Loud and proud
Outraged by the utter disrespect shown to him by those of its own kind, the merman took it upon himself to give them and the other candidates a little teaser for what was to come.
He unleashed his cultivation in its entirety to summon ten complete Mind Palaces in this already cramped space. They were all in the shape of various pronged weapons, each with its own mighty aura that suppressed everyone in the vicinity.
The five shadows were just that, mere shadows being cast into this plane of existence from far and wide so they were not affected in the least.
Max on the other hand was pushed into the ground without any way to fight back, but that did not stop him from laughing at this absurd grand gesture.
"See...told you he was the easiest..." he muttered through a toothy grin.
The pale man on the other hand was unfazed while Hao Xuan had to use almost 10% of his spiritual energy to contend against the cascading waves of pressure bearing down upon him.