Although Gang Yan felt like he was being used as bait, after thinking for a moment, he understood that stealth was not his strong suit. Acting together would only be a burden, so he nodded: "Alright! I trust you this time!"

The test began, and the two quickly separated, merging into the forest.

Duke was like a true shadow, pushing his Dark Attribute Affinity Ability and Spiritual Perception to the limit. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He wasn’t just moving fast but was fully utilizing the complex terrain of the trial forest, the shifting light and shadow, and the blind spots in perception caused by the leftover energy of ancient rituals.

Duke flowed through the dense ferns like water, moving along rock walls covered with glowing moss, occasionally using thick tree roots or hanging vines for short, silent leaps.

His Spiritual Power was like the finest spider web, detecting energy disturbances several hundred meters ahead, subtle traces on the ground, and barely perceptible changes in the air’s scent.

He avoided two areas marked on the map as likely defensive focuses for the hunters, and bypassed an old rune node where energy flow was exceptionally active and might hide some kind of warning mechanism.

Duke didn’t entirely rely on the map but constantly adjusted his route based on the environment.

About forty minutes later, he approached the initial hidden area of the target Moonlight Stone, a depression filled with tall ferns with silver-white leaves.

He didn’t enter directly but lurked in the shadow of a twisted ancient tree on the periphery, observing carefully.

Sure enough, behind a seemingly insignificant rock on the edge of the depression, there were faint signs of energy concealment.

A hunter! And it seemed there were simple trigger traps set.

Duke patiently waited. A few minutes later, in the distance, came a small sound as if a branch had been accidentally broken.

Behind the rock on the depression’s edge, the faint energy fluctuation moved ever so slightly, its attention clearly drawn away for a moment.

Now was the time. Without any hesitation, Duke slid out of the shadow, his body moving as if weightless. He didn’t rush directly toward the center of the depression but moved quickly and silently along the edge, using the broad leaves of the Moonlight Fern as cover.

His goal wasn’t the map-marked center point, but rather a point along the depression’s edge where energy converged, according to his perception.

Duke’s judgment was correct. Beneath a particularly lush Moonlight Fern with a natural energy vortex at its roots, he found a small, moon-white stone with a soft glow, no larger than a fingernail.

He didn’t touch it directly but used a thin layer of Moonlight Fighting Spirit to envelop it, lifting it and swiftly placing it into a specially made pouch at his waist.

After obtaining the stone, Duke didn’t linger. He immediately returned along the pre-planned escape route.

At the same time, he sent out a few imitated calls of the Moonlight White Feather Bird towards the direction where Gang Yan might be, which was the agreed signal for a successful retreat.

On the return journey, he was even more cautious, choosing a different, more concealed path than the one he had come by.

He sensed hunter activity in at least two areas but cleverly avoided them in advance.

When Duke finally reached the designated gathering point, there was still nearly half a standard hour left until the time limit.

He was the third group to arrive, and soon after, Gang Yan also arrived, looking a bit disheveled but unharmed.

According to the plan, he created enough reasonable noise to draw some attention. Although he was almost caught by a hunter, he managed to escape using his excellent close combat skills and knowledge of the terrain.

Other groups returned one after another.

Some successfully brought back the Moonlight Stone, others returned empty-handed, and several groups returned dejectedly after both members had been marked.

After evaluation by the instructor and the High-level Guards, the results of the second round were announced. Only six groups successfully brought back the Moonlight Stone without being marked, and a total of ten people were eliminated for various reasons.

Duke and Gang Yan’s group was highly evaluated for successfully bringing back the item in a short amount of time and not being marked throughout the process, allowing them to advance smoothly.

At this point, out of thirty participants in the selection, only twelve remained.

Only one final step was left to reach the ultimate selection.

"The third round, actual combat confrontation." Priest Moran’s gaze swept over the twelve remaining candidates, his tone more solemn, "You will be divided into three teams, each with four people, to conduct an unrestricted combat exercise. The venue is this trial forest. The rules are simple: defeat your opponents, capture the opposing team’s token, which is a specially made Moonlight Crystal, and protect your own token.

The time limit is one and a half standard hours. Ultimately, based on each team’s performance, individual contributions during combat, and compliance with orders, the final candidates will be comprehensively evaluated."

Unrestricted combat means all known combat techniques can be used, approaching real combat.

Moreover, it requires consideration of not only personal combat strength but also teamwork, tactical execution, and even obedience to temporary orders, which clearly implies an assessment of loyalty and discipline.

For Duke, this stage wasn’t too problematic. The only thing he needed to watch out for was not to display any suspicious magical means.

Especially the Talent Magic ’Sand Guardian,’ he needed to consciously control it.

Otherwise, if Sand Guardian was accidentally triggered, it would undoubtedly reveal some issues.

The teams were reorganized.

Duke was assigned to the third team, with teammates including Gang Yan, whom he had previously collaborated with, a silent female archer named Dew from the Night Dew Clan, and a young warrior named Light Feather from an unknown small clan, whose gaze seemed somewhat unfocused.

They received the Token Crystal representing their team, a crystal emitting a pale blue light, which had to be carried at all times. If it was more than ten meters away or the energy supply was interrupted, it would be considered lost.

They were also informed of the general color characteristics of the opponent teams’ tokens, which were silver-white and pale purple.

During the brief pre-battle preparation time, the four gathered together.

Gang Yan looked at Duke, apparently defaulting the command to him: "Ying Ye, how do we fight?"

Duke quickly analyzed: "In our team, Gang Yan excels at frontal assault and defense, Dew is good at mid-to-long range support and reconnaissance, Light Feather... has decent speed. I will be responsible for stealth, surprise attacks, and tactical command."

He looked at Light Feather, who nodded without speaking.

"For the opponent’s two teams, the Silver White Team has two members with strong auras, likely their main offensive points. The Pale Purple Team has better coordination, but slightly weaker individual strength. We should avoid a direct confrontation." Duke quickly drew a simple map on the ground, "There is a Mist Stone Forest on the east side of the trial forest. The terrain is complex, with strong energy interference, suitable for hiding and ambush.

We will draw the battlefield there. Gang Yan and Dew, you form a group, deliberately exposing your tracks from the west side to attract at least one team’s attention, retreat while fighting, and move towards the Stone Forest, creating as much chaos as possible. Light Feather and I will infiltrate the Stone Forest to set up in advance and wait for the opportunity to snatch their token or ambush the teams you draw in."

"Splitting up? Isn’t that too risky?" Gang Yan frowned.

"If we concentrate our forces, we might get pinched by two teams. Splitting up, we can use the terrain and information gap." Duke said.

Gang Yan thought for a moment and nodded forcefully: "Alright! I’ll follow your lead!"

"Dew?" Duke looked at the female archer.

"No problem," Dew replied briefly, already checking her quiver.

"Light Feather, come with me. We need to plant some small surprises in the Stone Forest in advance." Duke looked at the last teammate.

Light Feather’s eyes flickered a bit but followed along.

The combat drill officially began with a sharp whistle.

Twelve figures shot into the depths of the trial forest like arrows.

Duke and Light Feather, moving at top speed, silently reached the Mist Stone Forest on the east side. As its name suggests, this area is shrouded year-round in a thin but persistent energy mist, which carries mild hallucinatory and energy interference properties.

The forest is filled with gray-white stone pillars of varying heights and strange shapes, many of which have natural holes that create a wailing sound when the wind blows through, further disrupting hearing.

The ground is slippery, covered with moss and shattered stones.