Death... and me

Roan really liked the marathon test back in Dalamu Sect. However, his was different from the very start. After all... there were no roads! The disciples only had a few signals placed in the sky to guide themselves through the forest and other regions. Roan did that because the island was only so big. The sect wasn't the same 300 kilometers away from Freedom City as Dalamu Sect was from Majorias. The lack of roads was used to help with that.

Of course, Freedom Sect made sure that the demon beasts of the island wouldn't intervene with the kids' test. The Energy Gathering and Foundation Establishment Realm kids might still be able to deal with it. However, the majority would only become prey. That wouldn't be a test at all.

Roan accompanied the kids' movements with his Spiritual Sense and quickly noticed a few candidates. However, there were also a lot who simply stopped somewhere, afraid to take an extra step without their relatives watching. Kids were still kids, after all. Most of them were kids of ex-slaves, so they were more used to not being left alone like that.

Nevertheless, the test continued. By the time 12 hours was gone, all five Foundation Establishment kids had already arrived in the sect. No one was surprised by that, though. The fact that they reached that level in this world's condition showed that they received serious training since childhood.

Eighteen hours. That was the time it took for the last of the 200 vacancies for Energy Gathering Realm kids to be filled. The rest of the kids at the Energy Gathering Realm were rescued by the sect's disciples and were given back to their parents.

Body Transformation Realm kids had two days to arrive. Surprisingly, though, only 412 Body Transformation Realm kids had arrived at the sect by the time the two days were up, quite below the 500 vacancies available. 

Three days was the time that kids without any cultivation had to complete the test. These kids also received support in the form of food and water every 20 kilometers. It didn't look like much. But when you were walking in the middle of the forest, that was a hell of a distance for the majority of the kids at 8 to 10 years old. Dropouts were most frequent within this group as well. Naturally, they were mostly ex-slaves or the kids of ex-slaves. 

There was good news, though. All 4000 vacancies were filled after two days and 21 hours. The fastest male without cultivation was a kid called Jamiro. As for the female, it was a kid called Luana. 

Once the test was over, the sect's disciples entered the forest in masses and began to send the kids back to their parents or the ones responsible for them. As for the kids who passed the first test, they were given a day to rest.

During the night, Malo went to see Roan, who was talking about something with Calina. "What do you think? Was it good enough?"

Roan pondered over it for a bit before saying, "Not too bad. It helped us figure out the mindset behind the kids who were slaves compared to the kids who came from the Demon Beast Continent. Sure enough, not a single one of the ex-slave kids topped the charts. We have a lot to do once the test is over."

Malo nodded in response. Although the number of ex-slave kids was definitely much higher than the kids from the Demon Beast Continent, their levels were just too different. "Well, we weren't any better until the moment you and Senior Rean rescued us. Still, under your guidance (and punishments), we turned out quite well, didn't we?"

Calina couldn't help but laugh after hearing that. "Don't blame my ice block too much. This is how he shows his love to those he likes."

Roan's mouth twitched a little after hearing that. "Dream on."

Malo was always impressed with Calina. Only a few other than Rean and Kentucky could talk like that to Roan without receiving backlash. Well, Kentucky was just very fast at running when he pissed Roan off, though. "Ahem...so, will there be any changes in the second test?"

Calina couldn't help but ask, "You told me that your second test back in Dalamu was a demon beast hunt, right? You already copied the marathon...although it was a little different. Are you going to do the same thing for the second test?"

Roan shook his head in response, telling the two, "That won't work. First of all, we have 4000 kids without any cultivation whatsoever. Those who have cultivation are mostly from the Demon Beast Continent, so they are already used to fighting demon beasts since it was part of their daily lives. Such a test would be useless."

Calina's interest was piqued after hearing that. "Oh! Is that so? Then, what will you test them on?"

Roan nodded at Malo, giving him the green light to speak. "We will initiate the Spiritual Energy Pressure Test."

"Wouldn't that be the same as the Marathon Test? I believe the kids' will force have already been tested there, no?" Calina asked straight away. 

However, Roan shook his head. "Their will is fine already. What we will be testing is their affinity with Spiritual Energy."

"Affinity? Like...the Talent Color?"

"No. For that, we have the Talent Measurement Orb. What I want to see is which one of them can understand the trick behind it," Roan explained.

"What trick?"

Malo answered that question while showing quite a proud expression. "This is a test that I came up with, and Roan accepted that. It won't just be the usual Spiritual Energy Pressure, but a type of pressure that can be conquered. Simply put, fighting against it won't help. You need to accept and adapt to the pressure. We'll see who will notice this point faster. This is a test where one's cultivation is useless. After all, the one who will be creating the Spiritual Energy Pressure is Roan, who is many times above the kids' cultivation realms."

Calina finally understood after that. "I see...that is indeed fair. Even those five Foundation Establishment Kids wouldn't have any advantage whatsoever here."

Roan agreed with her before he nodded at Malo, saying, "This is a very good idea. It seems like you're understanding your job as a Sect Leader more and more."

Malo scratched the back of his head in response, feeling a little embarrassed. It wasn't every day you received a real compliment from Roan, after all.