Whoosh! Swoosh!

The crowd of people swiftly dispersed to many different paths inside the forest.

Aaahhh!!! Nooo!!!

Not even 30 seconds after the beginning many cries started to echo in the environment.

The starting point was a crucial barrier, a filter. Crowded with traps up and down, it was easily one of the places that would disqualify the most. Disciples would eventually have to pass through, but those unfortunately enough to get caught on a trap, probably had their fate sealed.

“Help me! Please!”

A group of around twenty disciples running together, using each other strength to block many traps and devices, unfortunately stepped in a formation. The ground quickly transformed in a swamp.

They started to sink, and the speed they were sinking was fast. When they realized their predicament, they could only ask for help.

An examiner that was nearby came and stopped the formation. They stopped to sink, but they were kept locked there. “You are all disqualified.”

This exam wasn’t a life and death battleground, so to avoid excessive life losses, judges stationed nearby were to stop the devices as soon as help was needed, but they would disqualify any disciple that required their help. They were sparsely allocated through the forest, but with its extension, it was just impossible to save every single disciple.

Those who didn’t take the test seriously, could end up dying.

A disciple seeing twenty individuals stranded in the swamp trap started laughing and totally forgot where he was.

“Ahahaha, what a bunch of retar…”

Whistle!

An arrow fired by a trap passed, interrupting his speech and bringing along his life.

The disciples locked inside the formation rejoiced, because none of them could see the arrow coming.

After witnessing the situation, the people around started to take things more seriously.

While all this commotion was happening, a shadow passed undetected. Taking advantage of the situation, Seth with almost zero sound disappeared far ahead the other competitors.

After waiting for the cattle to go and get rid of most of the traps and grasping the right time, he got in the frontline undetected. His speed was so fast it was comparable with a practitioner at Qi Gathering Realm peak stage, even though his Qi was sealed.

It was his highly enhanced body and constitution that could provide him that.

Leaving everything and everyone behind he went deeper in the woods. As if he had eyes all around, no traps could touch him. Arrows, flame traps, poisoned darts, fierce beasts and even ground traps, everything was successfully avoided.

‘This will be easier than I initially thought.’ With his speed it wouldn’t take long for him to reach the end, just some minutes would be enough.

Huo Lilian and Huo Jianhong were already waiting at the end of the route. They maintained some thirty meters or so of distance from one another. That would be enough for covering the finishing line.

Huo Lilian was silent, thinking about her own things. Her hard-to-approach stance, showed she didn’t have a single bit of interest on the other party.

Huo Jianhong kept on looking at her. Even going as far as daydreaming, but he would from time to time get back from his wonderland. When he remembered how casual she talked to a weaker disciple he got mad, totally annoyed. It seemed he, the great Jianhong, was not worthy her time but a mere outer court disciple got more attention than he did.

Fifteen minutes have passed since the beginning. “There won’t be anyone here so soon. Cousin, how about we…”

“Do not be so casual with me, we are here to work!” Huo Lilian warned him. She could feel some of his real intentions and have ever maintained some distance.

“How the fuck can she be so nice to that guy while I can’t even talk with her?” His thoughts contaminating even more his mood.

Swoosh!

Their senses caught an aura rapidly approaching their position.

“Impossible, it’s only been 15 minutes!”

“This aura!”

Seth left the woods dashing at high speed and entered the last part of the assessment.

When they spotted him the first thing that caught their attention was the sheer speed he was approaching.

Huo Jianhong got surprised! It was a speed close to his own if not higher!

“How is that possible?” He barely started to think about it, when he finally realized who that rapidly approaching person was.

“Him!?” Jianhong was not satisfied at how things were going so far, and to top it off, he partially blamed Seth for the situation. With his sour mood he needed to vent it somewhere. Was there any better place to vent it if not on the person responsible for it?

Of both examiners he was the fastest to react, while Lilian was still lost on her thoughts, Jianhong charged madly heading to meet Seth. But he was not thinking about testing that disciple, he was prepared to finish him.

His aura aggressively rose and he accumulated so much Qi on his hand that the air around him expanded really fast.

Rumble!

“Stop!”

Startled, Lilian finally noticed his real intentions and started to chase him, but it was already too late.

Seth noticed Jianhong abrupt raise his power and understood his real intentions too. At his supposed cultivation level, it was impossible to take a hit as powerful as his enemy’s aura fluctuation was showing right now.

Instead of retreating though, Seth actually rose his speed and accumulated his Qi on his hands too. In an instant they would be close to each other.

Swish!

Jianhong’s fist with his full strength met Seth’s right hand while they were at full speed. Just as they were about to touch, Seth used the back of his hand and hit the side of his enemy’s hand, redirecting Jianhong’s attack downwards.

The clash happened so fast that Lilian could only see the moment Jianhong was punching the floor.

Boom!!!

His Qi exploded forwards and the floor exploded together with it. Flames started burning everything around. As his flame arts were still showing their might to the world, Seth’s speed rose up a notch as he passed by Jianhong escaping the range of the explosion.

His speed was so fast that in an instant he was already passing by Lilian’s side. While the entire scene was still happening, Seth looked inside her eyes and then lightly smiled at her.

When Jianhong and Lilian got back to reality, they stopped and stared back at the boy that was standing beside the finishing line.

They just didn’t understand what actually happened.