The elder quickly bowed, visibly nervous. "Greetings, Vice Leader Vubia Obsidian!"
Everyone, unable to breathe, listened in astonishment; that was the vice-leader of the sect. Why would she be present at the simple examination of the inner disciples? Then, a robust figure looked up and spoke.
"Aunt Vubia, what’s going on?" Thalor said softly. Then, the pressure on everyone dissipated.
The woman snorted as she spoke. "Young one, I came to see your test personally. You fell short of expectations, mainly due to your choice of subordinates. Why did you choose some weak ones? You picked one competent third and the rest, weak. Is that fair to them?"
All members of Thalor’s faction lowered their heads. Indeed, two-thirds of them should have been excluded, just like the others. However, for some reason, the robust figure accepted them, seeming like a random decision.
"Well... talent and power are good. However, by keeping some simpler ones, if they survive, they will strive much harder and be completely reliable to me. I prefer to have people like that by my side... it’s not like I need someone to protect me," Thalor spoke a bit embarrassed.
The woman just stared at them dryly, saying, "Naive, the weak are the first to betray when an opportunity arises. They just wag their tails to whoever gives them more. The powerful, on the other hand, are not easily influenced. They all have high status and would never risk that. Well, life will show the reality."
After uttering her words, she turned to the elder and inquired, "I observed the test, and you would approve all of them, correct?"
The elder looked confused at the question and answered affirmatively politely.
"The rules stipulate that the test for inner disciples should assess the factions. Members must demonstrate teamwork, and the leader must command them," she said firmly. "However, this larger group... although there’s nothing explicitly prohibiting it in the rules, they clearly acted contrary to them. They joined without any leadership or teamwork coordination; most were carried and protected by only three of them."
Alm and Bruno mentally smiled, questioning the vice-leader’s logical leap. However, she held the status of vice-leader. If the rules didn’t specify that they couldn’t join, then it was interpretive based on the test concept. If she interpreted it that way, even if it was questionable, her status would validate it.
"But, they still performed quite well; I can’t deny that," she pondered and gave a reflective look. "Hm... let’s resolve this quickly then. I’ll propose a new test."
The elder looked at Vubia and then at the disciples from the large group. They were visibly exhausted and mentally drained... subjecting them to any test now would be practically condemning them.
"Madam... I agree with your viewpoint. However, should we grant them a day of rest to recover," the elder spoke respectfully.
"No need. The number of survivors was considerably high, and their talent is below all previous averages. Reducing the number of candidates is beneficial for the sect, and they violated the rules, so it’s fair that I conduct a screening," she responded dryly.
The elder was stunned and spoke imploringly: "But, madam, this..."
"Enough," she declared with a light gesture.
Then, a glow enveloped the elder, and he was forcibly dragged out of the space. He found himself behind the spatial barrier connecting the location, a spatial formation linked to the entire structure of the sect. The vice-leader had control over much of this formation, and he could only lament and watch events unfold.
All the disciples shivered as Vubia observed them with a dry look. "The five factions have been approved, you can leave."
Then, the same glow enveloped everyone from the five factions, and they found themselves outside, already within the inner sect.
"Now, you. There are 21 thousand, and clearly only three of you are leaders. Divide yourselves into three factions quickly," she ordered, pointing to Ruri, Loeus, and Corin as leaders. "As for the young forger, you’re not a disciple, and it’s questionable why you’re taking this test... well, just honorary join one faction to complete the test."
The whale nodded slightly, and then the three leaders approached the disciples with serious looks. They would finally form their factions, and the whale had instructed them seriously about it before. And now, they began to split into three factions, each with 7 thousand disciples.
The speed at which Loeus and his faction formed left the whale speechless. His handsome face and innocent yet serious expression seemed to be a deadly poison... for women. Practically all his subordinates were female, mostly human women, but also including all available female elves. The intensity of their Yin was instinctively drawn to the pure Yang emanated by Loeus’s bloodline.
Loeus’s seriousness, oblivious to or unsuspecting of anything strange, impressed Alm and Bruno. On the other hand, Corin took all the remaining elves; he had been mistakenly judged as being of the same race. Other races, like dark elf and orc hybrids, also chose to stay with him, perhaps feeling a connection to his humanoid ancestral bloodline.
Next, the whale watched Ruri’s faction form and was shocked. She attracted all the mixed-blood feys, about 2 thousand of them, and the other five thousand were... human men... she just looked at them, and they ran to join her. In fact, all the human men wanted to join her, but she rejected some of them, and they split between Corin and Loeus, looking disappointed.
After half an hour, everything was ready. Vubia snorted dryly and directed her words to Ruri. "Girl, I know you have beasts. This test evaluates your command and the abilities of your subordinates. You are prohibited from using the two wyverns."
