In the dark outside the Jade Forest, multiple figures appeared in front of the woods. They were Wang Fei and the assisting teachers waiting for the surviving participants.
It was still night and the wind howled as the vegetation bent under its strength.
"Wang Fei, how many do you think will pass the test?" A female teacher by his side asked him.
Wang Fei casually answered with a light smile, "Less than five hundred for sure."
In each recruitment competition, a huge part of the participants were made up of mortals with no cultivation who hoped they would succeed with wits and a bit of luck. But in this environment, it was wishful thinking to expect to survive when both beasts and cultivators could easily tear you into pieces, much less qualify oneself. The others were the average and strong cultivators who numbered in the hundreds. Only a very small part was composed of geniuses and expert.
From this, it was evident that the end of the first trial would see the number of participants fall drastically every year.
The Tiger Martial Institute was fair. Everyone under sixteen had the right to participate if they thought they had a chance to succeed. Only results mattered, that's so if they aren't afraid to die in the first place.
"Who do you think will pass this test?"
"Well, besides the young masters of the four major clans, this Ma Shinfei's probably gonna qualify himself easily."
"Yes, I also heard about this Liu Huan kid from a minor clan who's not too shabby, I expect him to pass as well."
"There's also this one..."
Standing by, the teachers discussed with each other about the promising participants to pass the time.
The sun rose on the horizon, brightening the landscape, when the first survivor appeared.
It was a young man in a grey robe with fair skin and a cold aura emanating from his body. A long curved blade rested on his back, and he looked like he would slice apart anyone who got too close to him.
If Shao Yong were here, he would recognize him as the young man who slaughtered his team while he was sent to gather wood.
What stood out the most from him at this instant was that he was overall very clean. Nothing you would expect from someone who got through four hellish days of fighting and hiding in a dangerous forest.
"As expected of Shen Xue, he's really the genius of this generation."
"This young master of the Shen clan didn't disappoint us. He's sure to rise in the future."
"No one can match him among cultivators his age, it was to be expected."
Each teacher praised one after another when they saw who was the first to show up. Visibly, they had high expectations for him.
Shen Xue silently walked to Wang Fei and handed over a wooden token with the name of a participant inscribed on the back.
"Good, you can wait behind for now while the others come out." Wang Fei didn't even look at it as he smiled at Shen Xue.
He didn't doubt an instant the nature of this token, he was convinced Shen Xue easily qualified himself.
This spoke much about this youth's abilities.
The young master of the Shen clan didn't utter one word as he walked to the side and closed his eyes, as silent as ever.
As time went on, many more participants left the deadly forest and joined the teachers, a couple alone, but most of them in groups.
Some didn't have any blood core or second token to show to the instructors and hence failed the test.
This was the harsh reality, they had gone through all this and survived for nothing.
"Hey, look, this is Gao Lixin!" One of the candidate for the second phase of the recruitment called out when he saw a new arrivant.
A teen with golden hair cascading down his back left the forest and walked to the teachers. He had crystal clear eyes and wore a white and blue robe.
He radiated a warm and gentle aura, as if just being close to him could soothe any worry. Many participants had the urge to approach him and make his acquaintance.
Multiple Gao clan members followed from behind. They were relatively unharmed, and even the weakest of them passed the test. It was apparent they benefited from their young master's help.
His warm temperament and his amicable personality made him very easy to talk to. As such, he had many friends and few enemies.
"This young master of the Gao clan is really as described." A boy who failed the test declared, looking at Gao Lixin's followers with clenched fists.
"Indeed, he have the reputation to be very loyal to his clan and i can see it's true now." A girl added visibly in a good mood.
"Congratulations, young master Gao."
"Young master Gao, i knew this trial would be a piece of cake for you."
Once he settled, many took the initiative to get close to him. He was praised and well received by everyone and when congratulating, many took the opportunity to try and strike a relationship.
Having contact with the young master of the Gao clan was bound to come with many benefits.
It was without counting his clan members surrounding him and dispersing the crowd in his stead.
