"This is my room number, remember it." Mangrel showed the small wooden stake to Kertelf.
Looking at Kertelf closely gazing at the wooden stake, Mangrel walked away without waiting for a reply.
The third door was nothing but a huge hole now. The troll bull seemed to have violently charged past it, leaving the door laying at one corner of the room.
"....."
Mangrel began silently walking through the debris. Behind him, Jagrel and the other two surviving cultivators followed along carefully. Kertelf still suffered trying to get up, however, no one bothered about him.
Mangrel wasn't in a hurry either, he was well aware that Kertelf had no choice but to hand over his trial clearance reward. Kertelf would deliver it himself later on.
The other side of the third door had another cave room smaller than the one where the trial was preceded.
The lamp hung on the wall glowed dimly, lighting up the room.
When Mangrel glanced at the lamp, his eyes froze a second before looking forward again. The lamps were different from the ones used in the first trial. There was no oil or braided cotton that held the flame of the oil lamp.
Just a lump of flame could be seen floating in the lamp quietly.
'Whispering flames...they can be acquired by skinning a flaming leopard. It's a rank-one fire path material...' Mangrel wasn't surprised by the use of rare material for lamps. He already had an idea about the influence and size of this demonic sect.
Mangrel moved to the end of the room with no hesitation, there was another tunnel that greeted the team of four. Seeing the steps leading upwards, they began climbing one by one.
"Sir...Can I call you that?" Jagrel cautiously questioned Mangrel.
Mangrel's eyes flashed with light as he turned to Jagrel, not stopping his feet.
'He has experienced growth it seems. He has become more decisive than before.' Mangrel couldn't help but think to himself.
"Sure." Mangrel looked into Jagrel's eyes, both of them perceiving each other's intentions.
Jagrel's prior question without a doubt pointed out that he was willing to become a subordinate. His subtle question was to confirm whether Mangrel was on the same page.
Jagrel smiled, getting confirmation from Mangrel in the end. He was both relieved and excited about his future.
Having gotten the result Mangrel was hoping for, he moved his attention away from Jagrel. There was no reason for Jagrel to betray or harm him in the foreseeable future.
After walking for almost half a minute, Mangrel could see the end of the stairway.
Reaching the top, Mangrel stood in his position to look around.
Multiple doors could be seen in the path, they had no order at all. Some were above each other with stairs or even diagonally placed at the others.
Focusing, Mangrel could see strange letters drawn on the door. He began looking for the door with the same sign as the wooden stake in his hand.
'Looking at the size of this place, we are most likely on an enormous mountain or below the mountain itself. And from the number of rooms, it seems like the other participants will live here too.' Mangrel calmly contemplated while looking around.
Mangrel tried opening the door, but it didn't even budge. They were most likely incanted items, destroying it would be very hard.
Moving forward for a while, Mangrel came across his room at last. It was almost on the other side of the whole living facility.
Holding up the small wooden stake, a sharp light left it and entered the door in a blink of an eye. With a creaking sound, the door opened and revealed the view within it. There was nothing special within, only a wooden bed and washroom.
'Everything in a single room, the demonic inauguration is aiming to drive everyone's mind to the extreme.' Mangrel read their intention like an open book, causing a sneer to appear on his face.
'I have lived in worse situations than this. Covering myself in beast excretion to hide my existence. Hiding within the hole I dug and cowering like a worm. This is nothing compared to the past.' Mangrel's face showed subtle reminiscence.
Click!
The door closed the moment Mangrel stepped foot into the room. His eyes immediately moved to the plain box on the bed.
'So this is the reward for clearing the first trial of demonic inauguration?' Mangrel opened the box with some expectation.
Looking at the content within the box, Mangrel's eyes widened for the first time.
There was only one item within the box, a blood-red fruit. It was the size of a fist and released a faint origin essence.
'A blood nirvana fruit...they are willing to give out rank three resources to raise disciples? I seem to have underestimated the value of the demonic inauguration held to the demonic sect.' Mangrel eyes almost spewed out his greed as he stared at the blood nirvana.
Blood nirvana was considered a very special cultivation resource that could only be grown by sacrificing hundreds of thousands of humans. And the benefit it brought was worthy of the sacrifice.
The blood nirvana increased once cultivated talent by almost five percent. The effect would lessen if the cultivator's rank was higher than rank one.
However, the enhancement in aptitude was just a side benefit. What it mainly constituted was the foundation of a cultivator. It had a miraculous effect on the cultivation, making it almost unshakable.
Second thoughts began rising within Mangrel's mind: "If the others are aware of the blood nirvana effect, the chances of them agreeing to give a portion to me decreases. Should I just kill those two cultivators?"
Mangrel seriously considered this option.