The atmosphere was tense, and the competitors seemed focused and determined. I realized that this was a high-stakes exam, and only the most skilled and talented individuals would be able to pass the rigorous tests and join the esteemed Five Great Sects.

I then understood why the token was so special - it allowed direct teleportation to the second stage of the exam. After 10 minutes, a total of 4000 students had gathered at the venue. An old man appeared in the sky and announced that students who had crossed the forest in the first round, as well as those who failed but were close to clearing it within the time limit, would receive a special token.

He further explained that students who didn't meet either criteria could submit the stones they obtained by defeating imaginary monsters and receive appropriate rewards. The old man then revealed that out of 1 million participants, only 4000 had passed the first stage of the exam or been directly teleported to this stage, a mere 0.4% success rate.

The 4000 students who advanced to the next round would eventually fight in the arena, but first, they had to go through a second round. Only 400 students would pass this stage. The instructions were as follows:

"Within the next 10 minutes, please form a team of 4 people. Each team member must drop a drop of their blood onto the papers to register your team. Then, register your team on the wall."

As soon as the papers started circulating around the wall, 100 of them appeared. Instantly, 14 teams had already registered, occupying their spots. The students quickly got to work, forming teams and registering as instructed. The atmosphere was tense, with everyone eager to secure their spot in the next round.

I told Eshu and Parapti to find a fourth member for our team while I sat down to cultivate. About 8 minutes later, I sensed a group of three people approaching me. The youngest among them, a 17-year-old boy, asked, "Hey, girl, can you join our team?"

I replied, "No, I'm already joining a team with my brother and sister." The boy was surprised, and the people around him started arguing. Through their conversation, I discovered that the boy was the third prince of the Water God Kingdom, and his companions were the fourth prince of the Fire Kingdom and the third princess of the Elf Kingdom. I was shocked to learn their identities.

Just then, Eshu and Paraputi arrived with three girls around the same age as us. Eshu said, "Sister, I've formed a team of four they are good and want to form a team with me . I'm sorry if you wanted to join, but I can ask one of them to leave if you'd like." I was taken aback, as Eshu's team consisted of an elf and a girl who seemed to be the same species as Parapti but without scales.

And the last a human girl held Eshu's right hand, while Parapti was surrounded by two boys and a girl who resembled the beast girl. When I saw their teams, they started arguing over who would leave, as everyone had already formed a team. I couldn't intervene, so I let it go and said, "Okay, no problem eshu and prapti you could be in your team ."

Eshu and Paraputi asked, "But what about your team, sis?"

I replied, "Don't worry, my team will be selected automatically."

They happily dance as a kid especially prapti and eshu as they are mentally still child eshu spent 3 years of his life on jungle and the conversation he remembered was inknwo what could happen so I conversate with him tonnot him forgetting conversation while prapti is just born but now she is my sister also my tamed beast after little nejoying himself in happines they all bow down thanked me, and I was surprised by how quickly they had formed close bonds with their new teammates.

After 10 minutes, the old man instructed, "Teams that have formed, please move to the right. Unfinished teams, please move to the left." We all followed the instructions, and when I looked around, I saw only four of us on my side - myself and the three who had invited me to join their team earlier. Perhaps fate had brought us together.

In the final moment, we all dropped our blood onto the paper and registered as a team.

The elven princess approached me, beaming with happiness. "Maybe it's our fate to be friends, don't you think?"

I agreed, "Yes."

Before we could continue the conversation, the old man announced, "Okay, let's start the second test. Only the top 100 teams will be selected for the third round. The best team will be chosen based on performance. This exam will test your resolve, your ability to withstand pressure from the five of us old people. Get ready, the exam starts now."

Suddenly, I felt myself a little wind on myslef , and the wind began to swirl around me. I was shocked, wondering why the old man had said this would test our resolve when I was simply standing there. But as I looked around, I saw that about 500 people were already on the ground, and around 1000 others were shaking so much that they were on the verge of collapse.

I searched for my brother and saw that he was standing firm, unaffected like the others. Parapti was also steady, showing no signs of weakness.

,

As I looked at my friends, I noticed the elven princess sweating profusely. I asked the system, "What's happening?"

The system replied, "The old man's pressure is targeting people's minds, causing those with low mental capacity to faint."

I was shocked to hear this, but it explained why I was unaffected. I had endured unimaginable hardships in my three lives, always finding a way to overcome them. So, I wondered, what could this pressure possibly do to me?

After an hour, only 200 people remained standing. Two hours later, the number dwindled to 21: myself, Eshu and Prapti's teams, two other teams, and a girl in a blue dress who smiled at me with a hint of sweat on her face. While some struggled to maintain their stance, on the verge of collapse, others had already succumbed to the pressure. The beast girl from Eshu's team fell, along with two members from Prapti's team and three from the other teams.

The pressure continued to intensify, pushing the remaining contestants to their limits.

In the next hour, the last members of the two remaining teams fell, followed by Eshu and Prapti's team member 30 minutes later. The prince of the Kingdom of Earth also succumbed to the pressure five minutes after that. After three more hours, only five people remained standing on the entire floor.

As time passed, the prince of the Kingdom of Water fell, and Eshu and Prapti's legs began to tremble. The girl in the blue dress was also sweating profusely. The five old men, observing the scene, increased the pressure and started discussing among themselves.

One of them remarked, "The students this time are exceptionally talented. This is the first time in 20 years that we've had to increase the pressure so much."

Another old man agreed, "Yes, today's generation is indeed very talented. But let's see how long these five can last. Let's gradually increase our pressure to the maximum and test their limits."

The old men continued to intensify the pressure, pushing the remaining contestants to their breaking points.

Suddenly, I felt the wind around me gradually intensifying. After 2 minutes, it reached its peak, but I remained unaffected. However, after an hour, Eshu, Prapti, and the third prince succumbed to the pressure. The third prince held out for over a minute before falling, while Eshu and Prapti fell simultaneously. At the same time, the girl in the blue dress's fingers began to tremble.

After a total of 7 hours, the girl in the blue dress reached her limit and collapsed. To avoid drawing attention to myself, I let my legs slowly tremble, pretending to be weakened by the pressure. Two hours later, the girl in the blue dress fell, and even I felt the strain of the pressure, which had been building for 16-17 hours. A single drop of sweat fell from my brow, a testament to the immense mental strain inflicted by the five old men.