Ch-3: Entrance Test

All seven delegations of the Tier-1 Empires arrived near the Arcane Academy, where they finally met the Imperial Family of the Arcane Empire, namely the Russell Family.

Not that anyone dared to call them by their name, though. But looking at them, every person had the same thought.

'I wish I were one of them...'

Everyone present wanted to reach that level, but unfortunately, that was impossible for them, and the scorn and discard for others were clearly visible on the juniors' faces.

The Elders couldn't care less, though. And just as everyone had gathered and greeted their ruler's delegation,

A solitary man appeared in the sky as all the participants and their guardians were on the ground, making every participant gasp upon seeing the new arrival.

The juniors were well informed that every single Entrance Test encompassing entire Titled Empires would be overseen by a dignitary dispatched by the Daiyu Sacred Land to all Titled Empires.

It was to prevent any backdoors from existing, as all these regulating people came on the orders of their Elders, and only one dignitary was sent per Titled Empire.

In less than a minute, another six people arrived, flying near the first person, but they focused on the crowd gathered instead.

"As stipulated by the Daiyu Sacred Land of the Daiyu Continent, the Entrance Test will be conducted in the presence of this esteemed guest from the Sacred Land and free from any of their intervention," informed the leading man as he motioned towards the dignitary, who wordlessly nodded.

"I am Morl, an Inner District Elder of the Arcane Academy who will preside over the Entrance Test, while the Outer District Elders will accompany me and help maintain the ideal environment for the test," continued the leading man, or Morl, as the three female and two male Elders following him made themselves known.

"First of all, anyone who participates in the test must know that there are tests in which you can die," stated Elder Morl as he went silent right after to let the weight of his words sink in.

"You have this chance to back away if you fear death," added Elder Morl. Hearing his words, a few hesitated, but no one pulled out first, noticing that Elder Morl quickly continued before someone gave up, "But know that those who pass will get resources and guidance better than anywhere in the entire Empire."

"You can fulfill whatever goals you have—becoming a Monarch? Patriarch? Matriarch? Taking revenge? Cultivating immortality?"

"This is the only place where you'll get power beyond your imagination and where your dreams can come true, but..."

Taking an appropriate pause to look at the pumped-up participants and even some guardians, Morl continued:

"But know this: if you hesitate or hold back on purpose or not, you will die. You can also give up during the tests, but there are always some idiots who overestimate themselves and see death."

"The safest is to give up now, as during certain tests like survival. In them, you can't give up. You can only give up after the test has ended."

Seeing that no one gave up reminded Morl of the past Entrance Tests, as every participant who came here was well aware of all the possibilities and didn't just see the good side of things, ignoring that most, if not all, of them would die sooner or later.

"Oh, right! I don't want to see any participant flaunting their status during the tests. The Elders and your guardians will be watching the test, so if you're doing just that, you will get disqualified along with the Clan or Nation you come from getting prohibited from sending any representatives for the next 100 years, so choose wisely," suggested Elder Morl as he turned around and passed orders to the Outer Elders.

Without waiting for the participants to get ready or giving them extra time, the Outer Elders arranged for the guardians and participants to be separated.

They brought the guardians to the Arcane Academy to watch the Entrance Test, using the formation spread around the entire expanse, spanning 5000 square kilometers.

"Alright. With the nuisance gone, your first test is to reach the boundary 1000 km from here within three days. Now off you go," announced Elder Morl as he waved his hand, and an opening appeared in the protective dome around the Arcane Academy.

The participants were a little suspicious because there were no rules. But they had a time limit, so all the pre-arranged groups started walking to the entrance.

Only after 3 hours did all the participants enter that Morl came to the Daiyu Sacred Land representative, and together they returned to the Arcane Academy to spectate everything.

Naturally, they were in a different place filled with various amenities to satisfy the representative and allow him to watch any participants he wished to.

It was a stark contrast to the guardians and powers, who could only watch the participants brought by their nation, be it an Empire or a Kingdom.

Obviously, the rulers of stronger nations, like the Tier-1 and Tier-2 Empires, could see all the participants from their vassals.

The exception was the Russell Imperial Family Elders, as they were the rulers of the Empire, allowing them to see any participant. But they did not seem much interested in these starting competitions.

