Many kids were trembling and some even crying in despair. Some had blaze in their eyes though and a few had grins plastered over their faces. That being said, no one had walked out to take on the challenge. The two silver robed men exchanged glances and nodded at each other. The second one spoke: "If no one wishes to challenge, we will be closing this year's examination!"

Mere seconds later, many kids walked out of the crowd. One of them was picked to start the challenge. He was asked: "Are you ready to bet on your future on this duel, young friend?" and the kid nodded. Then, he was asked what kind of weapon he used and answered with 'sword'. As such, he was given a sword and sent on the disk.

The first silver robed man then spoke: "Defeat one of them and enter the sect as an outer disciple! Defeat five and be nurtured as an internal disciple! Defeat fifteen and become a core disciple! Defeat them all and become a student of one of the Greater Elders of your choice!"

The kids cheered and the one on the floating felt an adrenaline rush like he never did before. Jin however remained calm. He was easily excited by the future but when it came down to a fight, his head cooled down. He would have to go fight too and it was better to be rational and analyze the situation.

The fact that they only brought thirty examiners for tens of thousands of kids was a clear indication of the bitter truth. This was a difficult test. These people had been holding the examinations for who knows how many centuries, there were no ways they would mismanage the testing. This only meant that nearly no one could succeed this.

Even though the examiners seemed to be no more than kids just like those being tested, it would be a mistake to judge them like that. Jin was very much aware that looks could be deceiving considering his own situation.

There was also another meaning though. If someone managed to defeat a few, there were that many more unable to be defeated by others. There was a set number of open places. Thirty at best? Which meant that the tens of thousands of remaining kids were going to fight for thirty spots at best. Of course, that was unless the examiners would be able to continue testing challengers even after being defeated.

Which brought the question of what being ‘defeated’ meant here… But he would find out soon enough from the first few challengers.

In the end, not only was it a test of fighting prowess, it would also become a test of wit. When to go up and take the test was an important decision. Not being the first might seem obvious but if the one who was up now managed to defeat all thirty? Then the tens of thousands left were fucked.

Realizing all this, Jin began to walk forward, towards the floating arena.

Meanwhile, a robed man turned to the young examiners of his sect and asked them who would go up first. One of the guys moved a step forward and was given a sword then sent up to face the other kid. They both took stances. The disciple was calm and collected...and cold. The challenger was excited and filled with hopes.

Then, the silver robed men gave the 'go' and both kids ran to each other. There were only a dozen meters from an extremity to another so they faced each other in mere moments. Then, they both held their swords high up and brought them down with all their might.

There was a collision and one sword broke. Then blood gushed out like a fountain. One kid died. The challenger. His sword was cut through like butter and the disciple's sword went on to behead him in a single movement. The cheering and excitement of the crowd faded away. There was nothing but silence.

Because everyone knew that both swords were exactly the same. Since it unfolded in such a way, it meant that the examiner had that much more strength. He was leagues above.

The words that they would bet on their future began to rang inside their child's mind. They grew scared. Very scared. All those who were under eleven took steps backwards in fear. They would rather fail today and try next year by cultivating all throughout the year to reach the second stage instead of being beheaded today.

Losing their lives now wasn't worth it. They might have been kids but this was a warrior's world and they weren't dumb. There was no glory in death, death was death, it was an end. And they were far too young to face death in the eyes. Even more so when it came to embracing it. As such, many who had walked up to take the challenge began to move back into the crowd.

Only a few remained with their teeth clenched hard. It was at that moment that Jin arrived and stood with the group. He was the only one who remained stoic. He did kill many in his previous life and it wasn't this kind of sight that would make him scared. Murdering children was not something he was used to though as he had never done such a thing. In this world though, judging by how the elders here did not bat an eyelid, it seemed to be just business as usual. What about the kid’s families though? Then again, it was not something that Jin had to consider.

Beyond that, he was analyzing the strength behind the slash. And while it was obvious that it was strong, he believed he could defeat someone with that kind of strength.

They were stronger but they remained kids. There wasn’t that much difference in weight and height between kids aged eleven to thirteen. Jin would never claim victory against an adult with this body of his but if it was a kid similar in stature? That was a whole different story. There were many martial arts that enabled one to fight against a stronger opponent. Heck, some were created solely for that. Obviously, he knew them. So, he stood there confidently.

The sect's people were fair in that the first to walk with the intention to challenge would be the first to challenge. It meant that there remained a few dozen kids before his turn. It was fine. He did not believe many could make it. And he was proven right by the second challenger.

It was a big kid, taller and wider than his counterparts. He asked for an axe and anxiously stood on the disk. His opponent was a petite girl with no weapons. As he saw her, he breathed in relief as hope began to burn fiercer inside his heart. The crowd began to encourage him too. They believed he had a chance. The disparity in stature was great after all.

Contrary to their guesses though, the big kid failed. He died with a punched hole in the thorax. The petite girl bowed to the crowd with an innocent smile while covered in blood. It was a very scary sight to the remaining kids and a few more decided to give up.