The horde of disciples spread out like a plague of locusts. Any little advantage they could grasp onto was used. A few of them even started fighting along the way. It was ridiculous.

Musnuf focused on conserving his essence and just running. He reached the mountain on time but he was in the middle of the pack.

The giant elder was there already. A large red line had been drawn in the ground. It was unnatural against the pure green of the grass.

He waited for about five minutes when he heard, “Time’s Up.” A giant wall of green flame burst out. He looked around and most of the people had made it. It was more than enough time.

“For the next part, there are 100 bronze rings similar to this,” She was holding a thin bronze ring large enough to be a bangle. “50 silver rings, 10 gold rings and 1 ruby ring. You need to find at least one bronze ring to pass. The more you collect the better. All of these are present in Graceful Peace. Each ring tier is proportional to the level of difficulty in order to acquire it. You have until midnight to make it back down here. If you don’t, you fail. If you can make it down here, the other disciples are still allowed to steal your rings until midnight. Elder Flower will be keeping an eye on you. Don’t be too rough on your fellow disciples. Begin.”

She looked like she was tired of talking so much. Like someone had sucked out her lifeforce.

171 out of 500. This was going to be tough. The higher tier rings must be advantageous. Let’s just take this one step at a time. He felt goosebumps on his neck and turned to find Autumn Peace. She made eye contact with him and smiled. It was one of those fake smiles where the eyes don’t crinkle. Shit.

The disciples started running into the mountain. They looked like a horde of mountain goats on a stampede.

Musnuf tried to blend into the crowd and weave in and out of people randomly. He had to throw Autumn Peace off. Otherwise, she wouldn’t let go of him. The way she looked at him creeped him out.

Some people started looking around the outskirts. Others kept on going deeper. He heard a few shouts to find a group chasing after a wolf-like creature. It had a snake’s tail and a very conspicuous bronze ring on its foot.

Musnuf kept on heading straight up and avoiding any disciple. I should move around to the back, most of them are concentrated at the front. He was out of breath and wheezing but he had to keep on going. He wasn’t expecting so much exercise.

He spotted his first ring on an owl-like creature. It was a bronze ring. His brain started flying through the possibilities. There was no one around him at the moment.

He made an illusion. It was a coiled snake. Nothing too fancy. It wouldn’t move at all. He let it float up in front of the owl and moved it around a little bit.

The bird tried to grab it but he yanked it down, lower. The bird dived for it again. He yanked it lower. He did it another time and the snake was on the ground. The bird landed on the ground and pecked.

It turned its head in a confused manner and then a green flame engulfed it from behind. The creature squawked in pain and flew off into the foliage. The fire started covering up its vision and it bumped into a tree.

Musnuf wanted to try out Amplification but conserving his essence was the priority right now. He chased after it for about ten minutes before it collapsed down on the ground.

It rolled around on the ground. Musnuf got his knife out and planted it into its chest. He got the ring off. It was a gorey disgusting process and his hands were covered in blood.

“That was amazing, sister.” He flinched and turned around to find a smiling disciple. He held a sword in his hands. “Please, hand it over. I don’t want to hurt you.”

The casualness of his remarks ticked Musnuf off. What was he, expecting him to just roll over?

Musnuf sighed and turned his eyes down. “Here.” He stood up but didn’t extend his hands. It looked like he was unwilling.

The disciple came over and pulled the ring out of his hands and whistled. “Why don’t we team up? That way both of us can pass.”

Musnuf nodded and then pelted him in the face with his green fire. The disciple screeched out in pain and started flailing around. Chains of the same flame burst out of hands and he started waving them around like a maniac. It was hopeless. Musnuf just stepped out of range.

He kept on pelting him with the fire. He was starting to feel a little sick. His face was starting to smell like a burger. Maybe, I should stop, “Give me the ring back!”

The disciple threw the ring to him and Musnuf smiled. This was turning out to be easier than he’d thought.

“I’ll take it, thank you very much.” The ground exploded out at those words. Musnuf saw the foliage and crashed back on the ground. His clothes were on fire. He started patting himself down like a maniac.

A youth in a light blue robe walked over. He pulled the ring out of his grasp. When she tried to resist. Chains burst out of the ground and coiled around her hands. He was much more proficient at this.

His eyes were ghost green and the flames were burning up around his arms. “I’m Enduring Wave. Remember my name.”