Chapter 104: Second Round Test, Sprint

  The next day, Helianuo woke up at noon. The dazzling sunlight shone through the window onto his body, warm and comfortable. Rubbing his slightly aching head, he slowly put on his clothes and pushed open the door to walk into the courtyard.

  Because the previous inn was too noisy and crowded, and the people coming and going were mixed and chaotic, Zhang Fang spent a lot of money to buy a house on the outskirts of Shenghun College. Last night, He Lianuo and He Liangsu were both drunk in the wine building outside, and Lan Youzhu had no choice but to take them directly to their new home with a horse-drawn carriage. Although this house is not very spacious, it has all the necessary furniture. At this moment, Zhang Fang was playing Go with Lan Youzhu in the courtyard when he saw He Lianuo walking out with his head covered. Zhang Fang put down the chess piece and pointed to a room on the east side, saying: "He Lian, you're finally awake. Your second brother has left early and asked me to tell you that he will come find you again before the second round of testing starts. Also, Youzhu specially made a hangover soup for you, go to the kitchen and get a bowl yourself!"

  He Lian nodded and walked to the kitchen, filled a bowl with soup and drank it down. As expected, Lan Youzhu's hangover soup really had a good effect, and after drinking a bowl, He Lian felt his headache alleviated a lot. After putting away the bowls and chopsticks, he returned to the courtyard and asked casually: "Grandfather Zhang, why haven't I seen Youzhu? Normally she should be chattering nonstop in my ear by now, why is she so quiet today?"

  Zhang Fang and Lan Youruo exchanged a glance, then whispered mysteriously: "Youzhu, your second brother left early this morning to help with the housework. I think it's unlikely you'll hear her nagging beside you for a long time!"

  "This guy, really quick on the draw...", He Lianuo muttered to himself, he still didn't have any objections towards Lan Youzhu approaching his second brother, although Lan Youzhu already had a husband, but it's said that the two of them never even consummated their marriage, and their feelings for each other were extremely shallow, so there was nothing wrong with He Liancheng being with her.

  "Right, in two more hours, you and You Ruo will be going to the second round of testing! Better prepare well!" Zhang Fang said lightly, then immediately buried his head into the chessboard again, concentrating on besieging Lan You Ruo's chess pieces.

  He said he was preparing, but Helian Nuo really didn't know what to prepare for. He went to the kitchen to fetch some food and then leaned against a big tree to bask in the sun. When Helian Shuo came looking for him, he had actually fallen asleep comfortably!

  "This guy is really laid back!", Lanyoutu quickly ran to Helian Nuo's side, tightly following behind Helian Shuo, pinched his ear and lifted him up.

  "Zhu Jie, you're back! How was it? You must have had a great time with my second brother!", He Lian Nu rubbed his eyes and started complaining in a strange tone, although he didn't open his eyes, but he knew the person who came was Lan You Zhu, because only she would use such a violent way to wake him up.

  Her heart was broken by Helian Luo, and Lan Youzhu's delicate face suddenly flushed with two red clouds. She quietly turned her head to look, but found that Helian Shuo had actually run to Zhang Fang's side to watch the chess game with great interest, not even looking in this direction. With a heart full of disappointment, she couldn't help but add a few more points of force to the hand holding Helian Luo's ear.

  "Ow, it hurts... I'm warning you, if I'm not happy, I'll tell your bad things to Second Brother!", He Lian Nu's threatening words were effective, and Lan You Zhu hastily let go of his hand and ran back to the house with a bright red face.

  "A woman in secret love, her IQ is really low to the point of being pitiful!" He Lianuo sighed inwardly, "However, it seems that older brother doesn't have much interest in Youzhu! No way, after drinking several bowls of Youzhu's soup, I must find an opportunity to help her probe into second brother's intentions!"

  After watching the chess game for half a day, He Liancheng finally turned around and said to He Liansuo: "Old three, it's almost time, let's set off to take the test! Because this test will be closed, so just the three of us going is enough!"

  He Lian nodded and called out to Lan Youruo to walk with him, at the moment they stepped out of the door, he caught a glimpse of Lan Youzhu leaning against the door frame, looking at He Liansuo with concern, and smiled slightly. He turned around and made a face at Lan Youzhu before striding out quickly.

  "Grandfather Zhang, are we really not going with them?", Seeing the three people walking away, Lan Youzhu came to the courtyard, propping up her chin and staring blankly at the chessboard.