Ruri immediately narrowed her eyes and replied abruptly, "What do you mean? I’m a beast tamer, that’s part of my power. It’s like telling me to drop my weapon; it’s not fair and doesn’t make sense!"
"Hm?" The woman looked intensely at Ruri, and her cultivation intensified as she focused on her. However, Ruri held her gaze, and her anger only grew, as if someone had thrown fuel on the fire.
"Beast Tamers have their own institute and test. You are here as a sect disciple and must fight as such, following the rules. If you use them, you will be disqualified, as well as everyone in your faction," Vubia spoke emotionlessly, and Ruri immediately quivered as if she was about to explode.
When Ruri threatened to protest, a voice in her mind, coming from the array, cut off her actions. Alm and Bruno were straightforward in their words; that powerful entity was the rule, and she could only accept it. Ruri clenched her fists in frustration, but looking at her master, she noticed something in his eyes that calmed her.
Realizing the girl wouldn’t argue, Vubia nodded, and a yellowed emblem appeared in her hand. At that moment, Alm and Bruno’s eyes glowed.
’This has a connection to the demonic diagrams of the abyss clans...’ Bruno murmured.
Then, the mountain representing the finish line of the test opened. From the earth emerged a gigantic rune, very similar to those found in the abyss realms.
’It looks similar but different,’ commented Alm as he felt a Yin connection to that rune. ’This rune must be one of the keys to breaking the second seal of the behemoth. But the type of seal is completely different from the abyss.’
Bruno nodded in reflection. ’The abyss sealed the laws of the earth using infernal laws. According to Liumi, the Skyward Forest is surrounded by Yang and life. It couldn’t possibly seal only Yang, right? So, the seals of behemoth around the world seal his Yin and Yang. If this theory is correct, there will be other places with these Yin runes. As for the Forest in the sect, that’s where a Yang seal exists.’
Alm agreed with a nod. There was still a strange law in the forest, similar to infernal laws, but for now, they hadn’t come into contact with it.
All the disciples watched that gigantic rune, feeling their souls tremble. The woman then spoke calmly, "Within this rune, there is a small infernal world. Countless powerful beasts cultivate with an endless source of Yin, some more powerful than me." Everyone shivered, and she continued, "When they reach a critical mass in their numbers, the weaker ones are automatically expelled and appear here."
Alm and Bruno were intrigued. In the sect, the equivalent of the abyss realms was within the runes, and the outer region where they were was just a remnant of it. The disciples enjoyed the remnant, while the top cultivators explored the world inside.
The woman then manipulated the yellowed emblem using her soul to connect to the world inside the rune. After a few minutes, she spoke, "I will bring three powerful beasts and hundreds of lower-level beasts. All will be divided to fight against the three factions. It’s a simple test, just defeat them together."
As soon as she fell silent, the world was enveloped in a black aura. Over three hundred demonic beasts appeared, surrounding everyone. Three of them stood out, standing ten meters tall, and could be accurately described as black earth golems. Their cultivations were at the fourth level of the Heaven Stage Realm, the same level as Corin. The three leaders immediately drew their weapons and leaped forward.
Around the disciples, there were three hundred demonic beasts of various types and forms. All were at the elementary level of the Heaven Stage Realm. Their powers seemed similar to black serpents, but they were varied in type and techniques. Moreover, they seemed strangely connected by Yin. It was a group battle against group, not individual battles.
The whale observed everything calmly but quickly felt pressure bearing down on them. When Ruri, Loeus, and Corin roared and attacked, Alm and Bruno clearly felt their cultivations being pressed back into their bodies. Their cores froze immediately.
’Mother fucker! They did the same as before to us, sealed their power,’ Alm mentally roared.
’No, it’s different. They are doing it carefully after the counterattack one of them suffered. They sealed... about 70% of Corin, Loeus, and Ruri’s cultivations, not completely,’ Bruno analyzed. ’And probably, the elder in charge of the test is watching; they are doing this not to raise too obvious evidence. Even if the elder wants to, they can still fight, and the bitch can claim that nothing happened.’
The whale turned to the woman with a bloodthirsty look. She was still floating, connected to the giant rune, watching them closely.
’Shit, she chose those black golems because they have abnormal defense. Even if Ruri and Loeus use runic seals, with only 30% of QI to support the attack, they will barely be able to injure them seriously. Then, they won’t be able to use the sharpness again,’ Bruno cursed.
The whale moved among the disciples and pierced the beasts with its wooden spear. However, it only hurt them, not killed them. Something was wrong, and they kept throwing spears and watching until everything became clearer.
Alm then cursed. ’Damn, there are earth laws inside these beasts. She protected their core. And the natural power of wood is not penetrating fatally.’
In the same second, Alm and Bruno realized something and turned to the three golems. If she could do this with the beasts, then the golems, which are connected with the laws of the earth...
