Chapter 173


    Lah shot Fiy a cold look. “No questions allowed. Here, I''m the one in charge. If I say that you''re


    eliminated, then that means that you''re eliminated. Now go!”


    “Why are you acting so f*cking arrogant?” A candidate behind Fiy yelled at Lah.


    The other candidates immediately started to chime in, “Exactly. What are you being so arrogant for?


    Who are you trying to scare? Do you think that we will be afraid of you?”


    Fiy led the rest of the candidates as they started to confront Lah. He stared directly at Lah and


    stated, “Ms. Hall, since we were ten, we had been instilled with the mindset that we have to get into the


    Divine Realm. We have prepared so long just for this day. If we were disqualified during the test, then


    we would have nothing to say. However, we just can''t ept how unreasonable you''re being right


    now.”


    “You can''t ept this?” Lah responded frigidly. “Then very well. You don''t have to.”


    At that instant, the air seemed to freeze.


    All they saw was a sh of movement in front of them.


    Immediately after, they noticed that Lah was still standing at the same spot.


    However, there was now a fingermark on Fiy''s forehead.


    In the next moment, Fiy copsed to the ground and died on the spot.


    He had just been killed by Lah.


    Everyone else was stunned by the sight, and their eyes were filled with terror.


    Even Jonathan felt that this was too brutal.


    He knew that many of the candidates were from prominent families, so they lived pampered lives since


    they were young. They could only be where they were today because they had ess to the finest


    resources for training. However, they were still filled with a sense of superiority.


    None of them knew how harsh the real world was once they left thefort and protection of their


    families.


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    Lah nced at the nine other candidates who had confronted her. “Are there any more questions?”


    They trembled in fear, and their faces turned ashen. They then hurriedly made their way off.


    Soon, Fiy''s body was also carried out of the venue.


    The old men behind Lah remained silent, as there was nothing else they could say at that moment.


    Besides, the candidates who just withdrew had nothing to do with them.


    Lah scanned the remaining ny-over candidates with a cold gleam in her eyes. Her voice was


    resounding as she boomed, “I know that all of you are exceptional individuals, be it at home or in your


    communities. However, there is one thing that you must be aware of. When you''re in my presence or


    that of the Divine Realm, you are nothing. None of you mean anything to the Divine Realm. It is only


    when you prove your worth that you will be of value to us.”


    Lah paced slowly as she continued, “All of you are decent in cultivation. It is already an achievement


    that you are able to obtain the Nascent Soul. However, we are not short of experts here at the Divine


    Realm, especially Nascent Soul experts like you. If any one of you here has achieved the Celestial


    Soul, we will then provide preferential treatment for you. It''s just a pity that none of you here have


    reached that stage.”


    After pausing for a moment, she went on, “What is it that we need here at the Divine Realm? Firstly, we


    need experts. Secondly, we need loyal experts. Andstly, we need intelligent experts. Most of you


    have been pampered and raised in wealthy families since you were young. You probably took elixir pills


    to help you in your cultivation and received enlightenment from your elders. You would have minimal


    experience, which makes you useless to us.”


    Lah''s words pierced through their hearts like a sharp de, shattering their confidence and sense of


    superiority.


    Unlike the rest of them, Jonathan paid no attention to her words. After all, he was different from the


    others. He had made his way here through his sheer hard work and determination.


    “The test will be a cruel one. This time, we are only epting four out of the many of you into the gates


    of the Divine Realm. The rest of you will be eliminated mercilessly. In the elimination round, some of


    you might end up losing your lives, while some may end up being permanently crippled. Your life and


    death are solely in your hands. As such, if there''s anyone who wishes to withdraw now, please step


    forward.”


    After Lah finished her words, none of them stepped forward.


    All of the candidates were in the Nascent Soul stage, and they wouldn''t choose to back down without a


    fight.


    “Very well!” Lah scanned the crowd. “Since that''s the case, then let the test begin. Everyone, please


    rise.”


    The candidates instantly rose to their feet.


    This time, they were more self-aware, and they stood up as straight as a ramrod.


    “Get into groups of two, and we will begin the free sparring round. The winner will advance to the next


    round, while the loser will be eliminated. You may begin now!”


    Everyone froze for a second after hearing Lah''smand.


    In the next instant, they came back to their senses and started sparring.


    A candidate next to Jonathan immediately charged at him.


    Jonathan was constantly on his toes, so he instantly dodged the person''s attack using a Shadow Step.


    Hurriedly, the person went after him again.


    “Do you think that I''m easy to pick on?” Jonathan scoffed. He then used the Mongrel Attack and kicked


    his opponent, sending thetter flying.


    The candidate was also at the early stage of the Nascent Soul cultivation, but Jonathan realized that


    hisbat skills were extremely weak. He was just no match for Jonathan.


    With that, Jonathan also understood that wealthy families indeed had a different method for training


    their kids to be Nascent Soul experts. In reality, those who used such methods couldn''t be


    considered true Nascent Soul experts. Even a Neutralizing Force expert with an abundance of


    experience in sparring could easily defeat them.


    In other words, Jonathan sessfully advanced to the next round.


    The candidates who won were led to stand behind Lah.


    At that moment, there was a massive ongoing melee on the field.


