Treasure Hunting

Chapter 40 The Selection Test Begins

Zachary followed Elva all the way out of the Bamboo Gully. She then kept walking towards the direction of Zachary's tent.

Elva didn't speak at all as they walked. The dim illumination of the moonlight revealed to Zachary the cold light in her eyes. She was obviously mad at him.

"You don't have to walk me to my tent. I can go back by myself," Zachary said, to break the awkward silence between them. He knew that it would be pointless to explain what he had done.

"Why did you give up on yourself and sink to such depths?" Elva asked sharply as she stopped walking all of a sudden.

"Huh?" Zachary froze for a moment, but immediately understood what Elva meant. It turned out that she misunderstood him and thought that he was there to peep at Sara while she bathed because he was disheartened by his serious injuries.

"Although five of your meridians were broken, they still can be completely healed. If you work hard, you will be able to become a warrior again. If you need any help, find me and I will help you. Just stop doing stupid things like this. And, don't let me feel disappointed in you ever again!" Elva said in an agitated, broken tone that showed how much she hated Zachary's degenerating behavior. She sounded sharp and straightforward, which was not her usual manner.

Because of Zachary's actions, Elva didn't behave like usual herself and lost her temper. He never expected such a thing to happen. Even she never expected it at all.

"I am leaving now," she said. She suddenly realized that she seemed out of her usual self. She was aware that she shouldn't care about Zachary because they were not even close friends. She didn't even know him two months ago. And now she was mad at him because he seemed to be giving up and degenerating because of his injuries. Such a thing was totally out of her expectations.

Elva immediately turned and hurried away as soon as she finished speaking. It was as if she committed some shameful deed.

'It never occurred to me that Elva was so worried about me. Alas, if I had known about it earlier, I would have been more cautious in peeking at Sara. I wouldn't let Elva down again...' Zachary smiled as his eyes flashed with evil but charming light.

Time passed by in the blink of an eye and the day of the selection test arrived.

This time, a total of more than sixty disciples from the Welkin Sect participated in the selection test. The entire Welkin Sect had only twenty disciples at the Earth Level, and all of them participated in the test. The rest forty of them were all at the Mortal Level. Thus, it was not hard to predict how competitive the test would be!

Bruce and Elva were the only disciples whose cultivation bases were at the Heaven Level. If a sect at the medium stage that ranked at the bottom like the Welkin Sect could produce a single disciple at the Heaven Level in ten years, it would be considered as an amazing achievement. Even a sect at the medium stage which ranked better would have no more than two or three such disciples. Thus, to produce a disciple at the Heaven Level was by no means an easy task.

Since the Welkin Sect did not have a disciple at the Heaven Level that participated in the test, the disciples at the premium stage of Earth Level had the opportunity to pass the test. Twelve of them accepted Sara's special training and guidance before the test. Thus, the remaining disciples of the Welkin Sect with lower strength just came to try their luck. There was very little chance for them to stand out.

Although in the previous tests, there were cases that the disciples at the Mortal Level stood out, such cases were few and far between. Unfortunately, they were defeated in the first round of the final test due to their lack of skills.

This selection test was divided into three stages: the preliminary contest, the intermediary contest and the runoff.

The three stages would test candidates' strength as well as their talents and qualifications. The competition within the Celestial College was very cruel and intense. A warrior needed to rely on more than just their strength to enter the college. Even if a warrior at the Heaven Level managed to enter the college, they would be no better than a rookie. If a warrior wanted to be accepted by the college and survive there, they must also have abilities that normal warriors didn't have.

The preliminary contest tested the warriors' physical qualification, which was divided into three aspects: power, speed and physical strength. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

The rules of the preliminary contest were very simple: The participants would be divided into thirteen groups, and the tests would be carried out within each group. Once the test was over, the two best warriors from each group would be allowed to enter the intermediary contest, while the rest of the warriors would be eliminated.

Although the preliminary contest was cruel, it also involved some luck. If a disciple with slightly higher strength was assigned to a group with weaker average strength, the chances of their winning would be greater.

Because there were twenty disciples at the Earth Level participating in the test, it would be almost impossible for most disciples at the Mortal Level to stand out and enter the intermediary contest. Only those disciples at the premium stage of Mortal Level might stand a chance.

Lewis and several stewards of the Welkin Sect sat near Sara on the high platform in front of the training ground to watch the contest.

"Master Sara, which of the Welkin Sect's disciples who received your training do you think is most likely to win the championship?" Lewis asked seriously as he fixed his attention on Sara.

"I'm afraid it's hard to say. Everyone has a chance, especially some of the disciples at the premium stage of Earth Level. They are all almost equally matched. Although the gap of one level is enough to decide who will be the winner in most cases, in the course of the competition, the forms are ever- changing and a warrior who is not careful and cautious may lose all of their chances of winning. And if one is too anxious to win, such a state of mind can turn against them!" Sara replied calmly.

"Master Sara, you have made very good points." Lewis nodded immediately after he heard Sara's comments. Meanwhile, he thought, 'Sara does live up to her reputation as a warrior at the Imperial Level. There is no flaw in her statement, and of course, she avoided to answer my question in a very smart way.' Lewis was aware that Sara likely had a candidate for the championship in her mind and that she just would rather not say who it was. Just as she had said, anything could happen during the test, and it was not true that the strongest would always win in the end.

"By the way, Master Lewis, I saw Elva last night," Sara said abruptly with her brows furrowed slightly, as if something came across her mind.

"Really? If so, may I know your opinion of Elva?" Lewis asked Sara excitedly. Elva was his favorite disciple.

"Her qualification is pretty good. Even at her current age, she has triple martial speed. It's very rare. Even the Celestial College only has a few disciples who have the triple martial speed at her age. I was almost the same age as her when I managed to have triple martial speed. If she can continue to make such great improvements, she will soon make a breakthrough and achieve quadruple martial speed!" Sara gave a fairly high evaluation of Elva.

Lewis and the stewards were relieved to hear such a high evaluation of Elva, but they were also very shocked. What Sara said also meant that her current martial speed qualification was already quadruple or even higher. No wonder she had already become a warrior at the Imperial Level at such a young age.

"Master Sara, thank you for the compliment!" Lewis, who was always a calm and composed person, couldn't help but smile.

"However, I don't know what relationship Elva and Zachary have. Last night, I saw them together and they seemed to be..." Sara said and stopped abruptly, keeping Lewis and the stewards in suspense. She seemed to indicate to them that there existed a special relationship between the two disciples that they were likely not even aware of.

Lewis then exchanged surprised glances with the other stewards. They realized that she knew more about the two disciples than they did.