Chapter 68

Hoofbeats echoed, and dust flew up as the winding path was traversed by Sun Pingyang, Guoguo, and Lin Yiming, the three of them riding two horses, heading towards Lihuo City. Lin Yiming still remembered the first time he met little Guoguo; she was riding a horse then. This little girl, who clearly knew how to ride, always preferred to share a horse with Lin Yiming whenever they went out.

Holding the reins with both hands, he wrapped his arms around Guoguo's small body, hugging her close. Lin Yiming looked at the trees on both sides of the road, which were not particularly tall or thick, and realized that having Sun Pingyang, who was always on adventures, by his side had many advantages.

For example, he had no idea how to get to Lihuo City. If it were just him and Guoguo, they would have to ask for directions and would inevitably take many wrong turns.

But with Sun Pingyang, they avoided taking wrong turns and even took shortcuts that ordinary people didn't know about. Lin Yiming wondered how Sun Pingyang managed to remember all these hidden paths.

Even with Sun Pingyang leading the way, it still took them twenty days to reach Lihuo City.

The only regret was that his cultivation had slowed down.

In theory, since he was absorbing immortal qi, which is extremely pure, and his strength was continuously improving, the more his strength increased, the more immortal qi he should absorb, making it impossible for his strength to grow slowly.

But now, after absorbing immortal qi, he could only feel it slowly nurturing and strengthening his skin, flesh, and bones. The amount of immortal qi in his body was gradually increasing, but there was no other improvement.

The speed of his martial spirit heart's pulsation had also not increased.

Clearly, he had hit a bottleneck. His body was like a large water jar; the jar could only hold so much water. To hold more, it would need to be made larger and wider. Noble families might be able to do this for their important disciples, but he was already much stronger than others.

He had always been absorbing immortal qi, which is far purer than other types of qi.

The speed of his martial spirit heart's pulsation was unmatched by anyone.

To restore his previous rate of improvement, he needed to break through the bottleneck and enter the Blood Soul Transformation stage. But how could he enter the Blood Soul Transformation stage?

He had no idea how to enter the Blood Soul Transformation stage, so he needed to enter the Selection Academy.

Outside the southern gate of Lihuo City, there stood an unremarkable mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, more than forty people had already gathered. Lin Yiming and his two companions did not enter the city but came directly here.

As soon as they arrived on horseback, Lin Yiming heard excited shouts from the crowd: "Finally, more people have arrived. We only need three more to form a team and set off."

Hearing the voices, Lin Yiming was slightly taken aback. Set off? Wasn't this the registration point? Why weren't there any representatives from Qi Wang Academy?

With doubts, the three of them walked to the foot of the mountain.

At the base of the mountain, a large wooden sign stood on one side, with prominent large characters: "Depart when fifty people are gathered. Within five days, pass through the forest ahead and reach the top of the mountain to register for the Selection Academy examination."

"Register on this mountain?"

After reading the sign, Lin Yiming looked up at the forest ahead.

In front of him was a dense forest, and beyond the forest, a small mountain could be seen, which was not particularly high and could even be considered quite small in this world.

The distance looked very short, and it could be covered in less than half a day. However, the sign said it would take five days, indicating that the journey would not be simple.

"Even the registration point requires you to find it yourself. This seems to be the first test of the Selection Academy." Sun Pingyang, after securing the horses, walked to Lin Yiming's side and said softly, "Yiming, I am a retainer and cannot participate. You need to be careful."

"Don't worry. The first test will be the forest, which is advantageous for me. Previously, in Yuanyang Mountain, you took me through many forests. I believe I am more familiar with the forest environment and know how to survive in it better than many others." Lin Yiming pointed to the forest ahead, indicating that to reach the mountain, they had to pass through this forest first.

Sun Pingyang followed Lin Yiming's gaze and nodded, saying, "Indeed, the forest is advantageous for you, but don't be complacent. You should know that survival techniques vary depending on the trees and terrain. You need to adapt to the situation."

As he spoke, Sun Pingyang's eyes scanned the crowd.

"One, two, three... forty-eight, forty-nine. Yiming, if we count you and Guoguo, you have forty-nine people. According to the sign, you only need one more person to set off." Sun Pingyang quickly counted the number of people present.

"It seems we arrived just in time. However..." Lin Yiming scanned the crowd and said with some surprise, "These people don't seem to know each other well. It looks like there are no members of large families here."

"Of course not. Members of large families can directly participate in the formal examination. Without reaching the Overlord Body Realm, there is no hope of passing the formal examination." A voice came from behind Lin Yiming.

Turning around, a man who seemed a year or two older than him walked over. The man smiled at Lin Yiming and pointed to the distant mountain, saying, "That mountain may look close, but we discussed it with some friends, and the Selection Academy wouldn't arrange a simple test. The simpler it looks, the more difficult it might be. So, a few of us decided to form a temporary team to take the test together, increasing our chances of success.

My name is Han Jin, and I am a mid-stage Blood Soul Transformation martial artist. Besides me, we have two fifth-layer Martial Spirit Heart martial artists, one sixth-layer, and one seventh-layer. Would you like to join us?"

Lin Yiming immediately understood why this man was so kind and explained things to him; he was looking for a team.

Looking around, not just this man, but several others in the group were also trying to form teams. Indeed, those who came to take the test were smart and knew the power of numbers, so many were forming teams.

Of course, a few people had not agreed to join any team, and they were almost all Blood Soul Transformation martial artists.

After taking another look at the man who called himself Han Jin, Lin Yiming slowly shook his head and said, "I appreciate your kindness, but I want to try on my own."

Forming a team was a smart move, but the problem was, who knew what these people's intentions were? With so many of them, who knew if they might betray him on the way.

"Since that's the case, I won't disturb you." Han Jin did not insist, smiled, and turned to leave.

Not long after Han Jin left, Lin Yiming was approached by two more groups inviting him to join their teams, which he also declined.

After waiting for a short while, the sound of hooves was heard, and three young men rode up.

"Five days... This test is too simple. I can reach the destination in two hours at full speed." One of the men jumped off his horse and walked into the crowd, followed by the other two.

With the group now complete, everyone set off.

Following the crowd, Lin Yiming and Guoguo entered the forest.

The trees in the forest were not particularly special; Lin Yiming had seen similar ones in Maple Bridge Town.

Although there were more than fifty people, they soon spread out in the forest.

As Lin Yiming and Guoguo walked through the mountain forest, they turned a corner and saw a man lying on the ground, struggling to move.