With this thought, Lu Ye's mind suddenly cleared up.

The trial at the Divine Conch Hall consisted of four parts: playing, plucking, tapping, and singing, with the final part requiring a graceful dance.

The first three were out of the question for Lu Ye; it was too late to learn now, and he didn't have the right tools anyway. Dancing was even more impossible, as it was a realm Lu Ye would never touch.

So the only thing he could rely on was singing!

Actually, Lu Ye felt he had some talent in singing, though his previous attempt to learn the merfolk's language was a complete disaster.

After a brief contemplation, Lu Ye put on a serious expression and started singing in a low voice.

"Calabash Brothers, Calabash Brothers, seven flowers on one vine, they fear neither wind nor rain, la la la la, ding dang dong calabash brothers, ding dang dong big abilities, la la la la..."

While Lu Ye was testing his skills here, in the Divine Conch Hall, a group of merfolk wore equally serious and anxious expressions.

Bai Lu was almost in tears.

Because Li Taibai had been in the Divine Conch Hall for almost two days and still hadn't come out.

This had never happened before. In the past, when members of the Merfolk Race entered the Divine Conch Hall for a trial, results usually came within two hours, with the longest record being just four hours.

This was clearly abnormal!

Bai Lu knew she had made a mistake. Something must have gone wrong for Li Taibai inside the Divine Conch Hall, otherwise, he wouldn't have been unseen for so long.

"Reckless!" Yann Miao scolded, "The Divine Conch Hall is a secret realm dependent on the Royal Conch Palace. Throughout generations, only our Merfolk Race has gone in. There's no precedent for someone from the Foreign Clan to enter. Who knows what consequences it might have for outsiders. Why didn't you discuss it with me?"

Bai Lu lowered her head and said, "I thought there wouldn't be any problem. Besides, the trial inside is not dangerous, and our people have never encountered danger there."

But she knew the Great Elder was right. Historically, only the Merfolk Race had entered the Divine Conch Hall. Now, suddenly, a human was inside, and who knew if his experiences were the same as the merfolk's?

Yann Miao also wasn't sure what to say. She knew it wasn't entirely Bai Lu's fault. If Li Taibai could enter the Divine Conch Hall, it must have been by the queen's decree, so the queen was definitely involved too.

But the queen was the queen, no matter how young she was, no one could reprimand her.

"Great Elder, could you think of a way to open the Divine Conch Hall so I can see how he is?" Bai Lu asked, at least to determine whether Li Taibai was alive or dead.

Yann Miao shook her head: "Once someone enters the Divine Conch Hall, it's completely sealed. No one can open it, but what we can ascertain now is that he isn't dead, or the hall wouldn't remain sealed."

Bai Lu understood this principle, but with time passing and Li Taibai still showing no sign of emerging, she couldn't help worrying.

If Li Taibai really died in there this time, Bai Shuang would certainly blame herself for a lifetime, and as her sister, Bai Lu would also find it hard to absolve herself from responsibility.

While the Merfolk Race anxiously waited outside the hall, inside the Divine Conch Hall, Lu Ye sat cross-legged, having sung several songs already.

It was impossible for him to learn the songs of the Merfolk Race, so he could only sing what he knew.

Initially, his voice was deep, but as he continued, it became more unrestrained. After all, there was no one around; nobody knew what was happening here.

At this moment, his powerful singing echoed through the endless darkness.

"When the sun rises, I climb the hill. Reaching the summit, I want to sing, letting my sister hear my melody, seeing her smile at my voice..."

In the darkness where no light was visible before, tiny glows began to appear at some point, like stars revolving around him. As his song floated, the number of glowing points increased.

Seeing this glimmer of hope, Lu Ye sang even more energetically.

He figured these points of light had only ever heard the Merfolk's melodious songs and never this kind of exotic, spirited singing, which might be why so many were drawn out now.

"A sky above the head is a man's sky, a youth once dreaming under starlight, not knowing how high the sky is, nor how far the sea, yet swearing to take you afar, to the sky's end, sea's edge…"

Lu Ye sang until his throat was dry. Although more and more points of light gathered, forming a sea of stars, he still didn't feel like he could leave.

Something seemed off!

Judging by the reactions of these light points, if he performed poorly, they would scatter; otherwise, they would gather.

With so many points gathered now, theoretically, he should have passed the trial by now. So why couldn't he leave?

He sang while frowning, observing those glowing points.

Just like when he first entered, these points varied in color, with white being the most and gold the least. But in number, they had dramatically increased since he first saw them, at least ten times more. Previously, every song he sang attracted many lights, but now no new ones appeared.

