Chapter 11: Breaking All Records Unintentionally

Amuche found herself enveloped in a surreal space, an illusion that felt all too real. She could feel pain, and her determination to endure intensified. This room was designed to test her limits, and she was resolute in pushing through. Soludo was her competitor, and she refused to back down.

The first trial was the burning of the soul by fire elements. Flames erupted, filling the room, but Amuche's physical body remained unscathed. Instead, the inferno raged within her, inflicting intense agony. With gritted teeth, she sat cross-legged and focused on circulating spiritual energy to withstand the pain.

As time passed, the room's temperature plummeted, freezing everything in its grasp. Amuche's body trembled, her muscles fluttering from the cold. "I'm going to freeze to death here!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with disbelief. "This test is ingenious! Whoever designed it is a mastermind!"

Undeterred, Amuche strengthened her resolve and attempted to manipulate the fire elements to warm herself. However, her efforts were futile. "You may deny me fire, but you can't stop me from moving!" With a fierce determination, she began jogging slowly, gradually increasing her pace until she was dashing around the room with full speed, defying the cold and avoiding being frozen solid.

Outside, the crowd watched with bated breath as the clock ticked away. Nine hours had elapsed, and only two contestants remained - Amuche and Soludo. The tension was palpable as the onlookers wondered who would emerge victorious. Amuche's friends, who had all passed the test with Kael and Nneoma lasting eight hours, gazed at the room with rapt attention, hoping for Amuche to achieve the impossible and surpass Soludo.

As two more hours ticked by, some in the crowd exclaimed,

"They've surpassed the ten-hour mark!"

"Who do you think is going to win?" someone asked curiously.

"Of course, it's Soludo," a youth in a yellow shirt said, appearing smug.

"Why do you think so?" Adaobi asked him, her curiosity piqued. She was the closest to the youth, and her question prompted him to explain his confidence in Soludo's abilities.

The youth's confident smile grew wider as he said, "Everyone knows Soludo is a genius. Beating some village girl like Amuche is child's play. It's either you've been living under a rock or you're from some small village not to have heard of him."

Adaobi's eyes narrowed, her irritation palpable. "Oh, you think otherwise? Fine, let's have a wager! I bet you a thousand star stones that Soludo will emerge victorious," the youth said, his grin faltering for a moment before recovering.

"Deal, but don't go back on your words later," Adaobi replied, her eyes locked on his.

As the hours ticked by, the tension mounted. The crowd's murmurs grew louder, their bets and counter-bets hanging in the balance. Fourteen hours had passed when the room creaked open, and Soludo emerged, his expression triumphant.

The crowd erupted into chaos, some wailing in despair while others celebrated their winnings. Soludo's smile gleamed with pride as he walked towards the crowd, his eyes gleaming with a hint of modesty.

But Nneoma's cryptic question sent a shiver down his spine: "Ah, Soludo, why are you walking so majestically? Did you win a prize?"

Soludo laughed, "Hahaha, didn't you know about my little competition between me and your stubborn friend Amuche?"

But his smile soon froze as he noticed the crowd wasn't focusing on him but instead on the stone room he came out from. A flicker of uncertainty crossed his face, and his voice dropped to a whisper: "Amuche... couldn't possibly still be in there... could she?"

Nneoma's smile was enigmatic as she walked away, leaving Soludo in suspense. But the crowd knew the truth - Soludo had lost the challenge. Their murmurs and whispers grew louder, their eyes fixed on the stone room where Amuche still remained. Soludo's confident smile faltered, his eyes darting towards the room with a growing sense of unease. "Amuche... couldn't possibly still be in there... could she?" he whispered to himself, his voice laced with disbelief. The crowd's knowing glances only added to his growing anxiety, their faces a picture of "we knew it all along". Soludo's pride and reputation hung in the balance, as he struggled to come to terms with the unthinkable - defeat at the hands of a young village girl.

As Soludo's anxiety subsided, his mind raced with doubts. "What if Amuche has succumbed to the pain and is lying unconscious in there? Would that not be considered a defeat?" He approached Mazi Haruna, seeking reassurance.

Mazi Haruna, aware that many others harbored similar concerns, cleared his throat to address the crowd. "Listen well, everyone. The testing rooms were devised by a powerful cultivator of old. Once a contestant loses consciousness, they will be automatically teleported out. However, the test cannot be interrupted until the last person either admits defeat and exits or succeeds in passing the test, which lasts for a full day."

With this announcement, the crowd's murmurs subsided, and some individuals withdrew, seeking rest and recovery for the next day's challenges. Meanwhile, others remained steadfast, their eyes fixed on the stone room, eager to witness whether Amuche would surpass the legendary record of 21 hours set by the ancient cultivator. The air was electric with anticipation, as the onlookers waited with bated breath for the outcome.

Meanwhile, in the test room, Amuche found herself stranded in the middle of a turbulent river, with the distant shore her only hope. The waves crashed against her, and eerie creatures lurked beneath the surface, threatening to drag her down. Summoning her last reserves of strength, she began swimming, her legs entangled by strange underwater plants. Refusing to give up, she swam with all her might until she finally reached the shore, exhausted and worn out.

As she emerged from the river, the room lit up, and everything returned to normal. The door slid open, and Amuche stepped out, her energy fully restored. The room shut down, its systems powering down with a faint hum.

As she emerged from the room, the crowd's stunned silence greeted her. Their eyes widened in disbelief, and no one could utter a word. Mazi Haruna broke the silence, "Congratulations, Amuche, on passing the test and setting a new record!" The crowd erupted into thunderous applause, and her friends rushed to congratulate her.

