The test continued, and more contestants failed. By now, not even half remained. As for the Major Core owners groups, they were still at the very forefront with a few other geniuses of other planets. Krune had already identified the third Tribulation Lightning user too. It was a cultivator called Mirrer from the Ostreli Planet, ranked 791th in the Divine Path Sect territory.
Mirrer had approached Krune and Ula by himself since he also could feel the power of the Tribulation Lightning coming from them. It turns out that Mirrer was quite an easy-going guy who was fanatic with speed. He specialized himself in Lightning Element when he was at the Qi Condensation Realm. But thanks to his foundation, he also attracted a Heavenly Tribulation during his Foundation Establishment breakthrough.
When he noticed the Heavenly Tribulation coming for him, instead of feeling afraid, he got excited instead! In his mind, Tribulation Lightning would definitely make him even faster! The rest you can already imagine, he found a way to resist the tribulation and was crazy enough to try to keep some of it inside his foundation. Most would say that it was suicide, but he being alive here together with Krune and Ula is the proof that it is still possible.
Of course, it goes without saying that Mirrer also had his own share of Tribulation Lightning backlashes and injuries during his path. Hence, it was evident that he has a strong will.
4km inside the last door, the number of contestants in the forefront has declined quite a lot, and the overall remaining were around 30% of the initial amount. Lofa and Tasier had already got used to the pressure back then and continued walking forward too. Of course, they wouldn't be able to catch up to Krune's group anymore.
Between the Four Major Cores groups, Gomat's group was still at the top in the strength of will. In his group, only two had stayed behind, and it wasn't that they failed, they just stopped to acclimate themselves with the pressure to continue walking later.
Colen's group of 14 is now only 7 in total, which is counting Colen himself. Of those seven that were still participating, three already fell behind due to not being able to take the pressure any longer. So they sat some time ago to get used to it before continuing.
Nala's group could be said to be the weakest one. Her Planet isn't a strong one to start with, so, other than her, most of her group are not that strong-willed. In fact, even Nala isn't that much stronger. It is thanks to her Life Major Core, which has a great influence on her soul that she can still keep up the pace.
As for Krune's group? They had been the same ever since Lofa and Tasier stayed behind. On the way, Joty had told them several stories during his time on the Divine Swords Sect, which Arlan confirmed to be true. After hearing all of that, they came to understand why this guy's will was so strong. The number of opponents and fights he had to overcome to get in that position was ridiculous. They even wondered how he can still keep his cool that easily.
"Haha! Once you lose your mind, you lose your path. At least, that's what I believe. The Divine Swords Sect is considered the strongest Sect in the Makui Continent. The reason for that is exactly that, inside there, dog eats dog. Of course, once you are outside of the Divine Swords Sect, they are extremely united! That is indeed a very good sect if you want to temper your will. Arlan can confirm it with you all."
Arlan nodded.
"That's true, but I haven't stayed so much inside as Joty did. As you know, I'm first a member of the Mercenary Guild, so I still spent more time on Mercenary Missions than the Divine Sword Sect's ones. Of course, don't think about the Divine Swords Sect like some hell. Killing or crippling members is forbidden, and death is the only outcome for those who break the rules."
Joty sighed and couldn't help but comment.
"If the other members of the Divine Sword Sect had reached this place, I believe that they would have got a high chance of passing this last door too."
That made Arlan remember Mina, who had to give up in the end. But what is done is done, and he can still bring her with him after.
At the 5km Mark, only the real deal cultivators and demon beasts remained. Without any surprise, between the Major Core Owners, Nala was the first one to stop to recover and get used to the pressure. As for her group, they had long since stayed behind. Nala noticed the difference between her and the other three and gritted her teeth.
"It seems like I have had too little experiences. I can't tell how Krune is since his wisp form has no expression, but it is clear that Colen and Gomat are still taking it well. Once I enter the Sect, I will immediately leave to hone myself outside."
At the 6km Mark, Colen's group only had 2 people following him. Gomat's group still had 5, while Krune kept the same number. Colen and Gomat finally started to pay attention to Yusa, Shinja, and the others. They didn't expect them to be this strong-willed too.
