----


    In addition to the youths standing in the middle of the arenas, multiple portals opened revealing groups of various different sizes. Much like Apollo''s group, many of the participants were eliminated before even reaching this stage. As such, the numbers were less than 60 percent of the initial value. As of now, they sat approximately 1.8 million participants.??


    However, this substantial number surprised the staff sitting high above the tforms. With such arge remainder of contestants, they''d have to implement a ratherrge rapid elimination stage. After all, there were only 30,000 official spots to be handed out. So, only around 2 percent could move along.


    Meanwhile, as the youths stood in the arena, changes took ce. Unlike before, certain members located above made their move. Moving at a speed that rivaled teleportation, they arrived before the other youths.


    "Alright, with all of you now present, we can proceed forth with the rules as well as what will take ce. Surprisingly, the number of participants is nearly six times that of what we estimated. Thus, we''ll have to enact an additional stage. For this, we''ll use a special method."


    For a moment, the speaker paused, causing murmurs amongst the kids. The suspense built amongst them as they peered around. "Gabriel, I''ll allow you to disclose what we''ll do."


    "Heh, Vellore, howzy you are," Gabriel chuckled. However, shortly after, he took up the mantle, "For this round, we''ll spare you frombat but only for a single moment. Before weunch you all into heated battle, we must ustom you to a pressure you wille in contact with.


    After saying this, Gabriel smiled, "Yvaine,e forth." Behind Gabriel, a dignified titanic body appeared from arge portal. To deal with the youths, Gabriel summoned his Heroic Spirit. Furthermore, it was a rather strong one seeing as forces, as well as space around it, was being manipted effortlessly.


    However, after his Spirit appeared, the numerous personnel rivaling Gabriel summoned their Spirits ordingly. Within a short moment, the countless arenas were littered with extremely strong Spirits.


    With each Spirit designated to a tform below, Gabriel continued, "To reduce the number to a more manageable level, we''ll have to utilize our Spirits. Of course, we won''t torture you all. The rules of this stage will be quite simple. Think of it as expounding on the Spirit Aptitude test, except, it will also physically challenge you simultaneously."


    When the gathering of youths heard this, they frowned. They had just dealt with a monumental pressure from the Soul Bar and now they would have to undergo a task of even more stringent conditions. The strength of a living Spirit''s power was iparable to the Soul Bar.


    Unlike that item, they were alive. To put it differently, they possessed the ability to tweak their power at a whim. Thus, within an instant, the test they''d present could take a turn for the worst.


    Fortunately, the examiners wouldn''t do something so unexpected. But, they would do something that would prove to be rather difficult to withstand. Without dy, Gabriel continued to present more information about the uing task.


    "In this round, there will be three rules. Simr to your prior exam, should you lose consciousness, you''ll be disqualified from the selection. Additionally, should you fall out of the ring, you''ll also find yourself in a simr predicament. Lastly, you''re unable to utilize any tools to help you. What we want to see is raw strength," Gabriel stated in a stern tone.


    Upon hearing Gabriel''sst words, Yvaine opened his deep ck eyes. Inside them, was a profound vacancy that seemed to embody the deep void. Inparison to Xezym, they seemed to be nearly the same level or at least this was the general impression he gave.


    "Now, here is your task. Withstand the pressure of the Spirit located on your battle arena. You will have 3 minutes to properly prepare yourself. This way, you can''tin that you weren''t ready. You''ve been primed," Gabriel said with a cursory nce before leaving.


    Upon Gabriel''s exit, Yvaine crossed his arms, waiting for the signal to begin his tyranny. Much like the other spirits, after spending years with their summoners, they achieved mutual respect. This was especially true for those ssified as Heroic Spirits.


    Their intellect went beyond the typical Spirit. In fact, there were instances in which a Spirit Cultivator summoned a mindless Spirit. Besides this, there were also incidences where the cultivator summoned irregr Spirits such as weapons, items, or even armors. When it came to the oue, unless you tried, the possibilities were endless.


