Hunter x Hunter: Card Master, the Strongest in the World.

The eerie silence lasted only a short time before being broken by the candidates who gradually arrived at the summit.

"Hehehe..." Dongba braced himself on his knees, his chest heaving, and even in this freezing weather, he couldn't help but sweat.

The amount of exercise was too much.

He climbed three mountains in a row, none of which were particularly high, but they were still mountains. Then he was caught in an avalanche and narrowly escaped death.

It should be said that those who reached the summit of this third snow mountain were all elites. Many people were eliminated. At a glance, there were only a little over a hundred people present, and nearly half of the candidates failed to make it up.

After waiting a while, Doris stepped forward when she saw that almost everyone had arrived.

Originally, she wasn't given this much waiting time. For the previous two snow-capped mountains, she barely had time to speak after reaching the summit.

However, considering that avalanches are indeed quite difficult for ordinary people, and it would be inconvenient to eliminate most people in the first round, she stayed a little longer.

In an instant, all eyes were fixed on Doris.

Most of them felt nervous, confused, and afraid...

They were afraid that Doris would say those horrifying words again.

Isn't that enough?

No matter what, the third snow-capped mountain should be the end, right?

"First of all, I want to congratulate everyone who made it here." Doris smiled broadly.

The first sentence brought a slight smile to the faces of some test takers. Could it be that...?

However, Doris's next words plunged them into an abyss.

"Everyone, take a ten-minute break, then continue!"

It's time for everyone to rest!

The third snow-capped mountain is not the end!

Where exactly is the finish line? How many more mountains do they have to climb? Is this so-called first round of testing endless?

In just a few breaths, the candidates' doubts and anger increased. Was the first round of exams still not over?

However, there was some good news: at least this time they were given a ten-minute break, twice as long as before.

Thump, thump...

One by one, the candidates, not caring about anything else, collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, trying to get some rest during these ten minutes.

Every extra minute of rest gives you more energy for the competition to come.

That's what they think.

On the other side, Lynn silently watched the candidates who were lying down or sitting down, completely relaxing, and sighed with regret... What a pity, they have no chance.

The so-called rest is nothing but a complete scam.

Indeed, staying still is a form of rest compared to high-intensity exercise, and it helps people relieve the fatigue that has accumulated.

But this process will take longer than people imagine, and... it will be difficult to interrupt!

Many of the candidates had come here with a lot of determination, and their previous experiences had left them exhausted.

If you can maintain that momentum until the end, that's fine, but once you relax, it's hard to get back up.

"This person is a 'white-faced but black-hearted' person," Lynn thought to himself as he glanced at Doris out of the corner of his eye.

There are plenty of smart people out there. It's not just Lynn who saw through this trap. Some people are doing simple activities and not letting themselves completely relax. If they fall down now, they will face a hundred times more difficulties when they want to get up later!

Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

"Alright! Break time! Everyone, keep up!" Doris spoke again, then ran down the mountain.

Seeing this, the candidates looked distressed, but they still followed suit.

We've come this far, we have to grit our teeth and keep going!

Upon hearing Doris's words, some of the relaxed examinees tensed up again and struggled to get up, but... they found that their bodies seemed to no longer belong to them.

Especially my legs, which were almost numb and had no feeling, making them completely powerless, like two heavy lead blocks.

Finished!

Heavy hammers pounded on their foreheads, making them see stars.

Only then did they realize that the rest was a hoax!

But by then it was too late; the main force had followed Doris away, and they had no chance left.

That's how brutal the Hunter Exam is.

One second they're gloating over surviving a major crisis, the next they'll find themselves caught in a trap and burst into tears.

After Doris led the remaining examinees down the mountain, she did not head towards the next snow-capped mountain, but instead turned around and headed to the left.

After traveling for about ten minutes, they arrived at the seaside of the Cruz Mountains, where a small port came into view.

The port was rather rudimentary, seemingly a temporary structure, with only a guard booth-like building and a row of ships moored a little further away.

Doris turned around, put her hands behind her back, and announced loudly:

"The first round of exams has officially ended!"

"116 people have passed the exam!"

"Thank you all for your hard work. This is the venue for the second round of exams." With that, Doris turned and left, leaving behind a group of examinees.

The first round of exams lasted for more than seven hours, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Of the 368 candidates, only 116 passed the first round!

The pass rate was even lower than the first round of exams in the next session. Lynn recalled that there were 404 candidates, and only 148 passed.

Doris's setup was indeed quite challenging; it was too cunning.

In fact, she had made two preparations.

If the avalanche doesn't trigger it, then climb another snow-covered mountain and bring it here; the overall difficulty is about the same.

After Doris left, the candidates spontaneously walked into the port.

The seaside... Will the second round of exams be related to the sea?

Many test takers began to make their own plans.

Suddenly, the gate of the security booth opened, and a burly man dressed in a light-colored suit and black trousers walked out.

He had no eyebrows, a square nose, a square chin, and amazing muscles. He wore sunglasses, and his bronze skin symbolized his identity as a seaman.

He carried an unidentified object wrapped in a wide, long cloth on his shoulder, which looked like a large hammer. Others didn't know what it was, but Lynn knew... it was an extra-large pipe.

I ran into another acquaintance!

"Congratulations on passing the first round of the test!" Mo Laowu's voice was deep and resonant. He casually placed his large pipe against the ground, perpendicular to the ground, and rested his hands on the base of the pipe. "I am Mo Laowu, the examiner for the second round, and I am a sea hunter."

While the candidates were paying attention to him, Mo Laowu was also sizing up everyone.

The number of people is even less than he expected... Did the examiners go a bit too far in the last round? And there are two people he needs to pay attention to.

Mo Laowu instantly spotted Lynn and Hisoka, the two Nen users who were blending in with ordinary people... As his thoughts raced, he continued to introduce the second round of the test.

He pointed behind him and asked, "See those small yachts?"

"The second round of testing is very simple. You will be divided into groups of ten, and each group will drive a speedboat to the next testing location. The first five groups to arrive will pass."

The speedboats moored in the port are all of the same size, totaling fifteen.

Mo Laowu was originally worried that there wouldn't be enough people prepared, and planned to play a small game before setting off to filter the number of people.

Unexpectedly, only 116 people qualified, which is 12 groups in total, and there were even three extra ships.

116 people is not exactly enough; there will be 6 people in a separate group.

Before the specific rules are determined, no one knows whether it's better to have more or fewer teammates, but they also have no choice; team assignments are determined by drawing lots.

Lynn was assigned to ship number seven. When he arrived at his ship, he was met by Dongba, who had a very unnatural expression.

Dongba smiled awkwardly, but was inwardly panicking... Why did he have to be paired with this person of all people?!