Meanwhile… inside the trial space…
Liam silently meditated pondering the insights he received. His mental clarity at the moment was at its highest. The entire world had faded away leaving behind only the hammering sounds.
It was as if everything in his mind was connecting. Since he never had formal training in smithing, he had learned everything on his own and now he was correcting all the errors here and there in his path.
The monolith before him, which had previously trembled and vanished to the eyes of the elves, was still very much present in Liam's perception.
It stood tall and radiant, not as a physical structure, but as a series of intertwined concepts and principles of the Dao that he was slowly grasping one after the other.
With the elf steadily making progress in his forging talent, Liam was obtaining all the benefits one after the other. It was as if the answer sheet was opened up in front of him.
With each hammering sound, Liam's understanding deepened.
He realized that smithing wasn't merely about shaping metal; it was about understanding the essence of materials, the flow of energy, and the rhythm of the universe.
The Dao seeds he had obtained were not by chance, but results of his understanding, connections he made, and the flaws he rectified within himself.
Slowly, the hammering sounds started to morph into patterns, with rhythms and beats that spoke directly to his soul.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already plucked out a soul minion of his, a werebarian and once again started forging the minion. This time he imbued more mana into the minion than he had before.
He also packed the excess soul energy that was freely roaming about in the world. All the while, he was completely meditating and did not break his focus even once.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The colliding of mana with mana reverberated loudly in the trial grounds. A frown formed on Liam's face but soon this frown became a smile as the forging became successful.
The werebarian was once again reborn and this time the minion had 50 extra stats for the same level!
This in fact made the minion even stronger than many of the guild members. The werebarian howled excitedly as it bowed toward Liam to express his gratitude.
Liam still not breaking his focus, dismissed the minion and went on to the next minion. He did not want to miss this chance. While the feeling was fresh in his mind, he continued honing it and ingraining it into his brain.
And while all this was happening, the elven ancestor gaped in shock, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly. The reality of what was happening was slowly sinking into him.
At first, he did not think that the human being in front of him would go far. Just like the other elves he assumed that Liam probably had some fortuitous encounter and obtained the S-Ranked herb and hence was achieving dao seeds one after the other.
However, unlike those elves he did not look down on Liam for that. Luck was also a talent. And he was interested to see just how far he would go simply riding the coattails of one S-Ranked herb.
Only after a few minutes did he realize that he was gravely mistaken. The human being in front of him was not remotely ordinary. The man was planting dao seeds left and right as if they were persimmon seeds.
It was not luck. It was not the S-Ranked herb. It was all him.
Moros continued watching him in awe. He was not against the elven clan or his world but he was inclined to give this human being his inheritance.
It was clear that the human being did not have any background just like him. Otherwise, a genius wouldn't be suffering in such a place.
Rather than becoming a trophy for some elf, he wanted this nobody to have his inheritance. In a way, it was karma. It was supposed to be .
However, before he could finish his thoughts, something else happened. The human being suddenly took out a soul? A soul that was neither alive nor dead!
He then watched dumbstruck as the human being started forging the very soul!
What was this? Just how could this be possible?
Among all the battle techniques and crafting techniques out there, soul techniques were the most mysterious. He knew this but to think that a soul technique could exist… the elf was now completely shell-shocked.
He now knew that he had once again misunderstood the human being. This was not a mere genius. He was a man born to be a god!
He immediately waved his hand, making the monolith disappear. While gaining insights could be beneficial in the long run it would do more harm than good.
Even if the human being was capable of it, dao seeds should not be planted one after another. It would become highly detrimental if the human being swallowed more than he could chew.
Moros had already decided who his inheritor would be. More than that, he also made another decision. So he quickly waved everything off, now bringing Liam into the confines of a solitary space.
"Human. Speak. Who are you? Do you have any background at all?"
Liam stirred awake from his meditative state. Though he still felt as if he was right on the cusp of another breakthrough, he wouldn't have been able to achieve it just yet. So he did not lose anything from this.
He opened his eyes slowly and first settled himself. "I am a nobody from a trash-grade world." He explained with a rueful smile.
The elder did not press him for more details. Instead, he warned Liam.
"I was afraid of that. Do you know that there are geniuses in this world and there are irregulars?"
"While geniuses are beings born with a talent that the heavens themselves are envious of, irregulars are beings born with a talent that the heavens despise!"
"You are an irregular!"
"Your ability transcends race and limits!"
"Everything and everyone under the heavens will do their best and worst to crush you into nothingness!"
"You are not meant to exist!"
"They will not allow you to exist!"