Arriving first
The trio that had come from Twin Rivers City had all passed the first test. Joshua looked for them as soon as he conquered the first phase. He didn't know them, but they did come from the same place, so he wanted them to succeed as well.
Joshua was surprised to see that they also looked towards him, and smiled. Maybe Twin Rivers City would produce three great cultivators after all.
They rested for some time before getting back on track. The next phase consisted of a rope, with a river beneath it. They would need great equilibrium to pass that, but Joshua was confident he would make it fairly easy. He trained with his family guard, performing all types of exercises. Maintaining balance on a rope was something trivial for him.
He took on the front, leading everyone as he walked on the rope. Joshua's gaze inevitably went towards the river, as he shriveled in fear. If he fell he wouldn't be able to make it alive, but he then thought that the cultivators in charge of the test wouldn't let them die, so his fear slowly vanished.
The rope wasn't small, and it would take some time for them to reach the other side. Maintaining balance for a long period was something harsh. Their minds were getting tired of too much focus.
Sweat dripped from Joshua's forehead, and his feet hurt, but in the end, he passed it. He had been the first one to complete it, so he rested once again on the other side. He didn't have to rush, as he got plenty of time to complete all of the phases. Perhaps the one who was standing at the very end should be worrying about the time, but not Joshua.
He was also glad that the others from Twin Rivers City had passed.
"Will this test take forever to end? I need to read something," Miranda said. She wanted so badly to memorize all of the martial arts and strange techniques from these so-called cultivators. She was like a computer after all, and getting data was her job.
Joshua also wanted to see how overpowered Miranda was. He was already dreaming of getting a martial arts book and memorizing it in a day, shocking everyone from the sect. Anyway, Joshua couldn't rest forever so he continued on the test.
The final phase was rather peculiar. One had to enter a forest and find the way towards the middle part of the sect. It wasn't as simple as it looked. The people in charge of the test had activated some formations inside the forest, and these formations would mess with the mind of the weak, creating illusions and making it difficult for them to find the way out.
About 13 people passed the first two phases and were now at the final part. Joshua was feeling a bit afraid of entering the forest. He didn't know what to expect. Maybe some demonic beasts would chase them, and they would need to flee for their lives. But then, Miranda said something that would provide Joshua with great help.
"Joshua. There are some formations inside the forest. I don't know for sure what they do, as I need to analyze them properly. But if I should guess, these are probably formations that cause illusions on everyone inside of it. It would make sense, as they don't want the participants to reach the middle part of the mountain," Miranda said inside Joshua's mind.
"So, that's the case. Can you be sure that these formations do that when we enter the forest?" Joshua asked.
"Of course. As soon as the formations try to enter your mind, I'll stop them. Well, only if they are the type of formations we think they are," Miranda replied.
Joshua was now fully confident. If the formations tried to mess with her mind, Miranda would show them how it's done. He slowly entered the forest. The trees were huge, and their leaves covered everything, not letting too much sunlight penetrate. Bushes hid strange bugs and other small animals. These were animals that Joshua had never seen in his life, and he guessed that these were common in the world of immortals.
As soon as Joshua entered the forest, he felt some strange powers trying to mess with his mind. His head started to ache, and he was afraid that he would be caught, but Miranda was there to help him.
She used her powers of analyzing data and quickly analyzed exactly what the formation was trying to do with Joshua's mind. She then rearranged the data so that its effect would be null against Joshua.
"You're awesome Miranda. My head isn't hurting anymore, and I'm not caught inside these illusions." Joshua looked back towards the duo from Twin Rivers City that was about to enter the forest and whispered.
"Watch out. This forest seems to cause some sort of illusions at everyone who enters it. Don't ask how I know that, but please be careful about what you see inside of this place. We will see each other at the other side."
They looked towards Joshua with a surprised gaze, and then they thanked Joshua for giving them that tip. Having that knowledge before entering would help them prepare mentally for what they would see inside of the forest. The others who were clueless would face a harder time inside of that place.
Joshua quickly ran through the forest. He was immune to whatever illusions the formation was trying to cause, so nothing was in his way. It was only hard to cross when affected by the illusions. For Joshua, who was completely fine, all he had to do was follow the muddy road and arrive at his destination. And that was precisely what he did. After three hours of continuous running, a huge palace entered his sight. It was made of marble just like the palace at the top of the mountain, but it wasn't as big. The old man who was in charge of the test soon appeared in front of the palace's huge doors with a surprised face.
"Are you here already?"