When they reached this forest after walking for a full hour or so, Wu Guang was surprised by the actual size of the Sect grounds. He had guessed that it would occupy some dozens of miles, but from what he saw now, the wall circled around a hundred square miles at least. Another bit of information he found out was that the number of people in the sect was over 10 thousand. Considering that the entire island had only about a million people and was pretty small. this was indeed surprising. Especially as the sect was supposed to be one of the weakest in the world.

This fact stirred Wu Guang's interest in the founder, after all, this wall could not be built by mortal or any Yellow realm hands, so most probably the founder used an artifact, a formation, or his real strength was far higher than expected from the weakest island.

The 'Forest of Trials' before them was enormous and Lang Juan did not resist asking if all the forest was a part of the sect. Cui Li explained that indeed it was, but only outer circle tests grounds or basically a small part of the forest was on sect grounds, while the bigger part of it was separated by the sect wall, and elders could open a small gate for disciples to leave and test themselves in there without having to go around the wall.

The place Cui Li had brought them was a small square plaza surrounded by several stores and restaurants. This plaza west end was actually a rune-covered gate that was the official entrance into the forest. The plaza was already full of disciples in outer circle robes. Surprisingly Wu Guang found that there were a thousand or so of them.

"The test is only for disciples from the upper outer circle, and as it is not dangerous, almost everyone who could came to participate. Oh... Also, remember this plaza, here you can buy anything that you could need during expeditions into the forests, and the restaurants serve beasts from inside, so it's not only during the tests that this plaza is a gathering spot" Cui Li explained after Lang Juan asked him about the number of people and the place.

He then showed them towards an Elder from the Martial Palace, whose badge was a mix of bronze and silver, indicating some position in the Palace hierarchy. The Elder spoke unemotionally but quickly registered them and said that the test would start in two hours, seemingly at midday.

With their registration done, Cui Li could now explain what the test entailed and did so. This test was meant to be a mix of survival and scouting, so they would spend the next four days inside the outer area of the forest, which occupied territory of ten square miles.

The score would depend on the number of hidden runes they could find and register with a plaque they would be given before entering. Then he recommended everyone present to take a walk around the stores to buy anything they would need for the test, seemingly the sect would not provide anything this time. Wu Guang motioned to Yuan Taotu and after walking enough so the others would not hear, directly said that he would pay for everything they would need during this week. Yuan Taotu nodded and in his usual half-whisper said that he would pay back later.

The list of things needed for a mortal to spend several days inside an unknown forest was enormous, but cultivators had fewer needs. And so after asking and receiving no negative reaction, Wu Guang decided to go light. Basically with a few camping supplies and rations. Beasts were present so the food question was easy to solve, plus the lighter they were, the quicker they would move.

In the supplies store, they chose a small survival set for each one, but left out the tent and mattress, taking only a blanket as their sleeping gear. Wu Guang also refilled his quiver while Yuan Taotu showed him several extra ointments that they should grab, so he did so.

A quick revision of weaponry followed and Yuan Taotu face even showed a slight surprise after Wu Guang passed him one of the hunting knives, but accepted it anyway strapping it to his ankle. Wu Guang's bow was in perfect condition and he still had four unused bowstrings with him while his throwing daggers remained unused and hidden until now. The knife he passed to Yuan Taotu was intended to serve as a tool, after all, the only weapon carried by him was his six feet, bronze staff.

Rations enough for three meals were bought and stored in the bags that contained their other supplies. Wu Guang also bought some meat skewers in a small stall near the only shop they visited. After all, they would not eat until dinner, at least today.

Payment for everything was easy, as one only had to pass his badge over a rune plate and the points would be subtracted. Wu Guang spent a total of 50 points for everything, even after both of their second canteens were filled with light wine and not water. The amount could be considered surprising, but actually, it wasn't. After all, the entirety of the supplies had low-ranked runes engraved, so they could serve them for few years easily.

He had expected to spend more, but after thinking about the fact that a normal outer disciple only received a bit more than 100 points when entering, he concluded that the price could be even considered steep.

