Damned Healer-Chapter 713: Obvious Result?

"The first part of the exam is called: Blazing World Realm!" the person in charge said expressionlessly. "You’ll be sent to that location, which is engulfed in a storm of fire. That place is far hotter than you can imagine. The energy there will easily make you completely lose your sense of direction."

"The destination point is only one hundred and fifty kilometers ahead. All you need to do is endure and reach that point. The moment you touch the destination point, you’ll return victorious."

"The first thousand people to come out will pass this round. As for the rest..." He sneered. "You can all get out of here."

After he finished explaining, many of the participants held their breath, feeling a chill run down their spines. At that moment, a young woman at the front protested timidly:

"B-but this isn’t fair... in this kind of environment, those who cultivate the fire element will have a huge advantage. Almost everyone from inside the sect cultivates that, but we from the Mortal Plane followed other paths besides fire... isn’t that... isn’t that a bit too unfair for us?"

"Fair?" The person in charge stepped forward, eyes locked on the young woman who had spoken.

She was thin and ordinary-looking; on top of that, she was slightly older than the average of the others. In other words, she’d gotten here partly by luck and would definitely be eliminated. In the cultivation world, weakness was the worst sin.

He walked up to her, reached out, and grabbed her by the collar.

"No!" she let out a terrified scream.

A flash of light burst from his body, and a thick layer of blazing flames instantly covered the young woman’s entire body.

Darian’s brows tightened immediately...

"Ah..." The girl’s eyes widened as a frightened groan escaped her lips.

The man was extremely ruthless, using the Celestial power of his cultivation. She tried to struggle, but her strength and cultivation were completely sealed. She couldn’t move even an inch and was rapidly losing consciousness.

"Only the strong have the right to talk about fairness." The man narrowed his eyes and sneered. "If you want fairness, go look for it among those worms living on the insignificant planets you came from! You don’t have the right to say that here!"

*Bang!*

The young woman was mercilessly thrown to the ground. The others quickly stepped aside, while the fire runes covering her shattered and scattered into the air.

None of them reached out to help. The man turned around and said coldly, "All the techniques in our Sect are fire-element, so they are naturally far more suitable for those with a strong foundation in that element. As for this round of exams, I’ve said everything I need to say. Anyone who wants to spout more useless nonsense can leave!"

The young woman thrown to the ground didn’t get up. Everyone remained silent out of fear; not one of them dared to speak again.

"I’ll send you in now. Enjoy yourselves!"

He snapped his fingers, and the inscription runes beneath them began spinning rapidly. Following a beam of light that shot into the sky, all the figures present were swallowed.

Pyreus sighed, his face full of anxiety. "How am I supposed to explain this to Master?"

---

The light slowly faded, and a scorching wind blew in from all directions.

Darian opened his eyes, and a world covered in lava and fire revealed itself before him. Other candidates stood around him. The place they were in was extremely hot, yet the atmosphere was strangely silent.

Ahead of them, a sharp, almost deafening howl could be heard.

To pass this exam, one had to be among the first thousand to cross the finish line.

One hundred and fifty kilometers was a relatively short distance for Celestial cultivators at their level. They just had to use the power of their bodies to burst forward through the air; it didn’t even require much technique... the real problem was obviously the extreme environment.

*Whooosh!*

Countless explosions erupted at the same time.

Only one thousand people could pass this exam; the remaining nine thousand plus would be brutally eliminated. Moreover, most of them were at similar strength levels, meaning a fraction of a second’s delay could lead to two completely different fates.

So none of them had the leisure to admire the scenery around them like Darian. Instead, the moment they arrived, the first thing they did was confirm the direction of the finish line and unleash their energy, rushing north at top speed.

Almost everyone released their power simultaneously; the force was so intense that it shook the surrounding space.

However, not all of them immediately dashed toward the finish line. Instead, three people remained where they were.

Darian, Limdiss, and the young woman who had been severely reprimanded earlier. That young woman still lay motionless on the ground, her face pale.

Limdiss turned and looked at Darian with a smug smile... She knew better than anyone there what awaited them in this place. She had deliberately imposed a disadvantage on herself because she was incredibly confident she would still win and that no one would cross the finish line before her.

