Chapter 12: Passing Through

"Young Master Chu, please come in and start the second level!" Uncle Yuan's expression softened somewhat, clearly Chu Hao had gained a bit of status in his eyes.

Chu Hao also became somewhat interested. How complex would it become next? Could his Derivation ability face a real challenge?

As he entered, what blocked him were still a wall and a door; nearly the moment he stepped through the door, he could reach the opposite wall with an outstretched hand.

"Same as before, open the door before the hourglass runs out!" Uncle Yuan said.

Chu Hao already had his gaze on the wall, seemingly not hearing Uncle Yuan at all. Geniuses and madmen are often alike in many respects; once focused, they become oblivious to their surroundings.

Fortunately, Uncle Yuan wasn't petty. He simply turned the hourglass upside down, remaining silent to avoid disturbing Chu Hao.

This time, there were eight paintings on the wall.

Chu Hao stared fixedly, appearing like a meditating monk, but if one looked closely into his eyes, they would notice that his pupils were trembling rapidly, a vast amount of information flooding through.

In just over half a minute, he began to tap on the statues.

He tapped seven times!

Click, click, click, the door opened again!

"What, only 33 seconds!" Tang Xin said with a look of disbelief, because when he had challenged the second level, it took him 35 seconds! This level was more than twice as difficult as the first one, not only because there were twice as many spots to judge for attacks but also because one of the pictures was a trap and couldn't hit the opponent!

An average person, even if they sensed something was off, would hesitate, doubting whether they had made a mistake in their judgment.

But Chu Hao did not hesitate at all!

This was a sign of complete confidence in himself!

He had been five seconds faster than Chu Hao in the first level, but in the second level, Chu Hao had turned it around and surpassed him by two seconds, which made him a bit defiant and unwilling to accept.

Geniuses always find it hard to concede defeat.

"Young Master Chu, please, the third level!" Uncle Yuan's tone became even softer.

Chu Hao entered the third level.

The wall now had 12 paintings on it!

He stood still, but his brain had already begun operating at high speed. After about forty seconds, he knocked ten times on the statues.

Click, click, click, the door to the third level opened too!

Hiss!

Tang Xin's face began to twitch.

He was faster again!

And, while the second level was only 2 seconds faster, the third level was 7 seconds quicker!

Fourth level, fifth level, sixth level... Chu Hao advanced unstoppable, succeeding on each level at the first attempt.

Tang Xin had become numb; he had brought Chu Hao here because he had foreseen Chu Hao's capability, but the extent of his monstrous prowess greatly exceeded his expectations!

His record was left trailing behind by Chu Hao!

He lagged 16 seconds on the fourth level, 28 seconds on the fifth, 49 seconds on the sixth, 87 seconds on the seventh, and 140 seconds on the eighth!

Why was the gap growing larger?

It was simple because Chu Hao's Derivation ability was stronger than his, and not just by a small margin!

In the first few levels, both didn't need to operate their brains at full capacity, so the difference was minimal, and they could solve the puzzles easily. However, by the seventh level, Tang Xin had to exert his brain to the limit, but Chu Hao was only using eighty percent, or even sixty percent, of his Derivation ability, naturally widening the gap.

The ninth level also didn't hold Chu Hao back for long; he opened the door in 124 seconds.

That meant, Chu Hao had passed the test, but there was still the last level.

"Young Master Chu, this is the tenth level. It's okay if you can't pass, but if you can..." Uncle Yuan smiled slightly. Since he had been in Eastern Cloud City, he had seen only one person pass the tenth level!

That was a true prodigy!

"Freak!" Tang Xin also said inwardly, as he was stopped at the tenth level! Afterwards, he recalculated and actually could have passed the tenth level, but the time would have significantly exceeded the limit, which naturally didn't count.

But this also made him see the gap between himself and that freak!

"Fu Xue!" Uncle Yuan and Tang Xin both recalled someone simultaneously, a woman beautiful as a Heavenly Immortal, alluring as a peach blossom, yet as savage as a ferocious beast, not only terrifyingly intuitive but also possessing astonishing martial arts talent and making huge daily progress in strength.

An established noble from the Fu Family in Eastern Cloud City, an absolute genius, an absolute force of violence!

The tenth level!

In front of Chu Hao, there were a total of 129 paintings!

Uncle Yuan reversed the hourglass, starting the timer.

Theoretically, as long as one has a normal brain, they could break all ten levels, but as for the time... it could take days, months, or even years! The tenth level had a ten-minute limit, and only Fu Xue had completed it within the time frame, but only 22 seconds shy of the limit!

Like Tang Xin and the talents from the Zheng Family, Zheng Yuan, and the Qian Family, Qian Yanjie, they were only two or three minutes behind. Unfortunately, they were selecting the genius among geniuses, and though now it was only a matter of two or three minutes, as the realm advanced, it could diverge by two or three years or even twenty to thirty years!

Chu Hao stood silently like a statue, and in his mind, the images that were static started to move, whether drawing a sword, throwing a punch, or kicking. It was clear some images came first, yet according to momentum, the impact time seemed to fall later.

