Trial's End

Ji Mu had guessed correctly. Huo Hai indeed had his own exchange targets. But unlike what she had imagined, they were not some immensely powerful Spirit Art or treasure, but Blood Refining Pills and Bone Tempering Pills. The quantity was even more astonishing.

If people learned that Huo Hai was exchanging for Blood Refining Pills in bulk, they would probably know what he intended to cultivate. Things like the Blood Tempering Spirit Formation and the Body-Refining Spirit Formation were known by nearly everyone across the continent, and everyone knew they were the finest cultivation methods.

The problem was that no one dared to cultivate them. Of course, if someone did dare to cultivate them openly and their enemies found out, those enemies would do everything they could to sabotage them. Everyone knew that even if one managed to cultivate just one of the three great Spirit Formations, their future achievements would be immeasurable. Huo Hai had not said anything, so naturally Ji Mu had no idea what he wanted to do. She merely assumed his family had set a goal for him.

Though there were many things he could not make sense of, this was all he could do for now. After wiping out this spirit beast pack, Huo Hai became even more confident. He constantly searched for more and stronger spirit beasts. As long as he found one, he would wipe it out directly.

Yet amid this great slaughter, Huo Hai's state of mind gradually steadied instead. He had always known he was killing, but he had never deliberately watched it happen. This subtle, imperceptible approach changed his temperament.

That was right. People died every moment in this world. Every minute, no one knew how many people died in accidents. Since he did not see it, nothing happened, did it? Even those he had killed, those connected to him, fell within the normal range when viewed across the whole continent. Thinking this way, Huo Hai gradually felt his mind calm.

Of course, Huo Hai still did not slaughter recklessly. He knew that he was in the Spirit Blood Realm; no matter how calm his mind became, once he began a massacre, his blood would boil of its own accord, and he would surely lose control of himself.

The Spirit Blood Realm had such a major flaw. To resolve it, he could only break through. Huo Hai had no better solution.

"What's going on? Why are there no more large packs? There aren't even many spirit beasts left." Huo Hai frowned. Over the past several days, he had thoroughly searched the deepest parts of Southern Mountain.

Because the depths of Southern Mountain were dangerous, no one had ever entered the deepest regions. Huo Hai had not encountered a single outsider these past few days. No, it was not that he had encountered none, but that none of those he encountered were participants in the trial. Perhaps there were even stronger spirit beasts and larger packs farther in. But those places were no longer within the trial grounds; people were stationed around them as guards.

The little insects could fly out without drawing their attention, but if he himself went out, he would definitely be discovered. At that point, it was entirely possible that his trial qualification would be revoked. Huo Hai did not want that outcome.

Within the trial grounds, the powerful spirit beasts had basically all been killed. Even after slaughtering so many spirit beasts, Huo Hai still did not have enough points. He had only accumulated nearly twenty thousand points, far from enough to obtain sufficient Bone Tempering Pills.

Yet Huo Hai was unwilling to lower his standards for tempering his spirit bones. It had to be said that he was a thoroughgoing perfectionist. Either he did not do it, or he did it to the very best. If he wanted enough points, it seemed he could only resort to robbery.

But robbery... Huo Hai frowned. This concerned his future development, even the future of his entire life. If he did not kill people, what reason would he have to rob them? Most people would probably rather die than hand over their cards. How was he supposed to begin? He did not want slaughter to turn him into a madman. If that happened, everything would become an illusion.

"Forget it. I'll keep looking first. Maybe there are spirit beasts somewhere that I haven't encountered yet." Huo Hai muttered to himself, though he knew it was unlikely. He understood the Star Gu's scouting ability very well.

Deep in the forest, not every spirit beast had cards stored with it. Perhaps Imperial City Academy had never expected anyone to dare venture deep into the forest and hunt the spirit beasts there, so only some spirit beasts carried cards.

Huo Hai had killed the spirit beasts regardless of whether they had cards. In that case, how could there possibly be any cards left behind? Sometimes, Huo Hai truly wished these prey could also be exchanged with Imperial City Academy for cards.

Time slipped away unnoticed amid Huo Hai's search. During the final stretch, Huo Hai gained nothing at all. Those people were like locusts sweeping through a field—wherever they passed, nothing remained. Even relatively powerful spirit beasts were jointly destroyed through everyone's cooperation. Then the cards were divided among them.

As the final days approached, the struggle for cards grew increasingly fierce. The deaths of large numbers of people left the forest permeated with a layer of bloody stench. Yet basically no one knew whose hands these people had died by.

