On Feifei's side, she didn't get into much danger so far. With her Destiny Major Divine Soul, she could at least keep herself safe. Of course, she knew that combat experience was necessary for one to get used to their powers, so she purposely let herself be caught a few times. With her Elemental Meridians and Three Heavenly Fragments, she could fight several stages above her level too.
Oh the third level, Feifei also took out the Godly Stones and used them. Thanks to that, she entered the 9th Stage of the Soul Forging Realm around three months ago. She was now accumulating energy to try a breakthrough.
She entered the fourth level two months after Krune. On the willpower test, she ended in the 81st Position. Feifei didn't mind it, though. After all, she knows very well her own playful mind. She was already happy enough to even get two Godly Stones from that level. Not to mention that it also meant that her willpower was strong than the majority.
Back on Krune's side, he stayed hidden, cultivating with only the Godly Energy of the surroundings for more than two months. Light Spirit said that he would need to enter the 8th Stage of the Soul Forging Realm without the Godly Stones, and so he did. Now, he was inside the 4th Light Pillar Safe Zone, consuming his Godly Stones.
Of course, he once again received several threats that he should give his Godly Stones over. Not surprisingly, Krune ignored their words completely and kept cultivating. Like before, Krune was using one Godly Stone every two days, which made everyone red with jealousy. Only when he finished using the Godly Stones, he looked at the Light Pillar in front of him.
Krune took around three months to arrive at the fourth level, but he spent another three on the fourth level alone. It was easy to see that his lack of cultivation held himself back, different from higher level cultivators and demon beasts. They could use their own cultivation realms to resist the higher levels' Godly Energy.
Laka, for example, had already passed the 5th level and was inside the sixth at the moment. Krune could tell that since Laka's name was present in the top 10 rankings of the Fourth and Fifth Light Pillars.
Krune then put his Spiritual Energy in the Light Pillar and was teleported into the test room. Right after, he received the Divine Sense message with the information about this test.
-Elemental Control Test.-
-Test Level adjusted to the 8th Stage of the Soul Forging Realm.-
-You may start.-
Krune smiled at this. If it is Elemental Control, he is pretty sure to be one of the best ones on his level. One could choose any element they wanted, but the more proficiency you showed with each one, the best your results.
One might think that this test is unfair due to the Divine Major Souls, Heavenly Fragments, Heavenly Cores, or even specific types of constitution and races out there. But the cultivation world wasn't fair to start with. Besides, several rankers showed an extremely high Elemental Control level with Elements that have no relation with their constitution, races, or Divine Major Souls. It was proof that one can still do amazingly with any element as long as the resolve is there. Of course, talent was necessary too.
Krune, of course, entered the top 10 easily. He had just too many advantages under his belt: Elemental Meridians, Chaos Meridians, Elemental Major Divine Soul, Elemental Heavenly Fragment, Elements Regulation Technique. Only a Heavenly Divine Soul could possibly compete against him.
But surprisingly, Krune was not the first placed participant. Instead, he was 4th!
st: Hiran Falasas - 100 Points.
nd: Wolsin - 99 Points.
rd: Dafria Vissark - 98 Points.
magic 4th: Lakin - 97 Points.
Of course, Krune didn't know that. He would only find out about these results once he reaches the 5th Level Pillar. Then he was quickly teleported to the next level, where he could once again start to adapt to the level's Godly Energy.
"Impressive. The Godly Energy is getting stronger and stronger. I wonder just how powerful it is in the Higher Realms."
Light Spirit laughed after hearing that.
"I believe that those up there wouldn't even notice the presence of Godly Energy of this Level. Hahaha!"
Krune couldn't help but sigh. He was really far from his ascension day. He could only imagine how things would turn out over there.
"Anyway, how long do you think I need to cultivate to get used to this Level?"
Light Spirit pondered a bit before saying.
"You gathered more Godly Energy than I expected thanks to the last Godly Energy Stones. So I guess it should be fine if you cultivate with the usual Godly Energy for two months and then use the Godly Stones Prize of the last Light Pillar."
