Inside the great hall, the dust had settled.
After the personal testing conducted by that old monster Xu Sanshi, more than half the once-noisy crowd was gone. Those students who had failed to meet the standards in strength, control, or support could only retreat helplessly to the sidelines and await elimination.
"There are still over ten thousand..." Tang Wulin looked around, inwardly marveling at the ruthlessness of Shrek's selection process. Even so, the remaining ten thousand were all elites selected from across the country.
Standing in line, Xie Xie secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although his offensive power had proved insufficient against Xu Sanshi, earning him the criticism of having "speed but no strength," his astonishing agility and the boost from the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear right arm bone he had recently absorbed had barely carried him over the passing threshold, saving him from elimination.
"Very good." Elder Cai Yue'er's cool voice rang out again, silencing the whispers in the hall. "The fact that you are standing here means you possess the basic qualities required of a Soul Master. But those qualities are not everything. The next trial will be the true touchstone."
As her words fell, the heavy stone doors at the back of the hall slowly opened.
The sight beyond made everyone draw a sharp breath.
It was a long corridor lined on both sides with enormous stone pillars. Hanging from their tops were rows of massive guillotine blades gleaming with cold light! Each blade weighed a thousand jin, its edge reflecting the torchlight with a chilling gleam.
"This is the Guillotine Gate." Cai Yue'er pointed at the passage that seemed to lead straight into hell, her tone utterly flat. "Your next trial is to pass through this corridor. The rules are simple: pass every blade within