"The first trial, the Trial of Storms, shall begin."

The crowd tensed up from Robert's words. The Blue Ocean Pavilion is the holy land for all developing Exalts in the Brilliant Drake Empire. The heaven for those who are found worthy but hell for those who fall short.

What sort of trials are we walking into? How many people would even pass? These questions occupied their minds. If they failed here, then they might as well leave and give up any hope.

Oscar stood patiently with a calm expression, but the sweat on his brow betrayed his anxiousness.

Robert looked at the crowd of prospects and sighed. From a mere sentence, many had given in to fear. He did not enjoy seeing such cowardly behavior.

"Come through this door and move onto the platform." Robert instructed.

Oscar made his way inside and saw a large stone platform. Everyone stepped on top and lined themselves up in the middle of the platform per the staff's instructions.

Robert appeared once more at the podium in the front. "The Trial of Storms will commence. Try not to be blown back!"

Everyone tensed up and braced themselves for what was coming.

WOOOSH

Suddenly, a fierce turbulent gale blew straight towards the crowd. Those who did not prepare themselves were immediately thrown off and sent tumbling to the floor. The Blue Ocean Pavilion staff on standby caught the fumbling teens and carried them off.

"If you are knocked down, you will fail like those carried off by our diligent staff." Robert's eyes were still closed, but a small smile formed on his face. It sent chills down the people's spines.

The winds continued to hammer on everyone. More students were blown back and failed the trial. Within the mass of people, Oscar was still fighting.

"I can handle this."

Oscar felt his skin slowly tearing off from the intensity of the wind. But he was able to stabilize his feet and stuck firmly onto the floor.

It reminded him of when he had to handle horses back home. The newborns would go loose and trot around wildly, and Oscar had to be firm on his feet not to be knocked off-balance

By slightly lowering his body and maintaining a wider stance, Oscar's body remained stable and balanced. Those with poor footing and stance were sure to be knocked off and join the other failures.

Oscar drew in more air. Even if his body could remain balanced, it depended on whether or not he could hold it. The strong winds were like hammers, constantly beating onto his body. Sooner or later, his muscles would no longer be able to hold on.

"What can I do if that happens?" Oscar pondered on the inevitable situation to find a way out.

As time passed, more and more students could not hold on. Their bodies ached from the constant battering of the wind to the point they had gotten numb. Finally, they could no longer exert themselves and were blown back and carried away.

"About a third of you have failed and been sent to the Minor Hall. The rest of you have done well." Robert updated.

Oscar could not hear what Robert had said. Every fiber of his being was focused on staying still and unmoving against the wind. His veins popped out on his head and arms, and his teeth clenched against each other.

He hoped the trial would end before his legs gave out. But he saw no indication of this storm stopping soon and thought about what to do.

At that moment, Oscar's eyes widened as an idea popped into his head. The idea was crazy, but it might be what he needs to do to pass.

With a roar, Oscar stomped his right foot forward. After placing his right foot firmly on the ground, he pulled his left foot ahead. Step by step, Oscar made his way to the very front.

"Hmmm. This boy…" Robert noticed a young boy approaching him and was perplexed at his actions.

Every new student who came to the Blue Ocean Pavilion was not even an Apprentice Exalt; they were simple mortals and did not have the physical resilience of Exalts.

Oscar's actions right now were akin to forcing his body against countless blades of knives. This was true; his body was covered in clean cuts from the pieces of dirt sharpened by the wind. It wasn't life-threatening, but each cut would sap his body's stamina.

But Oscar was stubborn to the bone and inched closer and closer to the front, near Robert.

Robert began to take a little interest in Oscar. Despite all compounding injuries, the boy did not lose a single hint of concentration but remained fixated on each step.

"This child has a mind of steel. Interesting, but showing off isn't how you pass the trial."

Oscar finally reached the front. No one in the crowd paid him any mind since they were too focused on maintaining themselves. Oscar clenched his hands and lowered his body. He would make his stand here.

"You have all done well to get to this point. I'll double the speed for five minutes." Robert stomped his foot and the gale intensified.

The hurricane winds broke the spirits of some of the prospects as they helplessly flew back to the floor. The others' faces reddened as their noses bled from the pressure. A few remained calm. They were undoubtedly from prominent families who trained their bodies and mind since childhood.

Robert noted only half remained and focused on Oscar, who was still fighting with all his will and might to withstand the storm.

"If he had saved his energy and not moved up, he would have been in a far better situation. Alas, the folly of youth leads to a quick downfall." Robert shook his head.

