As the mental fortitude test concluded, a silent stillness filled the hall.

The performances of the more than three thousand geniuses unfolded like a vast scroll, ultimately freezing on the astonishing feat of Li Wen, who had walked one hundred and ninety steps with the steadiness of a boulder.

This achievement stood like an insurmountable peak, making the geniuses who came after him seem dim and lackluster in comparison.

Even so, there were some with resolute wills, like a young man from a small nation who had endured countless hardships to get here. He finally stopped at one hundred and fifty steps, earning a slight nod from the Chuhe King.

Among the top performers from the first test of strength, only Du Yun and Fang Chenghong of Red Flame Star had managed to cross the hundred-step threshold.

The rest, despite displaying impressive willpower, couldn’t help but appear dim when overshadowed by Li Wen’s ridiculous score.

After two assessments, a staggering five hundred participants had been eliminated, making the hall feel somewhat emptier.

The brutal selection process of Firewood Academy was mercilessly efficient.

On the high platform, the Marquis-level expert who had previously presided over the mental fortitude test had already taken his seat.

At this moment, the figure seated in the main position, whose aura was as deep and vast as an abyss, slowly rose.

It was none other than the King-level expert—the Chuhe King!

The mere act of him standing unleashed an intangible yet overwhelming pressure that swept through the entire Heart Mirror Hall like a physical tidal wave.

The geniuses standing nearby felt as if they had been plunged into a raging sea. Their hearts pounded like giant drums, their bodies trembled instinctively, and their heads lowered uncontrollably. It became incredibly difficult to even look directly at the figure.

The Chuhe King’s gaze calmly swept across the hall. His voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried with perfect clarity into every corner:

"Next is the third assessment, the Spiritual Sense test, which I will personally oversee."

As his voice fell, you could have heard a pin drop in the hall. Every genius held their breath. The significance of being tested by a King-level expert was self-evident.

The Chuhe King’s voice continued to echo, carrying a detached tone that seemed to see through everything:

"A Martial Artist’s Spiritual Sense is a matter of life and death, your lifeline when battling Demon Beasts. The stronger your Spiritual Sense, the greater your chances of survival in perilous situations. For this assessment, you will all be tested simultaneously."

As soon as he finished speaking, something extraordinary happened.

An utterly irresistible and boundless power instantly enveloped the entire hall.

The two-thousand-plus geniuses felt their bodies lighten before they were lifted from the ground by this unstoppable force, completely losing control of themselves.

Like chess pieces scattered evenly by a giant, invisible hand, they landed on the spacious floor of the hall.

THUD! THUD! THUD...

Amidst the soft sounds, figures landed safely one by one, each perfectly positioned within a circle just about ten feet in diameter.

Before anyone could catch their breath and adjust, the laser lines that had marked the boundaries suddenly surged.

ZZZTT—!

Countless beams of incandescent white light shot out from the edges of the circles, converging precisely three feet above everyone’s heads to form completely sealed and indestructible laser cages.

Each genius was isolated, locked within their own small cage.

At the same time, a dense and immense mechanical roar sounded from above.

The massive ceiling opened up like a giant beast revealing its carapace, exposing row upon row of densely packed, pitch-black gun barrels that glinted with a cold, metallic light. They aimed frigidly down at every laser cage below.

Each barrel was aimed directly at the crown of a genius’s head, an unspoken threat.

The Chuhe King’s detached voice sounded like a final judgment:

"The barrels above you will fire rubber pellets. Your task is to do your best to evade them within the cage. Remember three things: first, do not touch the laser barrier; second, do not get hit by a pellet; and third, the longer you last, the higher your score. Touching the barrier or being hit will result in immediate disqualification."

He sat back down in the main seat, leaving them with a single, indisputable word:

"Begin!"

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—!!!

Before his voice had even faded, a piercing sound of tearing air ripped through the hall.

The first round of pellets descended like a downpour of black rain.

Their speed wasn’t yet extreme, and their trajectories were relatively clear.

All the geniuses in the hall who had made it this far, regardless of their physical level, relied on their basic Martial Artist reflexes and combat instincts.

Whether by turning sideways, ducking, or leaning back, their movements were a bit rushed, but they all narrowly avoided the first three-minute-long baptism by fire.

There was no break in between. After a pause of just over ten seconds, the second barrage of pellets followed.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!

The speed suddenly skyrocketed.

The trajectories became a blur, and the density increased by a whole new level. Caught off guard, the difference in skill was immediately apparent.

"Ah!"

BANG!

RIP—

...

In an instant, a wave of miserable cries and muffled grunts broke out.

Some Martial Artists who reacted a little too slowly, or those whose training focused on strength over agility, either had the corners of their clothes torn away, their hair grazed by a high-speed rubber pellet, or were hit directly somewhere on their body.

As the disqualification lights flared, nearly two hundred people were instantly eliminated and teleported out of the hall.

All that remained was the faint afterglow within their laser cages and the smell of burnt rubber in the air.

The minimum standard for this assessment was to last two rounds. This meant that the more than two hundred people who were just disqualified had been completely eliminated from the trials.

Those who had passed the second round collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Not long after the second round ended, the third round of pellets began.

The third round of pellets was even faster! And their paths more treacherous!

