"Ouch!"

Lin Xiao landed on the ground hard and noticed that in front of him was now a stair. He couldn't see the end of the stair but there was also no way for him to return back.

'Are all Secret Region so queer?'

Lin Xiao pondered for a moment before he slowly walked onto the stairs. His steps were slow yet steady. He was still thinking about what kind of place this would be when he suddenly saw a beast pounced on him. 

His eyes widened as he took out his sword and hacked the beast right in front of him. The beast was cut into two and dispersed into the air. However, the faint Qi that was lingering entered his body, alarming him.

"Lin Hu!"

"It won't harm you, instead it's beneficial to you. You won't be able to feel anything from it, though."

"What is that?"

"Ancient power… the effect is to transform one's body so that it'll be suitable for cultivation. At the same time, it can give boost to your body in accordance to the amount. Since it's only a little bit, you won't feel the effect anytime soon."

Lin Hu actually wanted to add that because Lin Xiao had so many Dragon Power in his body, it wouldn't be that beneficial to him either. The two power would not clash but the effect in Lin Xiao's body would not have so much effect as others would.

Unless… the amount was more than this.

Lin Xiao looked at the front. He felt that there were more and more beasts coming. His lips curled up to form a sneer. "Do they think that they can beat me with just an increase in number?"

Swish!

Chilling Lake Sword, Fourth Form!

For the three next form, Lin Xiao was still only proficient in the fourth form. The sixth form was supposed to start dropping the temperature of the surroundings and yet, Lin Xiao still failed to receive the effect.

Thus, the best method for him to train was by repeating the movement again and again.

Chilling Lake Sword, Fifth Form!

The beasts around him were killed.

Dense fog from the beasts' bodies entered Lin Xiao's body little by little. It was to the point that Lin Hu was a bit startled. The amount of the ancient power here was plenty.

It was as if everything was simply prepared for the sake of Lin Xiao.

'Was there no one who come here before?'

But looking at the beasts, Lin Hu noticed that they started from the same rank as Lin Xiao and defeating beast of the same rank... naturally wouldn't earn them much reward. But as the beasts increased in rank, the amount of ancient power naturally increased.

'So it means that those who come here when they're already at Golden Core Stage 1 or 2 have to defeat a rank higher.'

Lin Hu somewhat pitied those children now. If they knew that they had to fight against beast at higher stage… what would they think?

But the other two doors must have hold a completely different test for them. This test was for courage… or in other words: battle.

The first door was talking about wealth so the reward must be wealth.

The second door talked about pure… so it might be treasure that was related to their advancement.

Lin Hu was busy analyzing while Lin Xiao was busy fighting.

As more and more beast coming at him, Lin Xiao continued to charge forward. They were all only beast rank 3 at first then they become beast rank 4. Slowly, Lin Xiao noticed the appearance of beast rank 5.

'Can I defeat it?'

Lin Xiao looked at the large bull in front of him. He sneered. So what if he couldn't defeat it? He would do his best and if he failed to defeat the best, he would use his movement technique to save his life.

He was not a coward but he was also not stupid enough to throw his life away when It was not worth it. 

Chilling Lake Sword, Sixth Form!

Slash!

The temperature was partially affected but Lin Xiao knew that it was still an incomplete form. He gritted his teeth and side stepped to the side. When the bull tried to charge at him who had moved place, Lin Xiao activated his movement technique.

Moon Evasion!

Chilling Lake Sword, Sixth Form!

The bull was now facing Lin Xiao once more. The sword hit its body but failed to penetrate the bull's defense.

Lin Xiao snorted as he could sense that his Qi was depleting rapidly. Since it was the case, he would better run from the bull.

Swish!

Moon Evasion.

Moving forward a hundred meters away. Lin Xiao was about to continue when he sensed that the earth was cracking. He was stunned but he could not get away as the world seemed to shatter into pieces.

Bang!

Thud!

When Lin Xiao came to, he noticed that he was standing on the stair and that there was still a long way to go above. However, there were two roads beside him now. One to the right and the other one to the left. 

"Lin Hu, what's that?"

"it's illusion that will test your courage and also your capability." Lin Hu was as calm as always. He looked above. "Naturally, you're not the best of geniuses. There are many other geniuses who are capable of defeating other cultivators and beast that are far above their own stage."

Hearing that, Lin Xiao was silent. He looked at the stairs then below before sighing. He had come quite a long way to become stronger but there was still a long path ahead of him. 

...

Beast Ranking and the estimated strength:

Unranked: Untrained people to Body Training Rank 3

Rank 1: Body Training Rank 6 to 7

Rank 2: Body Training Rank 8 to 10

Rank 3: Foundation Establishment

Rank 4: Golden Core Stage 1

Rank 5: Golden Core Stage 2

Rank 6: Golden Core Stage 3

Rank 7: Golden Core Stage 4

Rank 8: Golden Core Stage 5

Rank 9: Golden Core Stage 6