"874.966 participants, huh?" mumbled Elder Morl, aware that this test would have the fewest dismissals.

***

On the ground, the participants were trying their best to reach the destination as fast as possible.

Some naturally voiced their feelings even before giving it a try themselves.

"Isn't this too unfair? Those with higher cultivation will obviously arrive first."

Someone who looked older and more experienced replied in all seriousness to the whining of the younger one,

"Do you think it would be that simple? Trust me, I don't know what it is, but merely having higher cultivation will not be the determining factor."

With such conversations, the youths had already entered the opening, and they started to run toward the boundary that wasn't visible in the slightest.

Back on the road, the smart ones instantly decreased their pace. The majority in the front kept running forward, completely forgetting the 1000km ahead of them. They only thought about arriving first to gain recognition.

However, how could it be this easy? Be it the other kids or themselves, they all have undeveloped bodies. It was simply impossible for them to keep that high pace for more than a few minutes, let alone for three days, to cover such a large distance.

Luckily, they could use their spiritual energy; otherwise, only a handful would have been able to complete the first test.

Be it Elric, Raon, Nerlo, or Aria, they had to follow Ziya's instructions. She had observed all four of them and would hasten, slow down, jog, run, or rest depending on the condition of the other four and herself.

She administered the entire group's pace excellently, without mistakes. She also checked on them to confirm they would safely cross the huge distance without any major obstructions.

Meanwhile, several youths had already started to voice their discomfort and frustration as they couldn't see anything except sparse trees, hills, boulders, waterfalls, and the like throughout their journey.

"Damn! Why is there no resting place around here?"

"Resting place, huh? There is not even food or water for drinking!!"

"What is wrong with them? I am melting here, for life's sake!!"

"Fuck it! Fuck this Academy! I give up!"

The reason for such discontented voices was that throughout the 1000 kilometers, there were no resting places, spiking the difficulty of the test up another notch. It resulted in the youths who had run with full force at the front slowing down, while some even collapsed because they had used up their spiritual energy reserves.

Every entrance test was conducted according to the elder in charge's whims. There were quite a few who didn't like this method and put aptitude above all other factors, but none could hold their own against the Arcane Academy, so they could only swallow their reluctance and grit their teeth upon seeing their youths giving up or failing.

Time continued to pass before, finally, around midnight on the second day before the third day, Raon's group was able to see the academy boundary. It was also possible to see a board at the front with a few names and positions on it.

Immediately, they noticed that those were the kids that arrived before them. In total, the board had 1072 names, giving their group the numbers 1073 to 1077. They didn't feel sad, though. As much as they excelled in this first test, the fact was that it was quite strenuous.

Raon, for one, couldn't care less about his position.

Finally, they arrived at the post prepared for this first test and gave their names and ages.

"Ziya Tesra, 19 years old."

"Arialyn Tesra, 15."

"Elric Tesra, 18."

"Nerlo Tesra, 16 years old."

"Raon Tesra, 16 years old."

Recording their details, the man behind the counter on that post said while pointing at an enormous building a few tens of meters away.

"Very well, you can go to the building over there. You will find beds, food, water, and everything else there. This test will last another day. So you can take your time to rest and prepare for the next part of the exam."

At the same time, a disciple put five of their names on the board. The board only had enough space for ten thousand names, though. Those who arrive afterward would not have their name put in there. For now, no one knew why that board was there.

After the next day ended and morning came, the first exam was finally over. Unlike what one would expect, although the test ended in three days, only 20 percent failed. In total, a little over seven hundred thousand people arrived at the academy boundary.

The rest of the hundred thousand alive youths, who didn't even reach here, were sent back to their guardians. Since there was no rule against killing, more than fifty thousand people died just like that.

Of course, some had arrived in the last hours, so they were ultimately not in a condition to continue.

That being the case, the Academy gave the participants another two days to rest before going over the next test.

Ziya used this opportunity to explain her thoughts regarding the test to her group, despite her dislike of being the leader.

"The first test was most likely to screen out all those who didn't have the willpower. Or those who only cultivated their entire lives without putting any effort into training the body. Thus, they couldn't accept their limitations and pace themselves well."

