Ragnar snickered. How comforting. Apparently, losing a limb was perfectly normal in the next stage of the examination.Someone had suffered a terrible slash across their thigh in the Hall of a Thousand Blades, while another contestant had nearly lost an arm in the Death Corridor. One particularly unlucky soul had even lost a pinky finger to the corridor's treacherous traps.The Life Court reeked of blood, and the stench was at least ten times stronger than it had been during the group tournaments.Even Ragnar hadn't escaped unscathed.He had sustained several slashes in the Death Corridor, where unstable steps disappeared without warning, threatening to send unsuspecting contestants plunging into danger. Weapons also shot out from concealed mechanisms at the most unexpected moments, leaving little time to react, even for those with exceptional reflexes.As if that weren't enough, resentful souls had been released to haunt the corridor, their sinister presence capable of overwhelming t

Ragnar's eyes found Jeremy Lachlan, who was sitting cross-legged in cultivation, his breathing steady and deep. He added two packs of dried fish and roasted meat to his own share. Ragnar was sure Jeremy hadn't eaten a thing during the break. Hence the preferential treatment. Jeremy opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a turbid breath. His brows furrowed in confusion. He noticed Ragnar waving at him from across the field, which only deepened his puzzlement. Even with his eyes closed, he could hear the whispers rippling through the crowd — but he wasn't a genius, not even close. So why was he getting one too? On the other side, Thane had found Kelvin Craig standing with a crowd of other outer court disciples, and sent one bottle arcing through the air toward him. Ragnar's face darkened instantly the moment he saw his enemy receiving something that belonged to him. A cold, latent fury lanced through his chest. He glared daggers at Thane. Thane only pressed his palms down, s

4:45 p.m.Ragnar’s grip on Thane’s hand tightened.It had been barely thirty-five minutes since the trials began, yet blood was already flowing freely. Numerous students had either given up midway or suffered injuries so severe they could no longer continue.Sweat beaded on Ragnar’s forehead as he watched the giant projection overhead.A quarter of the students had already been disqualified or injured too badly to proceed.Pieces of flesh hung from some of the metal teeth.With so many contestants failing to cross the gates, Lady Beth had introduced a supplementary rule. Anyone who managed to pass four gates would receive a passing score, with every additional gate cleared earning them more points.The long corridor was an absolute death trap.The first three gates resembled giant guillotines descending from the sky. Countless sword-shaped prongs were joined together, their sharpened tips pointing downward to form a massive metal barrier.The gates moved up and down in a steady rhythm

Thane brought out a clean piece of gauze and a container of healing powder. The moment he sprinkled the powder over the gaping wound, smoke began to rise from the torn flesh, followed by the unmistakable smell of burning flesh. Yet the bleeding didn't stop. Sweat gathered on his forehead. He placed his foot on a sterile sheet and used the gauze to dab at the wound, but the blood continued to flow. Thane summoned blue fire and a needle so tiny it was almost invisible to the naked eye. He ran the flame over the needle, sterilizing it. Strangely, even after the fire in his palm disappeared, the needle continued to burn with a faint blue glow. He brought it to the wound and carefully began stitching the severed edges together. Pain had his entire body trembling, but he pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes in concentration. He couldn't afford even the slightest mistake. He needed to carefully stitch the half-severed vein shut, ensuring that the injury wouldn't cause compl

Outside, Nika was pacing like a caged animal. Her face was bloodless. Sweat beaded on her brow and upper lip, and her hands trembled so violently that she had to clench them into fists. She tried to rush forward, but Darlene caught her, her grip firm and unyielding. With another girl helping, they locked their arms around Nika and held her back. “You can’t! You’ll die!” Darlene hissed, but Nika barely heard her. A few feet away, Zhuge Qingyun and Gu Tiance stepped closer to the projection, their brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. Zhuge Qingyun's eyes were already moving—not watching the disaster, but calculating it. He scanned the angles, structural weaknesses, and possible routes inside. Ragnar's route was gone. The entire wing of the building on that side was collapsing in on itself, floor by floor. “Damn it!” He spat the words through gritted teeth. “Blame me for having such unlucky friends.” Without another word, he veered sharply to the side and sprinted towards the side ent