After the time was over, everyone was already in front of the door. Krune's group and the other Major Cores were at the forefront. There are very few groups with more than 3 or 4 contestants remaining. And the Major Cores are one good example of those out of the norm. In Makui Planet's side, eight contestants were remaining, Krune, Ao, Arlan, Yusa, Shinja, Tasier, Joty, and Lofa. Ula is not from their Planet, so she couldn't exactly be counted in the same group.
Nala's group had a total of 9, which is already counting her and her sister. Krune and Nala haven't met each other during the previous floors. Still, now all Major Cores are together, which made it very interesting to watch.
Gomat had a total of 11, Krune's group, obviously, wasn't the only one to separate after the number of slots wasn't enough anymore.
Finally, Colen was the one with the most remaining participants. His group had a total of 14, and that was counting with him.
Even though Krune's group was the Planet with the least amount between the Major Cores, it didn't matter at this point anymore. Not to mention that the difference in their Planet's powers and the number of contestants that came was also big. If anything, Krune's group was the one to lose the least amount of participants proportionally to their initial number.
The door finally opened, and the groups and lonely ones started to enter. Immediately, the pressure of the peak of the Void Breaking Realm assaulted everyone who stepped inside. There were even some who fell on their knees as soon as they tried to move ahead. As said before, this is a test of will, physical abilities and cultivation have no meaning here.
Between the four Major Core groups, no one seemed to have any problems moving forward. It was as if there wasn't any pressure to start with. But deep inside, it was different. Take Lofa, for example. Although she did resist the wave of pressure, she still got affected by it. But because she didn't want to look bad in front of Krune, she greeted her teeth and kept walking forward. In a certain way, that is also a type of will.
Slowly, everyone moved forward. So far, no one had given up or lost consciousness yet. Not even those who were struck down at the start. They sat down and let their bodies get used to the pressure, after some time, they also stood up and moved ahead.
It wasn't before 537 meters into the door that the first cultivator passed out. The guy was someone from the Jalo Planet, ranked 1439th. Fortunately for the Jalo Planet, he wasn't their only contestant in this place at the moment. His two companions, one girl and demon beast, looked at him and tried to help, but before they could even touch his body, it disappeared in thin air.
The only thing they knew was that their companion wasn't dead. He only fainted, after all. After his body disappeared, something that looked like a flag made of energy appeared in his place. After the contestants used their Divine Sense to check, they noticed some information flowing in their minds.
"Jalo Planet, Marui Haveny, 537meters."
Everyone who saw that finally understood how they would be classified. It won't matter if you are sent out first or last. Once again, the contestants got the certainty that only the total distance mattered. Of course, if you got the far ahead faster than the others but finished around the same distance, you would still be considered better by the Sect. It would show that your will is stronger.
Marui's faint seemed to have activated a chain reaction, and more and more contestants started to pass out and their bodies disappearing. Some were worse than Marui, others were better. Still, no one knew just how many would pass. From what they heard from their elders and relatives, the Divine Path Sect usually enrolls around 1% to 2% of all contestants who came for the exam.
But that wasn't absolute either. There had been cases where not even 0.1% passed and also others where over 2% got in too. In the end, those numbers are just an average, nothing more.
On Krune's group side, things were still pretty okay. Of course, the Major Core groups aren't the only ones doing well either. Strong-willed geniuses are definitely what the Divine Path Sect Entrance Exam doesn't lack. But the contestants around Krune group were feeling like they wanted to skin Krune's group alive. Even though they were still okay, they are still putting some effort to resist the pressure.
As for Krune's group? Well...
"I'm telling you! Spiritual Brazed Pork Ribs is definitely the best choice for dinner after we leave here."
Ao shook his head.
"I disagree, cooled spiritual rice with four winged eagles eggs in the right choice! Our bodies outside haven't eaten for quite some time, we need something light."
Shinja then commented.
"We are cultivators and demon beasts, there is no way our stomachs would be that weak. Still, I also don't want Brazed Pork Ribs. We should instead make a three-legged chicken soup with spirit water mushrooms!"
Yusa looked at Shinja and complained.