  "He Lian's second brother said it, this test is closed, we can't get in at all. Instead of standing outside the examination room, it's better to wait patiently for news at home!" Zhang Fang naturally saw that Lan Youzhu's heart was not on the chessboard, he put away the pieces, slowly sat down on the rocking chair under the tree and pretended to fall asleep.

  The residence's orchid, bamboo, and plum blossoms were waiting in sorrow, but Helian No. 3 had already arrived at the designated gathering point. Although the previous preliminary trial had eliminated more than 90% of the soul cultivators, there were still over a thousand people who had passed the test gathered here, and as far as the eye could see, it was all black with human heads.

  He Lianuo only now truly felt the difference between the mortal world and the Soul Realm. In Xing Chen City, a soul servant like Ling Xiao was already considered an expert, but now, even soul servants, soul guards, and soul officials were crowded together like cabbages, waiting to be eliminated or selected. Such a grand scene was almost unimaginable outside of the Soul Realm.

  After waiting for a while, as the prescribed time limit arrived, a white-robed examiner led everyone to an enclosed venue. The top of the venue was covered with transparent materials, so the entire venue looked just as bright as the outside. Everyone quietly found their positions and stood still, waiting for the test to begin.

  Not long after, an old man in a purple robe slowly walked to the center of the venue. After glancing around, he cleared his throat and said loudly: "Since you can make it this far, it means that each and every one of you is an outstanding soul. In the first trial, you stood out from hundreds of thousands of people, showing us your strength. However, this is still far from enough. I'm sure you've all heard that our Holy Soul Academy only recruits 100 students every three years. You have proven yourselves to be elites, but unfortunately, what we need are not just elites, but the elite among the elites. Children, in this second test, 500 people will be eliminated, which means half of you will not be able to enter the final round!"

  Although the cruelty of the Holy Soul Academy's test had been heard before, when the examiner announced the number of people to be eliminated, the soul masters in the field still couldn't help but make a commotion. As the examiner said, those who could reach this step were all elites among the soul masters, and it was precisely because of this that they couldn't accept the result of being eliminated even more.

  The old man in the purple robe raised his right hand slightly, and the noisy venue instantly fell silent. He nodded in satisfaction and continued: "Except for a few special cases who were recruited as souls, our formal recruitment is only open to souls under the age of 18. This age group has the most malleability and potential. The first round of testing was aimed at examining everyone's development potential and talent, but as a soul, one must understand that potential is only one of the necessary conditions for success. Having only potential without putting in effort will eventually lead to wasting one's talent and becoming ordinary.

  The next test is to examine your perseverance! The content is very simple: according to your previous test results, we have specially prepared a wooden stick for each person here. This is not an ordinary wooden stick; it contains a rare substance. During the running process, you must constantly infuse soul power into it. As for how much soul power to input, that's up to you to grasp. I only remind you of one thing: if you are unable to continue running or the wooden stick leaves your body, you will be out! What you need to do is carry this wooden stick and keep running in this venue!

  The elimination standard is also simple: the first 500 people who fall down will directly lose their qualification to participate in the final round of testing. Of course, if someone intentionally slows down to waste time, we will also eliminate them directly. Don't complain that this rule is unfair; our Sacred Soul Academy will not recruit those with no strength or ability. If you want to join us, you must first be prepared to shed blood and sweat!"

  The man in the purple robe finished speaking and waved his hand, immediately dozens of soul carriers brought up logs about two meters long and as thick as a bowl mouth, with names marked on them in red ink. He Lianuo and others found their own logs and stood at the starting line, waiting for the start command.

  The wooden object in Helian's hand looked ordinary, but when he held it, he realized it weighed at least over 200 catties. Although this weight was nothing to Helian, he remembered the examiner's previous reminder and carefully input his soul power into the wood. However, the wood suddenly became heavy, so Helian quickly increased his soul power output, and the wood floated up again. If Helian hadn't reacted quickly, the wood might have flown out of his hand.

  "Second brother, You Ruo, you guys be careful, while the test hasn't started yet, quickly calculate the amount of soul power that should be input into the wooden soul, otherwise once the trial starts it will probably become chaotic! ", He Lian said hastily to the two people beside him. Seeing them nod in understanding, He Lian began carefully changing the amount of soul power being input, testing for a long time until he finally found a suitable standard.

  Seeing everyone was ready, the old man in purple robes raised his right arm and shouted loudly: "Begin!"

  Over a thousand souls heard the command and simultaneously shouldered their own wooden beams, taking off in a sprint!