Apotheosis

The space inside the cage was very limited. It was barely enough just for a person to sit with his legs crossed.

Inside the cage, Geoffrey tightly grabbed the fence with both hands and looked intently at his surroundings. At this point, his mind was in a mess. He didn't know what was going to happen to him.

From what he could see, he assumed that there were probably thousands of creatures being held in the underground space. The creatures came in different forms and sizes, and they were also speaking in various undecipherable languages.

"I'm not sure but it seems like these creatures only possess little intelligence," Geoffrey murmured to himself as he observed the creatures around him. "What the hell is this place? Why did they catch me?"

Although Geoffrey was indeed smart, he was far from being as determined as his father. He could be ambitious and confident at times, but once he encountered even minor setbacks, he would easily become frustrated.

"Coo! Coo!"

Diagonally opposite to Geoffrey's position, a white bird was constantly letting out loud cries while furiously flapping his wings. He had been doing this for more than an hour now.

"Oh, shut up! It's so annoying!"

Bang!

Geoffrey shouted in extreme irritation as he punched the fence of the cage.

As the bird sensed Geoffrey's hostility, he stopped screaming for a few seconds. Then, suddenly, his eyes flashed with an ominous green light.

When Geoffrey incidentally met his eyes, he instantly felt a crushing pain in his head as if he were hit by a heavy hammer. He felt like his skull was being split open that it almost made him faint.

"Coo! Coo! Coo!"

Then, the white bird started violently flapping his wings again. His cry was even louder than before.

Geoffrey sat down for a long time, holding his aching head. After a while, the pain gradually subsided. He sat properly and helplessly said, "These creatures are so aggressive. They may be a bit intelligent, but they still look like a bunch of idiots."

Just now, the questions that appeared in the mirror were very simple. Maybe they took the cultural barriers of different races into consideration and only arranged a simple test. Even though they passed the test, Geoffrey realized that these creatures possessed inferior intelligence than humans.

Wallowing in despair, Geoffrey's eyes wandered into the cage in front of him, where the little monster he had seen before was being held.

In contrast to the white bird, this little monster didn't make a ruckus. Instead, he climbed onto the railing and stared intently at Geoffrey with his black eyes. He wore a strange and creepy smile on his face as if he had taken an interest in Geoffrey.

"Why the hell does he keep on staring at me?"

Geoffrey turned around as he complained. He covered his head with both his hands and tried to close his eyes.

Although he no longer needed any sleep after cultivating to his current level, he felt the need to isolate himself from his surroundings.

ining monsters must have possessed at least an average level of intelligence.

He also determined that these kinds of tests would probably continue, and he just wanted them to be over.

However, what he couldn't figure out was the real intention behind these tests.

If they wanted to select creatures with high intelligence, was this kind of method necessary?

For the first two tests, Geoffrey easily dealt with them. But he worried that if the tests' difficulty increased over time, there was no way to know for sure if he could pass them all.

However, right now, he had no choice but to take them and go on until the end.

About twenty-four hours later, the spiders appeared in the underground space again. This time, they were carrying six pieces of iron with different sizes and unique shapes.

As soon as Geoffrey saw them, his anxious expression gradually relaxed, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"The Eight Diagrams Lock, huh?"

The pieces of iron were intertwined in a mortise-and-tenon structure. Even an adult would have a bit difficulty unlocking them.

Fortunately, Geoffrey had been fond of playing the Eight Diagrams Lock since he was a child, and thus it should be pretty easy for him to accomplish this test.

Just when he was about to begin, the little monster suddenly made a scene by quickly grabbing the Eight Diagrams Lock, and raising it towards Geoffrey. With a single gentle touch, he was able to unlock it instantly. As soon as it was done, the little monster stared at Geoffrey with a defiant and mocking expression.

Geoffrey couldn't help but scoff as he thought how ridiculous it was. "Is he trying to provoke me by showing off his skill for something like this?"

All of the creatures in the fifth-grade world had immeasurable strength, or at least, they were much stronger than Geoffrey. Every single one of them could easily take him down, but right now, they were held against their will and competing in these children's games.