The city was bustling, full of liveliness. A lot of people were walking on the roadside. Carriages passed by one after another, and every once in a while, members of noble families passed by riding on fine horses and carriages.

Edward asked around the city and found out that the selection exams for the Southern Martial Academy will start three days later. That is why the city had an extra number of people coming from the surrounding smaller cities and villages. Right now, most of the inns were filled and had no room. Edward somehow managed to find an inn, although it was small and low quality, it was still better than the house Edward used to live in, so he was pretty comfortable with that.

The time of the selection exams matched with what Snow had said to him. Snow was the one who checked out the Green Veil Country by flying around during Edward's training and collected information. Later, she had told Edward what to do after her departure. Edward followed Snow's instructions and came to the Southern City to become a student of Southern Martial Academy, to truly begin his journey in the path of martial arts.

Edward was sitting in meditation inside his room. He concentrating on channeling his Physical Essence. Right now, there were seven rings made of his physical essence inside his body, which suggested that he was in the seventh level of the Physical Essence realm.

Each Martial Realm in Mortal’s Path had 9 levels. From the Physical Essence realm to the Spiritual Phantom realm, each realm had 9 levels. The first level is the beginning of the realms and the ninth level is the peak of the realm. After going beyond the ninth level, one can step onto the next realm.

During his several months of training with Snow, he broke through each level slowly and reached the sixth level of the Physical Essence realm. According to Snow, this type of cultivation speed is quite average, even for a remote country like the Green Veil Nation. Soon after Snow left, he hardened his resolve and broke through the seventh level. But this might not be enough for the upcoming selection exams. When he was registering for the selection exams earlier today, he collected a handbook on the selection exams. According to the handbook, most participants of the selection exams will be in the Eighth Level of the Physical Essence realm or higher. The Top participants will all be in the Ninth Level of the Physical Essence realm. Those below the eighth level are mostly cannon fodder and will be the first ones to be eliminated. It will be a very tough competition for Edward and he was not very confident. Specifically, participants with strong family backgrounds are much more trained and experienced compared to him. Although influential families do have a lot of money and can buy student spots for their members, they only do it for their less talented youths. The talented ones from those families participate in the selection exams as a form of training and also to show off their abilities and make their families proud. At least, the reports on the handbooks say so.

Edward was now trying his best on his cultivation. Half of the Eighth Ring has been formed during his journey to the city. Three days won't be enough to form the rest of the, so there is not much chance for him to break through the eighth level of the Physical Essence realm.

Although he has a lot of money given by Snow's Fiance, Julian, he doesn't want to depend on that money, as it will hurt his pride if all he could do is depend on that money to get a spot. Besides, he wants to test his abilities and take this selection exam as a form of training. He understands that if he wants to reach a level where he can stand proudly beside Snow, he has to be ready to face all kinds of challenges. This kind of small competition should be only a stepping stone for his future path. This is a challenge he has taken and he wants to see it through the end. That is his determination.

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Three days passed in a blink of an eye. Everyone was gathering at the eastern edge of the city. outside the eastern gate is the path that leads directly to the Southern Martial Academy. the martial academy is huge, spanning for several hundred miles. There is a forest, a mountain range, and a river belonging to the academy. The forest is to the north of the academy, the river is to the south and the mountain range is straight to the east. On the west side of the Academy is the Eastern gate of Southern City, also the entrance to the academy. The academy lies at the center of these four things.

Everyone was gathered in front of the academy gate. It was a huge crowd. A middle-aged man was standing in front of the gate. He seemed to be a teacher from the Academy, as he was wearing a special uniform along with a robe. The green robe indicated that he was a Junior Teacher of the academy. According to the handbook Edward bought, the teachers in the academy are divided into three categories. Those wearing Green Robes are Junior Teachers, Also Knowns as Instructors. Those wearing Blue Robe are Senior Teachers, known as Elders. Finally, Only 5 teachers wore Black Robes, these are the 5 Vice-Headmasters, also referred to as Grand Elders.

"Everyone!", said the Instructor, breaking the silence. "Among you, only those who are participants and have a participation token will enter through the main gate. The rest of you will enter through the side gates after the participants have entered. There are seats reserved for you in the spectators' area. Guards, Open the Gate! Let the Selection Exams Begin!"