Apotheosis

As Zen returned to the square along the same path, he felt comfortable. Even though the same pressure was weighing down on his body, he felt as light as a feather, as if he could fly with just a simple jump.

Now that he was at the peak of the organ refining level, his every breath could last longer time than before. Zen also noticed an improvement in his strength. As soon as he could see the square and the pressure decreased, Zen found that he could run the rest of the way.

Those who had not passed the initial exam had already left. And the participants who had succeeded had gathered in the square for the next round. Zen looked around and approximated that about a thousand participants were in the square. Compared to the tens of thousands of participants before the exam, it seemed as though the elimination rate was up to 90%.

Just as he entered the square, Zen could see a man waving at him excitedly. He moved closer to the man and smiled when he saw that it was Nory Mo.

"Hi, Zen! Here! Come here! You passed the initial exam! Congratulations!" Nory looked at Zen's jade pendant, which was now shining bright red.

Zen nodded and said, "Do I need to exchange the jade pendant for the disciple card? Where can I make the exchange?"

"Yes, you need to collect the disciple card. And I know where to make the exchange. I just got my disciple card. Follow me!" Nory answered as he tugged at Zen's sleeves excitedly. On seeing Nory's enthusiasm, Zen smiled and nodded. Then, they headed toward a corner of the square where a long table had been placed. On the way to the corner, Nory explained, "Here we are. After exchanging the pendant for the disciple card, we become temporary disciples of Cloud Sect."

With Nory's help, Zen was able to take off the jade pendant and ready to make the exchange.

Behind the table, two people from Cloud Sect were busy with the exchange. One of them glanced at Zen and then took the jade pendant from him. He examined it carefully for a while. He appeared to be checking the information recorded in the jade pendant.

When done, the man pulled out a small wooden board wrapped in silver and a tiny graver.

He started to carve on the wooden board. To Zen, it

on, Zen's eyebrows rose in surprise. He had heard of this magic red sand, which was an essential material in illusion refining. When forging mysterious weapons, refiners would add magic red sand, and the weapon would have confusing effects. In addition, this kind of ore was often used in magic arrays and illusion papers.

Acknowledging Zen with a nod, Nory added, "Yes, I heard that the powerful people in Cloud Sect used magic red sand to transform the whole Bloody Mountain into a large magic array for trial and evaluation. Today, the instructors have brought us here. So, we must be prepared for the Blooded Test."

Nory had heard about the Blooded Test, but he was unsure about the details. Considering that the magic red sand was used for illusion refinement, the test must be related to unreal illusions.

Although all the participants were curious about the test and the mountain, they got no further information from Cloud Sect's mentors. The disciples had been brought to the foot of the mountain, where they were accommodated in rows of houses located there.

That evening, everyone rested early in preparation for the next day's Blooded Test.

Early the next morning, the disciples gathered at the foot of the mountain.

A long while passed, but they received no orders to go up the mountain.

After waiting for several hours, the disciples finally realized why they had not been allowed to go up. They were waiting for other people to join them.