Right after Gao Lixin was the turn of a cultivator draped in a dark robe. His pale face and his shoulder long black hair gave him a unique charm to himself. He was holding a slim bloodied sword in his right hand as an air of arrogance stemmed from him.
He was Li Qiang, along with his little brother and his cousin.
He fixed Shen Xue and Gao Lixin for some time after giving a token before he left snorting and sat in a corner. His little brother and cousin hurriedly followed him and sat as well.
The participants' reaction to his arrival was a stark contrast to Gao Lixin as people shot glances and whispered among each others but no one dared approach him, afraid to offend him.
The sun slowly rose, and candidates came pouring in every minute as time passed. Among them was Yan Mei, the young miss of the Yan clan.
Her team was the biggest witnessed by the teachers passing the test since the end of the trial, it was composed of eleven members.
When she came into view, she immediately attracted the attention of everyone. The reason wasn't her talent nor status but her face.
She was extremely ugly.
She had drooping eyelids, her teeth were misaligned, her nose was turned up and a big mole rested on the tip.
The youths looked away as fast as they gazed at her, mumbling to themselves.
"How can she be this ugly? She must have been a terrible person in another life for the heavens to curse her this way."
"I heard she's too proud to use beautifying pills or metamorphosis battle skills, even her father can't reason with her."
"There's a rumor that says once, when she was shopping outside, a man eating in a restaurant saw her through the window and puked. When she saw this, she entered the restaurant, climbed the stairs, and decapitated him in front of all the customers and the staff."
"Shhh, don't be too loud, it's said she is very resentful. If she has a grudge, she will kill you even if it takes a hundred years."
Yan Mei deeply looked at everyone present. When she saw that everyone avoided her gaze, she harrumphed and joined her Yan clan members waiting.
The first candidates coming out have been waiting for hours now and some were getting impatient. A couple of them walked to the instructors.
"Teacher, how much longer do we need to stay here before going back?" The leading boy, a member of the Shen clan, asked.
"We will wait a bit longer, when the sun reaches its peak, we will leave for the Tiger Martial Institute." One old man among the teachers uttered with a frown on his face.
He didn't like kids complaining. If they weren't happy, they could just leave right away and go back home. They needed the Tiger Martial Institute, but the Tiger Martial Institute didn't need them.
In the meantime, participants kept coming out of the Jade Forest. Among them was Ma Shinfei, a young boy with a deep black martial suit revealing half of his chest. A thick rod lay on his back and his red hair were very eyecatching.
He became famous overnight, as some years ago, the flame grandmaster during one of his trips passed by Azure Water City and met Ma Shinfei begging on the street with his big sister. Realizing his potential he took him as a disciple and moved over.
With his master's teachings and the resources given to him, he experienced a meteoric rise and was now expected to be on par with the four clans' young masters.
Another mysterious blue-haired teen in plain clothes left the woods holding a spear in his hand. Under the shade of a tree, he inconspicuously observed every participant.
After the time it takes to eat a meal, fewer and fewer people came out of the forest, but as the sun reached its peak and the teachers were packing, a young man in ragged pants and covered in perspiration appeared. Ye Mo's hair was fluttering as he panted to catch his breath.
"You're lucky boy, a few minutes later and we wouldn't be here anymore. Come, show me what you got." Wang Fei said turning around to face him.
Ye Mo handed over a token. The back was inscribed with Shao Yong's name.
"Alright, you won't have the time to rest though, we're leaving right away. Go join the others." Wang Fei added as he stored the token in a pouch.
Ye Mo nodded and entered the crowd of participants, mixing with the other teens.
"I almost didn't make it in time. If it wasn't for this mid-tier blood beast getting in my way, I wouldn't have been this late." Ye Mo thought, recalling the scene.
He wanted to use the remaining time to chase down the last participants and was in the middle of pursuing some when a two-headed rock crocodile surged from a swamp and attacked. If he didn't use these people as bait to run away he would still be in the jungle fighting.
"Seems like I have been too greedy." Ye Mo rubbed his nose as they departed.
At the same time, among teachers and participants, many were eyeing him as they left towards the city.