# Chapter 11: Survival Test - Will of The Blood Martial Realm Part 1
The three synchronized entities stepped back as one, their spiritual signatures shifting from evaluation mode to something far more ominous. The air around the camp began to thicken with an oppressive presence that made even the crystalline formations dim their ambient glow.
"Standard evaluation protocols... insufficient," they announced in perfect harmony. "Candidates demonstrate minimal baseline competency. Advanced assessment required."
"What does that mean?" Sarah asked, her newly awakened spiritual senses detecting the massive change in environmental energy.
One of the entities turned its otherworldly gaze toward her. "The Blood Demon Martial Realm possesses its own consciousness—a collective will forged from millennia of cultivation and conflict. For candidates of uncertain potential, direct evaluation by the realm's will is... standard procedure."
Xìng Huáng felt his blood run cold. "You're talking about a trial by combat. But against what?"
"Against the realm's judgment of your worthiness."
The synchronized beings raised their hands in unison, and reality around the camp began to shift. Not the chaotic instability they'd grown accustomed to, but a deliberate, controlled transformation. The merged landscape expanded outward, creating a circular arena roughly two hundred meters in diameter with crystalline barriers that pulsed with containment energy.
REALM CONSCIOUSNESS ACTIVATION DETECTED
SURVIVAL TEST INITIATED: WILL OF THE BLOOD MARTIAL REALM
OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE THE EVALUATION HORDE
DURATION: UNTIL COMPLETION OR TOTAL PARTY ELIMINATION
PARTICIPANTS: 6 BILLIONS HUMANS (MIXED CULTIVATION LEVELS)**
WARNING: REALM-GUIDED CREATURES APPROACHING
ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: 60 SECONDS
New information flooded their interfaces—not the usual system notifications, but direct transmission from the realm's consciousness itself:
HORDE COMPOSITION ANALYSIS:
- Wild Cats : *Black Iron - Low. Fast, coordinated pack hunters*
- Wild Dogs : *Black Iron - Low. Aggressive, persistent attackers*
- Mad Crows : *Black Iron - Mid. Aerial assault, enhanced by realm energy*
- Mountain Goats : *Black Iron - Mid. Heavy impact charges, armored hides*
- Forest Wolves : *Black Iron - High. Alpha predators, tactical intelligence*
- Treent Bear : *Black Iron - Peak/Low Azure Bronze. Zone boss-level threat*
"Forty-six creatures," Mark said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Including one that's basically a raid boss."
"The realm is testing more than our combat capability," Xìng Huáng realized, his Gaming Prodigy trait analyzing the composition. "This isn't a random horde—it's designed to test specific skills. Pack coordination against the cats and dogs, aerial threat management with the crows, heavy assault resistance from the goats, tactical combat against the wolves, and finally..."
"A test of whether we can handle something genuinely beyond our current power level," Sarah finished, her Strategic Mind trait reaching the same conclusion.
The sound began as a distant rumble—dozens of creatures moving through the transformed landscape with purpose and coordination that no natural horde should possess. But these weren't natural creatures anymore. They were extensions of the realm's will, guided by an ancient consciousness that had observed countless trials of survival and strength.
"Formation," Xìng Huáng called out, drawing his improvised blade while the Blood Fury Manual's combat techniques flowed through his consciousness. "Sarah, you coordinate our positioning and target priorities. Mark, use your Spiritual Harmony to predict incoming attacks and call out warnings. I'll handle primary threat assessment and the biggest targets."
The first wave broke through the arena's perimeter like a living tide of fur, claws, and predatory hunger.
Wild Cats burst from three different directions simultaneously, their sleek forms enhanced by the realm's spiritual energy. Instead of individual hunters, they moved with supernatural coordination—a dozen minds sharing a single tactical intelligence.
Sarah's Strategic Mind trait kicked in immediately. "Pincer formation! They're trying to separate us! Xìng Huáng, left flank has six cats—they're the primary assault. Mark, right side, four cats but they're hanging back. Center attack is a feint!"
Her analysis was perfect. Xìng Huáng spun toward the left flank just as the cats exploded into motion. His Divine Greed trait guided his blade through the optimal strike pattern, each movement flowing seamlessly into the next. The first cat's leap was intercepted by steel that found the exact gap between ribs and heart.
