Chapter 12

The day was long. It was very difficult for Alexander to lose track of the enemies. If it wasn't for his will, he would have fainted in the second step he took, and this would have caused his death. But his will was able to bring him to a cave after three hours of painful escape.

Alexander threw Noah to the ground and pressed pressure points to wake him up. The fracture in his right arm had already pierced the flesh and gone outside. He also contracted an infection after spending time in the woods. Without immediate intervention, it could have resulted in death.

Moves to the pressure points caused Noah to wake up startled. When he woke up, the first thing he saw was Alexander's bloody arm, had ceased to be human arm. When I thought about how much it hurt, his heart cooled.

This wouldn't have happened if he had won against Zachary.

"What does it take?"

Alexander had no more power left. When he saw Noah wake up, he let himself down against the wall. His teeth, which he had gritted to endure the pain, were now shaking. Even his gums were bleeding and wounded. The infection was life-threatening.

Alexander said several plant names before he fainted. Since they both took a phytology class, Noah knew what the plants he was telling about were about. Luckily, they were all plants that could be found here. After wrapping Alexander's wound with a piece of clothing, Noah went outside and soon found the necessary plants.

After that, Noah moved with all his heart.

He crushed the herbs and turned them into an ointment. He got clean water and cleaned his clothes by fighting people from a nearby stream. After applying the ointment, he covered the wound with his clothes. He then used the board to support the arm. He would manage for now. The exam should have ended soon.

Snap!

At this moment, a sound was heard from the entrance of the cave.

It was the sound of one of the dry branches he had placed so that he knew someone was coming.

Someone had entered the cave!

---

As soon as Noah went outside to fight the enemies, a man in a bamboo hat appeared at Alexander's feet. A little further on, the three children who had begun to fight each other to the death had not noticed the man, even though he was in front of his eyes.

"It's far from enough."

He bent over slightly and came into contact with Alexander's broken arm.

"He doesn't deserve the position of a killing machine. What do you suggest I do? Hmm, well. I'll save him this time, but don't forget our deal."

After the man uttered meaningless sentences, the reddish aura emanating from his body enveloped Alexander's arm. His arm, which had become lush green like a leaf, slowly took on its former vibrant color. His punctured veins and badly damaged bones began to heal at the same time.

Alexander's wrinkled face slowly eased.

After watching Alexander for a while, the man turned his head and headed deep into the cave. His body was quite stagnant as he moved through the darkness. There was nothing noticeable except his blood-red eyes.

The man walked into the darkness and never appeared again.

---

The fight had been quite turbulent, but luckily Noah had survived. Although his body was washed with blood.

After receiving the badges, Noah pulled the bodies inside and focused on warming Alexander. He was so focused that he forgot he had to take care of his wounds.

Less than three or four hours later, an irritating sound echoed all around. Noah threw himself to the ground and tore one of the badges to pieces.

When he tore the badge apart, a smell began to spread that only instructors could pick up. Within seconds, Noah breathed a sigh of relief when he saw an instructor appear at the entrance to the cave.

This test, which started with a thousand two hundred people, ended with the death of six hundred people.

Noah seemed to have forgotten even his pain.

Following the instructor who embraced Alexander, Noah left the examination area. For both Alexander and Noah, this exam was a great experience. They reminded themselves of death once again.

The next day, Alexander woke up painfully. All but a few minor wounds on his body were closed. If it wasn't for his mental fatigue, he could have been happier when he saw the results. On the bright side, the fracture in his arm was healed.

The results had already been announced. The team that Noah and he were in was third overall, which should not be forgotten there were three hundred teams. They were awarded third place with nearly two dozen badges.

Noah suddenly ended up next to him.

"The awards will be given tomorrow. We're probably on leave today, how about doing something?"

What he meant by doing something was to rest or hang out with the girls in the group. Noah was mentally tired. He couldn't sleep last night for fear that he might be killed by someone. They had to be a little distracted to relax.

But Alexander had no such plan.

"I'm going to train."

He turned around and left Noah's side. He was lagging behind the others in Qi and would soon regress further. Soon someone would open the second acupuncture point and make a difference to the others. He had to train tooth and nail to keep up with them so as not to fall behind.

It was more difficult to open the acupuncture points because it was the leading one of the talentless. Creating an auger was three times more difficult than the average one. His pain was likewise three times greater. For example, Alexander suffered twice as much as Noah did at the thirteenth bend.

It was very difficult for him to keep his focus, let alone make progress.

He spun the seven vortexes on his body, attracting all the Qi in the atmosphere. After including them in the auger, he formed a circulation cycle. He tried to endure the pain as he led the Qi to the Spirit Seal.

The seven vortexes were far from acceptable.

He was the one with the lowest talent of the entire group.

That's why he chose Spirit Seal over Cloud's Door. If he tried to follow the same path as the others, he would be left behind without fail.

He was considered invincible in close combat because he combined strategy with martial arts. He could beat someone stronger than himself. The level of development was not the only thing that played a role in the cultivation of power.

However, if the difference in the level of cultivation was large, death was inevitable. Then strategy or intelligence would be of no use. A single attack was enough to kill him. They also hadn't fully started learning martial arts. They were just learning cultivational-type martial arts.

'I have to get stronger no matter what.'

He managed to create a new vortex while attacking the Spirit Seal. Blood was coming from his nose, but he kept going. A few hours passed, and he moved again to create the ninth vortex.

It was moving very fast.

As the vortexes turn at full speed, all the Qi in the dormitory began to retreat to one place. Some children who were meditating were abruptly interrupted and suffered internal injuries from the recoils.

Boom!

The ninth and tenth vortexes occurred at the same time.

Blood was flowing from Alexander's seven holes. When all their bones were broken at the same time, it felt like they were starting to fuse again.

'I can do more!'

When he formed the eleventh vortex, he vomited a mouthful of blood. He was trembling with the pain as he forcibly went out of meditation.

But there was a smile on his face.

The battle for life and death must have changed something in him.