But in truth, only the Major Core Owners and the two Tribulation Lightning users were still somewhat fine. Be it Colen, Gomat, or Krune's group, they finally started to feel the difficulty. Joty had a strong will, no one can deny that now. Still, he doesn't have the Spiritual Energy Meridians, nor did he temper his soul in the Rainbow Sect before. So he was the first one to stop to recover between Krune's group.
Gomat's group number had declined to only 4 while Colen was now alone.
Finally, at 9km distance, Gomat became the only remaining contestant of his group too. Krune's group was the only one that still had members other than Krune himself. Still, Yusa and Arlan had also stopped to recover a while ago.
As for the Tribulation Lightning users, Ula and Mirrer started to show some discomfort but still kept the pace. Of course, you can't take that only they remained.
At the forefront, there were still a few more cultivators and demon beasts from other planets. You never know what those guys had gone through to reach this place. Some of them might have gone through real hells to get in here, so their will was also strong.
The test continued, and at the 10km Mark, a change ocurred. Suddenly, the pressure doubled!
"Argh!"
No one expected that, even Krune. Everyone in the front stopped after that. Around them, they could see quite a few contestants who immediately passed out and their bodies disappeared. In their place, there was only a flag made of energy with information about their accomplishment.
In the middle of this group, Shinja was included. Even with her Spiritual Energy Meridians, she couldn't resist the elder's pressure and passed out as well. Krune and Ao then sighed and checked her energy flag.
"Shinja Avril, Makui Planet, 10000 meters, 1 hour, 37 minutes and 16 seconds."
With this wave alone, more than half of the remaining participants at the forefront were sent out. The number now was only 9. Krune looked around and could see who they were. It included himself, Ao, Colen, Gomat, Ula, and Mirrer. Unfortunately, Krune didn't know the identity of the other 3.
Krune then looked at Ao and said.
"The pressure is too great, let's stop for a while and recover."
Ao nodded and sat down. They weren't the only ones, Gomat, Colen, and everyone else did the same. What no one noticed is that... Krune was still fine! This is another good thing about his wisp form, no one can tell if he is suffering or not in this situation. Krune being the one in the best condition, was still expected, though.
First, he has 9 Elemental Meridians, the evolved form of the Spiritual Energy Meridians!
Second, he has Tribulation Lightning, and he was crazy enough to temper his soul with it!
Third, he is also a Major Core owner. All Major Cores have an influence on the owners' souls, consequently, their will!
With all those advantages, it would be weird if Krune had the same reaction as everyone else, and that's exactly what he wants to compare with the other Major Cores. Still, Krune stayed with Ao until he felt better to continue. His habit of not trying to catch attention was here to say hi once more.
Too bad, though. Who were the ones controlling this illusion realm? The Divine Path Sect Core Elders! The moment that Krune received the double of the pressure, they immediately noticed his condition.
"What a terrifying will!"
Gile commented.
Tiago heard that and nodded.
"Although I was already expecting him to have the strongest one, I didn't expect it to be this heaven-defying! I guess that's what you get when you combine Major Core with Tribulation Lightning. Not to mention the Mohie Sect Soul Tempering that he probably had gone through."
Gile and Jin agreed with him.
"Let's see how far he can go."
After everyone had spent their own time recovering, some of them finally started to get up and continued walking forward against the pressure. But Krune didn't move, he waited for Ao and Ula to be ready. A few minutes later, Ao finally opened his eyes and got up. His face was pale, but he could at least walk again.
But before that, Krune spread his Divine Sense and found where Arlan, Yusa, and the others were. He then told them about what is going to happen in the 10km mark and that they should be prepared for that.
Ula got up on her paws a minute later and looked at Ao, his appearance was of somewhat fighting with all his strength against the pressure. For some reason, it seemed like Ao's smell got even better after she saw that. She couldn't help but feel like throwing herself into his arms and ask to be petted. But she quickly shook her head.
'What the hell am I thinking?!'
She then focused on the path ahead, and Krune's group finally started to move again.