She didn’t find it strange that Darian was standing still, because in her eyes, even if "trash" like him tried his absolute hardest, he would still come in last place, so there was no reason for him to bother.

She stared at him and laughed coldly. "Brat, I thought you were smart and sensible! Know this—it’s easier for me to crush you to death than to kill an ant!"

Darian rolled his eyes. This shit again... he really didn’t want to beat up some spoiled girl.

"Fortunately, I’m not a petty person. I can give you another chance, if you kneel right now and admit your fault—"

Before she could finish speaking, Darian had already turned around and walked toward the other young woman lying on the ground, completely ignoring her, not even sparing her a single glance.

Limdiss’ face stiffened.

She quickly looked north and said coldly, "Forget it. I can’t believe I wasted time on this nonsense. You’re digging your own grave—you’ll die soon enough!"

Right after finishing her words, she shot into the air at lightning speed. Even though she was confident, she didn’t dare be careless, because her goal wasn’t just to pass the exam, but to take first place.

Darian approached the young woman on the ground and spoke in a calm tone.

"The only reason that man was able to humiliate you however he wanted is because he’s stronger and holds a higher position than you. Out of all the participants in this exam, you were the only one who dared question him. That alone proves you have strong character. So you should be able to handle today’s humiliation, right? If you can’t endure something this small, you’re not qualified to talk about the future."

Her eyes shifted and trembled slightly.

Darian extended his hand. "Get up. It must’ve been hard to make it this far from the Mortal Plane. If you give up here, it really won’t have been worth it."

The young woman lifted her head. She clearly hesitated when she saw it was Darian, but she still grabbed his hand and stood up, though her smile was somewhat forced. "Even if those words sound a little unbelievable coming from your mouth... you’re right."

Darian just smiled. He saw this girl and all the others as lost children, reminding him of Alear.

"Even if it’s unfair, at least... I can’t give up before I even start!" she said through gritted teeth, as energy burst from her body. "I’m Emina, from a planet called Nether Swamp. And you?"

Darian had to think for a moment to remember the name of the planet he came from before. In the end, he gave up. "Darian, from Earth."

"Earth... is that a planet?" The girl looked confused. "Well, whatever... in the future, if you need anything, you can try looking for me. My planet isn’t very powerful in cultivation, but we have unique resources; because of that, we have a lot of money. Maybe I can help you out a few times."

She spoke proudly, full of renewed energy. Then she swallowed a golden pill. In the very next second, the burn marks on her skin disappeared.

Earlier, she had felt deeply humiliated, which was why she’d frozen up. These people taking the test were very young and hadn’t gone through many hardships in life; faced with any major setback, their mental state would immediately fall into chaos.

"I cultivate the Earth element. Even though I’m a woman, my Earth power can easily align with the Yang of Fire without losing my essence. I’ll defeat those who were born in the Celestial Plane!" She clenched her teeth hard.

Darian looked at her briefly and smiled without saying a word.

Emina stared deeply at Darian, and the energy surrounding her suddenly surged in intensity. She transformed into a pale, flowing yellow light and shot straight toward the north.

After being left alone, Darian took a deep breath. Then he finally stood up and flew forward.

In Celestial cultivation, right after the fifth level of the First Realm, everyone could already fly with ease.

After traveling less than two hundred and fifty meters, he felt the temperature rise abruptly. The blazing wind blowing toward him was like a massive palm slamming into him, trying to push him back.

And that was only the beginning. As he advanced, the temperature kept rising, and the strong wind turned into a ferocious gale.

After several kilometers, the surroundings suddenly transformed into a world covered in fire mixed with wind, like an incredibly terrifying storm from hell.

There was no way to tell the difference between sky and earth; everything was fire and lava. The environment blocked vision and scrambled the senses. Being hit directly by the firestorm could burn someone to death. So people had to take detours... and getting lost was almost guaranteed.

Anyone—even the strongest in this trial—had to be cautious. The combination of those factors could drive anyone into despair.

But there was one exception, and that was Darian.

He simply activated his domain.

Then the environment didn’t affect him at all.

Before the fifty-kilometer mark, most skilled people could still handle the situation calmly. However, after that point, everyone’s speed suddenly dropped.