Meanwhile, Oscar struggled to fight back. He did not expect the wind to get stronger suddenly. His legs trembled as they were about to give in.=

"NO"

Oscar slammed his knees with his hands, anchoring his feet to the floor forcibly. Losing here meant starting at the very bottom. He knew he wasn't a great talent, so Oscar was desperate to get every advantage he could get. He needed to enter the Outer Hall at least.

He could not give in now. He heard Robert say five minutes, so he needed to hold on for a little longer. Oscar began to count the seconds in his mind. At the very least, he could not allow himself to falter until the four-minute mark.

Four minutes passed on. Robert saw more children fly off, but most had stabilized against the winds. The trial was coming to an end soon.

Then he saw Oscar make a move. Oscar barely hung on, but finally, his legs gave way. His feet lifted off the ground as the winds blew him backward.

Robert was indifferent upon seeing this. Although Oscar had piqued his interests, the trials were indiscriminate, no matter who it was, even nobles. He would have to start from the Minor Hall. Perhaps the boy would degrade in there and never bounce back.

But, as one of the staff was moving to catch him, Oscar kicked his feet down to meet the ground. Robert looked on in astonishment at what Oscar was doing.

"It can't be…this boy."

Oscar knew. He knew his legs would eventually give out. So he made a last gambit. To get to the front so he could have space to do this. Oscar continued to be forced back, but his feet scraped against the floor.

He felt his shoes slowly burning off from the friction, and the skin of the bottom of his feet started to roast from the heat. Oscar was still forced backward, leaving a trail of burn marks and rubble on the platform floor.

Finally, Oscar stopped moving back. His feet were once again firmly placed on the platform, unmoving. His plan had worked!

"He relied on his feet to grind against the platform stone to halt his body." Robert was still shocked that he had forgotten the five minutes had ended.

Indeed, it was possible to stop oneself by dispersing the force pushing against you with a place to hold on or an opposing force to push back. Robert scanned Oscar and found his shoes were almost shredded and burned off while his feet were slightly burned and cut.

"Trial Master, you need to stop." One of the staff reminded Robert about the time.

Robert hastily waved his hand, and the winds died down. The students who remained on the platform plopped straight to the ground. They gasped for air and relief as their bodies ached with joy.

Oscar looked behind him to see the very edge of the platform. The strong winds blew him back to the end. If his feet did not stop him in time, then he would have lost.

"It's over…." Oscar let out a listless smile as he also fell to the ground. The two suns above him looked especially captivating after such an ordeal.

"Well done! All of you have passed the first trial. The second trial will commence in four hours. You have the time to rest on this platform here." Robert turned to leave but not before having one last look at Oscar. He wrote the boy off for his foolishness, but it seems he was the foolish one.

"To try such a thing for the first time, the boy is smart and daring. I wonder how he will mature as an Exalt."

Robert thought of it as a conclusion that the boy would ascend as an Exalt. The sheer will and wit Oscar exhibited were enough for Robert to make such an assessment.

"Even if you end up in the Minor Hall, I have no doubt you'll crawl your way out." Robert then departed elsewhere, leaving the youths alone.

The staff came and returned their bags.

Oscar sat down and checked his feet. His shoes were unusable, so he threw them aside, and his feet needed immediate attention. Thankfully, his mother gave him some medicine and bandages.

"Thank you, Mother."

Oscar carefully applied some salve to the cuts and burns. He hissed at the acute pain as the feet were one of the more sensitive parts of the body. After bandaging them up, he turned his attention to the numerous cuts on his body.

Even though the cuts were only minor, they were numerous. Oscar could not leave them like this and applied more salve to each cut.

"Those stories were true!" Oscar was giddy.

It was strange to see a person bandaging themselves with a wide smile. But Oscar was really happy. He passed the first trial and saw one of the legends he read in his book—the legend of how Exalts were able to cut things with wind.

Oscar was relieved that none of his wounds were serious. If he failed the second trial because of the injuries, that would be a bad story to tell others.

Oscar glanced around the platform at his peers. More than half of the crowd from before was gone. Oscar felt a sense of dread at this outlook. If the first trial was that harsh, then what about the second? He barely passed this one!

"Can't think like that, just focus and do your best." Oscar took out a book and began reading to calm himself down.

Oscar was absorbed in a thrilling book about plants when someone came up to him, covering him with his shadow.

"How are you doing?" A young, excited voice said.

Oscar looked up at the visitor, a boy around Oscar's age. He had bright green hair, yellow eyes, and a handsome face. He reminded Oscar of the Judge he met earlier, Ivanka Klein.

The boy stretched his hand out with a grin and said, "I'm Fredrick Klein. Nice to meet you!"