Before reaching the Golden Core Stage, even before he met Immortal Bi Yue, Ren Xiaoyao always believed that he was a peerless genius. Similarly, even within the Sun Chasing Sect, a major sect, he was deemed the genius among geniuses by others.
He also believed he would cut through all obstacles, climbing the path of Immortal Cultivation to become the hierarch of the Sun Chasing Sect.
Even though he never attained Enlightenment, he still always believed that he was the most talented.
Because, a real genius does not need Enlightenment; he understood everything he cultivated. What else was there to realize?
It was not until he met Immortal Bi Yue that he truly acknowledged there were heavens beyond this heaven and recognized what true genius was!