Their divine souls subtly ignited and focused on the golems. In an instant, they concluded dryly. ’She used her behemoth bloodline and a part of her soul to seal part of the cultivation of these golems...,’ Bruno murmured tensely.
Alm then concluded. ’They must be at the end of the Heaven Stage Realm, but if she brought them with this apparent cultivation, the elder would accuse her of killing the disciples. So, she sealed it and is slowly releasing it until the three can’t bear it anymore.’
The whale turned to the three fiercely fighting, with twisted faces. Despite having only 30% of their powers, the golems couldn’t do anything to them... but they couldn’t injure them in return at all. In a short time, they would be worn down, and Vubia would release even more power to finish them.
As for the disciples, this sudden turn of events caught everyone by surprise. They could consider themselves brave warriors, but they were already completely worn out from fighting to the death. The plan was for the commanders to quickly deal with the golems... but now they had no choice but to face them with everything they had alone, but... they were still inexperienced, and under such pressure they couldn’t endure.
They were falling one by one. With their defensive line in tatters, they were as weak as paper in front of these demonic beasts. Their blood stained the ground, and the commanders, as well as all the survivors, seeing the people next to them fall, had scarlet eyes.
Ruri and Loeus had teary eyes. These people had become their brothers, to whom they entrusted their lives. Similarly, their lives were entrusted to them. Seeing them dying one by one, they let out their beastly roars. Without caring about their lives, they attacked the golems, trying to unleash fatal attacks, but without any success.
The bloody first minutes unfolded, and a third of the disciples from each faction were violently killed. Alm and Bruno thought quickly; they could attack with everything. But that wouldn’t solve it; it would only give this woman a chance to say that the commanders were not approved.
’This woman closed all the exits! Her goal is to kill everyone, in the cleanest and fastest way possible,’ Bruno mentally roared.
At that moment, Alm and Bruno were engulfed in extreme hatred. Images of a young Grassrunner dead in their arms appeared, along with countless and endless images from a distant past. Then, they turned to the woman floating.
Without any warning, the two souls merged into a sinister aura. The whale’s gaze and the woman’s crossed... then a dreadful smile appeared on the whale’s face.
’Brat... do you really want to play with me? Heheheheheh....’ A sinister message shocked Vubia’s mind and soul, causing her heart to suddenly stop.
In the whale’s eyes, a terrestrial brown beacon lit up.
THUMP-THUMP!
The sound of earth runes inside the whale’s body echoed throughout the world. Immediately, all the laws of the earth in the entire sect froze. At the same instant, all those with the behemoth bloodline felt a tremendous impact on their bodies.
That was the last thing the elder and those sneaky out-of-place individuals managed to see. The spatial formation connected to the sect, separating them from everyone inside the external world, became completely destabilized. Its spatial laws vibrated, and those on the outside couldn’t see or feel anything happening inside.
"Let’s play then." The whale’s voice sounded like a villainous prelude, and all the beasts around stopped, suppressed.
They didn’t transform, and they didn’t want to use that to fight. Winning against this woman was impossible, but they had a secret weapon. She possessed the same bloodline as them. Currently, Alm and Bruno had the highest concentration of that bloodline and received the blessing and celestial rune from the Behemoth himself.
KBOOOOM!
From inside the whale’s body, a thunderous boom reverberated furiously. The world immediately lost its color, and everyone... inside the entire sect, and several kilometers away. If they had even a slight trace of the behemoth bloodline, they felt a divine suppression and connection.
Within the place, in the skies, Vubia immediately felt her soul leaving her body and fell to the ground. In that second, the three golems froze due to the suppression. Ruri, Loeus, and Corin didn’t care and acted at the same time. Their cultivation and power were restored a second before, and in the next moment, the golems were killed.
As the golems fell, Alm and Bruno smiled. Then, black arrows from the Inner Manifestation technique destroyed the three pieces of the woman’s soul. Immediately, the fallen Vubia felt her entire being collapse, and a severe wound in her soul emerged.
Before, in the abyss, within the realm of storms, the demon emperor only had one piece of the soul protecting that weapon he was creating. Now, she lost three parts of equal level... even if another being with divine cultivation emerged, she would still only survive for a few more years... and that would already be a miracle.
All the suppression and power were burned in just three seconds. The woman entered an almost dead state, and the whale seized the last vestige of power. On the ground, they snatched the yellow emblem Vubia was holding, then jumped onto the giant rune. Finally, they waved, and the Duality of Shadows law emerged.
"We won’t waste such a good gift..." The round being with villainous eyes murmured.
Soon, the strange and unique law invaded that giant rune, and in a second, a crack appeared. "Come to your father!" The whale spoke, smiling macabrely, with the spatial rune on its forehead glowing.
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In the next second, the rune disappeared into the void. It was at the same moment the laws of the spatial formation stabilized... along with four figures entering the place with desperate eyes.