Chapter Twenty: The Southern Mountains of Western Frontier

  Back home, Huo Kai and the elders gave their families some instructions before letting them go. Huo Hai was called aside again, given some ear-pulling and face-to-face orders, and wasn't let go until that night.

  He dragged his tired body back to his own yard, and let out a long sigh of relief: "Finally back, almost got driven mad. Can't talk about the bug thing with them, really, isn't it just about cultivating properly? No need to be educated for an entire afternoon." Although Ho Hai's body didn't feel tired, he was mentally exhausted.

  Never thought that on earth often being nagged by teachers, after coming to this world, there are even more severe naggers.

  Huo Hai shook his head and refocused his attention on the insects he had raised earlier. This morning, because the Starlight Beetles had just hatched not long ago, he hadn't brought them along. However, now that they had digested a certain amount of herbs and spiritual energy...

  Huo Hai discovered that these insects were already fully usable. Using the only Xuan-level dagger in his hand to try it out, even if he used force to chop and slash, he could only leave a very small white mark on the Star Insect's body. Other masters, even with Xuan-level weapons, couldn't hurt their own Star Insects without using a large amount of spiritual energy to support them. This batch of Star Insects was over 500 in number.

  "What method should be used to carry it, putting it on the body is definitely not feasible." Every cultivator of Gu worms can put the Gu worm in their body. But thinking about his body being full of insects made Huo Hai's heart feel numb.

  Watching TV is fine, but if I were to switch places with them, it would definitely not be okay. Suddenly, Huo Hai discovered that the bodies of these star moths were extremely small. Although there were five hundred of them, putting them together wouldn't take up too much space.

  The star worms were, after all, supplementary. Even if they formed a cluster, there wouldn't be any issues. Thinking this, Huo Hai issued a command in his mind, controlling the beetles to gather towards his hand. Looking at the large patch of star worms, when they had completely gathered into his hand, they still weren't as big as an egg. Huo Hai smiled slightly; now he had a way to carry these star worms around.

  He glanced around, picked up a relatively exquisite grass basket and put it on his waist. It looked like an ornament, although it didn't seem to be worth much. "Everyone go in, don't come out from the gap."

  Huo Hai gave the order in his heart, and through the insect king Xiao Xing, the star beetles easily understood Huo Hai's meaning. All the beetles quickly flew up, as swift as shooting stars. In the blink of an eye, they entered the grass cage at Huo Hai's waist.

  All the star worms were motionless, and if Huo Hai didn't say it himself, no one would know how dangerous the things inside this grass cage were. Huo Hai smiled contentedly, casually releasing a strand of spiritual energy to feed the star worms, then began practicing his combat skills. It was unclear whether it was due to Huo Hai's innate talent or the result of his perfect cultivation.

  After cultivating these basic combat skills, Huo Hai's progress was extremely fast. If only from the cultivation of combat skills itself, Huo Hai's fire had already surpassed that of most people his age. Even those older than him were not as good as him.

  The only thing lacking is the experience of actual combat. Those who have never been in a battle will never fight, no matter how well they've mastered their combat skills. These shortcomings cannot be made up for before the trial.

  Huo Hai shook his head, thinking about these temporary Buddha-footers. Now they're all working hard every day, but they're worried that others will see them, each one is secretly creating their own cars, Huo Hai has no interest in finding them anymore. And Huo Yun'er, even more so, using the excuse of not disturbing Huo Hai, she's been locked up for several days now, not allowed to come find Huo Hai to play.

  After all, this quota was given to her by Huo Hai. As a younger sister, she didn't need to thank him, but she also couldn't cause trouble. In the past few days of being locked up and cultivating hard, Huo Yun'er had a heart full of resentment and depression.

  Time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, five days had already gone by. During these five days of registration, even if Huo Hai didn't leave his house, he could still feel it. Not far from his front door, it was like a vegetable market. Many people were there to register.

  Of course, those who did not meet the age requirements were eliminated in large numbers. The remaining ones that met the age requirements went through testing and another large number were eliminated. Even so, this time's registration for the competition exceeded three thousand people.

  In fact, every ten years when the registration takes place, there will be no less than this time's number of people. If it weren't for this time having the trial project, let alone three thousand, even five thousand people could have been gathered. The trial is not trivial and has certain dangers. Even if one dies during the trial, as long as others don't have evidence, they can't do anything to others, and even the murderer can't be found.

  Five days later, the butler called out to Huo Hai again. After gathering up Xiao Jin and a large cluster of Star Nethers, he followed the butler out. This time, their destination was still the City Lord's Manor, but not inside - outside instead.