He guessed that probably all the points had been drawn out.

After a brief contemplation, Lu Ye continued singing while reaching out his hand toward the nearest cluster of points.

What happened surprised him. When he first entered the Divine Conch Hall, he wanted to catch a point to see what it was, but it darted away like a playful girl, evading his touch.

At this moment, when he extended his hand, it seemed as if his hand contained an endless suction force, and a vast number of light points actively gathered towards his large hand.

In an instant, Lu Ye's hand burst into a dazzling array of colors.

A tremor ran through his heart, and Lu Ye faintly perceived something, that he could choose a single light point to take out, a reward for passing the Divine Conch Hall's test!

However, due to the sheer number of light points gathering, he was unsure of which one to choose.

He finally realized that it wasn't the test that hadn't ended, it was him who hadn't noticed and kept singing here...

With this thought, Lu Ye felt a semblance of understanding.

Since he had to choose a light point, naturally, he should opt for the rarer kind, as rarity dictates value.

Therefore, his eyes were immediately set on those golden light points.

But there were also quite a few golden light points, making it hard for Lu Ye to decide, not knowing what kind of reward he might get from such a choice.

Resolved to grab one randomly, just as he was about to act, Lu Ye suddenly glanced to the side.

There was a cyan light point right there!

Previously surrounded by numerous light points, Lu Ye hadn't noticed it; after all, it was extremely small, and surrounded by a myriad of colors, the cyan wasn't very conspicuous.

Now, with a large number of light points gathering towards his hand, the cyan light point was revealed.

Lu Ye immediately changed his mind, gently flinging his hand to shake off the multitude of light points clinging to it, and he reached for the cyan light point.

This thing was even rarer than the golden ones, possibly the only one.

As if sensing his intention, the cyan light point rushed towards him, and he caught it in his hand!

Lu Ye vaguely felt he had caught something and before he could take a look, the countless light points surrounding him started to float up, then gathered and transformed, forming a gate of light in front of him.

This must be the portal to leave!

Lu Ye stood up, taking a step forward.

As his view shifted, he found himself outside the Divine Conch Hall, greeted by faces of great relief.

He was utterly surprised: "Great Elder, and all elders, why are you all here?"

Yann Miao heaved a sigh of relief, his already majestic chest heaving heavily: "Taibai, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Lu Ye nodded, casually storing away the item he brought out from the Divine Conch Hall.

Yann Miao nodded: "It's good that you're alright. Because you stayed in there for so long, we were worried something might happen to you, so we were waiting here."

Only then did Lu Ye understand the look of concern in their eyes. He glanced at Bai Lu and saw her eyes filled with guilt, smiling brightly: "I wasn't skilled enough, so it took me a bit longer to get through the Divine Conch Hall's test."

Yann Miao replied: "As long as you're alright, that's all that matters."

Lu Ye said: "Now that it's all settled, I should return too."

He came mainly to make a transaction with the Merfolk Race, and now that the transaction was complete, there was no need to stay any longer.

He wanted to complete the Constellation Palace's tasks quickly and see if he could return before the end of the ranking battle.

Yann Miao, however, showed a hint of apology: "There's something I need to tell you. Didn't I previously promise to assign some people to help the Divine Temple clear out those miscellaneous items? But our tribe's people reported back saying they couldn't get near the Divine Temple's perimeter, yet they could enter the temple without any issue, so our tribe might not be able to help clear out the temple."

"Able to enter the temple directly, yet unable to approach the perimeter of the temple, what sense does that make?" Lu Ye was puzzled.

Yann Miao shook his head: "I don't know either, perhaps it needs further investigation. If you're returning, I could escort you and take a look at the situation there."

"Alright then." Lu Ye nodded.

Without delay, Yann Miao promptly arranged for several seahorse mounts and gathered a few clansmen to lead Lu Ye towards the Constellation Palace.

Bai Lu didn't go along this time, probably due to previous events. Before departure, Bai Lu even apologized to Lu Ye.

Of course, Lu Ye wouldn't hold the Divine Conch Hall incident against anyone. Bai Lu hadn't intended it, and Bai Shuang offering him the opportunity to enter the Divine Conch Hall was out of goodwill.

Though the process was a bit tortuous, Lu Ye ultimately gained from it, considering it a unique experience on his life journey.

With Yann Miao leading the way, there was no fear of danger along the route. Although there were Sun Blaze star beasts under the All Phenomena Ocean, their numbers weren't large, and each had its own fixed territory. As long as one didn't intrude blindly, there was no concern about provoking them.

The time Lu Ye encountered a Sun Blaze star beast was a rare event for the Merfolk Race in a hundred years.