Only silence and bowed heads resumed to be true at this time. One should know that this last part was cruel and deadly to many.

Everyone of these boys also knew about this beforehand and their families had absolutely instructed them to not take this gamble.

​​

"But all good things must come with a price. This last test is very dangerous and only 1 out of a hundred people can maybe survive this tribulation."

Elder Xia Juan was a good soul since she did not miss to point out how fatal this final test was.

If all of them 200 failed recruits would agree to take this test, only 2 of them could maybe make it out alive in the end. Such a horrible survival chance was truly extreme.

"So who amongst you will take this test?" Elder Xia Juan asked in that sweet gentle voice of hers. If truth be told, she wished that no one would accept this cruel chance.

If she could, she would have long abolished this practice. Unfortunately, she was not the Sect Master who could freely make or change the decrees that they have.

She also understood the sage opinion of their founding ancestors.

The usual entrance test was to measure the natural talent of their disciples while this backdoor test was there to measure the perseverance of these disciples.

Talent and will.

Both were so crucial in order to thrive and succeed in this cultivation world.

"You are all free to go now. To those who want to take this deadly test, remain on the field." Elder Xia Juan said her last piece of advice before she left the scene completely.

If there were any takers on this offer, she did not want to see the torture that would happen next at all. One by one, the 200 failed boys slowly departed from the Profound Delight Sect.

"Guys, you surely can't be serious! Come with us now! This test is not worth your life!" A concerned boy pleaded to the 7 that chose to remain.

"I'm an orphan in this world. I have nothing to lose." A boy answered but it was clear that he was terrified since his jaws shivered and his teeth gnashed loudly against each other.

'I can't go home in failure. I would rather die than face the disappointed looks of my parents.'

Amongst the 7, Bu Fang was of course one of them. His family was in great debt because of him and his training but in the end, the sad reality of today's results broke his soul in pieces.

He was selfish and thought only about his own pain but this realization has escaped him completely at this time.

"So only 7 brave souls this year, huh? A good thing I guess." A voice was heard as more than 2 dozen men arrived at the scene. They were older than the boys.

Perhaps ranging from 30 to 40 but all of them remained as handsome as ever. This was the greatest perk in becoming a disciple of the Profound Delight Sect.

Although they never entered into the inner disciple's court but they got many other benefits after all.

"Why are you all out here baking under the sun?!"

"Come with me and let's eat some lunch!" The leader of the men offered which surprised all the hopeless 18 year old boys.

They sat down under a silver linden tree and there were already steaming hot dishes in there.

"Eat some more! Here! Drink this wine!"

"That would help you all numb the pain later on." The leader kindly took care of the 7 boys. This was the least he could do for them.

Two hours later, they were once more standing in the huge field of the Profound Delight Sect. There was a grim atmosphere around them but this was only natural at this time.

"I give you one more time to back out."

"This will be your last chance." The leader offered. Sadly, he was met by bowed heads and silence.

"Think about your family. Sisters, brothers, or maybe a young sweet love back in town."

"There is more to life than being a disciple of the Profound Delight Sect. Think hard!"

"Every single one of you will die before sunset if you take this test!" The leader did not give up and so he convinced the 7 one more time.

"..." The same result was seen and heard.

"Okay." The leader sighed. His name was Zi Yu and in his 20 years of administering this test, nobody of the participants lived to tell the tale about it.

Thus, his record was a hundred percent fatality rate. Zi Yu tried asking the past leaders of this group about their experience but he only got a smack in the head for his trouble.

Some things were just too horrible to speak of.

"I have full belief that all of you know what this test entails so..."

"The trial of a Hundred Strikes shall now commence!" Zi Yu announced. Immediately thereafter, yells of pain and torture resounded in the field.

The scene was too gruesome to describe. Halfway through the count, everyone was already in their last breaths.

"70!" At this time, all 7 of them have entered in the cycle of Samsara.

"BANG!"

"BANG!"

"BANG!"

.

..

...

The strikes continued to happen and this was also when a visitor from afar descended into the realm. This was of course none other than our very own protagonist, Clark Colter.

'Well, this is a creative way to wake me up... partner.' Our bored gamer thought as he smiled amidst the pain that he felt. There were 4 men who held him up. One at each limb.

They were only there to make sure that the strikes would hit true to its target.

'Ahhh... this familiar feeling of agony and self death.'

'It has been a long while hasn't it?' Clark closed his eyes once more to relish this torment in full.

'Welcome back, my friend. It has been a long time indeed.'

A voice whispered in the ears of our avid gamer and this was only one of the personalities that accompanied him in the untold years of anguish during the Soul Fragmentation Process.