Three days later, Zhang Ergou and his companions arrived at the summit of a mountain.
In the center of the peak, an arched gate stood before them.
"This is the entrance to the secret realm I mentioned to you all a few days ago. This realm only allows cultivators at or below the Nascent Soul stage to enter."
Jianfeng Jianying stood before the archway, explaining to the young disciples.
"It will open in half an hour, so please be prepared."
The young disciples immediately became more serious.
...
Not long after, a mist rose, and the arched gate glowed with a faint light.
"It's open, it's open," the young disciples shouted excitedly.
"This trial will judge you by the number of demonic beasts you kill. Killing a Foundation Establishment stage demonic beast is worth one point, Golden Core stage is ten points, and Nascent Soul stage is one hundred points. The final rewards will be converted into alliance points based on your score."
"You'll find out what alliance points are for when you come out."
"The journey into the secret realm is the final test for all of you, though there are exceptions."
Jianying said, casting a pointed glance at Zhang Ergou.
Zhang Ergou touched his nose, his gaze steady, showing no surprise.
The elder had said he would give him three trials before officially accepting him as a disciple.
In the current situation, it was clear these peak masters were waiting for the assessment results, especially since Zhang Ergou's choice had defied them all.
Zhang Ergou didn't believe these peak masters and elders had no resentment.
At this moment, Zhang Ergou could feel the chill in the eyes of Dan Feng and Elder Liu.
However, having made his choice, Zhang Ergou had no intention of backing down. He would press forward.
Otherwise, he would be looked down upon.
The extremely high-grade spirit vein and dozens of high-grade magical artifacts that Dan Feng had promised him were now out of the question.
Zhang Ergou dared not even approach Dan Feng now.
The desire to kill someone's gaze could not be hidden.
If not for the elder's reputation acting as a deterrent, Zhang Ergou suspected Dan Feng would have already dismembered him.
Zhang Ergou fled like a rabbit, being the first to rush through the arched gate.
If he stayed any longer, he feared the peak masters might act.
"Haha, this is the first time I've seen this brat so cowardly."
Seeing Zhang Ergou flee first, Dan Feng and the others burst into laughter.
...
Bang!
Zhang Ergou was violently thrown onto a hard surface.
If not for his tough physique, he would have been seriously injured by the fall.
Slowly getting up, he carefully surveyed his surroundings. The area was barren, with nothing.
Apart from various strangely shaped rocks, there wasn't even a bird in sight, let alone any demonic beasts.
"No way, my luck can't be this bad."
Zhang Ergou shook his head in despair. The environment stretched as far as the eye could see, covering dozens of miles.
It was all rocks. To kill demonic beasts, he would have to actively seek them out.
Holding his spear, Zhang Ergou walked a few steps and approached a large red rock, poking it with his spear.
There was no reaction.
The secret realm was shrouded in a gray mist, with no navigational aids.
Zhang Ergou had no idea where he was.
Finding others was unrealistic. He casually chose a direction and moved forward rapidly.
What he didn't notice was that the large rock he had just fallen near was slowly moving.
And something was cracking open in the middle of the red rock he had poked.
It was two lantern-sized eyes.
All of this happened shortly after Zhang Ergou had left, and he was completely unaware of it.
All he wanted now was to get out of this stone forest and go kill demonic beasts.
He had promised the elder that he would do his best in every assessment and achieve the best results.
Rumble!
The sound of rocks moving echoed.
"What's happening, an earthquake?"
Zhang Ergou abruptly turned his head and looked in the direction he had come from.
There was nothing unusual behind him; everything was arranged in the same scattered, strangely shaped manner as he had seen before.
Frowning, Zhang Ergou withdrew his gaze.
Instinctively, he felt something watching him from the surroundings, but he couldn't find anything.
He couldn't even sense the opponent's aura.
But his sharp intuition warned him that something was observing him.
Zhang Ergou looked suspiciously in all directions, east, west, north, and south, but still found nothing.
The sound of rocks moving had stopped when he halted.
Finding nothing, Zhang Ergou had no choice but to continue forward.
This time, however, he had learned his lesson and walked cautiously, guarding against his surroundings.
Whoosh!
Zhang Ergou suddenly turned back again. The surroundings were silent.
...
Compared to Zhang Ergou, Li Xun didn't seem much luckier.
Li Xun landed in an area inhabited by demonic beasts, and these beasts were wolves that preferred to live in packs.
The sudden appearance of a human figure excited the wolf pack, which hadn't smelled human cultivators for a long time.
They opened their bloody mouths, their eyes glowing green.
Li Xun could sense the wolves' eagerness from their dripping saliva and undisguised killing intent.
Roar~~
Suddenly, a giant wolf with silver fur let out a howl.
The wolf pack instantly became orderly, moving rapidly, but not a single wolf attacked Li Xun first.
Instead, they ran around, as if following a specific formation.
"Beasts are just beasts, trying to trap me with a formation."
Li Xun's lips curved slightly into a faint smile.
With a glance, he could see that the cultivation of these demonic beasts was not high; even the leader, the alpha wolf, was only at the late Golden Core stage.
If he were surrounded by hundreds of late Golden Core cultivators, Li Xun might have been troubled for a while.
The current situation did not warrant his serious attention.
However, even so, Li Xun did not wait. He drew his sword, and a wave of blood mist swept out, and the wolf closest to him lost its life completely.
Roar!
The alpha wolf roared in fury again.
Instantly, the pack of wolves began to attack Li Xun desperately...
"Where is this place?"
Li Zhan patted the grass off his head, stood up, and carefully surveyed his surroundings.
Whoosh!
A figure flew rapidly towards Li Zhan. Instinctively, Li Zhan threw something.
Splat!
A green snake, as thick as an arm, fell to the ground. Li Zhan quickly moved out of the area, feeling that it might not be safe.
"Hey, Qu Yao, is that you?"
As he rounded a corner, Li Zhan happened to meet Qu Yao, who was jumping down from a tree.
"Have you seen anyone else?"
Qu Yao shook her head. Her cultivation was not as outstanding as her alchemy talent.
All disciples were required to participate in this assessment.
It was said to be for the purpose of training the disciples' survival skills, and Qu Yao had nothing to say about it.
"There seems to be someone over there."
Li Zhan pointed in a direction and said after listening.
"Let's go and see."