Genius Noble With System
Chapter 296: Test (Part-2)

Chapter 296: Test (Part-2)

A formless pressure descended, pressing against his very soul. It was as if an ancient sword had come alive, testing his resolve.

The very air twisted, distorting under the sheer weight of the test.

Boom!

An invisible force surged into Apollo’s mind, striking directly at his soul.

Visions flickered before his eyes—

Endless battlefields drowned in rivers of blood.

Swords shattered, wills broken, countless corpses torn or shredded, warriors kneeling in despair as everything seems meaningless.

The weight of countless fallen swordsmen, their regrets and unfulfilled dreams, crashed down upon him.

This was a test that laid one’s heart bare.

For an ordinary swordsman, doubts would creep in, fear would take root, and hesitation would sever their path forward.

But Apollo—

He did not move.

His gaze remained calm, like an abyss that no storm could shake. He has unimaginable confidence he can go to the end and even go beyond and surpass everything. He wouldn’t waver now after seeing the world collapse.

The crimson monolith trembled violently.

A deep red light flared once—the mark of those who had passed.

A second time.

The entire city fell silent.

"Twice... already?" someone murmured in disbelief.

And yet—

BOOM!

The monolith erupted with a third blinding light, illuminating the entire Sword Ascension Platform.

Gasps filled the air. The crowd couldn’t, as they saw once again that he had made another monolith shine three consecutive times.

"The third light...!" An elder’s voice trembled. "This... This means he has an eternal, unbreakable sword will!"

Even the seasoned sword masters watching were shaken. Not only did he have unprecedented comprehension of swords, but his will was equally terrifying.

Now they all wanted to know where the hell he came from. Did he have a master? Even some old leaders started to think about how to establish contact with him. As even without the final test of sword aura strength they knew, he was a legendary genius.

But the most terrifying reactions came from the shadows—the Eternal Gods.

These were figures who stood at the peak of existence, ancient beings who had long ceased paying attention to the younger generations. Yet now, even they stirred.

Hidden in the void, gazes descended upon Apollo, filled with curiosity and a rare sense of anticipation.

"A genius like this... should not be left alone."

Some of them immediately sent divine messages to their sects. Others contemplated directly appearing to speak with him.

And yet—

Apollo himself remained indifferent to the storm he had caused.

His focus was on only one thing.

The final test.

Before him, the third and final monolith stood tall—black as the abyss, veined with golden cracks, exuding a pressure so sharp it could cut reality itself. It seemed to be covered by nine sword aura barriers.

It was said that this monolith was carved by the true transcendent swordsmen who surpassed the Eternal God realm and used some unknown item to make this. To prove one’s sword was strong enough, they had to break sword aura barriers around it.

This was the Test of Strength. The barrier reacted to the level of the swordsman, adjusting accordingly. For example, if a swordsman had attained 60% comprehension of sword aura, the barrier would match that level.

However, sword aura comprehension varied from person to person, and even those at the same level could display vastly different strengths. This test, above all, determined the true power of a swordsman’s aura.

If a swordsman broke through the first two barriers, their sword aura was considered low-level—the weakest kind.

Breaking through four barriers meant possessing a middle-grade sword aura.

If a swordsman shattered six barriers, their aura was deemed high-grade—a level so rare that only one in a million could attain it.

Reaching the eighth barrier signified the birth of the Supreme Sword aura, an extraordinary genius that appeared only once in an era. A swordsman who achieved this level would completely dominate their time.

As for the ninth and final barrier, it remained at an unimaginable level—one that had never been reached. Even the transcendent swordsman who had carved the monolith had never witnessed such an aura. And yet, he believed that this was the true peak of swordsmanship.

The air grew still.

Countless eyes locked onto Apollo as he stood before the final monolith—the abyss-black monolith veined with golden cracks.

The oppressive aura surrounding it was enough to make even strong old sword masters of the true god realm hesitate.

Yet Apollo remained unmoved.

His Eternal Sword Aura surged, unseen yet omnipresent, bending reality itself. The crowd felt incredible as the sword aura around him was something they had never felt. Although they felt it didn’t reach perfection, the mysteries in it were something that made the eternal god realm masters surprised.

