Chapter: 3

Isabella took an involuntary step back from those chilling purple eyes and shouted,

“W-What a joke! Even so, you’ll fail tomorrow’s exam in spectacular fashion!”

Leaving those words behind, Isabella spun around and stormed off.

How clichéd. It almost felt cute.

Wait—what exam tomorrow?

Karina’s gaze naturally shifted toward Ariel.

Ariel clapped her hands together as she let out an “Ah.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t remember this either?”

Then she continued,

“Every month, the adopted children have to take an exam. Tomorrow is the third one.”

At Karina’s icy look that clearly said Why are you only telling me now?, Ariel gave an awkward smile.

“Looks like you really don’t remember. There are seven exams in total, and only the adopted children who pass all of them get officially adopted into the ducal family.”

An exam, huh…

It was remarkably similar to the Black Blade Hall.

“What were the previous exams?”

“The first one was surviving for thirty minutes against a monster in a sealed space. Ten kids were eliminated just in the second exam.”

A monster? What was that supposed to be? It sounded ominous just hearing about it.

But then… how had she even survived up to the second exam with this pitiful body?

As if reading her thoughts, Ariel kindly added,

“Apparently, you passed by hiding in a narrow gap in the corner of the room.”

So as long as you stayed alive, it counted?

Looks like this body truly had not a shred of ability.

A question suddenly arose—was there really any need to risk her life over these exams?

Rather than facing monsters with a body that didn’t even have a drop of internal energy, wouldn’t it be better to give up the exams, get disowned, and recover her strength afterward?

“Can’t I just give up the exam and get disowned quietly?”

At Karina’s question, Ariel flinched and glanced around before leaning in close.

“This is a secret, but I’ve never heard of a single kid who was disowned and safely released. Rumor says they kill them quietly so no information about the ducal family leaks out. Or they use them as test subjects.”

Damn it.

So there really was no way out.

* * *

The next day, the training officer gathered the adopted children in a place that looked like an underground prison.

The children—already having seen countless eliminations during the second exam—wore tense expressions, worried that monsters might appear again.

Even Karina, once a cult leader who feared nothing under the heavens, felt the same tension.

Because right now, she wasn’t the Black Heaven Biyun who once ruled the continent—

She was Karina, a girl who could barely even run.

If I had even a tenth—no, even the dirt under my former claws’ worth of internal energy, I wouldn’t be worried like this.

She had secretly tried circulating energy before dawn, but there was no way internal energy could accumulate in such a wretched body without even a formed dantian.

Then the cold voice of the training officer echoed through the space.

“Today’s exam will be conducted here.”

At the sight of dozens of small cells lined up like prison rooms, the children stiffened.

It felt as though monsters might be lurking inside each one.

“And this exam—”

The sound of someone swallowing echoed through the silent corridor.

“—is to endure for one week in those cells with only the minimum amount of water.”

The children erupted in murmurs.

“A week without food?”

“Isn’t that easier than fighting monsters?”

Karina let out a bitter smile at their chatter.

They had no idea.

From the looks of it, those rooms blocked out both light and sound. Forget hunger—an ordinary person would go insane in three days.

And these were children whose minds hadn’t even fully matured yet.

Their mental strength would crumble far faster than that of an experienced adult.

It was an exam that was practically a living corpse experience—nothing more than breathing.

A battle against oneself in complete darkness.

Yet after hearing the exam’s contents, Karina smiled secretly.

Heh. The heavens are helping me.

At her strange smile and gleaming eyes, Denian—standing beside Ariel—made an uneasy face and hid behind her.

A full week alone with no interruptions.

It doesn’t get better than this!

* * *

A dark, damp cell where not a single ray of light entered.

Sitting cross-legged, Karina slowly inhaled and exhaled.

Circulation and Breath Control (運氣調息).

Also known as energy circulation, it was the most basic method of accumulating internal energy.

To build internal energy, one must first form a dantian.

Pouring energy into a place without a vessel would never allow it to accumulate.

The early stage of forming a dantian was especially critical—any external disturbance could lead to qi deviation or even permanent crippling.

That made this week of solitude the perfect opportunity for Karina.

“Hoo…”

Energy began to swirl around her.

Very faintly, it started seeping into her body.

Normally, it could take months—sometimes years—just to sense the movement of energy.

But for someone who had once reached the transcendent realm as the leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, it was more natural than breathing.

Following the meridians remembered by her mind and soul, the energy slowly gathered in her lower abdomen.

“Kgh…!”

Forcing open a path that had never been used before came with excruciating pain.

This required absolute concentration.

This was the most dangerous moment—one lapse, and her qi would twist or she would collapse unconscious.

On top of that, she was carving a path at high speed without the months-long warm-up normally required for circulation.

She had to form a dantian and accumulate at least some internal energy within a week.

It was nothing short of reckless.

But once she began circulating her energy, she realized something.

The density of the ambient energy here is completely different from where I used to be.

Energy far denser and stronger than she had ever known churned through the air.

With this level of purity and quantity…!

Forming a dantian and building internal energy within a week wasn’t impossible.

The problem was that forcing such pure energy through narrow, half-open meridians multiplied the pain.

One mistake and I’ll really die.

Cold sweat soaked her entire body.

Her nerves were stretched taut, and an intense headache threatened to split her skull.

Still, she clenched her teeth and endured.

After some time—she couldn’t tell how long—a warm sensation bloomed in her lower abdomen.

Her dantian had begun to form.

Naturally, her five senses sharpened, and the surrounding energy became clearer.

Despite the room blocking out light and sound, she could vaguely hear noises from other cells.

“Please… please let me out!”

“Waaah! Mooom! Waaah!”

“Ghhk! Urrghhh!”

The children’s pain-filled screams echoed clearly.

In contrast, Karina remained calm.

During energy circulation, hunger, excretion, and even sleep urges vanished.

Instead, energy flowed through her meridians, making her body feel light and her mind crystal clear.

Though her dantian was only the size of a small pebble—

It was enough.

In the past, accumulating this much internal energy would have taken at least three years.

Finishing that training in less than seven days could only be called incredible luck.

The abnormally dense energy in the surroundings played a huge role.

How long had she continued circulating her energy?

Kreeeak—!

The heavy iron door swung open with a loud groan.

“Karina. Come out.”

At the training officer’s voice, Karina slowly opened her eyes.

After keeping them closed in darkness for a full week, the faint light spilling in through the door felt blinding.

The training officer stared at her oddly.

“Any physical abnormalities?”

“No.”

Karina answered calmly and stepped outside.

She could feel the officer’s suspicious gaze but pretended not to notice.

Outside was utter chaos.

Some children were unconscious, some crying, some vomiting.

With no proper sanitation, they must have handled everything inside those tiny rooms.

Defecating where they slept, sleeping where they defecated, vomiting from the stench—again and again.

It must have been a living hell.

Compared to the others, Karina’s cell was not just clean—it looked untouched.

No wonder the training officer found it strange.

“Karina!”

Turning at the familiar voice, she saw Ariel carrying Denian on her back.

“My goodness! You made it! Are you feeling okay? Anywhere hurting?”

Ariel also looked perfectly fine.

Karina studied her with a puzzled expression—she looked exactly as lively as before entering the cell.

Catching her gaze, Ariel smiled brightly.

“I can restore not just stamina, but mental strength too.”

To recover injuries, stamina, and even mental strength without energy circulation…

This kid might be far more extraordinary than she looked.