Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

The twenty-six disciples who were eligible for the intermediary contest needed to wait for three days before it started. The three-day wait was intentional so that they'd have more than enough time to rest.

The intermediary contest was more comprehensive. It tested for the disciples' ability to perform well under pressure and in danger. And for this purpose, the location for the test was agreed to be the Burial Forest. It was known as a naturally perilous place. Those who passed the intermediary contest would qualify for the runoff.

The Burial Forest was a place full of martial beasts. A long time ago, the region where the Welkin Sect was located was in constant threat from martial beasts. The ancestors of the Welkin Sect spent an enormous amount of effort to eliminate the threat and chase off the remaining martial beasts to the Burial Forest. Disciples were then assigned to guard the entrance of the Burial Forest to prevent martial beasts from escaping and hurting residents nearby.

Although the Burial Forest was known as a dangerous place, most of the powerful martial beasts were killed by the ancestors. The remaining martial beasts were not too powerful anymore. Any disciple at the premium stage of Mortal Level was able to survive in the forest.

In case anything unexpected happened during the test, a few stewards were assigned to monitor the progress of the test to ensure the safety of the disciples.

Even though they were assured of their safety, all the disciples except for Zachary were terror-stricken while they stood at the entrance to the dark Burial Forest.

"Take care when you enter! Once you are faced with danger, remember to call for help, but this will mean you fail the test as well." After Gray explained this to the disciples, he asked the disciple behind him to give the participants the signal fireworks, which could be used to call for help.

And then, the twenty-six disciples all went into the Burial Forest.

The eight disciples who survived inside the forest longer than the rest would be eligible for the runoff. The eighteen disciples who surrendered to the dangers o

hawk. Its reddish feathers looked like flames burning on its body. Its wings were large enough to cover a large portion of the sky, and it darkened the area underneath the wings as it passed. It flew towards Zachary at an incredible speed. Its eyes locked on him like he was its prey.

The first instinct that he had was to run as fast as possible from the huge bird.

Zachary wasted no time; he jumped down from the huge tree and then fled into the dense forest. As he ran, he turned back his head from time to time to observe the bird. The distance between them became shorter each time he glanced back.

Although Zachary's speed wasn't actually slow, the bird's speed was simply too fast for him to evade. And soon the bird was about to catch up with him.

The moment that the bird's beak was about to bite into Zachary's back, a big hole in the ground suddenly appeared, giving him a chance to escape. Without giving it a second thought, he jumped into the hole.

The hole in the ground wasn't deep. Zachary was on the bottom of the hole in an instant. He balanced himself and then raised his head.

A giant bird figure flew across the sky and then it disappeared.

"So lucky…" Zachary sighed in relief. He thought that it was now safe enough to look around the hole. It was completely dark inside the hole, except for area where he stood. Light that came from the sky above lit the area where he stood.