"Are you sure you're human?" Nneoma asked jokingly, her eyes shining with amazement.

Amuche scanned the crowd, searching for Soludo, but he was nowhere to be found. "Where's Soludo?" she asked, her voice barely audible over the din of the crowd.

Kael grinned mischievously. "That coward got embarrassed by your result and ran off!"

Ikenna approached her, handing her the prize from the wager with Soludo. "You can go and rest now. The third round will begin soon." Amuche thanked him and tucked the star stones away, her eyes still scanning the crowd for any sign of Soludo.

The third round commenced, and after the second round, the number of participants had dwindled from five hundred to around three hundred youths. The third round tested their comprehensive ability and speed in memorizing and understanding new cultivation skills or manuals. The first ten people started, and they were given an incense stick's time to study various books about cultivation manuals, medical pills or treatment, sword techniques or movement arts, and other professions.

"First, there are thousands of manuals in the library, and you have an incense stick's time to go through as much as you can," Mazi Haruna explained. "Then, you sit for the questions prepared on the table. You need to get 80 questions correctly to pass. The best record is 98 questions answered correctly. Good luck, everyone!"

The test began, and everyone took their time to read as many books as they could. Then, they sat down to answer the hundred questions test. Once one group began writing the test, another group entered the library to study as many books and manuals as they could before the incense stick's time ended.

Amuche decided to rest and watch the others take the test. Soon, she noticed Soludo in the crowd and couldn't help making a face at him, then laughed with her friends.

"Don't act all smug just because you won the first round," Soludo said, approaching her. "I admit you possess some skills, but that was just the first round."

"Is that so? Care to go another round?" Amuche replied, smiling.

"Sure, same stake - two thousand star stones. If I lose to you, but if I win... hehe... better get prepared to become my woman," Soludo said, smiling wickedly.

"Deal," Amuche said, smiling. "I hope you don't run away like the last time."

The onlookers burst out laughing. Soludo gritted his teeth and said, "Laugh while it lasts."

The test moved on, and it was Amuche's turn to take the test. She activated her Eyes of Truth, quickly absorbing information from the books.

"How can someone read that fast?" someone asked, surprised.

"If you don't carefully go through a book, how will you understand it and possibly answer questions later?" another person said. "I knew she cheated in the last test. If not, how can you explain this?"

Soludo saw and heard all this and his smile turned to a grin. "You know, if you're this nervous, you can always admit defeat early," he said, approaching Amuche. "Besides, you don't lose - you'll be my girlfriend."

Amuche looked at him and ignored him, continuing her reading process. She quickly finished reading the whole book and sat down to digest the information carefully before looking over with a confident smile.

Her Eyes of Truth were a unique ability that only she possessed - how could these people know?

Amuche finished reading and began answering the questions. Each question was complex and required careful thinking to answer. But Amuche was writing so fast that she finished answering everything in about 30 minutes, when they had around two hours to submit.

"Are you sure you answered everything correctly?" Ikenna asked Amuche, surprised.

"Yes, I did. Thank you for your concern," Amuche replied, smiling.

Ikenna took her script and examined it before passing it to the marking group. Some people seeing Amuche finish so early began to murmur in disbelief.

"How did she finish so quickly?" someone asked.

"Is she even human?" another person said.

"She must be cheating again!" someone else exclaimed.

After two hours, the test was complete, and the results were announced. Unfortunately, the majority of participants failed to reach the cut-off mark of 80 questions, with only about 120 people passing. The top ten individuals were called out, and Ikenna had the honor of announcing their names.

"And the top ten individuals are... Musa, Dennis, Adaobi, Yemi, Kael, Nneoma, Chacha, and the top three will be announced by Mazi Haruna himself," Ikenna declared.

Mazi Haruna stepped forward, a smile on his face. "In third place is Azubuike with a score of 90 questions correctly answered. And in second place, with a score of 94 points, is Soludo!"

The crowd erupted in shock and awe, wondering who could have scored higher than Soludo's impressive 94 points. Soludo himself looked stunned, his eyes fixed on Mazi Haruna with a mixture of disbelief and admiration.

"And in first place, with a world-breaking record of 99 answers correctly, is Amuche!" Mazi Haruna announced, amidst a moment of stunned silence.

The crowd then burst into cheers and congratulations, with eyes filled with admiration. "99 questions correctly, how is that possible?" someone asked, with Mazi Haruna reassuring them that there was no mistake.

"I know some of you will be suspicious, but I can assure you that all the answers to the questions have been prepared before the test, and Amuche's answers sheet has been posted at the library. You can all go and confirm by yourself," Mazi Haruna explained.

Some participants went to the library to verify Amuche's answers and were equally baffled by her clear explanations. They couldn't understand how she had managed to answer all the questions correctly, with only one question pending clarification from the academy.

As the crowd dispersed, Amuche was surrounded by her friends, who congratulated her on her remarkable achievement. Soludo approached her, a smile on his face. "Congratulations, Amuche. I didn't think anyone could beat me, but you proved me wrong."

Amuche smiled, her eyes shining with pride. "Thank you, Soludo. I just studied really hard, I guess."

Mazi Haruna patted her on the back. "Well, you've earned your place in the Hundred Lion Academy. You can all go and rest now. Tomorrow, the final round will take place, and those who pass will be considered students of the academy."

Amuche collected her winnings from Soludo and celebrated with her friends,