Inside a lush forest full of overgrown trees and dense shrubbery, an emaciated young girl slowly walked forward while holding an old worn-out sword in her hands. Her long brown hair was messy and dry, but the young girl did not even bother to smoothen it.

"I have to pass the exam no matter what I have to do!" She muttered fiercely to herself. Her emerald-green eyes flickered intensely as she spoke those words.

This young girl's name is Sylphie Northcut, a daughter of a wealthy noble family in a faraway kingdom.

The girl was living the dream life of many other kids. She had all the luxuries she could ask for and her parents had always given her the best food. However, everything came to an end when their kingdom was attacked by three neighboring kingdoms. Her family joined the war, but their kingdom was easily defeated by the combined might of their three opponents. The girl's parents died in battle and she was taken away to be sold as a slave. Everything became hell for her for over five years, but she refused to give up and she finally managed to escape from the Crimson Sun Sect who had bought her. She then coincidentally passed through the assessment being held in the Heavenly Sword Tower and joined the crowd of applicants to escape the pursuit of the Crimson Sun Sect and here she was in the middle of a forest, participating in the second assessment.

"I heard a lot about Sect Master Jiu Shen from the disciples of the Crimson Sun Sect. Even the sect master is afraid of Sect Master Jiu Shen. I just hope that I can pass all three assessments and become a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Tower, but would they really accept me if they learned about my identity?" Sylphie muttered worriedly.

"They will! The elder yesterday said that they would accept anyone regardless of their status as long as they could pass all three assessments! I still have a chance!" The young girl gripped her sword tightly before hastening forward with glistening eyes.

***

Zhu Ren stared at his surroundings with a calm look and checked his body to see if he was injured. He then heaved a sigh of relief when he felt that nothing was wrong with his body.

"So we are separated inside this forest... I assume the other applicants are already starting to hunt those lesser demons. I should begin hunting as well and I might even find the others along the way." Zhu Ren said as he pulled the spear behind his back.

This spear was a gift from his deceased grandfather and this had been with him since he started learning about spearmanship.

Zhu Ren dashed through the forest in a practiced manner. It was as if he had suddenly become a veteran hunter.

The truth was that Zhu Ren's talent was not exactly great, but he had compensated for his lack of talent through sheer effort and willpower. He practiced his spear techniques with little rest and even trained himself in the outer parts of the Endless Forest. That was why he was able to run inside this forest with such familiarity.

Hm?

Zhu Ren stopped in his tracks and jumped on top of a huge tree's branch. He then stared at two strange creatures walking alertly down below.

Those creatures had a humanoid figure except for their grotesque appearance. Their skin was dark purple and their muscles screaming with power.

"Are these the lesser demons? To think that I'm so lucky to stumble upon two of them after arriving here..." Zhu Ren muttered to himself excitedly.

He stealthily pounced towards the defenseless backs of the creatures and aimed his spear towards their vital spots.

Zhu Ren was now an early stage 5th-rank Spirit realm cultivator and he even had the power to confront those at the mid stage 5th-rank Spirit realm!

Puchi! Puchi!

The two creatures were not even able to emit a shriek before they died under Zhu Ren's surprise attack.

Their bodies exploded into motes of white light and dropped two tokens on the ground.

Clink. Clink.

Zhu Ren grabbed the two tokens with a smile and said. "Those guys are indeed lesser demons. I never thought that they would be so weak for a 5th-rank Spirit realm creature. Brother Beiming and the others should be able to easily get these tokens with their strength. In that case, I have nothing to worry about."

He then moved ahead with confidence.

***

"Master, I have learned the identity of the young girl." Ren Shuang said as he bowed at Jiu Shen.

Jiu Shen stared at him and nodded his head calmly. "You did great in finding it after only a day."

Ren Shuang did not raise his head and replied immediately. "Master, that girl came from a small kingdom and it was rather easy for me to uncover her identity."

"I see. Then tell me who this girl is." Jiu Shen said.

"This girl is called Sylphie Northcut, the daughter of Franklin Northcut, a count of the Iron Sand Kingdom. However, after the fall of the Iron Sand Kingdom, she was taken as a slave by the Crimson Sun Sect. She lived inside that sect for over five years." Ren Shuang said in a calm voice.

"Hmm... Did you find anything suspicious about her parents?" Jiu Shen asked curiously. From what he saw about Sylphie's constitution, he learned that a dragon had given her its blood essence willingly. However, this blood essence was weak and faint, and it was only enough to enhance her physicality to a certain degree. Even so, this small enhancement was also the reason why she was able to live until today even with the lack of nutrition.

"Her mother is a viscount's daughter and there is nothing noteworthy about her identity aside from being one of Iron Sand Kingdom's most beautiful women. As for Sylphie's father, he, how should I say this... It's like he suddenly appeared in the Iron Sand Kingdom and helped its king fight a war. After that war, he was made a count by that king. Also, I managed to uncover the remains of Franklin Northcut from the battleground near the former Iron Sand Kingdom's territory." Ren Shuang replied.

Jiu Shen's eyes flicked in surprise.

"Really? Show it to me." He said.