Stunning Amazement

Awe, disbelief and slight horror permeated throughout the air of the entire Potential Assembly.

There wasn't anyone, be it common students, Ranking Geniuses, or even the Professors that dared to take their eyes off from Asher's Talent Stone.

Many wanted to simply believe it was a dream that his Talent Stone was quickly changing even at the Earth Tier level. Hayato especially wanted this whole charade to merely be fake.

But, no matter how much disbelief they had, it couldn't change reality.

The fact that Asher's Talent is at the Earth Tier level was enough to cause unforgettable waves throughout the entire Academy. This alone would've elevated Asher's fame over Hayato once again.

But, Asher's Talent wasn't just at the mere Early Stage Earth Tier. In a couple of seconds, his Talent Stone transitioned to a Mid-Stage Earith Tier level!

In each realm, the Early, Mid, Late, and Peak dividers weren't just for naming sake.

If one can truly increase their overall level to a point where they can reach an entirely new boundary divider, their prowess undergoes a monumental change!

Even if there were several Early Stage Spirit Tier cultivators against one weak Mid Stage cultivator, the results would be challenging to see.

The only way several Early Stage Tier cultivators could win against one weak Mid Stage level was if they had tremendously powerful Battle Skills, Battle items, or they cultivate a powerful Special Technique Manual.

But even against all those factors, a weak Mid Stage cultivator could simply overpower all of that with their immense prowess.

And with each proceeding divider, the disparity in Stages only grows larger.

A Late-Stage cultivator would be able to utterly decimate powerful Mid Stage and Early Stage cultivators with immense ease. And of course, being at the Peak Stage means, unless that cultivator is facing another Peak Stage powerhouse, they're essentially invincible to the lower Stages.

This is what makes Asher's results so phenomenal.

If he could successfully make it to the Mid Stage of the Earth Tier realm, someone like Hayato would barely have any chance of ever defeating him or surpassing him.

If Asher's Talent were to just stay at Mid Stage Earth Tier talent, it would be enough to cause a tremendous storm in everyone's mind. A storm that wouldn't be able to go away for a long time, Asher's name would be imprinted in their minds.

However, Asher's Talent Stone simply didn't care about anyone's stunned state.

Once it had reached a standard tint of yellow, Asher's Talent Stone didn't stop increasing its glow.

In just a few seconds, it had then reached a slightly dark shaded yellow!

Everyone's shocked eyes somehow became even broader. A Late-Stage Earth Tier talent was right before them! Now, this was all becoming just too freaky; everyone believed they were in some bizarre twilight zone.

However, before everyone had a chance to properly register Asher being a Late-Stage Earth Tier Talent, his Talent Stone swiftly changed for the final time.

Once again, in just a manner of seconds, his Talent Stone's slight dark-shaded yellow tint transforms into a completed dark shade of yellow!

At this point, Asher still remained calm even while he was causing immense waves in people's minds. He was actually expecting to see even more after this.

But right then, Asher started to wrinkle his brows.

When his Talent Stone turned into a Peak Stage talent, Asher felt something stopped within him. It was like a thin line of energy that was connected to the Talent Stone was forcefully suppressed.

After that mysterious energy stopped flowing into the Talent Stone, it had remained capped at Peak Stage talent.

Asher narrowed his eyes, already figuring out something was amiss here. By his own calculations, he suspected he could've reached a boundary far higher than just a mere Peak Stage Earth Tier talent.

But before he could put his mind into figuring that out, that lack of silence around him pulled Asher from his critical thoughts.

Asher trailed his eyes off the talent stone, and his sights immediately fell on the Professor standing by it. An additional layer of weird crept into Asher's mind as this Professor had an intent stare at him.

The Professor had a middle-aged appearance, and Asher could honestly say it felt strange to have his gaze so intently focused on him.

Not wanting to look at him anymore, Asher swiftly zipped his eyes around the entire field.

And it was then Asher felt genuinely awkward. Everyone there had an intent focused gaze on him, all in a mix of awe and disbelief. The way they stared at him was like they were seeing a mystical Ghost for the first time.

When Asher had scanned his eyes through an enormous crowd, his sights did land on one person that made him feel calm. He had also felt a bit of amusement from this person's reaction.

Elsa, who Asher thought wouldn't be too terribly surprised at his high Talent, actually had a cute-looking expression of shock on her face. Not even she could keep her cool, calm facade with what Asher showed.