At seventy-five kilometers, the bodies of those with weaker foundations—especially those from lower planes who didn’t directly cultivate the Fire element—were already turning red from the heat.

They couldn’t even use half of their energy, just because the temperature was affecting their bodies. Moving forward became harder, and some people were even thrown into unknown areas, leaving behind nothing but screams of terror.

After the hundred-kilometer mark, the screams became far more frequent.

As for Darian...

He advanced quickly through all of it, not bothering to dodge or slow down.

The firestorm intensified, and he couldn’t clearly distinguish anyone’s face. He only saw people struggling desperately or blurred figures being swept away. The sound of their endless screams soon faded.

Possibly, they weren’t dead. The inscription, upon detecting severe injuries, would transport them out. But if someone too weak tried to pass this trial, the wounds could be fatal. That was why the danger was real, and no one could afford to be careless.

Darian quickly overtook several people. At the same time, he roughly calculated the number of figures he had encountered. Later, he decided to slow down, focused his energy, and began advancing steadily, the terrifying wind blowing against his face.

To pass, he needed to be among the first thousand people to cross the finish line. But he wasn’t in a hurry; he was using this moment to get used to his new body.

He was no longer that human from Earth. Now he had an almost limitless capacity that was hard to control. On top of that... he didn’t have his weapons or Ailik’s power.

Fortunately, when his father reincarnated him, he retrieved his Spiritual Root and implanted it back into his soul. When a Spiritual Root was implanted into someone—like in Vanh’s case, and Darian’s in the past—it would remain in the body. But thankfully, Darian hadn’t lost his.

Because of that, he had to adapt his power without the power of the Void and those weapons, as well as get used to using the Celestial Bloodline. He had the scarlet dagger Meru gave him, but it wasn’t the same thing.

So Darian circulated power through his soul, thinking and searching for new solutions.

---

Outside, in the Main Hall. As time passed, the moment for the results to be announced was quickly approaching.

The disciples responsible for the exam focused their gazes on the runes of the inscription. They only cared about the results, and as for what had happened inside, even though they could see it, they were too lazy to look into it.

After all, it was always the same thing.

"Fuck... just get this over with."

Pyreus was crouched on the ground, his face filled with sadness. Thirty minutes had passed since Darian and the others entered. The results will come out soon. During that time, there were moments when he almost wanted to leave, but he forced himself to stay. There was no news about his Master, and he didn’t dare send a message either.

As for Darian’s result in the exam... it was obvious!! Just thinking about it made Pyreus want to cover his face and run away.

*Buzz*

The imposing inscription in front of him suddenly shone with an intense light. Even the person in charge of the exam narrowed his eyes.

When he saw the figure of the first person to appear, he stepped forward and laughed loudly. "This was truly the expected result! After all, you’re the niece of the Palace Master. Even though I tried to overestimate you, the time you took was still far shorter than I predicted."

The first person to come out and pass the exam round was none other than Limdiss.

That man’s words were full of flattery. With Limdiss’s natural talent and her status as the Palace Master’s niece, her position would certainly not be below his after entering the sect.

Limdiss smiled. "You’re too kind, Senior. However, if I hadn’t been delayed by a small detail, Senior probably wouldn’t have had to wait that long."

"Oh?" He smiled and said, "Delayed by some small issue? Did some arrogant fool provoke you in there? Who would dare?"

"It was just a joke, no need to take it seriously," Limdiss said with a smile.

After Limdiss arrived, only a few minutes later, the second person who had completed the exam finally appeared.

Then the inscription began flickering at a faster rate, going from a few dozen people to over a hundred...

Many of those who passed the exam lay directly on the ground, breathing heavily in relief, ecstatic.

More and more people completed the exam.

As soon as the thousandth person passed, the inscription would automatically close, ending the exam. At that moment, more than nine hundred people had already come out. As the end approached, the flashes of light became more frequent.

Limdiss stood beside the person in charge, wearing a pompous expression, looking at the others far behind her with the arrogance of a Queen. But when the light of number 999 flashed...

Everyone’s eyes widened abruptly.

Because the person who came out of that inscription...

...was someone who absolutely shouldn’t have appeared.

"DARIAN!"