"Where is Nelsa?"
At that moment, Raul suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder as he heard a whisper. "Here."
He instantly moved back as he saw a blue-haired, green-eyed girl crouching just next to him.
Those gem-like eyes staring at him almost mesmerized him, and he shrieked back in terror.
The information about her Mystic bloodline flashed through his head, and he instantly turned away.
Nelsa just puffed her cheeks and stomped in fake anger.
None around the group reacted much, as they were already used to this scene.
Raul nodded his head. "At least the core team is still intact."
Alex nodded back to him. "Yeah, but with those others gone, the other teams are a mess now."
Raul looked at the others; the memories related to them were fuzzy.
Though he kind of had the idea that most of these guys had also manifested their bloodline.
They were part of the second and third teams.
It was just that these teams were not balanced, as Nelsa was the only one with a Mystic bloodline in their team of 17.
Now, both teams also lacked anyone with the cursed bloodline.
He then looked at a couple of guys standing at the very back.
Those were the few like him who still had to manifest their bloodline.
If he were not from the Rikasi family, who were the main backers of this team, he would be standing among them.
Raul shook his head as old Raul's obsession to awaken the powerful bloodline passed through his mind.
With that, a couple more things started to come together.
Just then, John rushed back with an elderly man running behind him.
Alex shouted at the man, "Butler Cui, treat Raul fast."
"Yes, young master."
The butler wasted no time and sat next to him.
Raul saw him mumbling something as golden light started flashing through the butler's fingers.
He instantly understood that Butler Cui was using his Holy Attendant bloodline spell.
The moment the butler's finger touched him, he felt a slight heat, and then the pain inside his head subsided.
He was about to thank him when a loud announcement echoed throughout the hall.
"Children, start preparing your bloodline connection ritual. The time has come for your trial."
Butler Cui bowed to Alex and Raul and started to move back. "Young master Alex, young master Raul, I pray for your safety."
With that, the butler in his complete black dress rushed out of the hall.
Raul looked past his team and saw a thousand Pulse students starting to cluster together.
Just like their team, multiple teams ranging from 10 to 20 members started forming around them in the hall.
This time, Alex clapped his hands. "Guys, I hope you remember the arrangement."
Raul tilted his head, as he just could not remember this so-called arrangement.
But then he saw everyone move in a circular formation and sit on the ground.
Raul did not have to move much, as Alex sat to his left and Nelsa on his right.
At one glance, he saw tension and fear on everyone's faces.
He suppressed the chaos in his mind. The most important thing was to come out alive from this so-called trial of light.
From old Raul's memories, he knew that this trial of light was a death sentence for those without blood manifestation.
He felt like cursing, as not even an hour in this new life, and he was already about to meet death again.
Still, there was hope. If he somehow managed to survive the trial, he was bound to awaken his dormant bloodline.
He could see that others like him had the ugliest faces in the team.
Just then, Alex tapped and pointed to the bulky guy sitting before him. "Marcin, you can start."
The muscular guy glanced at the others, and to Raul's shock, he saw Marcin biting hard on his thumb.
Soon, Raul saw the red blood dripping out of Marcin's thumb, but Marcin looked unbothered as he just created a line on the floor.
The contrast of red blood on the white marble made it easier for Raul to see that Marcin first created a straight circle and then wrote something below this line.
The moment Marcin finished, he just quietly nodded to the others.
Just then, the guy sitting next to Marcin bit his thumb and extended the line, writing something again below it.
Soon, it became clear that they were actually creating a massive blood circle with their names written below.
As the circle formed, related information flashed through Raul's head.
He understood this was a bloodbond ritual that would allow every member of their team to enter the same Light Trial.
Not long after, it was his turn. Following the others' example, he also bit his thumb.
Just this act alone increased his heart rate. It became so loud in this silent hall that he could only hear the loud thumping sound from his chest.
The moment he extended the circle and wrote his name below, he felt an invisible tug on him.
It was as if someone had tied a rope around his waist and was suddenly pulling him toward the center of the circle.
But it was just a mental sensation; physically, he felt no pull at all.
After a few more minutes, the last member sitting before Marcin extended the line until it connected back to Marcin's starting point, forming a complete circle.
The moment the guy wrote down his name, the entire circle suddenly shone bright red.
Right before his eyes, the bloodline started wiggling on the floor. He saw Alex mumbling something and tapping inside the circle.
The very next moment, the blood floated up from the ground.
Another loud shout echoed inside the room. "Gate to the Light Trial opening…"
The moment Raul heard the voice, a cold sensation washed over him from the ground.
He instinctively looked up at the ceiling, where a massive old statue etched above started forming cracks all over it, like something was about to break out.
Then the statue's eyes shone with bright yellow light.
Before he could understand, the bright light engulfed him, making him blind.
He found himself falling into empty darkness. The sharp contrast of going from bright light to dark space left him dizzy.
In this confusion, he heard a mechanical sound in his head.
Ding!
Before he could react to this sound, he felt a strong tug, and the next moment, he blacked out.