The six Elders who were flying came to a halt as they looked down on the participants separated from their powers on the ground.
"My name is Lily and I am in charge of this competition" said a female as she flew forward while the other five stood to her sides solemnly.
Her cultivation could be said to be lower than Joseph or Kakoline but she could fight them to a standstill if a situation arises.
The three male and two female Elders also introduced themselves as she took over going straight to the point of the competition.
"I don't like wasting time so those who wish to give up can do so now as you either survive to reach the next round or give up"
"The only ones alive will be the ones who passed all tests or gave up before some test"
"You may be the brightest in your Empire but look around you, everyone is the same to me"
"For those that join Daiyu will have futures brighter than anyone else but every opportunity has its risks"
"Of course, if you give up after the first round in the following ones or fail the test without dying, then you still have the chance to become reserve warriors"
"If you have any doubts or wish to leave then use telepathic messages to save time and ask them to me or the 5 Elders around me"
After saying her bit, she went quiet as the 5 Elders and she answered the doubts as well as returning a few to their guardians who asked for it.
"Alright, we now have 12.962 participants for the Inner Sect and 68.038 for the Outer Sect competition."
"More or less than 1.000 will be selected for the Inner Sect and 4.000 will be selected for the Outer Sect"
"The rest may have a chance to join the reserve force or can stay in Daiyu Country"
Every participant is well aware that Daiyu Country is led and formed by the reserve warriors from the Sacred Land as well as the place where the Sect disciple's children or relatives can live.
It is also a neutral place in a way that no wars are waged near it or against it as that would be the same as asking for death from the Continent's superpower.
Meanwhile Lily was still talking about Daiyu and its history as some participants' minds went blank as they stood there in a daze.
She kept talking for 30 minutes non-stop before some of the cultivators attacked those nearby and a few weak-minded ones exploded themselves injuring those nearby.
Unfortunately, the Test had long since started as she announced the number of participants and assaulted them with a feeble cultivation energy added to her sound.
To most, it felt the same as using it to enhance one's voice making sure that it reaches everyone but those with keen senses or some remote familiarity with the method shielded themselves.
Just like that, more than 1.000 of the Outer Sect participants as well as around 10 for the Inner Sect died while many got injured.
Seeing the scene, a few powers felt enraged as all tests used to be announced but some felt like idiots as the ones who exploded were obviously amongst their own power's participants crippling their other participants' power.
"Alright, that's it for the screening test" said Lily as she clapped once, dispelling the effects as well as stopping the fights completely.
The ones affected by the attack had been killed or exploded or defended making the screening process end but not without leaving a bitter aftertaste in the mouth of the observing Elders.
None of them had acted before nor would they do it now because they had already noticed the test and did not send a single message to warn their participants since it would be easily detected and the consequences weren't something they would be able to face.
All the Elders and participants were then guided and went separate ways as the Elders had the choice to spectate their Empire's participants or return which, just like ever, no one did.
As all the participants were guided into an open field, this time all of them had their guards up but nothing strange happened as Lily appeared in front of them.
"The Outer Sect and Inner Sect Participants are to be separated here as your tests will be different from here onwards" said Lily as two Elders led the Inner Sect Participants away from them.
"For your Test, enter these spatial gates that will lead you to your destination" said Lily as 4 gates appeared in front of more than 67k Outer Sect participants.
"No need to worry, only one gate leads to certain death while the other three lead you to your test site" said Lily, seeing them hesitate.
She said that to make them drop their hesitation as all the gates looked the same so they could never guess it but her words made even the daring ones stop in their steps.
Eventually, seeing her worsening expression, a few entered, and then soon everyone flooded the gates as they appeared in a forest where the trees were tens of meters tall and a few meters thick.
They weren't told any objective or anything about it as prior information is a skill and so is surviving in unexpected situations without any sort of information regarding the environment.
