"There's already a lot," Apollo muttered, looking at the number of people at the foot of the mountain. He could see that most were martial students, while some came with their guardians or parents.
The place was wide and had a lot of space. Even though there were already many participants, it didn't feel too packed.
Some of the martial students had parasols and chairs that they brought with them. Apollo could even see a small house in the distance with martial students hanging out. The way they moved indicated they were of noble origin, while the commoners had to stand under the sun.
Why didn't they bring their own parasols? Afraid to offend the nobles? Apollo thought, shaking his head. Even though there was social stratification in his previous life, it wasn't to the point where they blatantly showed it to the public.
The invitation scroll only stated the gathering time but didn't specify when the exam would begin.
Apollo found a tree to sit underneath, the shade countering the heat from the sun. It seems like the exam won't begin soon, he thought, seeing that the number of people was still increasing. This made him curious about how many martial students the city had. He had seen at least five martial schools in the city, each comparable in size to the top universities in his previous life.
In fact, the martial schools were much grander and gave off a solemn vibe, like looking at a sleeping beast.
"I should take this time to increase my strength," Apollo muttered, closing his eyes and cultivating the Revised Simple Breathing Technique. Normally, he wouldn't dare to do this with other people around, especially Cultivators. But right now, he didn't have to worry about his identity being exposed and attracting attention.
He wore a mask that he bought from the System Store, costing him 5 Alm points. This black half mask, which only covered his eyes and nose, had the ability to block any prying technique below his cultivation level.
Apollo was not too worried about those with higher cultivation than him seeing through the mask. He was completely different from Apollo Leone the moment he arrived in this world. He found that his body had become slightly taller, he had gained weight, and, coupled with his contact lenses that changed his blue eyes to black, he was confident that no one would recognize him as the Heir of the Leone.
As the world instantly turned dark and the Qi 'appeared' around the beggar brilliantly, the guardians and parents who came with the martial students were escorted away by men wearing silver armor.
Because of this, the area became less populated, but the guardians could still watch from afar.
Around this time, a carriage arrived, and a woman and a middle-aged man stepped out of it.
The martial students immediately recognized them.
"That's Bel Helflick!"
"Her father is also here! Mathias Helflick!"
Even the nobles looked at the newcomers with excitement in their eyes.
"I'll have to leave you here," Mathias said, glancing at the people looking in their direction. "There is somewhere I need to go."
"But you said you were going to watch?" Bel asked.
"Haha, I will. But the exam won't start for an hour," Mathias explained.
"How do you know that?" Bel looked at her father with wide eyes.
"Silly daughter, I'm the family head. Of course, I know things that you guys don't," Mathias smiled before he started walking toward the two guards who were waiting for him in the distance.
The students naturally made way for the only Core Creation Cultivator in the city.
Looking at her father's back, Bel couldn't help but sigh with worry. She already had a guess about what matter he was going to attend to. It's probably the plan about that monster. Hopefully, the worst won't come.
"Bel!" someone shouted, making Bel turn to the sound.
"Hello, Filly and Gail!" Bel smiled, greeting her friends.
"Good to see you," Filly hugged her friend while Gail nodded with a smile.
"Same," Bel said. "When did you arrive?"
"Around 10 minutes ago," Filly said. "Did I hear correctly that the exam will only start after an hour?"
"I see. Do you know what the exam is like?" Filly asked, wondering if Bel knew something.
However, Bel shook her head. "I don't know. This is the first time the examination will happen outside the city. It's probably different from the last Advancement, and if they didn't change the exam, they will for sure raise the difficulty."
"I wonder why," Filly muttered in confusion.
"It's probably because of those rumors," Gail said from the side.
"Rumors?" Filly turned to her. "What rumors?"
"Some Cultivation Techniques are being stolen from the library of each martial school," Gail explained.
"Oh, I also heard about that," Bel recalled the time when she was a maid. She gossiped when there was a chance with the other maids and heard a lot of rumors. This included that some techniques from the martial schools were being stolen. "If I were them, I would raise the difficulty for this exam."
Filly understood what she meant. "Yeah, those who learned new techniques will have to show them in order to pass. They are basically finding out those perpetrators with this examination."
"This is still a rumor though," Bel said. "And we are not sure if they are really going to do that."
"I guess you are right," Filly said, while Gail nodded in agreement.
"Let's just wait for the exam to begin and we will see," Bel said. "Hopefully, the exam is not ridiculous."
"Haha, right," Filly chuckled. Then she noticed Gail seemingly distracted by something. "Hey Gail, what are you looking at?"
Gail was woken up, shaking her head, she answered, "Nothing. I just saw that same guy we saw from earlier."
Hearing this, Filly turned to where she was looking and saw someone sitting cross-legged under the shade of the tree. He had a black half mask adorning his face while his robe covered his body.
"Oh, he's probably not a student," Bel commented from the side. "But it's like he wanted to be one."
"I heard it's hard for them to pass the exam. They probably only defeated weak cultivators just to get the invitation," Filly said. "I just don't understand why they make such rules."
"But some of them can be really strong," Bel said, her eyes squinting at the man under the shade. Have I seen him before? Looking at his robes, although they looked clean, she could see holes and tears. Judging by the tears, it was like they were clawed at by 'something'.
Suddenly, she recalled someone, and her eyes widened. Is that him?! But it can't be, right?