Damned Healer-Chapter 714: Obvious Result? (2)

When he saw Darian, even the person in charge of the test was stunned.

"What the hell... he actually came out that fast?" Limdiss looked like she’d just seen a ghost in broad daylight.

"Hahaha," the person in charge chuckled lightly. "Now this is interesting. Was he the one who annoyed you? Was he trying to impress you, but ended up getting mad out of embarrassment after failing?"

"Senior probably wouldn’t believe me even if I told you," Limdiss said with a disdainful smile. "That brat was even more ’capable’ than we expected, but he’s probably just taking advantage of the benefits given by the Palace Master. Hmph, whatever. He’s nothing but a useless fool. Not worth wasting our time."

"You should still be cautious. He must have some special ability, or he wouldn’t have received ’benefits’ from the Palace Master." Even though he used the word "cautious," the tone of the person in charge was filled with contempt.

Limdiss let out a cold, scornful laugh. "Heh, now I’m really curious to see how he managed to rank among the thousand."

"That’s not so outrageous." The man curled his lips. "There are no rules against using artifacts, inscriptions, or external items during this round of the exam. There are countless ways to cheat. But so what if he passed? He ranked second to last—just treat him like another toy. Lady Limdiss, the final round is the main event, and you need to give it your all. After all, the Fire Soul Pill is a sacred medicine that even I couldn’t obtain, no matter how much I asked. If it’s perfectly absorbed, it can not only greatly increase someone’s cultivation in a short time, but also deeply refine the blood and marrow, which will be extremely beneficial for you in the future when you cultivate the Golden Crow Canon."

"That’s obvious." Limdiss acted as if she was already determined to win.

On the other side, the Palace Supervisor fixed her gaze on Darian the moment he appeared and said thoughtfully, "It seems he’s not as simple as he looks."

"Huh? Palace Supervisor, what did you say?" Pyreus lifted his head and asked, clearly surprised.

She snorted softly. "Passing this round with such low cultivation... that seems to have never happened in the sect’s history."

That woman wasn’t an idiot. Even though many had tried to cheat in the past, no one had ever truly succeeded.

"Ah? You said Darian... passed the exam?" Pyreus was stunned by what he heard and almost thought he misheard. Instinctively, he looked up, saw Darian standing outside the inscription, and his jaw dropped.

It was also at that moment that the thousandth person to pass came out, as the final light flickered.

Darian’s eyes locked onto that figure. Among the thousand, she was the second girl, Emina. Her face was pale, and her whole body and clothes were a complete mess. But she had actually made it.

Her gaze met Darian’s, and her eyes widened in shock. She couldn’t believe he had passed too. And if he hadn’t lifted her up and urged her to hurry, if she had been even a minute slower, she wouldn’t have made it in time.

At that instant, the light of the inscription completely faded, and around two thousand silhouettes appeared; most of them had their bodies badly burned, in miserable condition.

The others had already been eliminated long ago and were saved at the last second before death by the inscription.

"Congratulations to those who passed for now." The person in charge walked forward and spoke unhurriedly, then looked at the eliminated ones who had managed to hold out until the end. "As for you, hmph, you may leave now. You have some latent talent. Train harder and try again next time."

After speaking, he extended his palms, and a light emerged, instantly expelling them from the Hall.

"Darian... you... you actually passed the exam..." Pyreus walked toward Darian, his face full of disbelief.

"You don’t look very happy that I passed," Darian replied lightly.

"How exactly did you do it? Every participant in this exam has cultivated a whole realm above yours. I know you’re strong and can fight those at the peak of your realm... but this is already on a completely impossible scale. Even the weakest one is dozens or even hundreds of times stronger than you! You... used some kind of trick?"

Darian snorted, not in the mood to explain.

A total of a thousand people passed, and Darian was the only one completely out of place. Almost all eyes were on him; some were confused, others whispering among themselves.

At that moment, the person in charge began speaking again: "Passing to the second phase of the exam proves, to some extent, your strength. But don’t celebrate too early, because you’ve only crossed a barrier that’s neither very high nor very low. The final phase of the exam, which is about to begin, is what will truly determine your fate."

His words instantly tightened the atmosphere, and the excitement of every participant completely vanished, replaced by deep nervousness.

"The final exam is very simple. At the same time, it will be easier than the previous test, because what it measures is the most important aspect of all of you... your true combat strength!"

"You will all be attacked by powerful illusory Beasts. The longer you remain inside, the more enemies you will face. And since the space is restricted and each of you is completely isolated from the others, you can only fight with what you have. There’s nowhere to run! To pass, I believe you all already understand..."

The person in charge extended his hand. "You must endure for as long as possible! The last hundred people to leave the test will pass the final exam and become disciples of the Golden Crow Sect! And whoever perseveres the longest will receive the Fire Soul Pill!"

When they heard the name of that pill come out of his mouth, more than half of those youths couldn’t hold themselves back, and their mouths watered, forcing them to swallow.

"The exam in the Blazing World Realm teleported your physical bodies, and there were no restrictions on the use of artifacts or other items... so maybe some people used some kind of teleportation treasure to cheat... Oh no, no, no, that wouldn’t be considered cheating, because there are no rules against it. So it can be considered allowed."

As he said those words, the person in charge shot Darian a knowing look.

"After all, that test was only meant to filter out the useless. The final round is what truly determines the result. Even if some incompetent uses some kind of item to pass earlier, it’s impossible for them to pass the final exam. And on top of that, they’ll have wasted a precious artifact for nothing. So historically, our sect doesn’t even bother banning those useless ’cheaters.’"

"As for the final exam, no one can cheat," he began to laugh coldly. "Because what enters the next testing region isn’t your physical body, but your ’projection.’ This is a high-level training inscription that allows your soul to manifest inside the illusion and fight as if you had a physical body. So forget about using any external items... including your weapons, pills, and so on. The only thing you’ll be able to rely on is your true power."

"Once the inscription detects that you’ve suffered damage that would kill you in the real world, you’ll be teleported out immediately, and there are no second chances. But don’t worry, your bodies and souls will be fine—you’ll just lose a bit of mental energy. However, if any of you are afraid of dying, you can shout: I give up. Say these three words, and you’ll be out instantly."

"In other words... if you want to enter the sect, you need to do your best to die as slowly as possible in there, got it?!"

Everyone nodded. Then, without any delay, the man waved his hand, and a light completely covered them. In seconds, the thousand youths vanished.

...

Minutes later, still in the Hall.

"Senior, this is the final round of the exam... what enemy exactly was set up?" Pyreus asked the Palace Supervisor.

"It’s the Purgatory Giant Lion," she replied calmly.

"Purgatory Giant Lion... that flame beast at the first level of the Celestial Origin Realm?" Pyreus muttered, taking a deep breath.

"That’s right, and there will be more than one." The Supervisor explained casually. "After the candidate enters, they’ll have to face one Lion. After that, more will appear at regular intervals, but it won’t just be one; it’ll be two, three, four... an increasing number each time."

"The most outstanding candidates, the ones who passed the previous round, can handle a single Lion easily. But facing two at the same time will be somewhat difficult. Dealing with three will put them in mortal danger, and facing four simultaneously is even more complicated. Each Lion appears at a specific time. For example, three will appear in the third wave, but if the candidate fails to kill those three before the fourth wave, then after the fourth wave, they’ll have to face seven at once... and the result, of course, would be certain death."

Pyreus swallowed hard. ’He’ll definitely be torn apart instantly.’

Those beasts were particularly formidable. Even if their bodies weren’t especially powerful, their offensive capability was by far the strongest among beasts of the same level, and they were also naturally well-coordinated when fighting in groups.

"Ah!!!!"

Just as Pyreus finished speaking, a scream rang out. A silhouette appeared and slammed heavily onto the ground.

The person in charge snorted in disdain. That was the first participant who had died and been expelled.

"Darian!" Pyreus hurried toward the silhouette.

The obvious outcome for Darian, whose cultivation was only at the fifth level of the Celestial Nascent Realm, was to be torn apart by the brutal and terrifying Purgatory Giant Lion.

The first examinee who was expelled lay motionless on the ground. His face was pale, and he couldn’t recover from the fear of his "death."

But...

Before Pyreus could even get close, he stopped in place, eyes wide... because the person thrown to the ground wasn’t Darian.

"?" Baynod, who was on the other side, also frowned.