The strange silence only lasted about a couple of seconds, though Asher felt it was far longer.

Right as Asher was about to turn back around to the Professor by his Talent Stone, finally then a chaotic burst of shouts roared out throughout the entire field.

"WOAA!!"

"An actual Peak Stage Earth Tier Talent!!"

"This absolutely trumps Hayato results!"

"This guy….he can even contend with the top-ranking peak geniuses!!"

The uproar for Asher surpassed Hayato's for another reason besides just his incredible Talent. Because Asher already showed off incredible prowess during his battle with Zara, it started to click in people's minds on why he could.

Common students, General job students, and even the Professor realized one thing. Asher wasn't just an uprising genius; he's an actual future contender for the top Ranking List spots!

Reese and Kylee stayed absolutely rigid, feeling overwhelmed by the incredible display they just had witnessed.

"Asher…." They both silently uttered his name at the same time.

All around them, they heard the constant uproars and booming about Asher's supreme Talent. In just mere few seconds, his Talent once again grew to an exponential level.

And it would only continue to grow from this day onward.

A jumbled mix of thoughts swoons in both of their minds. Staring into Asher's face now, Reese and Kylee felt more distant than ever from him.

Over at the Ranking Genius Students section, they, of course, we're all bewildered.

The slight expectations they had about Asher were thrown far out of the park, reaching into deep horizons of the skies!

Chase, Leon, Daisy, Dane, and Anton all stared unblinkingly at him.

While the field erupted into chaotic uproars, these Genius students were actually silent. They couldn't precisely put their finger on it. But they just felt their chest tighten a bit while staring at that yellow, dark-shaded Talent Stone.

Right then, Daisy's mind was the first to come back at her. She blinked her eyes as she came back to reality and broke the strange silence between them.

"So….I guess we didn't waste your time, right, Dane, Anton?"

Anton and Dane finally came back to reality from having their names called. Their eyes blinked a few times as their minds went through various motions.

Previously, they felt a desire to see how Hayoto will grow. But it wasn't particularly large. On the Ranking Genius list, numerous of them have at least an Early Stage Earth Tier talent. And there were a few that also had a Mid-Stage Earith Tier talent.

But the genuine special ones, the ones that go beyond them, it's where Asher currently lied. Deep within their cores, there was an honest burning desire bubbling up, wanting to challenge a future grand genius.

"Tch! This kid….just seconds within his appearance, and he's already making so many waves. Hell, when Scarlett tested her Talent, she made it to the same level but was far slower than him!"

Anton spoke first, his clenching a bit tightly as his eyes never let off from Asher.

Dane's expression turned surprisingly calm. The burns of competitive spirit gradually ignited within him, and he spoke in an even tone. "Now, this is the utmost intriguing. You all were right; this will be a rollercoaster of a Competition year."

Immediately after Dane spoke, the rest of the ranking students broke into a fervent discussion.

In this enormous crowd of students, there were many with various intense reactions towards Asher's Talent.

But there was a squad of youths that had their eyebrows creased in concerns. These youths would typically carry a stature that nothing could ever make them worry, and they would be the ones making others feel anxiety.

However, as their eyes stared into Asher's talent stone, genuine worry crossed their faces. One particular youth in this squadron closed his eyes as if he was pondering on a suddenly complicated matter.

With so much awe going from around Asher, he himself wasn't affected much by it.

It was similar to the time he fought with Zara. He didn't feel overly great about receiving so much awe; it honestly felt quite noisy to him.

But there was one pressing matter that took precedent over the student's reaction. His look unknowingly turned slightly questioning as he was preparing to give his concerns to Yuki.

However, Yuki already sensed Asher's concerns, and before he even talked, she told him,

'Don't worry about the results too much. I suppressed your true Talent from showing because that would be a disaster we wouldn't be able to survive. But, with what we showed off today, it's sufficient enough for our prowess to rapidly grow in a short amount of time.'

Asher's expression returned back to normal from Yuki's explanation. He supposed it made sense that he doesn't show off absolutely everything he has inside him.

Although, this did make Asher highly curious about just where his true talent lies.

Before he could further contemplate this, the Professor by his Talent Stone had suddenly called out to him.

"Asher Vipond. Congratulations on such an outstanding talent. Please, come with me."