    Soon, Catherine also joined Jonathan as she took her ce behind Lah. She was a final-stage


    Nascent Soul expert, and she had genuinely worked her way up to obtain it. She was unlike those who


    only reached the stage through elixir pills and enlightenment. As someone who was rather emotionless,


    she didn''t have any traces of fear or panic in a fight, allowing her to have exceptionalbat abilities.


    This melee wasn''t one that allowed everyone to escape unscathed.


    Those who were involved in intense sparring ended up being killed by their opponents.


    Half an hourter, forty candidates remained standing behind Lah, and the remaining fifty of them


    were eliminated.


    As for why there were more who were eliminated, it was because some were identally injured.


    The fifty eliminated candidates sprawled on the field as they wailed in agony. There were also more


    than ten candidates who were beaten to death.


    Just then, a gust of wind blew past the field, and they could smell the faint scent of blood.


    It was only then that the candidates understood how cruel the test really was.


    Soon after, the eliminated candidates were cleared off the field, while the soldiers stretchered the dead


    bodies away.


    “All of you. Go back to your original positions!” Lahmanded.


    The rest of them hurriedlyplied.


    Then, Lah announced once again, “Get into groups of two and begin the free sparring round. The


    winner advances to the next round!”


    This time, none of them hesitated, and they instantly broke out into fights.


    A middle-stage Nascent Soul candidateunched his attack on Jonathan.


    After all, Jonathan was only an early-stage Nascent Soul expert. He seemed like an easy opponent.


    This time around, his opponent wasn''t a true Nascent Soul expert either. In a sh, Jonathan defeated


    him as well.


    Catherine also defeated her opponent quickly, and the two of them made their way behind Lah again.


    Yareth had been observing the scene by the side, wearing a nonchnt expression on his face. To


    him, it was only natural that Jonathan and Catherine could smoothly advance to the next round. After


    all, if Jonathan couldn''t even make it past the initial rounds, then he didn''t deserve his respect.


    At the end of the round, twenty people advanced, while the other twenty were eliminated.


    This time, there were no idental injuries.


    It was undeniable that Lah''s test was brutal. Candidates were eliminated at the speed of light, and in


    the blink of an eye, only twenty candidates were left out of the initial hundred.


    After ordering the soldiers to clear the eliminated candidates off the field, Lah instructed the rest of


    them to return to their original positions.


    She isn''t going to keep eliminating us the same way, is she? Are we really going to continue sparring in


    groups of two?


    Jonathan wasn''t the only one who had those questions in mind.


    However, the next elimination round caught them by surprise.


    This time, Lah invited one of the old men up onto the field.


    Although his pace seemed slow as he walked out of the military base, he somehow reached Lah in a


    few seconds. It was as if the distance beneath his feet had shrunk.


    The old man had a scrawny figure, and he was dressed in ck from head to toe. The wrinkles on his


    face looked as if they were carved with a knife, making him look exceptionally terrifying.


    As he saw such an old man walking toward them, Jonathan couldn''t help but grumble inwardly. After


    all, he had been traumatized by Sylvia''s grandfather and Yareth. He thought that the older someone


    looked, the more powerful they were at cultivation.


    His trauma was so severe that every time he saw an olddy on the streets, he would immediately


    assume that they were fighters as well.


    He perfectly embodied the saying, “Once bitten, twice shy.”


    When Jonathan saw the old man, he couldn''t quite tell what they would be doing next.


    At the same time, the rest of the candidates were also wondering what this old man would be doing


    here.


    Soon, the mystery was revealed.


    Lah announced, “This is Mr. Meyer. He will be the examiner for the next round of the test. For this


    round, you will have tost at least three seconds against Mr. Meyer. If not, you will be eliminated.”


    Once he heard her words, a chill ran down Jonathan''s spine. As someone who was incredibly


    intelligent, he could instantly spot the trap in this round.


    The biggest trap was that they had tost at least three seconds against Brandon Meyer.


    Firstly, three seconds was a sufficient amount of time for an expert to defeat their opponent.


    Secondly, a candidate could easily lose their fighting spirit if they just focused on the fact that they had


    to make it past three seconds. With that, it would be easier to defeat them.


    “Who wants to go first?” Lah asked as she scanned the crowd.


    The candidates all fell silent.


    None of them were willing to step up as they weren''t familiar with Brandon''s tactics. Whoever went first


    would be at a huge disadvantage, and there was a high chance that they would end up bing


    sacrificialmbs.


    On the other hand, Jonathan was unfazed. He was filled with courage after countless near-death


    encounters. Naturally, he wouldn''t be afraid of such a challenge. Just as he was about to volunteer to


    go first, Lah pointed at one of the candidates. “You. Step forward.”


    That candidate was at the early stage of Nascent Soul cultivation and had obtained it through genuine


    cultivation. However, heckedbat experience, and the reason why he could survive until now was


    mostly based on his luck.


    As such, he was stunned when Lah called him out, and his face turned as pale as a sheet.


    “You are eliminated!” Lah dered with a cold gleam in her eyes. “If you are so anxious when faced


    with a challenge, then you can forget about entering the Divine Realm!”


    “Next! You over there! Come over!” Lah then pointed at another candidate.


    The next candidate was Benedict Turner, who was at the middle stage of Nascent Soul. He had a


    much stronger psychological resilience than the previous candidate. Once he was given the challenge,


    he walked outposedly. He was confident that he couldst for three seconds.