Soon all the participants who managed to stay on their feet for thirty seconds after the third bell chime were handed obsidian plaques.
Although Max had only lasted two seconds in the vision, he hadnât fallen to the ground, so he was considered passed.
Max didnât feel happy about it but it was what it was. So, like everyone else, he waited for Meredith to announce what the next test was going to be.
Meredith didnât waste time and announced, "This time, we have eliminated all other tests, leaving only the final one. As long as you pass it, you will be taken in as Outer Hall Disciples. Not only that, if your performance catches any of the Inner or Core Hall Eldersâ eyes, they might take you as their disciple and allow you to join Inner and Core Hall, so do your best."
Pausing a bit to let the information sink in, she continued, "For this final test, youâll be sent into Beast Emperor Hallâs minor spatial realm where youâll hunt down the mutated beasts. Each beast of the same cultivation realm you hunt will give you 10 Merit Points. If itâs a realm lower than you, itâll give you 1 Merit Point and if itâs a realm higher than you, itâll give you 100 Merit Points.
The trial will last a month. If by the end you have at least 1000 Merit Points, youâll have passed the trial, if not, you are eliminated."
âOh?â Max raised his brows in surprise upon hearing this.
Beside him, Rima frowned, "Someone who hunts a Low-stage beast will get equal Merit Points to the one who hunts a Peak Stage beast of the same realmâthatâs not fair. They should give the different Merit Points based on the beastsâ strength."
"Do you think they donât know this?" Max said, shaking his head.
Rima fell silent upon hearing this.
Similar murmuring arose in the crowd and someone couldnât hold back from crying out the unjust of the rules.
To everyoneâs surprise, Meredith immediately waved her hand and sent the one who cried out flying out of the city, shattering his plaque.
"The rules are rules. They wonât be changed just because you feel jealous of others having an easy time. If you are capable, you can also find Lower stage beasts."
"Aside from this, I have a warning for you allâthere is a good chance that youâll die in the minor realm because there wonât be anyone to save you. Now, with all this said, you have two minutes, anyone who feels dissatisfied with the rules or is afraid of dying can leave the city."
Saying this, Meredith closed her eyes.
Hearing this, many of the participantâs expressions fluctuated and soon someone left the city with their head down.
With someone taking the lead, over ten percent of the total remaining participants left the city.
After two minutes were up, Meredith opened her eyes and swept her gaze across those who stayed and nodded approvingly.
"You all are not bad. Talent and all else can be compensated for but courage canât. As long as you survive this trial, with Beast Emperor Hallâs nurturing, Iâm sure most of you will break past your limits and become stronger than you had ever imagined of becoming."
Hearing such encouraging words from her, everyone was moved, even Max.
"Alright. Itâs time." Meredith glanced at the middle-aged Elder, who nodded, took out a white boned claw and after injecting his mana into it, he swiped it across the sky.
Rip!
Under everyoneâs gazes, a rift was torn open in the sky, revealing a dense jungle within.
"Stabilize it!" Meredith shouted and started making hand seals. The middle-aged man did the same.
One after another, many complicated patterns appeared in front of them which they sent into the rift. Slowly, the riftâs fluctuations stabilized.
At this moment, Meredith and the Elderâs auras had considerably weakened.
Meredith waved her hand, "Go in. Try to kill as many beasts as you can because the more Merit Points you have when you enter the Beast Emperor Hall, the easier time you will have."
Hearing this, Max and othersâ, who were confident in themselves, eyes lit up, understanding what she meant.
"Thank you for the advice, Senior. Iâll try my best." A woman dressed in white bowed in thanks, then summoned her companion beastâa three-meter tall, white furred wolfâand jumped into the rift.
Others followed and entered one after another.
"Letâs go." Max held Rimaâs hand and started moving toward the rift.
Rima nodded but couldnât help asking, "Are you sure you are alright?"
"Yeah. Except for the fact that I canât access my dantian, Iâm in top shape." Max assured her before adding, "Moreover, arenât you with me? With us joining forces, we should have no problem fighting against weaker Tier 5 beasts."
Rima nodded, "Yeah. But let me be the vanguard this time, alright?"
"Sure." Max agreed, putting a smile on Rimaâs face. She finally had the chance to help him, to be useful to him.
...
"..."
A short while later, Rima, with a blank expression on her face, was standing at the bank of a river with a large crocodile beastâs corpse lying in front of her.
Just a few moments ago, she had entered the rift with Max but when she arrived here, she found herself alone.
Before she could even think why Max wasnât with her, this crocodile attacked her.
Shua!
Right then, a figure suddenly appeared atop the river and started plunging down.
It was a girl who looked to be the same age as Leticia. She had entered the rift with her elder sister just now and appeared here.
"Ahhhh! Sister, save me."
Noticing a crocodile suddenly appear where she was about to fall, she cried out in terror.
Rima snapped back to her senses when she heard the cry. Taking a breath, she concentrated her elemental mana in her throat and cast one of her magic spells, producing a sharp keening sound.
The crocodile, about to open its mouth and jump up to devour the falling girl, stiffened and the light vanished from its eyes.
Plop!
Swish!
Not wasting any time, Rima waved her hand and a rope conjured from her mana tied around the girlâs waist right as she fell into the river and pulled her out.
"Cough! Cough! Damn it. Why did I appear in such a dangerous location? Is the Beast Emperor Hall trying to killâHuh? Who are you? Where is my sister?"
The girl coughed out a mouthful of water and started complaining as she stood up. But amidst her ramblings, she saw Rima, who she didnât recognise, and put her guard up before looking around to find her sister but failed.
"Iâm Rima and you appeared alone here. Your sister... she seems to have been sent to some other place." Rima said distractedly, her heart heavy from worry.
"What?!" The girl cried out before her face turned red in anger, "This damned Emperor Hall is really trying to kill us. How am I supposed to survive without my sister?"
Rima furrowed her brows in annoyance. Not wanting to stay near her any longer and hear her nonsense, she turned around and rushed away.
After finding a safe place, she sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes and began concentrating.
âPlease stay safe until I find you, Max.â