POP POP POP... The sounds of elimination were like a dense drumbeat.

After just one more round, the number of people in the hall was reduced by another five hundred.

Any Martial Artist who could withstand three rounds had at least proven that their reflexes were a cut above the rest.

「Soon, the fourth round began!」

The pellet speed surged again. Their trajectories became black streaks nearly invisible to the naked eye, blanketing the area with a sharp whistle.

CRACK! RIP! THWACK! This round was the true turning point.

Martial Artists at the early and middle stages of the Power Realm began to feel despair. Their dynamic vision, neural reflexes, and explosive muscle power could no longer keep up with the rhythm of the pellets.

Every dodge became a clumsy scramble, and every breath was filled with the urgency of impending doom.

The superior physical strength and speed of High-level Martial Artists became apparent at this moment. Some with exquisite techniques and exceptional Body Techniques also managed to hold on.

Ten seconds! A mere ten seconds! Just ten seconds into the fourth round, only four or five hundred people remained.

When the full three-minute barrage of the fourth round ended, the glowing cocoons in the hall had become extremely sparse.

Fewer than one hundred people were still standing.

This group, without exception, all possessed condensed, powerful auras, their eyes gleaming with sharp light.

Most of them were High-level Martial Artists, or super-geniuses like Li Wen, whose physical level might not have been there yet but whose skill had reached the Peak of Power Realm.

Everyone looked as if they had just survived a life-or-death battle, with sweat on their brows and their breathing heavy.

The Chuhe King’s gaze swept over these steadfast figures, and his perpetually furrowed brow finally relaxed a fraction.

This group’s foundational Spiritual Sense was, at last, up to the standard required to enter Firewood Academy.

Du Yun, Fang Chenghong, Ron Zaka... these familiar faces were all present.

Of course, there was one other figure who seemed out of place among the crowd, yet was exceptionally conspicuous—Li Wen.

His mere junior Martial Artist physique stood out among the crowd of High-level Martial Artists like a crane among chickens.

However, his posture at this moment held an uncanny sense of ease.

When the fifth round—a downpour of pellets as fast as streaking light and as dense as a swarm of locusts—rained down, the situation in the hall changed dramatically once more.

’Too fast!’

’Gods! How are we supposed to dodge this?!’

THWACK!

"Urgh—!"

The advantage held by the High-level Martial Artists began to look fragile.

Those Martial Artists who relied on brute speed and instinctual dodging were now struggling immensely.

Ron Zaka’s eyes were bloodshot. He clenched his jaw, his burly frame twisting and turning frantically within the confined space.

Sweat poured down like rain. His pride was being pushed to the brink of collapse by this terrifying barrage.

’I can’t accept this! I’m number one on the Blue Star Platinum Youth Ranking, the first to touch the threshold of the Power Realm.’

’I dominated everyone in the strength test; I absolutely refuse to lose in a test of speed!’

However, reality was cruel. No matter how strong his body was, his neural reflexes had their limits.

THWACK! A dull thud.

Ron Zaka failed to dodge in time, and a rubber pellet struck him squarely on the shoulder.

The immense impact sent him staggering.

He snapped his head up, his eyes filled with indignant humiliation and disbelief, before being mercilessly engulfed by the light of disqualification.

In the instant before he was eliminated, he glimpsed the figure of that junior Martial Artist in the distance, still dodging nimbly. A profound sense of defeat washed over him.

His elimination was by no means an isolated case.

The fifth round was like an efficient sieve, ruthlessly filtering out any genius who wasn’t truly at the top.

POOF POOF POOF...

The lights of disqualification flared up one after another.

In just half a minute, aside from Li Wen, only a dozen or so figures remained.

They were either graceful in their Body Technique like Fang Chenghong, possessed a keen perception from a clear spear soul like Du Yun, or were a few unknown dark horses known for their speed and Spiritual Sense.

As for the rest, they had finally exhausted their stamina in the fifth round and were regrettably eliminated.

"The fifth round is over," the Chuhe King’s announcement rang out.

The dust settled. A dozen or so people stood within their respective cocoons of light.

And everyone’s gaze was uncontrollably drawn to the only junior Martial Artist among them—Li Wen.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

It was followed by a low, tidal wave of sharp inhales and disbelieving whispers, which merged into a buzzing roar that swept through the hall.

"A junior Martial Artist... h-he actually survived the fifth round?!"

"Heavens! Is this a joke? So many High-level Martial Artists were eliminated!"

"How can his body keep up with pellets that fast? Even with a powerful Spiritual Sense, you can’t dodge without the corresponding speed!"

"Unbelievable! The most ridiculous dark horse of this year has appeared!"

On the high platform, the gazes of the numerous Marquis-level experts had also completely changed.

If the mental fortitude test had earned Li Wen their admiration for his will, then the insight and reflexes he displayed in the Spiritual Sense test were a direct, stunning showcase of his combat potential.

The impact was even more unparalleled when considering his physical body was only at the entry-level of Grade 10.

Even the Chuhe King’s profound gaze flickered slightly as it once again fell upon Li Wen.

’To be able to use his skill realm to compensate for such a weak body to such a masterful degree... this child’s combat talent truly embodies the word "exceptional."’