Before he could register Lai Rou's warning, his body froze as he saw a massive fist suddenly materialize in front of him. It was so big that it seemed to bloat out the sky. It brought with it a pressure, that Zou Yi forgot everything including moving.
His legs gave out and he wasn't the only one. To his left and right, Yu Mei and Zou Liqin were on the floor with the same look of fear Zou Yi had. He Shan struggled to stand but his hands were trembling with his eyes wide open as an unresigned glint flashed in them.
The four had already resigned themselves to death, but they suddenly saw a figure flash passed them and rapidly slash at one single point in the fist. A small crack was formed and a hole immediately after.
Before Zou Yi could register what was happening, he felt his vision change like he had been thrust forward. He wasn't the only one, the same thing happened to Yu Mei, Zou Liqin and He Shan.
They were all thrown through the hole that had appeared through the fist.
They didn't understand what was happening, but the moment they crossed over through the hole, all the death-inducing pressure disappeared.
"Congratulations on reaching the peak, Zou Yi, Zou Liqin, He Shan, and Yu Mei. The Order and the institute by relation, welcomes you..." said Yang Qing.
Zou Yi and the rest didn't have time to register Yang Qing's words as they hurriedly looked back only in time to see Lai Rou being pummeled back below by the fist.
"Lai ROU!!" they all yelled.
At that moment they understood what had happened. There was a trap at the finish line, which they had all overlooked except Lai Rou. Even with He Shan's salves, he was already heavily injured and had used whatever little strength he had left to push Zou Yi and the rest forward at his expense.
They all wanted to go after him when the fist disappeared but a barrier appeared that halted them from going back. It was Yang Qing's doing. If they moved it would count as interference in the examination which came with penalties in addition to being eliminated.
The four could only compromise by asking Yang Qing to let them stay till the end of the test, to which Yang Qing acquiesced.
Half a day almost passed by with no signs of Lai Rou, then the day ended with still no signs of him. Zou Yi and the rest were all filled with worry the more time went by. Only one day was left.
On the third hour of the final day, they were surprised to see Yin Rong make her way over. When she was almost at the table they finally saw the source of the death-inducing fist that almost destroyed them had it not been for Lai Rou's timely intervention.
The source was an unassuming statue of a bullfrog next to the grass close to where Yang Qing and the rest had sat.
Zou Yi couldn't help but smile bitterly at their carelessness. The bullfrog had been the marker for the special zones, which desensitized them to it being a trap.
Zou Yi and the rest now hoped for Yin Rong's elimination. But it seemed like Yin Rong anticipated it as she charged ahead and dodged it by a hair's breadth and made it to the table Yang Qing and the rest were.
Based on how easily she evaded it and the familiarity of it, Zou Yi instantly assumed Yin Rong had faced it before and that was why she arrived later than them. What had happened to Lai Rou may have happened to her as she immediately passed out after Yang Qing congratulated her and welcomed her into the Order.
Four more hours passed by before finally Lai Tou made it with five more hours to spare which came as a relief to Zou Yi and the rest. Just like Yin Rong, when the fist appeared he opted to dodge it rather than confront it and finally made it.
Zou Yi and the rest celebrated when he was finally congratulated by Yang Qing. Yang Qing gave them a moment before he sent them away to the Insitute to be enrolled and also the preparations for their month-long death training from the instructors.
While Yang Qing did exaggerate about them dying, the training would be so severe that they would feel like it. He could only offer a silent prayer for them.
The remaining five hours quickly passed before they finally called a close on the test. It had taken three weeks, and Yang Qing was forced to stay at the peak as he closely monitored the participants. He didn't mind it since he wasn't alone, and it was much more relaxing than sitting in a court room all day and it was refreshing to see the young seedlings show case their talents.
Of the one thousand participants only 103 had made it through. Most of those who were eliminated were done in by the traps and the spirit beasts on the mountain. But there was a small group that had managed to reach the peak and faced the monstrous fist that was created of Kang Huilang's fist intent that had been watered down to the extreme. This group was hit by the fist and failed to overcome the fear and trauma created by the fist and thus opted to quit when they saw how far down they had been launched and the fearsome fist waiting for them at the top.
The Order had no need of those who lacked the courage to keep trying. If they cowered before a fist, how could they have the guts to face the entire southern continent, which was something every employee of the Order had to be prepared to do?
The way Yang Qing and Kang Huilang had set it, getting passed the fist intent wasn't impossible even for someone without a cultivation base.
There were a few ways to get passed it all of which required keenness, bravery, and skill to pull it off.
Most participants opted to dodge it and a few faced it head-on like the first-place finisher Liao Jiayi who went head-on with it and managed to keep it at bay and the other five who were there with him all attacked and made it through. Other than them, all the rest dodged.
"I wonder how the other tests went?" wondered Yang Qing as he got up and did a stretch out of habit.
From the following day, his cases would resume. He did not look forward to it at all. If he could, he would have rather supervised entrance tests all year long.
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