Excluding Elric, the other three nodded at her words since they did make sense, but neither of them commented or added anything, causing her to go silent as well before they separated.

Time passed, and two days went by in a flash. Suddenly, everyone heard the same elder's voice in the building.

"Gather in the testing field. Follow the Outer District disciples if you don't know where it is. You all have one hour."

His voice made everyone realize one thing: 'The second test is about to start!'

Morl gave everyone one hour, but the field was already full in less than thirty minutes. No one wanted to leave a bad impression by arriving late.

Soon, Morl appeared on the stage to speak. Together with him, the three female and two male Elders who had been accompanying him also stood on the stage.

Seeing that every single youth had turned quiet upon their entrance, he scrutinized the youths that had caught his interest before he smiled and praised, "Congratulations to the 713.185 youths who passed the first test. Honestly, it was less than I expected, but I'm glad that at least some youths nowadays are putting real effort into their training."

His voice was tinged with sarcasm, causing everyone present there to feel goosebumps and shudder in response to his icy voice. It was clear to anyone that he was disappointed.

Earlier, many had wanted to ask about the board and the names on it outside. But at the moment, none dared to ask anything as they quietly stood with bated breath to listen to his next words.

Seeing the lack of response, although disappointed, Morl didn't linger on it as he announced, "The last test will start in four hours. It is a practical exam to test your abilities as cultivators and as a group. The group must have at least 5 participants and at most 10."

Without waiting for them to react, he continued with the same monotonous, cold voice, "If you all remember, there is a board at the entrance showing the first ten thousand kids to finish the first test, the Marathon Test. Those who are on the board will have priority in the group selection. Others will have to wait until the ranked ones finish building their groups. Of course, those whose names are on the board can recruit others from the board as well."

He paused for a few seconds to allow his words to seep into their heads, and just as they were about to react, he swiftly silenced them by adding, "Now, the content of the practical exam is very simple. You will be sent into the academy's private Demon Beast Forest, which is filled with tens of thousands of demon beasts matching the level of the weakest amongst you to surpass the strongest amongst you deep inside, so you better be careful where you are walking. Your group's objective is to gather 1000 points. As long as you complete this task, your group will have passed this second task."

"However! Keep in mind that the Elders will be observing you all. If we catch someone purposely not helping their group, we will eliminate that participant immediately. The Arcane Academy doesn't need parasites; it needs strong cultivators."

"As for the group composition, it doesn't have any requirements except for a group made of only the strongest; you must have someone one realm lower than others."

Morl paused as he finally explained, "Pay attention because I will only say it once. The weakest, Stage 1 Demon Beast, gives your group 1 point. Stage 2 gives 10 points. And, if you can kill a Stage 3 Demon Beast by some miracle, it will provide you with 500 points!"

Seeing the distinct reactions of the cultivators, Morl didn't forget to throw the bait, the incentives:

"Lastly, the ranking. The top 100 groups with the highest scores will receive a reward of 1500 Rank Two Spirit Stones to share with their members. Also, the first place will get double the reward, 3000!"

Everyone's eyes lit up.

After all, who didn't want such a ludicrous reward?

With an imperceptible smile on his countenance, Elder Morl then continued his explanation.

"We will leave in three hours, so use this time to mount your team. The test itself will start the moment the four-hour mark is crossed. If you need help setting up a group or were left out, seek one of the Outer District disciples for help. They will assist you with those and other problems that might appear."

"The top youths, you now have one hour to build your groups. After this one-hour passes, the rest are free to start building their groups as well."

Elder Morl then retreated to his spectating region and began to observe with the other Elders.

Since all the youths participating were cultivators, the Academy had been generous enough to provide a lot of space for them to prepare and form groups freely.

The first ten thousand who had their names on the board got a head start to form teams. But most teams were long since made, so the real advantage was some information about the beasts inside and the 1-day headstart as long as one person in the group had their name on the board.

However, they were only told about this when they were about to enter the Demon Beast Forest. 

For now, they followed behind Elder Morl, who had given a stern command.

"All of the participants, follow me."

Following Elder Morl, it wasn't long before they arrived in front of another enormous building. The disciples guarding the front noticed Elder Morl and immediately opened the door for him. Inside, one could see several formations of different sizes.