He Wang had already left, so he did not encounter such matters. But the other large factions were different. In the end, those adventurers formed several groups and launched attacks against the teams from those great Lineages.

When both sides clashed, these ragtag mobs still suffered the heaviest losses. In the end, probably very few people could return with enough cards. Most either died here or abandoned their cards and fled.

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, fourteen of the trial's fifteen days had passed. On this day, Huo Hai knew he should stop. Continuing like this would bring no further gains.

"Ah, it seems that if I want enough points, I can only think of another way after entering Imperial City Academy." Huo Hai's heart was filled with helplessness. It could not be helped. There were only so many cards Imperial City Academy had prepared for the trial. The fact that he had obtained such a huge pile was already highly abnormal. Even among Imperial City Academy's upper-year students, there were not many people like him.

Those experts who had reached the Spirit Practitioner Realm might earn quite a few points, but they spent them just as quickly.

"Huo Hai, it's about time. We should leave. If we get back late, we may lose our chance to join Imperial City Academy." Imperial City Academy's rules were extremely strict. If one was late, they would absolutely not be accepted.

No matter how many cards one had obtained, Imperial City Academy would not want them. Call them overbearing or call them strict, but rules were rules. After all, Imperial City Academy was powerful. Huo Hai understood as well, and nodded in agreement. "Let's go. If we don't hurry, we might not make it out in a day." Huo Hai finally gave up searching.

He gathered the Star Gu, keeping four hundred Star Gu on his body to protect himself and Ji Mu. Only one hundred remained in the surroundings to scout for danger. The two headed outward, and the spirit beasts here had basically all been cleared away.

Thus, they encountered no danger. Along the way, they only needed to avoid others who were likewise heading back. They kept moving forward without stopping, and neither of them rested through the entire night. Before dawn, they finally approached the exit.

"Whew, let's rest a little. The trial officially ends tomorrow at noon." They had not rested all night and had been hurrying onward the entire time. Even Huo Hai and Ji Mu could barely endure it. Though they had reached the Spirit Blood Realm, they had not reached the point where they no longer needed rest. Ji Mu nodded, closed her weary eyes, and fell asleep the moment she sat down.

Huo Hai shook his head. After ordering the Star Gu to protect them, he too closed his eyes and began resting. He did not know what the Star Gu were made of, but they seemed to need no rest at all. As long as they had spiritual power to support them, they were fine.

Perhaps, like dolphins, they could divide their brains in two, resting one half while the other remained active. That was Huo Hai's final thought. He did not yet have the ability to investigate such matters. Forget it. It was best to let nature take its course. Wasn't this good enough?

The Spirit Blood Realm was still the Spirit Blood Realm, incomparable to ordinary people. The two began resting near dawn, but not long after daybreak, they awoke. Their bodies had long since shed their fatigue under the effects of spiritual power. Their minds, nourished by spiritual power as well, had returned to normal and were no longer so exhausted.

This was the benefit of spiritual power. No Spirit Master needed much time to rest. The two looked at each other and smiled. Neither had expected this trial to bring them through so many events. Their gains had been unprecedentedly great as well.

Ji Mu had not gained that many cards. But she had gained an important friend—perhaps a friend. There was also the trade in the Iron Armor Hound King's fur and bones. Those were tangible benefits, benefits enough to move a Lineage.

"Let's go. We're already at the exit. I wonder how many people will pass this test." Ji Mu smiled at Huo Hai. During every trial, it was impossible for everyone to make it out, and this time would be no exception.

Huo Hai smiled. "Yes, let's get out first." This time, Huo Hai's gains had already left him immensely satisfied. It could be said that he had exceeded his goal. When he had first joined the trial, he had only wanted to gather enough points for all the Blood Refining Pills he needed. But this time, he had nearly gathered enough for the Bone Tempering Pills as well. His gains were extraordinary.

Still, Huo Hai felt some regret. He had not gathered enough points for all the Bone Tempering Pills. Once he arrived at Imperial City Academy, he would still have to work hard. Rumor had it that in Imperial City Academy, the only way to earn points was through academy missions.

The two set out once more. The closer they came to the exit, the more relaxed they became. Even their bodies felt much lighter. It was already the final half-day. Surely no one would still be lying in ambush near the exit, right?

That was what the two thought, but others clearly did not think the same way. The closer things came to the final moment, the fiercer the competition became. Especially those who had not yet obtained enough cards—they hoped even more to take one final gamble. The two did not know that people had long been lying in ambush throughout the nearby area.