In fact, all the Human geniuses idly gathered at the Flame-Heritage Mountains today—without exception—belonged to the Standard Gate. Some arrived alone, some in groups, and now these Standard Gate talents watched Andrew Han as he attempted the mountain trial.
That's right.
All of them were from the Standard Gate, without a single exception.
At the entrance to the Spark-Heritage Zone, one hundred and two Flame-Heritage Mountains stood tall, and everyone watched Andrew Han.
At that moment—
A young woman glanced around, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly in disappointment. "Not to mention the Primeval Gate—even the Primordial Gate hasn't sent anyone. Their cultivation attitude is much more serious than ours."
Someone beside her sighed, "The Standard Gate is the baseline for standard geniuses. How difficult is it for us to advance to the Primordial Gate? Each epoch, out of a million Standard Gate humans, only two or three can ascend to Primordial."
The genius ranks are divided as follows: Standard-tier, Primordial-tier, and Primeval-tier.
To ascend to the Primordial Gate is already something to dream of. As for reaching the Primeval Gate—they don't even dare imagine! The Primeval Gate marks the very limit of genius.
A genius already stands above the vast majority of people.
But the Primeval Gate stands above the vast majority of geniuses.
Hearing this, the young woman frowned, hesitating as she brushed a strand of hair aside. "Honestly, I've always felt the name 'Standard Gate' isn't that flattering. The term 'Standard'—or 'Star Sand'—suggests countless grains in a vast sea, as if we're just one among many... Even though we're considered standard geniuses, outside the Hall, aren't we all dazzling figures? We sweep through our realms, suppressing our peers and generation!"
But here, we are all categorized as Standard Gate.
Every genius here wants to take another step forward.
The area was suffused with pale red matter; the so-called Spark-Heritage Zone was a special starry region encircled by a protective membrane.
The young woman added, "Honestly, I'm really unwilling to accept this. We shouldn't be treated like this."
Simply put, this young woman in a cyan-green robe, carrying a crystalline zither on her back, believed the Hall should place greater emphasis on cultivating Standard Gate talents.
Another young man stood nearby, speaking objectively and in a low voice: "Actually, this is very normal—and as it should be. Because this is the Human Supreme Hall."
The Hall's fairness and impartiality are beyond doubt.
The Standard Gate is certainly not ordinary, certainly exceptional. But the Spark-Heritage Zone's level is simply too high—it gathers all the geniuses from across Human Territory!
"If you ever feel truly out of place in the Human Supreme Hall, you can always leave. In an Ancient Kingdom or an Empire, a Standard-tier Genius would be dazzling, the center of all glory..." Hearing the young man's gentle comfort, the young woman unconsciously let her left hand rest on the crystalline zither strapped to her back. She gave a wry smile and said, "Once a flood-dragon has tasted the ocean, how could it ever return to a shallow lake?" (In Chinese myth, a flood-dragon symbolizes latent greatness unleashed in vast realms; here, she laments that after experiencing the vastness of the Hall, returning to a lesser stage is impossible.)
"Then just stay," the young man advised earnestly, his eyes suddenly brightening with excitement.
In the next instant—
The young man called out, "Look, he's starting the mountain trial!"
All the Standard Gate geniuses present—including the zither girl, still nursing her private doubts—turned their attention to the first Blade-Scar Flame-Heritage Mountain. Nearly a hundred pairs of eyes watched, some curious, some indifferent, some clearly savoring the spectacle.
And then, just a moment later—
The young man, having just finished shouting, exclaimed again, "Did he fail? He couldn't even pass the first step?"
Watching Andrew Han's instant defeat and hearing the change in the young man's tone, the crowd at the Standard Gate couldn't help but smile. Even those usually cold or aloof twitched their lips or shook their heads in amused surprise—not out of malice, but simply finding it entertaining.
They all shared the same identity: Human.
As fellow Humans and fellow geniuses, failing a mountain trial is no cause for mockery, much less a reason for contempt.
Within the Spark-Heritage Zone, there are even preparatory-level cultivation talents below the Standard Gate who often fail the mountain trials. But so what? The pursuit of greater life is an instinct worthy of respect.
"Besides—"
"That guy is a Composite Starlight-tier," the young man realized, glancing at the girl beside him. "Blade-Scar Flame-Heritage Mountain tests the life-gene system. I bet his Soul-Will path is his true specialty."
The zither girl nodded, and the others nodded in agreement as well.
Entering the Spark-Heritage Zone for the first time, every genius is assigned a receiver to guide them—Andrew Han is undoubtedly a genius, beyond dispute.
So—
They only wanted to see how strong Andrew Han's Soul-Will truly was; even within the Standard tier, there are levels of strength.
Yet reality often defies expectation. The second mountain trial they awaited never came. Instead, they saw Andrew Han, clad in cyan robes, stand before Blade-Scar Flame-Heritage Mountain, lower his head in brief contemplation, and then soar past the mountain peaks, heading deeper into the Spark-Heritage Zone.
Because Andrew Han had already cleared the trial!
He had passed the second level of Wheel Mountain and was now assigned to the Primordial Gate!