understand. I won’t slack off,” Sangsang replied, cradling Golden in her arms and kissing his forehead.

Golden covered his forehead, shifting his left foot over his right. “As long as you know, just don’t get handsy.”

Sangsang saw the joyful golden light flickering in his eyes, though his words contradicted his feelings. Smiling, she tipped him over with her finger and, before he could protest, lifted him atop her head. “Let’s go to the cultivation room.”

“Sangsang, I’ve researched your constitution. According to the Immortal Martial civilization, you possess a Purifying Spirit Body. You can cleanse energy—it’s rare, and highly sought after for dual cultivation.”

“Dual cultivation body?” Sangsang’s thoughts darkened.

“That’s right, that’s the polite term. There’s another, more crude one: ‘cauldron.’”

“If I’m not mistaken,” Sangsang asked, “is that the cauldron used for energy extraction?”

Golden nodded gravely. “Exactly. There’s also a Full Spirit Body, similar to yours. It’s compatible with all energy systems and absorbs without conflict, but it can’t purify.”

Sangsang narrowed her eyes. “I see. From now on, I’ll do my best to disguise myself as a Full Spirit Body.”

The next day, Sangsang returned to the trial training hall. She paused before Room Three, glancing back. A blue mermaid whipped her tail, turning abruptly to face the wall, as if the splash painted there held irresistible allure. A red shadow flashed and vanished around the corner.

Such a strong trail of psychic fluctuation—these followers were truly amateur.

Sangsang mused silently. Since displaying the “Narcissus Painting,” the flood of invitations had dwindled by ninety-nine percent. Only the “Low-level Civilization Mutual Aid Society” persisted, sending fifty invitations a day until she blocked them. The sudden peace was refreshing. Yet, after only a few days, tails were appearing again.

Feigning weakness was useless. Nor should she deliberately lower her trial scores just because Teacher Qing had urged her to keep a low profile.

Sangsang narrowed her eyes and entered the training room.

“Trial participant Sang Hongye, five records of purification trials, comprehensive assessment: Perfect. Please note, after ten consecutive and non-repetitive trials rated Excellent, you will be rewarded with an additional trial opportunity today. Please maintain your state. You have five remaining trial chances today. Would you like to begin?”

The main processor’s voice sounded. Sangsang cleared her mind of stray thoughts. “Begin. Six times concentration.”

She had never intended to hide. In a place overflowing with geniuses, playing dumb was futile. Only by excelling could she earn more resources. She represented not just herself, but the distant Galactic Civilization.

“Mm...”

As the sixfold concentration of primal energy entered her body, Sangsang couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan.

It was just as Golden had said: between five and six times, it wasn’t a mere addition but a doubling. Up to five times, the temperature increase was slight—at most fifty degrees, a pleasant warmth. At six times, it surged to seventy or eighty, a scalding heat with a prickling pain beneath.

It was difficult to endure, but not unbearable.

Sangsang began by guiding a single thread of primal energy. As her body grew accustomed to the hot, itchy discomfort, she gradually increased the intake.

If the discomfort at level six was considered an obstacle, what would happen at levels eleven or sixteen? This pain was nothing compared to the agony of being burned alive.

Sangsang silently told herself to steady her mind, disperse the thickening energy, let it flow through her, and teach her body not only to endure but to relish the pain of evolution. Gradually, after the pain, a tingling satisfaction emerged.

“Sixth trial completed. Purification concentration: six hundred. Duration: three hours and eight minutes. Absorption: one hundred. Guidance: Subtle. Comprehensive rating: Excellent. Assessment: Perfect. Psychic fluctuations detected: abnormal. Recommendation: Pause for relaxation exercises before continuing.”

The burning pain and tingling faded like a receding tide, but her body didn’t feel lighter. Sangsang drew a deep breath, knowing she’d been tense. The sudden relaxation had caused her psychic fluctuations to spike—she just needed to steady herself.

Sangsang took out a set of eight “Valley Orchid” healing cards. Designed primarily for emotional stability, their effect on psychic recovery was secondary. She flipped through them one by one, and her psychic waves gradually calmed. By the last card, her mind was clear of all distractions.

“Continue. Seven times.”

Unbeknownst to her, some people were tracking her trial records.

No matter how others disparaged Sangsang as a primitive native, the sponsor above her was Bishop Anthony—one of the three great bishops, eligible to contend for the position of archbishop, a top decision-maker in the temple. No one dared underestimate Bishop Anthony, nor question his judgment. Perhaps she was a dark horse? The clever took this chance to observe Sangsang closely.

When the sixfold trial record appeared, the three-hour-and-eight-minute duration surprised many. The progress bar for the seventh trial lit up immediately, forcing a reassessment of this ‘low-civilization human’ from the wild star regions.

Trial Machine Three was for elite level; without an instructor, only those with Excellent scores could proceed to the next level.

The seventh-fold progress bar lighting up meant her sixfold trial score was Excellent, with absorption above ninety-five percent—a feat many from advanced civilizations required multiple attempts to achieve.

Two hours and fifty-seven minutes: the seventh-fold trial record was complete, and the eighth-fold progress bar appeared.

Again, a one-time pass—and even faster this time. The progress bar showed a steady, regular climb, with no stalls or setbacks, indicating she was far from her limit.

How long could she maintain this streak?

With this question in mind, her observers continued their surveillance.

Eight-fold: two hours and sixty-eight minutes.

Nine-fold: two hours and seventy-nine minutes.

Ten-fold: two hours and ninety minutes.

When the eleventh-fold progress bar appeared, those tracking her records were stunned into numbness.

Had they not known the trial participant’s identity, the records alone would suggest a prodigy from a high-level civilization.

On the trial leaderboard, Sang Hongye’s name jumped to ninety-seventh place, drawing widespread attention. From ninety-six upward, all were at eleven-fold or above. To take first place at the ten-fold trial, with a perfect assessment, guaranteed significant bonus points.

“Who’s Sang Hongye? She suddenly appeared—did she spend years training at home just to make a splash?”

“She must be a super genius! Didn’t you notice the pattern in her records? The easier trials, one to five-fold, took successively less time. The harder ones, six to ten-fold, each increased by eleven minutes. Sixfold was likely her adjustment phase. This subtle level of psychic control—how many of you can claim to match it?”

On the academy’s star network, debates raged. The candidate saint from a low-level civilization was well-known within the temple, so Sang Hongye’s information quickly appeared on the bulletin board, dousing the heated discussion like a bucket of cold water.

Achievement and potential don’t always correlate.

The optimal age for purification is fifteen to twenty-five, based on the hundred-year adulthood standard. According to scientific reports, people from a second-level civilization reach skeletal maturity at twenty-one—equivalent to over sixty in ordinary terms. The peak of genetic evolution has passed, so purification effectiveness drops sharply at this stage.