Elder Morl then stopped the youths from entering as he pointed to the formation in the very middle, which was the biggest.

"Alright, this is a teleport formation. It will teleport you to our private Demon Beast Forest. It can support one thousand people at once, so you will all take turns entering it."

No one complained as they followed his words. In just a few seconds, the first thousand youths were already over the big formation. It soon activated, and with a flash of silver light, everyone disappeared.

Not many were surprised by the familiar formations. The majority had already seen such a thing multiple times before coming here. No one dared to delay, and one group after another was teleported away.

Finally, Raon's group time came. They stepped on it with the others before the teleport formation activated. The space around them seemed to have contorted before everything became blurry. Finally, it all became silver for a short second when, suddenly, they appeared in another completely different place.

After the surreal and disorienting feeling, their sights returned to normal, and they could finally see where they were. It was another building, but this time, there was only one teleport formation around them. Obviously, it was the one used for bringing them here.

As they stepped outside the building, they noticed the forest a few kilometers away. Around the building, they could also see a few disciples who were probably responsible for defending the area against the demon beasts.

Around ten minutes later, everyone had already gathered again.

After making sure that everyone was there, Morl appeared in front of them as he began to float above them before he started talking.

"This is our Private Demon Beast Forest. As I said before, the highest level of Demon Beasts here is the same as the highest amongst you. However, they will only be lurking around the core region of the forest."

"A fair warning: you will have to find food by yourselves. Don't worry, though; this Demon Beast forest has a lot of fruits and water, and some of the Demon Beasts' meats are edible. Oh! Also, there may be poisonous-type beasts in their midst. However, if you decide to give up, just come back to this base. But remember that the exam will be over for you if you choose to return."

Everyone nodded vigorously. They wanted to ask about killing and attacking each other, but since it wasn't mentioned, it was most likely allowed. This was the conclusion most of them reached, and they were right with their conclusion.

The Academy wasn't here to play house with them but to get strong cultivators to protect, help expand, and be loyal to it. What future has a place without some conflict and competition? Such a Sect or Power would eventually end up being destroyed; it was that simple.

"Remember, we are watching you all. So, if you flaunt your status or strength to force others to do the work for you, you are in for a good surprise. Ah right! Killing will not net you any benefit but only a loss, but it isn't banned."

Of course, the Academy didn't want only brutes to enter. Hence, their vague clues and descriptions. The ones with a functional brain understood the underlying meaning: Everyone is watching; you will only incur grudges if you kill someone.

The ones who had mercilessly killed in the first round couldn't help but get a chill at the thought of what awaited them, but Morl wasn't going to wait for them to make sense of everything.

"The exam will last a month. Remember, you need 1000 points to pass. No one is going to save you if something goes wrong, so don't try to bite off more than you can chew. The other groups might hesitate to attack you, but the demon beasts don't give a damn! Keep that in mind."

Each group received a strange bracelet with some simple formations inscribed on it. Morl continued to give them a breakdown of the bracelets.

"Whenever someone from your group gives a killing blow to the demon beasts, the formation will record it. If you lose it, you will lose all your points."

"Lastly, if you want to give up and don't know the way back, just send your Spiritual Energy into the Bracelet. The formation inside will show you the way."

"The exam starts now!"

All the groups immediately rushed to enter the demon beasts' forest. But the Outer Sect Disciples didn't allow them to enter it. Dumbfounded, they looked at each other, trying to understand what was going on.

Suddenly, a few groups were allowed entry, causing the wave of dissatisfaction to give rise to incessant chatter and murmurs of complaint.

"Yes. Life is unfair. Deal with it." Elder Morl's voice boomed after he watched the youths complain and vent their frustrations in a low voice. But how could it have escaped his hearing? However, everyone went quiet after hearing his voice.

"You didn't think making the group would be the only advantage, did you? That's just plain stupid of you." His words left no room for disagreement as everyone swallowed their frustrations and watched as the groups of the first ten thousand entered the demon beasts' forest.

There were no survival supplies for anyone, and even no tips or guides except for the top ten thousand. It wasn't only a test of strength or ability, but also survival. The youth would need to adapt to this place on their own.