Extremely complex, the amount of computation was astonishing.

But for Chu Hao, this was just a minor challenge.

This was his specialty!

His eyeballs rapidly trembled, and merely seven minutes later, he withdrew his gaze and looked at the statue, already extending his hand.

What!

Uncle Yuan and Tang Xin were both greatly shocked. Had he finished analyzing and deriving already?

Really?

Considering that the prodigy Fu Xue had almost used the full ten minutes, yet Chu Hao only took seven minutes, this gap... was a bit large, wasn't it!

Chu Hao made his move, snap snap snap, his fingers flying as he continuously pressed against the statue, a total of 111 times.

Creak creak creak, the final door slowly opened!

Tang Xin and Uncle Yuan both gaped in dismay, easily fitting their fists into their mouths without any difficulty.

A new prodigy was born!

"Young Master Chu, please wait, I will go and call Madam!" Uncle Yuan said very politely, his attitude more humble than ever.

Chu Hao smiled and responded, "By all means!"

"Kid, you really are something!" As soon as Uncle Yuan left the room, Tang Xin immediately punched Chu Hao in the chest.

Chu Hao laughed heartily, "You still haven't told me what this place actually is!"

"The owner here is called Madam Yun!" Tang Xin explained, "But I don't really know the specifics of Madam Yun's background, only that she has considerable influence. By passing her tests, you'll gain unexpected benefits!"

"Oh, what benefits?" Chu Hao was curious.

"You'll see soon enough!" Tang Xin said mysteriously.

"Psh!" Chu Hao scoffed.

"I never expected that the Young Master of the Chu Family would be so incredibly reticent!" Just then, a woman's voice came over, her tone seductive, as if squeezing out of honey, sickly sweet and startling.

Chu Hao and Tang Xin turned to look, only to see a woman around 25 years old, extremely voluptuous, with peach-blossom eyes that were absolutely enchanting. For a young lad, this type of seduction was enormously potent, almost irresistible.

"My late husband was surnamed Yun, and everyone calls me Madam Yun," the beautiful woman giggled, her charm natural, making Tang Xin blush immediately.

Chu Hao had no reaction; he had experienced too many such scenes like this. Yet, he had to admit in his heart that Madam Yun indeed had a very feminine allure, quite the vixen!

And her identity as a widow made one's heart itch even more!

"I've seen Madam Yun!" Chu Hao said as he clasped his fists, only then did Tang Xin come out of his daze and hurriedly followed with a bow.

Madam Yun giggled, her voluptuous body trembling enticingly, releasing a seductive fragrance that once again made Tang Xin blush. She gave Chu Hao a few more glances, wondering whether this young man had an iron will or was simply too young to understand romance, far too calm!

She said, "First, I must congratulate Young Master Chu for successfully passing the tenth gate, the second person to do so in nearly thirty years! And based on the time taken to pass, Young Master Chu could rank within the top three in the last five hundred years!"

"There's someone ahead of me?" Chu Hao was surprised. Although his power couldn't be considered great, if evaluated merely on deriving abilities, he believed he was second to none.

Tang Xin involuntarily rolled his eyes. This guy still wasn't satisfied with such a result and wanted to be the ultimate number one? But he became curious too and asked, "May I ask Madam, who are the other two?"

"Yue Wu Jian, Han Shan!" Madam Yun announced the names.

Chu Hao searched his memory and realized he had never heard these names before. He looked at Tang Xin and saw that he was equally baffled.

"You naturally haven't heard of these two," Madam Yun said with an admiring look. "After all... haha, let's not dwell on that! Young Master Chu, having passed the Ten Heavy Gates, you are now a distinguished guest of the Ling Family!"

— It appears her maiden name is Ling.

Madam Yun handed Chu Hao a card, golden all over, thin and light, with the character "Ling" engraved on one side and the image of a wolf howling at the sky on the other. Although just a drawing, it still exuded a terrifying ferocity, as if it could leap out of the card and snap one's neck!

"The golden Blood Wolf Order!" Tang Xin inwardly exclaimed. He had passed nine gates and received a Blood Wolf Order, but his was only silver!

"With this Blood Wolf Order, if you face any difficulties, you can seek help at auction houses in 37 nearby cities! Additionally, each city's City Lord's Mansion will also show you respect," Madam Yun explained the purpose of the Order Token.

Such influence!

The Tang Family was already powerful, serving as nobility in Eastern Cloud City for over six hundred years with immense wealth and significant influence! Yet compared to the City Lord's Mansion, they were just throwing an egg against a rock, no match at all!

And even the City Lord's Mansion only controlled one city, yet the Ling Family... had extended its reach to 37 nearby cities! Moreover, the city mansions in those cities also paid respect—what did that imply?

This small Order Token carried substantial weight!

Chu Hao, smiling, accepted the Order Token, "Then, what would you need me to do for you?" After all, there are no free lunches in the world.

"You don't need to do anything, just when Young Master Chu enters the Vajra Realm... hehe, we'll talk about it then!" Madam Yun said.