Darian walked up to a tall, handso man with colorful hair. He was a pure Chromaraic, sitting down and holding a black crystal. That was the exam supervisor, the one in charge of registering everyone who’d take part.
When Darian stopped in front of him, the man looked surprised. His gaze narrowed instantly, filled with disgusting contempt for Darian’s supposed demonic bloodline.
The man scanned Darian from head to toe, and a flash of anger lit up in his eyes. On top of being "half demon," he also thought Darian’s body looked way below average.
"A Battle Institute instructor has to rely on real ability. If you’re not strong enough, you could end up with so broken bones—or even accidentally lose your life."
"I know," Darian replied flatly.
Obviously, killing wasn’t allowed in a sect—especially one like this, which was struggling with a lack of disciples. So the idea of soone actually dying here was absurd. The guy just wanted to scare him.
Darian showed his emblem, praying there wasn’t anything written on it that would give away the fact he had just arrived. But...
The Chromaraic only snorted, and the black crystal in his hand glowed, shooting light into Darian’s emblem.
"Registered. It starts in a few minutes." He spat the words, confirming nothing was wrong.
Inside, Darian was laughing, excited. He had barely arrived and was already climbing up in the sect.
He walked slowly back into the crowd, quickly noticing everyone staring at him coldly.
He sighed. The hatred for demons really ran deep here.
But after a few glances, everyone went back to themselves, focusing on getting ntally ready for the exam. So Darian moved back closer to Marli.
She really was a good person, and she felt like it was her duty to help this poor "hybrid" who faced everyone’s prejudice.
Darian ntioned it was his first ti. She smiled and said she had already failed once before, but the test was always about the sa.
The exam was done in groups of thirty, randomly drawn at the start. The group would go through several trials, and in the end, the best ones would fight each other until a single winner was chosen—the one who’d beco an instructor.
That status was insanely sought after, far above a regular disciple. Becoming an instructor was like taking a step toward becoming an Elder, and eventually chasing the dream of becoming a High Elder of the sect.
After she explained her previous exam, the sound of a bell rang out, and the Chromaraic supervisor stepped forward in front of everyone. He raised the crystal, and the registry plaque for thirty people lit up.
Among them, Darian’s plaque was drawn.
He smiled and said goodbye to Marli, who gently wished him good luck.
Darian moved forward with his group down a corridor and quickly saw the first stage of the exam.
It was a golden spear, as thick as an arm, lying on the ground. It was the sa old test, and Darian already understood what to do.
Everyone would line up, one by one, and try to lift the spear above their head. A simple trial. But... all the other twenty-nine wore solemn expressions.
"Lift!" roared the first participant, making the ground tremble.
It was a beast that looked like a three-ter gorilla. He shifted into his true form, fully serious, and tried lifting the spear. But his whole body shook. His bones cracked, his face flushed red, and veins popped out across his forehead.
That’s when Darian realized the golden spear’s weight was terrifying. The participant only managed to raise it for a mont before putting it back down.
"Approved," said a Chromaraic examiner emotionlessly.
When he set it down, the gorilla was drenched in sweat. Lifting it had taken everything out of him.
The next person also found it exhausting, but passed. The third... was a tall, lean man, his muscles sharply defined. Another Chromaraic with short, colorful hair.
He turned toward Darian with eyes full of hatred, like Darian was his greatest enemy—soone he couldn’t even stand to breathe the sa air with.
"Disgusting half-demon..." he muttered dryly.
Snorting, he grabbed the spear firmly. He lifted it above his head with ease, passing the test.
Then he turned back to Darian, sneering: "Kid, your place isn’t in this sect. It’s out there, working to pay for your race’s cris. You’d better hurry up and disappear, or when the final fight cos... I’ll beat you so bad not even your mother will recognize you."
Darian felt the guy’s bloodthirst and his own gaze hardened. A burning killing intent poured out of him. Being treated with hostility or insulted was still tolerable; but this guy was openly threatening him, and made it clear he planned to follow through.
However, soone behind Darian held him back: "Little brother, don’t let your emotions take over. He’s got a powerful backer behind him. Don’t you see he doesn’t even care about the examiner? Take my advice, stay calm and follow the rules. That way, there’s not much they can do against you."
The man laughed arrogantly at the advice. He looked at Darian but saw he wouldn’t fall for the provocation. So he just smiled and walked away, moving on to the next part of the exam.
"Thanks." Darian nodded to the person who held him back, appreciating the genuine intent.
Darian wasn’t explosive or reckless... but ever since his soul had been corrupted, his emotions were unstable. Usually, he could stay normal, but being treated like that without doing anything was extrely unfair.
Still, Darian hoped the final confrontation that guy ntioned would co soon. That was the main reason he held himself back.
Darian was almost in the middle of the group. Those ahead of him finished their trials one by one. Surprisingly, more than ten failed in a row.
The participant right in front of Darian finally reached his turn. After seeing so many fail, his face was tense, but he still gathered all his strength to lift the spear.
In the end, he managed to raise it but didn’t have enough strength to hold it. He fell back, sending the spear crashing toward Darian.
"Watch out!"
The examiner jumped in shock, not expecting the participant to be so weak. If soone died during the exam—even soone like Darian—he’d be severely punished.
But...
The mont everyone panicked, Darian’s eyes glowed as his stellar physique activated. His steady hand grabbed the spear, lifting it into the air, leaving everyone speechless.
"!"
He felt the spear’s weight in his hand. Though heavy, he could hold it firmly with just one hand. Everyone noticed and was completely stunned.
"What physical strength... you pass."
The examiner said without thinking much. Darian didn’t even need a formal test and went straight to the next stage.
Everyone who passed had to walk alone down a corridor to the next challenge.
The place was dark and narrow. Darian advanced, and suddenly a strange sound echoed off the walls.
*Buzz*
"?"
Then, projectiles started firing.
He snorted and dodged nimbly. The projectiles hit the walls, leaving white marks.
Darian understood imdiately: it was a reaction-speed test. The chanisms made that sound on purpose before firing to make it slightly easier.
He shook his head. This kind of test was child’s play for him. Even though the attacks were purely physical and he couldn’t rely on his power cheat, just sensing the airflow when the projectiles launched was enough to avoid them easily.
*Peng! Peng!! Peng!!!*
The further he went, the more concentrated the shots beca. But they couldn’t hit him. Darian passed through the projectile corridor and entered an exam room.
Another examiner was there, staring at him in shock.
After looking him up and down, he announced, "You passed with top marks."
Scores were based on how many projectiles hit the participant. But Darian didn’t even have a single mark.
He just nodded and moved forward, entering the next area.
The next test was actually against wooden dummies. Darian was offered a variety of strange, extrely heavy wooden weapons. He had to pick one and fight the dummies. Once a weapon hit a dummy, it would stop moving automatically.
However, it wasn’t just one dummy—it was hundreds attacking at once. Controlled by the examiner, they could perform relatively complex moves, making it scary for most.
Darian saw a wooden dagger and grabbed it without thinking. The size was similar to his own daggers.
"Begin!" As soon as he chose, the examiner announced, and the dummies lunged at him.
Darian’s dagger danced through the air. As the examiner explained, when a dummy was hit, it stopped moving. The real challenge was avoiding the simultaneous attacks from all of them, which required not only speed but sharp perception and quick judgnt.
But...
Darian laughed internally. This kind of test was almost a joke for soone who’d faced far worse real dangers and survived.
Within seconds, the dummies fell one by one.
He passed through this section easily. By the ti he reached the end, the next examiner’s expression was just as shocked as the previous one’s. Darian had passed again with top marks.
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