The sun had begun its slow descent.
Yet the entrance examination was far from over.
After a brief period of rest, the successful applicants were guided toward another section of the Academy.
This time...
There were no grand halls.
No towering arenas.
Instead, they arrived at a secluded valley nestled between two mountain cliffs.
At its center stood dozens of ancient stone monuments.
Each monument was different.
Some bore faded sword marks.
Others were covered in weathered runes.
A few appeared completely ordinary.
Yet every one of them radiated the passage of countless years.
---
An elderly instructor stood before the monuments.
"The next examination..."
He said calmly.
"...is the Trial of Comprehension."
His gaze swept across the gathered applicants.
"Strength can be borrowed."
"Talent can be inherited."
"But understanding..."
"...belongs only to oneself."
He raised a hand toward the valley.
"Within these monuments are the remnants of countless predecessors."
"They contain no cultivation techniques."
"No martial arts."
"No hidden treasures."
"Only fragments of understanding left behind by those who once walked their own Paths."
---
The applicants listened intently.
"You are free to approach any monument."
"You may spend as much time as you wish."
"When you believe you have understood something..."
"Simply leave the valley."
"No one will tell you whether you succeeded."
"That is for your own heart to decide."
---
As soon as the examination began...
Many applicants rushed toward the largest monuments.
Others searched for those surrounded by the strongest Magna fluctuations.
Several noble youths immediately occupied a towering stone sword over ten meters high.
"It must be the best one."
One proudly declared.
---
Kieran didn't move.
Instead...
He slowly walked through the valley.
Past the towering monuments.
Past the glowing runes.
Past the crowds gathered around famous relics.
He observed each one carefully.
Not searching for the strongest.
Searching for the one that spoke to him.
---
Minutes later...
He stopped before the smallest monument in the entire valley.
It stood no taller than his waist.
Its surface was cracked.
Moss covered nearly half its body.
There were no visible runes.
No sword marks.
No Magna fluctuations.
Many applicants walked past it without a second glance.
---
Kieran knelt before it.
He gently brushed away some of the moss.
Beneath it...
He found a single carved symbol.
A circle.
Nothing more.
He quietly sat down.
Closing his eyes.
---
Hours passed.
Applicants came and went.
Some left smiling confidently.
Others looked disappointed.
Several couldn't understand anything at all.
Mira occasionally glanced toward Kieran from across the valley.
"He hasn't moved..."
Ronan, standing before a spear monument, answered quietly,
"Neither has the stone."
Selene, seated before an ancient inscription, smiled faintly.
"Perhaps that's the point."
---
High above the valley...
Several elders watched from a pavilion.
One frowned.
"Why did the boy choose that monument?"
Another checked an old record.
His eyebrows slowly rose.
"Interesting..."
"What is it?"
The elder answered.
"That monument has remained here for over nine hundred years."
"No one has chosen it in almost a century."
---
As the sun dipped lower...
Kieran slowly opened his eyes.
He smiled.
Not because he had gained some profound revelation.
But because...
He had finally understood why the monument was almost empty.
There had never been anything carved into it...
Except a circle.
It wasn't incomplete.
It was intentional.
The circle represented neither beginning nor end.
Neither victory nor defeat.
Only continuity.
A reminder that every Path eventually returned to its origin.
The monument hadn't tried to teach anyone.
It had simply invited each visitor to think.
---
Kieran stood.
He bowed respectfully toward the weathered stone.
"Thank you."
As he turned to leave...
A gentle breeze passed through the valley.
For the briefest instant...
The moss covering the monument drifted away.
The ancient circle reflected the evening sunlight.
Far above...
One elder suddenly stood.
"It reacted..."
Another stared in disbelief.
"There wasn't any Magna..."
"No."
The first elder replied quietly.
"It wasn't Magna."
"It was resonance."
---
At that exact moment...
Hidden deep within Kieran's body...
The Ancient Foundation Seal emitted another silent pulse.
This time...
Several intricate markings upon its surface faded.
The seal had not weakened.
It had simply recognized another fulfilled condition.
Kieran continued walking, completely unaware.
He had passed the Trial of Comprehension.
Not by discovering a secret...
But by understanding the intention left behind by someone who had lived nine centuries before him.
Watching from the highest pavilion...
The Headmaster slowly placed his teacup down.
For the first time since the examinations began...
His expression changed.
Not to surprise.
But to genuine interest.
"Now..."
He murmured.
"I would very much like to meet this child."
End of Chapter 70