It must have hurt. Physically and Emotionally. That guy was about to pass the first exam but due to exhaustion, his body fell backwards.
Apollo felt great pity. Nevertheless, faith works strangely.
With a sigh, he looked around the surroundings, the instructor was long gone even though there were still participants walking up the mountains and the sound of explosion coming from below though one could tell the fight was coming closer.
"Seems like those two are not done fighting yet," Apollo muttered before glancing at the wide expanse of grass. In the middle of it is a platform big enough to cover two football fields. The martial students didn't dare step foot on it yet, surrounding the platform while they talked with their friends or acquaintances.
However, some of them are looking to one side, particularly those who arrived first.
Curious, Apollo turned to what they were looking at and saw another platform. But this platform, unlike the big one in the middle, is floating in the air without any support whatsoever.
Apollo was surprised as the air under the platform was behaving as normal, without any disturbance. "Magnetic?" Apollo spread his senses but instead found out his limit as he couldn't get near the platform.
He tried again and failed a second time. This made him stop and just observe it with squinted eyes. It's purely made of stone. How did they manage to do it? The more he looked at it the more curious he got. If it's possible, he would like to go near it to observe it closely but he will gather attention if he does that.
Furthermore, on the platform there were ten seats with two meter-tall silver armored guards standing on each corner, they stood straight with spears in their hands.
Just looking at them, the beggar could feel an intense aura, an aura that someone who had gone to a bloody war before.
"That floating platform must be where the visitors will watch the examination," Apollo muttered. Although still curious about how this platform could float in the air without moving an inch, he put the matter to the back of his head.
As the Martial Students came to the top of the mountain, the surroundings soon became noisy.
Apollo glanced at the sun who was about to kiss the horizon. "Those two guys are still fighting?" He couldn't help but turn to look at the entrance. If this goes on, Yohan and Michael will get eliminated. The beggar doesn't want to see them eliminated so soon. He hopes to fight them, to get more experience in fighting against 'strong' cultivators.
Although he did manage to beat up a cultivator before and even kill him, he felt that he only won because that student was weak. Merely at the 1st-Step Foundation building stage though Apollo still got hit because of the surprise factor.
Fortunately, before the sun completely disappeared beyond the horizon, two men jumped from the staircase and landed just in time before they got eliminated.
Yohan and Michael are breathing heavily, sweat covering their faces while some parts of their bodies are bleeding. In the end, no one emerged victorious and the both of them only ended up hurting each other, unnecessarily.
"Hehe… that's enough playing," Michael said with a smirk on his face, coughing in between his words. "If I didn't hold back, you would have been eliminated."
"I was the one who was holding back!" Yohan said, spitting the blood in his mouth to the ground. "You see, I was just checking your current strength to see if you are worthy to be my opponent."
"Haha! I guess we have the same thought!" Michael chuckled, blood seeping down from his mouth.
The two looked at each other for a moment before they simultaneously turned around. And the moment that they are not facing each other, the smile and smirk on their faces disappear followed by gritting their teeth in pain. Their bodies are aching while their insides are in disarray because of how many blows they landed on each other.
The two fight for hours, at first they were using their techniques but as time passed and exhaustion came, they only fought using their fist. Even so, no one can take advantage of their rival, resulting in a draw.
F*ck, if I can't even defeat Michael, how can I defeat that guy?! Yohan thought in frustration. Thinking about that masked man, he couldn't help but look for him. It didn't take him long to find the masked man, who was also looking in his direction.
Yohan pretended that his body was not aching in great pain. He stood up straight, puffed his chest forward, and stared with confidence. However, when he saw the masked man smirking at him, he felt that he was being humiliated. Just you wait! I don't know how you did it but I will make you pay! He thought before taking a deep breath of air as the pain increased.
Sh*t, I have to hurry up before the next test begins.
That guy is pretending to be okay and thinking about how he will defeat me, Apollo thought while shaking his head. D*mb people are easily predictable.
Suddenly, he noticed someone from the corner of his eyes walking in his direction. Turning towards it, he saw a person covered from head to toe using a black robe, even though their hands were perfectly hidden inside the wide and long sleeves.
But compared to Apollo who only hid the upper part of his face, this person who's already standing in front of him has a white mask that covers the whole face.
Because of his small frame, the beggar has to look up to see the emerald green eyes behind the white mask.
"I guess we're the only outsiders left," The person said in a deep and low voice.
Hearing the voice, Apollo felt something strange. But he can't pinpoint exactly what it was though one thing for sure, the beggar thinks that the person in front of him is a man.
"Yeah," Apollo nodded, a smile adorning his face.
"How did you get yours?" The mysterious man asked.
"Someone dropped it so I picked it up," Apollo answered truthfully.
"Oh? Haha, I guess we didn't have to go through so much trouble defeating a martial student. Someone gave it to me," the mysterious person said.
"We are lucky I guess," Apollo said, shrugging his shoulders.
Hearing this made the beggar raise an eyebrow. What does he mean by that? Apollo decided to just keep quiet and see what this guy was up to.
"You don't seem to be that tired," The mysterious man said, staring at Apollo from head to toe. "And also quite small."
"Don't belittle someone because they are little," Apollo said, the smile on his face didn't change. "The first test was easy, I didn't feel anything. You are also not tired right?"
"You are correct, and my apologies if I said something that might offend you," The mysterious person said, his voice remaining the same.
"Don't mention it. We are basically in the same boat," Apollo said, waving his hands.
Apollo then went quiet. This mysterious person is one of the six individuals who got their hands on the invitation card through other means and only him and the beggar remained.
"I know that you are strong," The mysterious person said, his emerald green eyes staring intently at the beggar. "I can feel it."
"You are very strange," Apollo said, the smile on his face already long gone.
"Haha, I get that a lot," The mysterious person chuckled before he started walking away. "Let's meet again."
"What's with him?" Apollo muttered, letting out a heavy sigh. There's a lot of strange people in this world. He was just minding his own business and suddenly, someone walked up to him, struck up a conversation, and left like it was nothing.
Suddenly, he finally realized the strange feeling that he felt. This… was I being picked up?! F*ck! Even with the masked on, it couldn't hide my handsomeness!
Thinking about this, a shiver ran down his spine. No way! No way! Apollo looked around to find that person but the mysterious man disappeared without a trace. If I feel that feeling again in the future, I will make sure to run away or beat up the guy! Apollo thought with determination in his eyes.
Around this time, the night has already arrived and no more participants have managed to pass the first test.
At first, there were a thousand of them but right now, there are only a few hundred left. They waited for a while more before someone landed on the stage and when the students saw who it was, they immediately turned their heads to look away.
"He's back," Apollo squinted at Master Popo who stopped in front of them. Then to his shock, the instructor squatted! His hanfu robes couldn't hide what was supposed to be hidden! Because he is squatting on top of the platform, everyone can see it though they didn't as their faces are already away even before he does a squat.
Unfortunately, those with slow reactions managed to catch a glimpse that is going to remain forever in their minds.
Apollo who already had his back on the stage couldn't help but sigh in frustration. F*cking hell!