"For the movement speed test, you will have to circle the field clockwise once, then after completing a clockwise circle you will turn 180 degrees and circle the field anti-clockwise. Judging by the size of the field, each circle is roughly 2.5 Kilometers, so the total distance you have to run is 5 kilometers. The time limit is 2 minutes. Anyone who fails to complete the task before 2 minutes is disqualified. You will be ranked according to the time you take to finish the run. The less time you take, the better your rank will be. Now, let's start one by one! line up!", the instructor announced.

"Start!"

"Participant 1, fail"

" Participant 2, fail!"

"Participant 7, pass! Time taken:1 minute 49 seconds!"

"Participant 12, pass! Time taken:39 seconds! Bravo! Excellent!

This participant was the boy from the Aaron family. He got a very good score as usual.

Soon, it was Edward's turn, and he went forward.

He calmed himself. He had learned quite a lot from Snow, and he knew that none of the cultivators in this country came anywhere near Snow in terms of martial arts.

He calmed his mind. The trick to speed is to concentrate all his weight and strength in the lower half of his body, then channeling his physical essence into his legs and arms. Finally, the arms and legs need to move in a rhythm. This way, he can keep running at his maximum speed continuously.

3, 2, 1, Go!

He started running.

" Pass! Time taken:40 seconds! Well done!", the instructor shouted.

"Boy, you did an amazing job! To think not only in punching strength but also in movement speed, you got such a high score, although you are only 7th level of the Physical Essence realm. Great! Great!", the instructor praised.

Soon, the movement speed test also came to an end. Same as the last round, the boy from the Brown family shocked everyone once again by finishing the run in only 28 seconds.

*******

*******

*******

Soon, the reflex test and the endurance test came to an end. Edward managed to get quite a good score in both these tests.

The final result for the first round will be announced. I expected at least 30 of you to pass but it seems only 28 people managed to pass this round. Now I will announce your positions.

"In 28th place......"

........

"In 4th place, Edward Alexander."

"In 3rd place, Foust Aston, from the Aston Family. "

"In 2nd place, John Aaron, from the Aaron Family."

"In the 1st position, Robert Brown, from the Brown Family"

With this, he finished announcing the results.

"Now, I, Instructor Barton, will bid farewell here. For the next round of the selection exams, all of you go to the entrance of the academy forest. There, you will see Elder Norman waiting. He will take charge of the next round. Elder Norman, as his title suggests, is a senior teacher of the academy, as well as a genuine Shell Shattering realm cultivator. He is very strict. Behave yourselves in front of him."

Many of the participants were excited. Not everyone came from big families and rarely gets the chance to see a Shell Shattering realm cultivator. Even Edward was excited. Although he has seen someone as powerful as Snow, he has not seen anyone else in the Shell Shattering realm or higher. He wanted to see how powerful a cultivator in the Shell Shattering realm was, as he too desired to be in this realm as soon as possible.

Everyone walked very fast, quickly reaching the forest entrance. There, they saw a middle-aged man standing on a majestic posture. Strong bursts of aura were emanating from him. He was wearing a blue robe with the southern academy logo on it, which showed that he was a genuine elder from the academy. Everyone was silent and gasping in awe, looking at him

"Not bad! This group of kids is pretty good. Although we have a lower number this year, I prefer quality over quantity.", he broke the silence.

"Now that you all have gathered, I won't waste any time. First, I will explain this round to you all. This round is a combined test of your overall capabilities. Instead of checking your strength and weakness with various tests one by one, we will check your overall capabilities with a single test. In this round, you will be entering the academy forest and all of you will be hunting beasts. The forest has beasts that are within your capabilities, but there may be a few beasts beyond your level. Most of the beasts are grade 1 level 5 to level 9, which is equivalent to from the fifth to the ninth level of the Physical Essence realm. There are only two beasts of grade two, and both of them are level one, so they are equivalent to the first level of the Body Metamorphosis realm. You have to avoid these two beasts and this is a test for your survival capabilities also. Remember, beasts are usually stronger than cultivators at the same level. So good luck to you all, you will need it. The time limit is three days. After three days, you will come out of the forest and show me the beasts cores as proof of your victory. Also, robbing other participants is forbidden. Now, start!"

Following the elder's instructions, everyone started to enter the forest.