Death… And Me

The dream city then began to disappear into nothingness. The streets, the people, the buildings, everything. After it was over, the place became completely empty...except for one man standing in the middle of everything that once stood there. If the participants were here, they definitely would recognize this mountain of a person as the one named Rivaldo! "Hehe! What an interesting pair those two were."

Suddenly, a woman dressed in a white robe appeared beside him like a ghost. "Sir, I hope you got what you wanted. We need to go now as we are late."

Rivaldo nodded and immediately left with the woman. It was as if no one had ever been there to start with.

Once they were back, it was obvious that many were happy, while others...not so much. Huring Country was one of the not-so-happy ones. It was normal for their country to ace every test that had any kind of competitive system, which was the case of the second and third tests. But this time around, they had always been second. Why? Because of a small fry country's pair of twins, which added insult to injury. 

Cassia couldn't care less, though. "So, you got first place, huh? Did you like the gift?"

Of course, that reward didn't have anything to do with entering the Sacred Land ahead of time they thought about.

Rean couldn't help but ask back, "Didn't you say the only reward was to join the Sacred Land at the end of the tests? How come there's a reward now?" Rean wasn't the only one curious about that. The rest of the countries heard that, so they were confused as well. 

Cassia just shrugged her shoulders in response. "I lied."

For some reason, everyone already expected that answer. "Whatever. That was a good prize." Rean wasn't in the mood to complain either.

Cassia nodded and then continued with the announcements. "Anyway, congratulations to everyone who passed the test. We now have 2341 participants remaining after the last test. As all of you can expect, the next test is the last test to decide who enters the Sacred Land."

Immediately, everyone paid close attention to Cassia's words. Usually, it was around this time that battles would take place, a way of showing who was the strongest and deserved entering the Sacred Land. All the tests prior to it were just filters so that the Sacred Land wouldn't recruit those who had muscles for brains. They wanted people that could think and battle at the same time.

"Well, there's no suspense in this, right? Obviously, we're going with battles," Cassia said. The weaker participants that reached this far sighed after hearing that. Now, they truly needed more luck than ever to not fight against people like Venali and Hedoi. As for Venali and Hedoi, they were obviously very satisfied to hear that.

Cassia continued, "However, it'll be slightly different this time. We will use the lowest cultivation level of the remaining participants as the limit. With that being said, Peak Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm it is." 

People like Hedoi, Venali, and Fulia narrowed their eyes after that. Their chances of winning were lower in such a situation. They wouldn't be able to charge through the field by using the raw power of their Elemental Transformation Realm cultivation alone anymore. Well, they were still confident in their own cultivation techniques, skills, and experience, so there's that.

Besides, it would be useless to complain as Cassia definitely wouldn't go back on her word. In fact, she would throw it in their faces that the Sacred Land didn't need scaredy-cats who couldn't even fight against opponents of the same level. Those ones they definitely wouldn't take.

Soon after, a few elders of the Sacred Land lined up beside Cassia. "All the participants, come forward so that we can seal your cultivation levels. There's no need to worry. You can unseal it yourselves by simply applying Divine Energy Pressure to the seal itself. Just be aware that you will be disqualified if that happens."

Rean and Roan were quite satisfied to hear that. From the very start of the recruitment, the lowest cultivation level one could find was the Peak Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm, their realm. There was another reason why they had confidence as well. 'So far, we haven't fought even a single time. None of them know about our abilities, especially my ability with my scythe. Make sure you also make use of it.'

Rean nodded in response. 'Obviously. It's also a good opportunity to see if our higher strength at a certain cultivation level is bigger than the geniuses of the continent. We could fight an average Late Stage Saint Realm head-on with our power. But that's definitely not the case here. Perhaps we might need to exchange elements.'

'Try to not do that unless extremely necessary,' Roan reminded him. 'Still, you better consider that people like Venali, Hedoi, or that girl with a Pure Yin Body to be able to fight at the same level as us. The techniques and skills available for them are simply a lot more advanced than what we found in the Mortal Realm.'

'Gotcha!' Rean obviously agreed with that.

It was then that Samanta, Regio, and Milina arrived where the twins were. "So, you're finally out. Just so you know, there were no rewards for us when we left the dream city. Being the first ones out gave nothing."

Rean and Roan didn't mind. "Well, it was better to prevent in any case. Anyway, you guys go ahead and seal your cultivations. Unlike us, you're all in the Saint Realm already."

They nodded and passed by the twins when suddenly, Samanta looked back at them. "I still owe you for the help in the previous tests. If a chance arises, I'll pay for it in this next test as long as it doesn't mean I'll fail."

Rean shrugged his shoulders after hearing that. "Neither Roan nor I really want any payment. However, you won't give up either, will you? Well, do as you may."

Roan slightly nodded, obviously agreeing with Rean's words for a change.

"Good!" Samanta smiled in response and left with the others to have her cultivation sealed to the Peak Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm.