Heavenly Pool

In the waters of the Heavenly Pool.

The Winged Gull plunged straight into the water, transforming into a Magikarp.

Instantly, a wave of weakness enveloped its entire body, making even a simple swish of its tail an arduous task.

But the next moment, a warm current suddenly surged into its body, actually restoring some of its strength!

"Hm?"

"This warm current can actually help me alleviate some of the side effects of the Devil Fruit!"

Luo Sa was overjoyed. Without wasting time, he quickly flicked his tail and swam with difficulty toward the lakebed.

As he dove deeper, that power grew stronger and stronger.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Luo Sa continued descending. After struggling down several hundred meters, he finally caught sight of the pool's bottom.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. There, at the bottom of the pool, lay a massive beast skeleton!

The skeleton was radiating golden light, and a familiar energy filled its entire form!

"This skeleton... why does it look so much like the Chinese Divine Dragon from mythology? So similar, truly so similar!" A strange glint flashed in Luo Sa's eyes.

"It seems this skeleton is the source of that energy. But how am I supposed take away such a massive skeleton?"

He finally understood why the World Government hadn't chosen to retrieve this treasure. It wasn't that they didn't want to—it was that they simply had no way to take it!

"Looks like I'll just have to absorb as much of this energy as I can!"

Luo Sa sighed and began checking his Transformation Energy.

Immediately, a look of delight spread across his face. His energy value, originally at 301 points, had now risen to 302 points.

He remembered that after reaching 300 points, it had taken him a full two days to increase it by just one point.

And now, from the moment he started diving, it had only been about two hours at most, yet he had already gained one point!

Perhaps part of it was due to some accumulation beforehand, but during the descent, the energy hadn't been nearly this dense!

"The survival trial ends tomorrow. Counting the time, I should have about 24 hours left. I wonder if my energy value can reach 310 points?"

"I really can't wait!"

Luo Sa smiled inwardly, swam over to the skeleton, pressed himself against its skull, closed his eyes, and began absorbing the energy with full force.

Time flew by rapidly. Sixteen hours slipped away quietly.

"Energy value has already reached 308 points. Almost at 310!" Joy shone in Luo Sa's eyes.

But just then, the golden light on the skeleton suddenly began to fade. In the blink of an eye, it vanished completely. At the same time, the energy started dissipating rapidly.

"What's going on?!"

Luo Sa's heart tightened. He was only one step away from 310 points!

In that moment of daze, the energy visibly decreased by a huge chunk.

"Not good. I'm hundreds of meters deep underwater right now. If this energy disperses, I might not be able to make it back to the surface!"

Snapping back to reality, panic flashed in Luo Sa's eyes, and he hurriedly began swimming upward.

Fortunately, ascending was much easier than descending. Just before the energy completely vanished, he burst out of the water. It took him an hour—twice as fast as before!

Transforming back into a Winged Gull and flying to the shore, Luo Sa stared silently at the water where the energy had fully dissipated.

He bitterly regretted not discovering this place sooner!

They were leaving Monster Island at noon today. Only next year's recruit assessment would give them a chance to return.

"Wait... this energy..."

"A week-long survival trial..."

"An annual recruit assessment..."

A look of shock spread across Luo Sa's face. He felt that none of this could be a coincidence.

"It seems that every year, these seven days are when the beast skeleton releases its power. The real purpose of organizing the survival trial is actually to let the recruits compete for this power!"

"I can imagine that after we return, those of us who passed the survival trial will inevitably see a massive boost in strength."

"So this is the true meaning of the survival trial?"

Closing his eyes, Luo Sa calmed his emotions and turned his gaze toward the foot of the mountain.

"Ooooh—ooooh—!"

Just then, from the forest below the mountain, a series of furious roars suddenly erupted!

Immediately after, waves of commotion burst from the woods, and swaths of trees began to collapse!

"Hm?"

"What's going on?"

Standing at the edge of the cliff, Luo Sa suddenly felt an intense pain shoot through his head.

His body began to sway uncontrollably from the agony. Then, his foot slipped, and his entire body tumbled down the steep mountain wall like a rolling stone.

"The final day—the true survival trial begins now!"

In the monitoring room, Zephyr watched the chaos erupting across the island and drew a deep breath.

"Pass the order: everyone on high alert. Deploy all patrol soldiers."

"The Berserk Factor inside the monsters has been activated. We must ensure the new students' safety at all costs!"

"Hey, wake up! Are you okay?"

At the foot of the mountain, a girl with long pink hair was shaking Luo Sa's body repeatedly.

Suddenly, Luo Sa's body twitched. His eyes snapped open!

"Phew, you're alright—thank goodness!" the girl exclaimed happily, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

"You are... Hina?"

Luo Sa glanced at her face and called out her identity in one breath.

"Yeah, you know me?"

Hina looked at him with surprise. She didn't recall knowing this person.

"Hn?"

Suddenly, a surge of excruciating pain flooded Luo Sa's mind again, forcing a muffled groan from his throat.

"Are you okay?" Hina asked again, concern in her voice.

"Get... get away!"

Luo Sa shoved Hina aside, then sprang to his feet. Clutching his head, he ran off into the distance. Faintly, a glint of red could be seen flashing in his eyes!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just then, a giant ape with bloodshot eyes charged straight ahead, its claws bared and expression utterly terrifying.

"Brown-backed Giant Ape!"

Hina's face went pale. She was about to shout for Luo Sa to come back when she saw him transform into a humanoid seagull, darting toward the giant ape with lightning speed.

"Get lost! Trash!"

Luo Sa roared. His wing turned into a flash of white light and slashed fiercely at the Brown-backed Giant Ape.

In a flicker, Luo Sa appeared behind the giant ape, reverting to human form. One of his hands was dripping with blood!

Thud!

A heavy, muffled sound rang out as the Brown-backed Giant Ape's head flew high into the air!

"No... no way?!"

Hina stared in disbelief. The Brown-backed Giant Ape—the strongest monster on this island—had just been one-shot by that guy!