As the time passed, more and more people entered the palace, however Minos began getting worried, still not having seen Venix.
Just as the ninth person had entered and Minos was about to give up hope, the tenth and last qualifier arrived, and much to Minos's joy, it was Venix.
Venix quickly looked around the room, soon spotting Minos sitting right next to the master chair. He smiled slightly, but didn't say anything, instead taking the tenth and final seat.
With a smile on his face, the mysterious man used a spoon to chime his glass, the sudden ringing sound quickly attracting everyone's attention.
"Welcome, welcome. Since all ten inheritors have been selected, we can begin part two of the examination. The first stage was a test of strength, whereas the second test will be one of wit."
"While many cultivators favor strength above all else, my late master was quite unique. In fact, he always believed that intelligence was just as important to a cultivator's success as strength was, hence he designed this test to see how clever his possible inheritors were."
After speaking, the strange man clapped his hands once, causing ten cups filled with a foreign red liquid to be lowered onto the table, one in front of each person.
"This liquid is called Blood Honey Wine. It's an extract from a demonic beast known as the Bloody Bee Queen. A single cup will immediately allow a person to break through their life lock, advancing a stage."
"Of course, half of these cups aren't actually Blood Honey Wine. Instead it is the poison of the Bloody Bee Queen, which will cause the user's blood to aggregate towards their stomach if consumed, killing them quite horrifically."
"On the surface, the two liquids are the exact same, but you'll know the difference soon after consuming them." He said with a smile.
"But as I said earlier, this is a test of wit, not luck, hence there are a few more rules to make things interesting."
"Firstly, inheritors can give their Blood Honey Wine to others, as long as the other party is willing to accept."
"Secondly, all inheritors will be forced to consume their Blood Honey Wine at the end of the one hour allotted time frame, meaning whether you will die or not will be decided then."
"Thirdly, whoever has the most Blood Honey Wine at the end of the round will receive a spatial ring as a special reward, not including the Blood Honey Wine they get to keep."
The moment the strange man said that, the crowd went into a buzz. Minos didn't know what a spatial ring was, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. He was also getting quite annoyed at carrying all his things in a small pouch, so he decided to try and win.
"Of course if one of the Blood Honey Wine's in front of you have is actually poison, well then, say goodbye to your reward."
With that, the crowd sizzled down once more. As valuable a spatial ring was, it wasn't worth a life, hence even under the temptation, most people decided to play things conservatively.
"Finally, there's one more rule, but I won't say it. Consider it another part of the test." The strange man smiled as he finished speaking.
Just like that, with another clap of his hands, the strange man vanished, leaving the room with the ten inheritors staring at one another.
Minos looked around the crowd while contemplating the four rules laid out by the strange man. The first three rules were straight forward, but only the last one left a lot to be considered.
Minos naturally didn't think the strange man threw it out as a joke, in fact it was likely a critical clue to solving the puzzle.
Minos began to think, not making a move. Everyone seemed to share the same idea, with no one making any moves off the get go.
Instead the crowd looked at each other with suspicion, and some even began inspecting their own Blood Honey Wine, seeing if they could tell anything from its appearance.