When they finished, Wu Guang walked towards a signboard agreed by them as a gathering point and noticed that Lang Juan and Duqi were also walking towards it.

The latter pair also equipped themselves lightly but had bought more rations as none of them was armed with a ranged weapon. Lang Juan used a sword, while Duqi actually trained with both bow and clubs but was currently equipped only the latter. Wu Guang had asked him about it before and found out that he indeed carried a high-quality bow with him before. But during the kidnapping, it disappeared and was never found, even after everything else was.

Some outer disciples had noticed this group of four teens dressed in casual clothes as opposed to the Sect robes everyone was in. But by the rules, they could only claim their uniforms after lodging somewhere, and that would be only possible after the 'Nascent Pride' week. Almost nobody paid real attention to them, but a group of male disciples were observing Lang Juan with interest but did not approach after noticing her accompanied by the other three. Most probably they guessed the four identities, and this also worked to keep everyone away, at least for now.

Time passed quickly and when midday arrived everyone formed near the entrance to the forest as the Palace elder started speaking with qi infused voice, which let him be heard even at the other side of the plaza, not to say some dozens of feet away.

"Listen carefully to the rules, as failing to follow will not only disqualify you from this test but could be met with other punishment depending on the severity"

The rules actually had some interesting points, as per example teams were forbidden from interacting with each other, which would be tracked by their locations - visible to the supervisors on a special map. Each team had to find at least 10 rune sets to pass the test, from a total of 120. Some were hidden, while others would be easily located. The area for the test was the 12 square miles of the forest called located inside the sect walls and only 120 teams would be allowed to enter this test.

When the latter was heard, the one thousand plus people gathered exploded in questions, but the Elder ignored them and continued to explain

"The rest of the teams will also have the same test, but it will be in the outside testing area. The full area was scouted and there are no spirit beasts in the designated areas, the supervisors will also be available for rescue if needed - the plaque can be used as an emergency beacon as well. You can either voluntarily choose this one and will be led towards one of the areas right away, or take part in the lottery for the inside zone. The ranking points are the same between any of the areas so your overall standing will not be affected by the zone. Teams that will not wait, step forward!"

Wu Guang threw a glance at his companions and after a brief moment, the four of them came out of the mass. They were not the only ones, but only a dozen or so teams were brave enough to start right away. The Elder did not show any reaction, but a hint of displeasure about the cowardness of the outer circle disciples could be seen in his eyes. He motioned towards Cui Li and another inner disciple that was standing nearby and the 30 people in total were led into the forest.

Right after entering, they were given a plaque, which activated after both of their badges were inserted into a compartment. Wu Guang kept the plaque after silently asking Yuan Taotu while Lang Juan kept her's after Duqi agreed to.

The plaque was round and measured 10 inches, so Wu Guang used the provided strap to hang and secure it on his chest.

They were led towards the deep forest by the only seen road and after walking for an hour found themselves on a clearing extending to both sides until the eyes could reach, seemingly they were before the invisible wall. A normal inner elder from the Sect stood there and after confirming their identities activated some runes and a gate appeared. Actually, it just became visible after the invisibility rune was deactivated, but still, the effect was akin to appearing from thin air and so most of the disciples had surprised expressions on their faces.

Before they were ushered into the gate one team at a time with an incense stick pause in between, Cui Li explained

"The area that you will enter is a forest similar to the one we passed. No spirit beasts should be in there, but if you encounter one or any other danger - take out your badge from the plaque and it will activate an emergency beacon. There are several members of the Palace on standby to serve as rescue teams and they will arrive quickly. The total area of the forest is far bigger, but the one for this test is also 12 square miles and will have 120 rune plates as well.

A rune set can be scanned by 10 plaques, so actually you have a headstart compared to the rest. Another 15 teams will be led into this area after the lottery, but they will arrive not quicker than in 4 hours"

"Only 10 teams get points per set? And 30 teams in total for this area?" One of the disciples asked

"Yes, the Elder did not share this on the plaza deliberately. He intended to see how many will want to go before they heard that it will be harder for them to gain points in the easy area. If nobody has any questions draw straws amongst you and enter in order"