The Eternal Sword aura was so terrifying that countless swordsmen felt their sword aura trembling and their swords bowing in front of it.

Boom!

The first barrier shattered like glass.

A wave of formless sword aura swept across the platform, leaving countless swordsmen breathless. Their swords, their very souls as swordsmen, instinctively lowered themselves before Apollo’s aura.

Crack! The second barrier collapsed, unable to resist.

Boom! The third followed instantly.

By now, the watching experts couldn’t remain indifferent.

"He hasn’t even drawn his sword... What kind of monster is this?"

"Aura alone is breaking the barriers... What level of talent is this?"

BOOM!

The fourth barrier disintegrated.

The fifth shattered a heartbeat later.

Some swordsmen fell to their knees, their hands trembling. The sheer weight of Apollo’s sword aura crushed their pride as sword cultivators.

CRACK!

The sixth barrier collapsed.

A collective gasp rang out. He had reached a high-grade sword aura.

Only one in a million swordsmen could ever reach this level.

Yet, he wasn’t done.

BOOM! The seventh barrier broke apart.

The monolith itself began to tremble.

The monolith itself began to tremble.

Then—

The eighth barrier disintegrated.

Silence.

A heavy, suffocating silence.

Only one swordsman per era was said to possess Supreme Sword Aura, and he had already reached that level.

Countless sect leaders, clan elders, and divine swordsmen hidden throughout the city rose from their seats.

Even the Eternal God Realm sword masters observing from the void couldn’t sit still.

But he still hadn’t stopped.

The ninth barrier stood before him.

A barrier that had never been broken.

Not even the Transcendent Swordsman who created this trial had ever seen it fall.

At that moment, the world seemed to hold its breath.

Would Apollo finally shatter the last barrier?

The last barrier wasn’t simple; he felt it was difficult as his eyes furrowed, and he burst with his strength.

A sword quickly appeared in his hand, and the Eternal Sword Aura exploded as he swung his sword.

BOOM!

The instant Apollo’s sword swung, the world seemed to freeze.

A blinding radiance erupted from his sword, which was like an entire cosmos filled with everything, swallowing the entire platform in an ocean of sword light.

The ninth barrier shook violently.

It was different from the previous eight. This was an unknown land where no swordsmen ever stepped.

His Eternal Sword Aura surged to its peak, intertwining with the profound mysteries embedded within his sword.

His eyes, sharp as a divine god, focused entirely on the final barrier.

CRACK!

A small fracture appeared.

The watching swordsmen sucked in a breath of cold air.

"Impossible..." an Eternal God Realm sword master muttered.

"No one has ever even shaken the ninth barrier, yet he—"

CRACK! CRACK!

The fissures expanded. The monolith trembled.

Then—

BOOOOOM!

The ninth barrier shattered into countless fragments, dissolving into light.

A blinding sword aura erupted, ripping through the heavens.

At that moment, every sword not only within the vast city but even in every corner of the universe—from legendary divine weapons to the simplest swords of ordinary warriors—resonated, humming in excitement. Something unbelievable happened: the true Eternal Sword Aura had finally appeared.

Even the monolith itself let out a deep, ancient sound as if acknowledging Apollo’s sword as something that had never before existed in the annals of history.

He had done the impossible.

He had broken the ninth barrier.

For the first time in all existence, a swordsman had reached a level that even Transcendent Swordsmen had never seen.

The entire world fell into a stunned silence.

But the shocking thing wasn’t over, as that moment the universe seemed to resonate, and the terrifying will of the universe itself manifested above him.

Time froze. The cosmos stilled.

From the sky, a brilliant light descended, falling upon him and merging seamlessly into his being.

He was stunned. He didn’t understand what was happening or what that light was. But before he could even process it, the universe returned to silence, as if nothing had ever changed.

He didn’t feel different, or anything unusual; everything felt the same.

"What just happened? What was that light?"

Time resumed its flow, and it was as though nothing had occurred. No one reacted. No one seemed to have seen or sensed what he had just experienced—not even the Eternal Gods present.

They had no idea that, just a moment ago, the entire universe had stopped.

It felt like what he saw and felt was unreal, but he had a feeling that what he saw was true and the bright was something very important.