Krune nodded and immediately departed. Instead of finding a place to hide this time, he decided to go straight to the Light Pillar. He saw the Fourth Light Pillar ranking, but he didn't know how good his test was. It was different from the willpower test, where the rankings were separated straightforwardly. So he wanted to know how many Godly Stones he could take.
"You should be careful. I doubt you can find even a single Soul Forging Realm cultivator or demon beast in this place anymore."
Krune understood this logic. Without his Myriad Energies Technique, those at his level had very little chance to advance through the levels as fast as him.
"It's okay. I will be moving with the Tribulation Lightning Layer this time. With Heavin on my side to detect others through Mental Energy, we shouldn't bump into anyone until we find the next Light Pillar. Of course, if I find some good matches, I will release it since I haven't fought for over three months already. I also need combat experience, after all."
On the way, Heavin spotted a few cultivators and demon beasts. Also, each and every single one of them was at the 4th Stage of the Void Breaking Realm, at the very least. Krune didn't waste those chances and released his Tribulation Lightning Layer, allowing those around the 5th Stage to find him on purpose. If they didn't attack, Krune wouldn't do anything, but he welcomed it if they did.
Of course, not everything was flowers. There was one 7th Stage Demon Beast that overwhelmed Krune completely. In the end, he had to flee using his Tribulation lightning Movement at full power. But Krune understood the reason, though. That demon beast was a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner!
After some time fleeing, Heavin then confirmed that that Demon Beast wasn't following them anymore.
"Phew... Heavenly Divine Soul Owners are really scary. I reckon that we would have no chance even if we had gone all out."
Krune agreed with Heavin while he swallowed a Purple Flame Healing pill.
"Indeed. I don't think the results would have changed even if I was in my Wisp Form. Fortunately, that guy was not specialized in speed. Otherwise, I would need to go back to my Wisp Form and maybe even surpass the Purple Tribulation Lightning Output Limit to run away from him. I guess this proves that even Heavenly Divine Soul Owners like to specialize in specific Elements, Laws, and Combat Styles."
Light Spirit confirmed.
"Isn't that obvious? Before they became a Heavenly Divine Soul Owners, they were mostly focused on their Heavenly Fragment properties. Cultivators and Demon Beasts like you who like to try everything are extremely rare."
Heavin couldn't help but wonder.
"What kind of Demon Beast was him in the end? He didn't transform back into his original form."
"Probably a defense type one. His attacks were powerful, but not at Laka's Level. If you remember correctly, Laka was in the 8th Stage of the Void Breaking Realm before I forged the Purple Flame Dragon Pearl. Laka was only a single Cultivation Stage higher than that guy. However, Laka's attacks against Laex back then were much more powerful."
Heavin nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, shall we keep going? The Godly Energy Flow is increasing, so we should be able to see the 5th Level Light Pillar very soon. Probably in a day or two at most."
Krune agreed again.
"Very well, let's go!"
The Purple Tribulation Lightning Layer then spread around Krune before he departed. On the way, Krune asked Luvile something else about the last battle.
"Light Spirit, what cultivation level you think I would need to fight that Heavenly Divine Soul Owner?"
Luvile pondered a bit before answering.
"At the very least, you are absolutely not his match in the Soul Forging Realm. If I were to guess, you would need at least the 2nd Stage of the Void breaking Realm to have a chance. Of course, you would need to depend on all your tricks, and most likely, it would still be your loss."
Krune sighed after hearing that. However, Krune isn't a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner, so Light Spirit's evaluation is extremely high. Being half a Realm below and having a chance is already Heaven-Defying enough. Others definitely wouldn't be able to claim the same thing.
"There is nothing I can do about the Heavenly Divine Soul, so what level you think I would need to be if I wanted to have the advantage."
"In that case, I would say the 5th Stage of the Void Breaking Realm."
Krune was taken aback.
"Only at the 5th Stage? That far?"
Light Spirit felt like giving Krune a beating after hearing that.
"Are you pretending to be a fool? Just like you said, you are not a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner. Still, you can get the advantage even though you are two stages below in cultivation. What is it? Do you perhaps want to be a god or something? If others heard your frustration, they would probably die of anger."
Krune scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Indeed, he was being too greedy.