"Alright, everyone, tidy up your tents quickly. The assessment will officially begin the day after tomorrow."
"Understood."
No one was captivated by Zhou Hong anymore and immediately began organizing their belongings.
And so, Zhou Hong and his companions stayed by the ruined temple for two nights.
Early on the third day, Zhou Hong and the other four quickly packed their belongings and headed for Taigu Academy.
Taigu Academy was located in the northeast corner of Taigu City, where a very large mountain range stood. Taigu Academy was situated on this entire mountain range, with beautiful scenery and a very grand view.
When Zhou Hong and the others arrived at the foot of Taigu Academy's mountain, it was already crowded. The young talents from various continents who had come to participate in the assessment numbered at least two hundred thousand, if not three hundred thousand. Zhou Hong and his group could not push forward and could only wait at the back. According to past practice, the official assessment personnel from Taigu Academy would descend around nine in the morning.
They waited and waited, and finally, it was nine o'clock in the morning.
More than a dozen middle-aged men slowly walked out from the gate of Taigu Academy.
"They're out," someone in the crowd shouted. It seemed many people were not participating for the first time, as they recognized the dozen or so middle-aged men as the official assessment personnel from Taigu Academy.
"Everyone, please be quiet." After the official assessment personnel descended, one of the older men shouted. The hundreds of thousands of young talents present immediately fell silent.
"The annual enrollment assessment of Taigu Academy has begun. As in previous years, it will start with a qualifying elimination round. That is, those who can pass through the Dark Forest and the Sea of Death within a limited time will pass the elimination and enter the next round. Many people here have participated more than once, so I won't waste any more words. The assessment officially begins." After speaking, a dark, shadowy opening suddenly appeared on a stone wall next to Taigu Academy.
Anyone who had participated in the assessment knew that this opening was a ten-kilometer-long tunnel. Passing through this tunnel would lead into the Dark Forest.
Immediately, all the examinees at the scene rushed towards the opening.
The assessment personnel had just said that they had to pass through the Dark Forest and the Sea of Death within a limited time. These four words, "limited time," should be emphasized, as they did not specify the exact duration. It might be two hours, or it might be three hours. Therefore, the only thing everyone could do was to pass through the Dark Forest and the Sea of Death as quickly as possible.
The reason the assessment personnel did not specify the time was undoubtedly to set the cutoff based on the number of people who passed in the end. Only those who passed faster would be safer.
"Let's go!" Zhou Hong shouted to Gu Daochen and the others.
"Zhou Hong, please take care of us," Gu Daochen pleaded, looking at Zhou Hong.
"Don't worry, I will, but you also need to be strong. Don't drag me down too much, otherwise, when the cutoff comes, I might not even pass."
"Alright, I believe we won't hold you back. After all, every time we participate in the assessment, we're only a little bit off, not far behind."
"Let's go." Zhou Hong joined the flow of people and entered the ten-kilometer-long tunnel.
The tunnel was about ten meters wide and eight to nine meters high. The crowd flowed like a flood towards the other end.
Some of the stronger ones ran directly on the ceiling of the tunnel, running upside down as if on flat ground.
About five or six minutes later, Zhou Hong and the others finally rushed out of the tunnel, greeted by a dim light.
What met their eyes was a completely black forest, like an ink wash painting. It was unknown how such a dark forest had formed.
Just then, from the forest, rabbits with fangs rushed out, as if they had seen food, and lunged at Zhou Hong and the others.
Instantly, all the young talents who rushed out of the tunnel picked up their swords and began to slay the rabbits one by one.
These rabbits were not individually strong, and no candidate participating in the assessment could be killed by them, at most they would be injured. However, the rabbits' purpose was not to kill the candidates but to infinitely delay their progress.
Those who were weaker naturally struggled to cope, finding it extremely difficult to advance even ten meters. The stronger ones cut through thorns and were invincible; a few rabbits could not hinder their speed at all.
Zhou Hong looked up. The fastest people had already rushed more than ten kilometers ahead, while the slower ones were still struggling to slay rabbits around them.
"Swish, swish!" Zhou Hong instantly cleaved dozens of approaching rabbits in half with a single palm.
"Stay close behind me," Zhou Hong said to Gu Daochen, Jiang Caiyue, Shui Yangmei, and Lu Yilong behind him.
"Zhou Hong, thank you for your trouble."
"No need to be polite. This is just an appetizer. There are hyenas, fierce tigers, and other beasts ahead."
Gu Daochen and the others all felt a headache. The countless rabbits in front of them would not pose much of a hindrance to their strength. The stronger beasts ahead were the ones that would significantly slow them down.
Zhou Hong cleared the path ahead, with Gu Daochen and the others following closely.
Soon, they passed through the rabbit-infested jungle. After about ten minutes, they had traveled twenty to thirty kilometers.
"Hiss!" Just then, dozens of baring-toothed hyenas emerged from the forest and lunged at Zhou Hong and the others.
The strength of these hyenas was many times that of the rabbits. However, this was only the second course.
And so, Zhou Hong continued to slay. If Gu Daochen, Jiang Caiyue, and the others fell behind, Zhou Hong would go back and help them. Therefore, Zhou Hong's speed was also significantly slowed down.
Soon, an hour passed.
In this hour, Zhou Hong and his group encountered rabbits, hyenas, fierce tigers, and lions blocking their way. However, relying on Zhou Hong's strength, he managed to lead the four of them and break through to the seaside in less than an hour.
"Hahaha, too fast! Zhou Hong, thank you!" Gu Daochen looked at the Sea of Death ahead and laughed heartily. They had crossed the Dark Forest and reached the Sea of Death in just one hour.
"Yes, Zhou Hong, in previous assessments, we reached this place at least an hour and a half later. But now, we've arrived here in less than an hour."
"You're all welcome. Next, we need to cross the Sea of Death. Let's try to cross it in about another hour, aiming for a total time of two hours. That should be relatively safe," said Su Dan Novel Network.
"Yes, according to the usual cutoff times, it's around three hours."
"I imagine those who are strong have already reached the finish line by now."