"Eliminated!" "Eliminated!" "Eliminated!"
"My Lord, while our resources are limited, should we use these giant Blood Stones only for elimination? Wouldn't it be more beneficial if we smashed them and gave them to talented students to assimilate?"
The Second Elder spoke looking at the five enormous Blood Stones losing their effectiveness, albeit slightly, with every contestant.
"You are very boring, Second!"
The Sheikh's answer was clear; the man with a harsh temperament couldn't insist.
"You spoke very correctly, my Lord!"
On the other side, the Third Elder continued doing the job he knew best.
"Passed! Bloody Spear Anton, three blood stars!"
After failures coming one after another, the first success was met with enthusiasm among the public and participants. Having achieved sufficiency, albeit from the lowest level, would disperse the pessimistic atmosphere for a moment.
"Eliminated!" "Eliminated!" "Eliminated!"
Fortunately, other officials were running to dampen the spirits of the crowd; at least thirty failures followed one successful result.
When the exam of half of the participants finished, the success rate didn't exceed five percent; out of two thousand people, one hundred people had passed, and all of them could awaken the stone only up to the third blood star level.
"Passed, Black Lily Silvio, four blood stars!"
This time there was no applause or enthusiasm; it was clear that the person passing didn't expect this either. No one had forgotten the betrayal that came years ago; the ambition of the genocide that couldn't be realized due to the Royal Family's prevention was still fresh in minds.
"Spawn of a whore!" "Traitor dog!"
The member of the clan responsible for the death of Isabel, who started the golden age of the sect, seemed not to care about the world; proceeding calmly, he passed through the crowd to the place reserved for his own clan.
Here, an elderly man inside his gray robe welcomed him; there was a belittling look in his eyes too.
"Alis, I assume you understand the standard you shouldn't fall below!"
"I thought we were going to keep a low profile?"
When Nafız gave her warning upon the latest development, Alis answered loosely but would realize a second later that he made a very wrong move.
"I apologize!"
The contestants were in front of the stones in the jam-packed square; the trio who took their numbers towards the end of the second day had also slowly reached the head of the line.
They were waiting in front of the one in the middle of the five stones; when Jashua turned his head to the right, he saw familiar faces there.
The remaining three members of the quintet that lost two while trying to take their turns that day were almost aligned with them.
The fur-clad young man had preferred a simpler cape today but with the coat of arms of the clan he came from on its back. The scarred face was in front of him, and the only girl in their team was one row ahead of him.
Antuan's eyes were on the trio next to them; the humiliation he experienced yesterday and the instruction he received at night were spinning in his mind.
"Today you will see who I am, I will stand above all of you!"
Seeing the line on the side slowing down, the ambitious young man hurled a few people standing behind him forward; obviously, he wanted to enter the exam at the same moments.
"My lady, the type on the side is up to something!"
"Never mind him, if the lessons he took weren't enough, a new one is on the way anyway!"
While speaking, Nafız looked at Jashua standing at the very back; when she understood he got the necessary message, she turned to her front calmly.
"Passed, Bloody Star Celeso, four blood stars!"
"Wow, wow, wow, this was your clan, right Third?"
The Sheikh hadn't shown a reaction to the member of the Black Lily Clan, but when he saw the girl achieving awakening up to the fourth level by putting her hand on the blood stone, he turned to the man on his left with enthusiasm.
"Yes my Lord, she is one of the geniuses of my clan!"
"Bravo, it has become a bit brighter this year!"
"My Lord, I saved the real surprise for the end, I hope you will be much more pleased!"
While rubbing his two hands, the Third Elder bent his vulture-like thin neck double; at the same moments, not a sound was coming from the right side of the Sheikh.
While the young girl looked at the bright red light in the fourth part of the stone divided into six sections, she assumed a self-satisfied stance; how could she not be?
The giant stone, thinning slowly after its wide base, was taller than a normal human size; its height reached almost three meters.
The higher the Blood Compatibilities of the trial contestants putting their hands on it, the levels separated by deep cuts began to shine one by one; right now, the young girl left the front of the stone she illuminated up to her height level with slow steps.
This time the crowd was discussing the situation enthusiastically; some were supporting the young girl with applause.
"Alis!"
When the turn came to him, Nafız patted the back of the young man in white lightly; today Alis was dressed like the time he set foot on the continent.
He had completed the blood-red shirt inside his white snakeskin suit with a handkerchief of the same color; the heels of his shiny shoes were making rhythmic sounds with every step.
When he came in front of the Giant Blood Stone, he placed his colorless hand on it slowly; the hand and the stone were in a state of complete contrast. First, the wide base lit up suddenly; the time this action took to last up to the third floor was three seconds.
The supervisor's eyes had become huge; when the fourth floor lit up, his mouth was also open along with his eyes. Two people had reached this level before, but such speed was seen very rarely.
Then something happened that made him shout out of excitement; the fifth level of the stone showed its bright light to the entire square. The official looked at the registration stone in his hand immediately; his facial shape would change suddenly, he had entered the state of not knowing where to put his hands and arms peculiar to people not knowing what to do.
"Announce it!"
Although he wasn't aware, this state was attracting attention; even the Second Elder had come to the position to intervene. Actually, this was the job of the weak-looking man sitting on the left, but for some reason, he hadn't stepped forward and taken responsibility.
"Passed! Bloody Moon Alis, five blood stars!"
Sounds cut off; it was as if a black veil covered the entire square. Then a few cracked voices began to rise from in between.
"Cursed ones!" "Those who bring disaster!"
While saying one or two, the increasing sounds lasted until a dry cough; the Second Elder coughed once where he sat and all sounds ended. The people loved him; they were aware of their situations and knew they would remain defenseless against dangers coming from outside without him.
They were not a power supported by ten clans and one hundred fiefdoms like before. Within the past hundred years, except for one, all of them had declared their independence de facto if not officially.
"Passed, Bloody Star Herido, four blood stars!"
The Bloody Star produced a person at the four-star level for the second time, but this situation was met in a way that couldn't even approach the old reaction. Regardless of what happened, the square had seen five stars once; those remaining below it would be considered mediocre no matter how good they were.
"Two four stars, you are going very well Third!"
The Sheikh, grasping the breast of the woman on his lap with his right hand, was watching the selections with the smile he placed on his handsome face.
"My lady, I will go!"
When Jashua made a move to jump in front of Nafız, he was stopped by a delicate hand; this hand was almost telling him to stay in his place.
"Where has it been seen that a Count took the stage before his subjects!"
Laughing a small laugh, Nafız advanced; now the eyes of all the public and participants were on the two Blood Stones standing side by side.
Nora had her hair braided today; they extended from her back as two thick braids. One of the braids was fastened with a hairpin in the shape of a bloody crescent, and the other with a six-leafed blood flower.
Pulling her skirt ending above her knees slightly, she began to walk; the sun was almost rising again over the square with her.
Nora placed her small delicate hand on the stone; everyone held their breath with excitement. After the high-standard result coming one after another, expectation had risen very high.