  Outside the castle, a large crowd had already gathered. The surrounding area was packed with people who were not there to participate in the trial, but rather to watch.

  Time flew by quickly, and the examiner suddenly shouted loudly: "Time's up, now all participants in the test, follow me to the South Mountain area. The destination of our test this time is South Mountain. After we arrive, I will tell you the rules."

  He paused, and the tester said in a cold tone: "Don't blame us for not warning you, the area around Nanshan has already been sealed off by our people. Anyone without the right to participate who dares to enter the Nanshan range will be killed on sight. If you don't believe it, feel free to try and get close, but those inside can't leave either, or they'll die too."

  The tester's words, full of murderous intent, completely extinguished the flames in the hearts of some people with small thoughts. Although every layer of testing has some people who are lucky to act, it doesn't matter.

  As long as they dare to break the rules, they will be killed on the spot. Every year, many people die in this way. Therefore, every time a layer participates in the lockdown trial, there are always many people with heavier killing intentions signing up, and often can't even get a spot.

  Nan Shan is a large mountain in the southern part of the Western Wall. The mountain isn't very big, but it's not somewhere ordinary people dare to enter either. There are quite a few spiritual beasts living inside. The Nan Shan region is not far from Xi Jiang and is not located at the southernmost tip of Xi Jiang.

  From here, by the time it was only noon, a group of people had already arrived. At this time, the surroundings of Nan Shan were already surrounded by some people. These people were hard to find out where they were, and they were all students from Huang Cheng Academy who specialized in monitoring the surroundings. Each one's cultivation was not simple, even the lowest ones had reached the Ling Gu realm, and no one dared to make any rash moves.

  "Alright, this is the trial ground. After you enter Nan Shan, the main goal is to compete for this." The examiner took out a thin, unknown card. The card was very thin, but extremely tough and difficult to destroy.

  "These cards are the characteristic cards of Huang Cheng Academy, each representing a point. As long as you get one hundred points, you can join Huang Cheng Academy. Many cards are placed in very dangerous places. If you have the ability, you can also snatch them from others. Of course, don't underestimate these cards, they can be exchanged for items when you return to the academy. Whether it's the academy's elixir or spiritual incantations, points are needed, this is your first batch of points after entering the academy."

  Huo Hai's eyes suddenly lit up, and it seemed that the points required for the Blood Refining Pill were also this much. "May I ask, how many points are needed for the Blood Refining Pill?" Huo Hai suddenly asked aloud. Others didn't find it strange, after all, he had already reached the Blood Refining Realm.

  The tester's eyebrows furrowed, but seeing that the questioner was someone he wanted to be on good terms with, even taking him as a younger brother, his expression suddenly improved: "Body Refining Pill, one point; Blood Refining Pill, ten points; Bone Refining Pill, one hundred gold dust. Other pills of the same realm that cannot increase one's cultivation are half price. Do you have any other questions?"

  Huo Hai shook his head, indicating that there was nothing more to ask. "It seems that one hundred Refining Blood Pills require one thousand points. No, when I refined my body before, I used two hundred pills, perhaps there will be some benefits who knows. If possible, then take two thousand points, if you want to do it, do it to the best." The feeling in his heart made Huo Hai feel that this was definitely the right thing to do.

  Even if it's wrong, it's just a waste of something. Two thousand points, believing in oneself with the help of Xing Huang, wanting to get is very easy. Huo Hai has no problem, others have problems.

  Seeing the tester answer Huo Hai's question, everyone thought the tester was easy to talk to and began asking what price they wanted for their own items. Then they secretly calculated how many points they needed.

  Looking at these people, the examiner sneered in his heart. "Hmph, most of your ideas are unlikely to pass, and they're useless if they can't be put into practice." Gradually, the examiner was also annoyed by their questions.

  "Alright, no more nonsense. Time's up, hurry in and ask questions later after passing the test. You only have half a month, 15 days. If you can't get out of Nanshan within 15 days, it's considered failure. Now, those who don't enter Nanshan within 10 minutes will be considered failed."

  Yes, I haven't joined the Imperial City Academy yet. What's most important now is to pass the test. With reverence for the Imperial City Academy and awe of the trial, as well as vigilance towards those around them, they entered the South Mountain, first come first served?

  "Hmph, just wait until we get inside, and see who can still help you." He Yabian coldly stared at Huo Hai, his eyes full of resentment. The last time's incident, he had already completely blamed on Huo Hai, this trial was a perfect opportunity.

  Behind Huo Hai, Huo Yan's eyes were also filled with resentment. "Orthodox, humph, I won't be inferior to you. If something happens to you inside, who knows what will happen? Does the orthodox of the Huo family still have the qualifications to exist?"