"Why you like mushrooms everywhere? By the way, I don't care much about the food, but make sure to bring a lot of spirit wine!"
'...'
How could the other contestants around not be angry at that? Here are them, suffering to move forward and to be approved inside the Sect, but Krune's group minds aren't even inside the test to start with. Food? Why the hell would you care about that at this point?
Everyone had been led astray by Krune's love for food weirdness.
Of course, this is the case only for those with Spiritual Energy Meridians in his group. As mentioned a long time back, the Spiritual Energy Meridians have a strong effect on the soul. Let's not even mention the fact that Krune's little group had their soul tempered as well in the old Rainbow Sect. It helped them even more!
Tasier and Lofa were having a hard time just like the other competitors around, though. Still, there was nothing that Krune's little group of five could do for them. They don't even know the existence of the Spiritual Energy Meridians, let alone try to create them now.
As for Ula, she was doing pretty fine for herself. Tribulation Lightning is something both good and bad at the same time. That tyrannical power can also injure the user even during practice! So, just like Krune, she had her own taste of Tribulation Lightning backlashes. It helped fortify her will quite a lot too.
On the other Major Core groups side, a few of them were also starting to feel the difficulty. There would always be those who got to their positions more easily due to their own powers' help. This test just so happened to be targeted at them, too.
2km inside the last door, the number of participants had already fallen to less than half of the start. In the Major Core groups, two had already passed out, one in Colen's group and the other in Nala's group. Gomat's Planet is occupied majorly by demon beasts, and there are no things like safe and danger zones, so battle there are much more frequent. That helped to temper the will of the participants of his Planet. Between the four Major Cores groups, Gomat's group was the one that seemed to take it the easiest when you consider the entire group as a whole.
On Krune's side, he could see the Lofa was already nearing her limit. Lofa is, without a doubt, the one with the weakest will in his group. In fact, it was already very good for her to get this far. Shinja saw that and then said.
"You don't need to keep moving forward since what counts is the total distance you traversed. Sit down and let your body get used to the pressure, quite a few from the other Major Core groups already did the same. Don't forget, what matters about this last door is to pass the exam, not to show your strength."
Lofa then looked at everyone, and they nodded at her. She then let out a sigh and sat down.
"You are right, just go ahead without me, I will rest a little."
It was then that another voice appeared.
"I will also take this chance to rest then."
It was Tasier who spoke. He could have proceeded further, but he is also feeling the fatigue catching him up. So he decided to stay behind with Lofa. Ao then looked at Joty and asked if he was okay, but surprisingly, Joty was doing just fine. Joty was just about to explain when Arlan did that in his instead.
"This last door is a test of will. In this case, I can guarantee that Joty will be one of those at the top."
Joty then scratched the back of his head a little embarrassed with the compliment. But that also felt really good, ever since they started this hundred tower test, Krune's little group had always worried if he could continue ahead or not. It was the first time since then that he received a vote of trust.
Arlan then continued.
"In the Divine Swords Sect, Joty is probably one of those who fought for better benefits for himself the most. He might not be very known outside the Sect, but inside, he is quite a legend for everyone with lower cultivations. So, believe me, if it is just 'will,' he definitely won't have a problem in passing this last door. Of course, I'm also a legend myself there now. Hahahaha!"
Krune and the others nodded and then continued. Even though they could simply wait for Lofa to rest, no one knows that if there is any difference in the exam results if they get to the end faster. There is no time limit for this test, but nothing is saying that they won't get anything better for being ahead of time.
Not to mention, Krune also wants to test himself against the other Major Core owners. He wants to see who between them has the strongest will, and for that, pausing to rest would obviously show a difference in their standings.
Lofa didn't mind that at all, she was someone with no hope of passing this test to start with. But now, thanks to Krune's group, she got this far! If anything, she is more than happy with her actual accomplishments.
Tasier saw how Lofa looked at Krune, moving in the distance, and couldn't help but ask.
"Not giving up yet?"
Lofa, of course, understood his words meaning.
"Not before I see the conclusion of his matter with that Feifei girl."
Tasier then sighed and didn't say anything else.