Well, the only bad news was that an entire month passed by without anyone passing the test or even finding the objective, and the 10k Inner Sect participants were also sent there now.
As soon as they realized the fact that their weaker participants were also here, many went to find them out using secret methods and whatnot while some killed the ones from other Empires to cull the competition for their weaker ones.
It was not like the Inner Sect participants did nothing for 1 month. They were sent somewhere for a test where they had to kill certain demon beasts above their own cultivation realm.
There were no rules there just like there were no rules here and in just one month, more than two thousand of them died while more than ten thousand had died in the Outer Sect participants.
The number of deaths increased as it became clear that the 1 gate leading to certain deaths was a blatant lie as the ten thousand Inner Sect Participants only had 3 gates and 1 was supposed to certainly kill them.
By the end of the third month from which the Outer Sect participants were sent to the forests, the first ones to complete the objective and return appeared from the Daiyu Country like everyone expected of them.
Slowly, over the next month, more and more participants that cleared the test appeared but the total number that emerged was ridiculously low as only half had returned.
More than a third had truly died or were lost in the forest and the rest that were still alive by then were grabbed by the Elders due to the time limit for the test being over.
The next test occurred after a rest of 15 days as the five thousand were sent to another unknown place but this time, a desert, and their goal was to traverse the desert within the next three months to pass the test.
The more than thirty thousand participants had to go through a different test which was a mental test in which they'll be sent into illusions.
This test wouldn't kill anyone but it could still damage one's foundation or leave serious soul injuries that can't be healed easily and they had to live in this illusion for 1 month without cultivation; fighting the dangers within.
More than twenty thousand passed this test and after the rest of another month, they were sent to the next test where they had to escape an unknown maze that changed itself every day making it extremely hard to clear.
Only ten thousand passed this in the stipulated time of one month as the rest either had long given up or died or were grabbed by the Elders after the test was over.
More than three thousand passed the desert in the stipulated time while more than one thousand died, leaving the rest behind to be fetched by the Elders and returned to their respective powers.
For the last test, it was unmistakably battles; but firstly, there were battle royales to reduce the number as well as make them fight in real battlefield-like situations.
There were plenty of traps like slaughter/illusions/entrapment and other types of formations but one could also gain rewards randomly across the vast arena terrain like weapons/pills/talismans.
The battle royale had the Outer Sect participants go crazy at each other till only eight thousand were left as during the same time the Inner Sect participants were undergoing the soul tests.
The last tests were 10v10 or 5v5 or 1v1 battles to select the best as the eight thousand Outer Sect participants and two thousand Inner Sect participants fought amongst themselves to join Daiyu Sacred Land.
After almost 55-60 percent of the initial participants had died while the rest gave up or failed but survived, the tests finally came to an end.
In the end, only 987 Inner Sect participants passed and would be joining the Inner Sect of Daiyu Sacred Land whereas 3.942 from the Outer Sect participants passed and would join the Outer Sect of Daiyu Sacred Land.
Out of the ones who gave up or failed would be chosen as the reserve warriors but unfortunately, many had perished without any use as only about 6 percent joined the sect which is a lot higher than the usual 1 percent in the past 5 centuries.
More than 30 percent were still alive as around eight thousand were accepted as reserve warriors which was also a comparatively higher number but the competition had ended in about 359 days only, making it almost an entire year.
"The 987 new Inner Sect disciples and the new 3.942 Outer Sect disciples, listen carefully. You all must be aware of the basic rules but the previous disciples would guide you to the registration office where you'll get an information jade slip, so remember to read and remember every single rule in there from now on" announced Lily as she disappeared from the sights of everyone.
The Elders and participants were given one day to meet, say their goodbyes, or whatever they wished to do but they could naturally ask a senior disciple for guidance to the sect registration office anytime before the day was over.
Meanwhile, in a corner with less attention, there was a black-haired red-eyed youth who didn't seem to gather much attention as he muttered inaudibly "Finally, it begins now…"