Apotheosis

Zen didn't know what to say. The renting business was flourishing because of the initial exam. The youngsters in the Imperial Capital were making every effort to pass the exam. "But if we use an external object, won't that be considered cheating?" Zen wondered.

Cloud Sect intended to use the initial exam to weed out the weaker applicants. Wouldn't it be a bit unfair if weapons were not banned during the exam?

Nory smiled, "Bro, what you haven't considered is that Cloud Sect has many disciples, so many geniuses. The Sect won't pay too much attention to the initial exam. We aren't outer disciples. No energy will be wasted on the trifles in the initial exam. As long as we don't kill each other, they don't give a fig what weapon you use or whether you get into a brawl here."

With the help of Nory's explanation, Zen realized that while Cloud Sect did have very strict rules and regulations, they were for their formal disciples. This initial exam was a sieve with a large mesh to strain out those who didn't fit the bill.

As soon as Nory finished his explanation, he gasped. The bangle could only counteract half the pressure, but the remaining pressure still made running hard for Nory.

"Stop talking. Just focus on your pace," Zen reminded him.

Nory nodded. He clenched his teeth and kept moving forward. He grimaced as he challenged his limits.

Zen was running rather comfortably. Since a while had passed, he had gotten accustomed to the pressure. Now, he could even ignore the pressure completely.

As time wore on and people

. Zen could feel the warmth flooding his body. He glanced at Nory before turning to the man and coldly saying, "We've got no beef with you. Why did you do that? You want a fight?"

The man fumbled for a purple pill in his pocket. As soon as his fingers closed around the object, he pulled it out and swallowed it. "True, I have no beef with you. But someone wants you to fail the exam," he said with a laugh.

"Who is that?" Zen asked stiffly.

The man didn't reply to Zen's question. He turned and ran off with a grin. "You'd better quit the exam as soon as possible. Or else, not only are you going to fail the exam, but you will get yourself killed."

Zen stared at the man's retreating back with a grim expression.

Solving the riddle was a cinch for Zen. He knew who was behind all this.

Since he didn't know anyone in the Imperial Capital, the only person with motive to do this was Perrin. Perrin had resorted to low tricks to prevent Zen from joining Cloud Sect. Zen's face grew cold as he thought about this.