CRITICAL HIT - WILD CAT ELIMINATED
DIVINE GREED ACTIVATED: PRECISION BONUS
But eleven more cats were already adapting to his fighting style. The realm's will learned from every exchange, adjusting the horde's tactics in real time.
Mark's evolved trait proved its worth when the Wild Dogs joined the assault. "Incoming from behind! Ground-level charge, eight targets, arriving in four seconds!"
His warning gave them just enough time to adjust their formation. Sarah pivoted to face the new threat, her basic cultivation level allowing her to channel spiritual energy into a defensive stance that turned aside snapping jaws and raking claws.
The arena filled with the sounds of desperate combat—steel meeting claw, spiritual energy crackling against enhanced beast hide, and the constant stream of tactical updates from Sarah's trait-enhanced awareness.
"Aerial incoming!" Mark shouted as the Mad Crows descended like a black cloud of razored beaks and spiritual lightning.
This was where their novice cultivation levels showed most clearly. The crows' mid-level Black Iron rating made them significantly more dangerous than the ground-based creatures, and their aerial mobility created attack angles that were nearly impossible to defend against.
Xìng Huáng's blade work became a deadly dance of precision, each strike guided by his trait's supernatural accuracy. But even with Divine Greed's enhancements, he couldn't be everywhere at once. A crow's talons raked across Sarah's shoulder, drawing first blood and a cry of genuine pain.
"Formation's breaking down!" she called out, her Strategic Mind trait working overtime to track dozens of simultaneous threats. "We need to reduce the number of active enemies!"
The Mountain Goats chose that moment to launch their assault—six massive forms charging across the arena with the force of battering rams. Their armored hides deflected the worst of Mark's defensive maneuvers, and their coordinated charge threatened to scatter the group entirely.
Xìng Huáng made a split-second decision that defined the entire encounter. Instead of trying to maintain formation against overwhelming odds, he activated every movement enhancement the Blood Fury Manual provided and launched himself directly at the goat formation's center.
His blade found the gap between two charging animals, and his Divine Greed trait turned what should have been a desperate gamble into a masterwork of combat precision. The lead goat's charge became a stumbling fall that disrupted the entire formation, buying his companions precious seconds to reposition.
MOUNTAIN GOAT ELIMINATED
TACTICAL DISRUPTION ACHIEVED
DIVINE GREED ACTIVATED: MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY
But the victory came at a cost. His aggressive maneuver had separated him from Sarah and Mark just as the **Forest Wolves entered the arena.
These weren't the corrupted, half-mad creatures they'd fought before. The Forest Wolves moved with the calculating intelligence of apex predators enhanced by the realm's ancient consciousness. They immediately identified the tactical situation—three separated humans, multiple wounded, limited spiritual energy reserves.
The alpha wolf, its Black Iron - High cultivation level radiating dangerous power, locked eyes with Xìng Huáng across the chaotic battlefield. In that moment of recognition, both predator and prey understood that the real test was just beginning.
Because behind the wolves, emerging from the arena's perimeter with earth-shaking steps that cracked the crystalline barriers, came the **Treent Bear**.
Standing four meters tall with bark-like hide that pulsed with Azure Bronze spiritual energy, it wasn't just a creature—it was a living embodiment of the realm's judgment. Its presence alone suppressed the other creatures' assault, creating a momentary calm that felt more ominous than the previous chaos.
ZONE BOSS IDENTIFIED: TREENT BEAR
CULTIVATION LEVEL: BLACK IRON - PEAK / LOW AZURE BRONZE
SPECIAL ABILITIES: REALM AUTHORITY, SPIRITUAL DOMAIN, REGENERATION
EVALUATION STATUS: FINAL JUDGMENT PHASE
The bear's gaze swept across the three humans—one Black Iron - Mid fighter separated from his companions, two Black Iron - Very Low novices surrounded by mid-level threats. Its assessment was as clear as it was terrifying: they were found wanting.
But the test wasn't over yet.
The Treent Bear raised its massive claws, and every creature in the arena—cats, dogs, crows, goats, and wolves—suddenly moved with perfect coordination. No longer separate threats, they became a single organism guided by the zone boss's tactical intelligence.
The real survival test was about to begin.