    Although the others were curious about Spirits, they didn''t act upon their curiosity. For one, the pressure they exuded was stifling despite keeping it withdrawn. This was a sign that their power was capable of being restricted by the world.


    Of course, there were those such as Apollo, unable to withhold their curiosity. Without hesitation, Apollo approached Yvaine, inspecting his grand armor. The beige-white metal mixture, ented with gold markings shone in Apollo''s eyes.


    "Your name is Yvaine, correct? Have you ever done battle with Kraydin?" Apollo asked, drawing the attention of countless youths on his tform. Unlike him, they didn''t know who Kraydin was. WhileSarai retained a certain reputation on Pangea Ind, a majority of these youths were from backwater areas.


    As such, their knowledge of this ce was limited. Nevertheless, Yvaine changed his sights, looking down at Apollo. The tant difference could be seen. Yvaine''s stature was over twice that of Apollo. Just his sword alone rivaled Apollo''s height.


    "I have, but why does that interest you?" Yvaine questioned, upholding a dignified expression. A glimmer passed through his eyes as he gazed at Apollo. Albeit distinct, a trace of interest appeared in his eyes.


    "Hoh? Your body is far stronger than it should be at your level. I''m intrigued to see how you''ll fare against my pressure. Even though it''s been mitigated, it should still be something you all are incapable of withstanding," Yvaine added with unconcealed confidence.


    Naturally, this confidence was justified. Any Spirit restricted by the world was one of great strength. Moreover, every single one at this standard possessed their own range of confidence birthed from this ability.


    "Mm, well I''ve seen his aura and you two have a simr orientation. So, I was curious. If you don''t mind, can you tell me who won?" Apollo asked.


    "No one," Yvained sinctly replied, but his tone seemed to be mysterious. Present in his words was a look of dissatisfaction. Shockingly, Apollo was familiar with this look. It was the one that appeared when one couldn''t fight to their content.


    "Was it in this world or your world? I''m fairly certain you two originate from the same Spirit World, correct? Not to mention, there should also be multiple worlds, right? Or, at the very least, many areas to onerge world."


    "You...ask a lot of questions; I will not answer them. If you gain entry to your academy, then you''ll be privy to this information when you attempt to contact those worlds. More importantly, I implore you to prepare yourself for what is toe, because I will not be holding back," Yvaine solemnly stated.


    In response, Apollo clicked his tongue in annoyance. He wanted this information because he understood his attempts wouldn''t be like the rest. While the people of this world interacted with Spirits, he would do so with Demons.


    Hence, his situation was fundamentally different. Unfortunately, no matter how much he tried to pry information from Yvaine, after he said his earlier words, he closed his eyes and didn''t utter another sound.


    Left with no other choice, Apollo focused on preparing himself. Yet, even then, he didn''t take any drastic precautions. Quite frankly, it was unneeded. There was no damage present in his body, so all he needed to do was perform his normal actions.


    Once 3 minutes psed, Gabriel took action, "Begin!"


    At his beckon, Yvaine as well as the other Spirits acted. A torrent of pressure rained down on the many participants. However, as soon as it appeared, it changed directions. Initially, the pressure was acting in a downwards direction, now it was spreading horizontally with the intent of pushing the participants.


    When the wave of pressure hit them, it was like impacting with an extremely solid wall. Those with weaker bodies immediately coughed up blood and was knocked into the distance. But, those withparatively stronger bodies only felt slight difort.


    As for those with bodies like Apollo, they seemed virtually unaffected by the appearance of this wave. Be that as it may, it couldn''t stay like this for long. It was fast but right behind that wave of pressure was a fast enclosing second wave.


    Additionally, this one was far morepact than thest one. Those who failed to recover their standing wasunched into the airnding outside of the tform heavily. What''s more, even Apollo was forced to take a step back.


    At the sight of this, a small smirk formed on Yvaine''s lips, "This is only the beginning. Don''t fail to endure it now."