He stood up and walked to the base of the stairs. Taking a deep breath, he placed his foot on the first step.
An immense, crushing pressure instantly enveloped him, attempting to squash him into paste. It was a force that felt like a mountain being dropped on his shoulders.
He immediately began to circulate the Heaven Breathing Technique.
As the divine energy flowed through him, the oppressive pressure was reduced by half, but it was still a tremendous burden.
He took another step. Then another. After just five steps, he was sweating profusely, his muscles straining under the immense weight.
If things continued like this, he wouldn't even be able to reach the first checkpoint.
Without hesitation, he activated his bloodline, a surge of crimson lightning crackling around him as he activated Divine Thunder Might.
His strength skyrocketed.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed onward, each step took massive effort. Step six. Step seven. Step eight.
The pressure intensified with every upward movement. Finally, with a final exertion, he stepped onto the tenth step, the platform of the first checkpoint.
The pressure subsided slightly, allowing him to catch his breath. It had been incredibly hard.
Levi layed down for a while before hee walked over to the serene, angel-like statue on his right. It held a simple, silver pendant in its outstretched hands.
He immediately knew it was a treasure. He reached out and took it.
Nothing happened.
"Eh?"
But the moment he placed the chain around his neck, a cool, refreshing energy flowed from the pendant and into his mind.
The mental fatigue from his earlier studies vanished, replaced by a feeling of profound clarity and focus.
The impurities in his body, the ones that even his rank-ups hadn't fully expelled, seemed to begin slowly dissolving.
It was a great treasure, one that could assist him in cultivation and also comprehending techniques easily.
His eyes moved and then shifted to the demon statue on the left side of the checkpoint.
The demon's claw was holding a wicked-looking black ring.
Levi's eyes brightened and he took a single step towards it.
The moment he crossed the halfway point of the platform, an immense pressure that had been weighing him down increased drastically, turning even violent.
The two pressure clashed, and the resulting pressure was greater. Levi was instantly forced back, unable to even approach the demon's treasure.
Levi frowned and the thought about it. To take the treasure, he could not be purely divine or purely demonic. To claim all the treasures, he had to walk the middle path. He had to learn both techniques.
As he thought about it, he descended the stairs, the pressure vanishing as he stepped off the final step. He walked over to the black monument and, with the new began the dangerous task of learning the reverse-circulation technique.
With the pendant, he was sure he wouldn't make any mistake in the circulation.
With the pendant clearing his mind and sharpening his focus, the process was much faster.
He still struggled with the dangerous, nature of the art, but after an hour and a half, he felt he had a grasp of its foundational principle.
[Ding! Random multiplier activated: 5,000x!]
Another explosion of insight, this time dark, chaotic, and filled with a profound understanding of destructive power.
"I shall name you 'Demon Breathing Technique.'! Finally!"
It was then he realized he could actually combine the two circulation methods to form a whole new circulation method. He immediately named it 'Heavenly Demon Breathing Technique'!
He ascended the first ten steps again, this time circulating both breathing techniques simultaneously.
It was difficult balancing the two opposing circulation methods but they seemed to find a strange harmony within his body, neutralizing the worst of the dual pressures. He reached the first checkpoint with far less difficulty than before.
He walked over to the demon statue and easily took the treasure from its hand.
It was a spatial ring, but when he connected to it, his mind shook. The space within was massive, almost as large as a mansion.
He immediately thought of the eighteen other treasures waiting for him further up the stairs made his heart pound with greed.
But he forced himself to calm down.
He could come back here, to this hidden, training ground, anytime he wanted during the next 24 hours.
The examination, however, and the first-place prize, would be lost to him forever if he dallied for too long. He needed more points.
He descended the stairs one last time. He found the little thief waiting patiently for him at the entrance.
He fulfilled his earlier promise, returning the twenty percent of the Geo-Essence he had taken as payment for the ring, and explained they would return to the ruins later. The little creature, seeing the treasures within, readily agreed.
The two human and beast then turned around and left.
With the ruins temporarily behind them, Levi and the little thief began their hunt.
Their partnership had evolved into a ruthlessly system.
The little thief would use its insane senses to locate the most powerful beasts in the vicinity, pointing them out with a series of excited chirps.
Levi, in turn was like a god of death, descending upon the creatures as he killed them with insane speed.
They became a meat grinding machine, tearing through the dimensional zone. News of their approach often came too late for their prey to escape.
Levi no longer bothered with complex strategies or cautious approaches.
He was a Rank 6 Super Soldier with an S-rank bloodline and high level techniques.
Levi crashed through the dens of Rank 3 beasts, slaughtering them with ease. He sought out and dismantled entire packs of Rank 4 predators, using them as whetstones to sharpen his control over his newfound bloodline skills and the `Inferno Slash`
His point total on the leaderboard, which was being watched with a mixture of shock, disbelief, and growing dread back in the stadium, climbed at a terrifying, relentless pace. The gap between him and the second-place student, Gerald Jackson, was increasing dramatically.