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He unleashed his cultivation in its entirety to summon ten complete Mind Palaces in this already cramped space. They were all in the shape of various pronged weapons, each with its own mighty aura that suppressed everyone in the vicinity.

The five shadows were just that, mere shadows being cast into this plane of existence from far and wide so they were not affected in the least.

Max on the other hand was pushed into the ground without any way to fight back, but that did not stop him from laughing at this absurd grand gesture.

"See...told you he was the easiest..." he muttered through a toothy grin.

The pale man on the other hand was unfazed while Hao Xuan had to use almost 10% of his spiritual energy to contend against the cascading waves of pressure bearing down upon him.

He eyed the mind palaces and the excessive energy coursing through them. The merman had to be at least an end-stage Saint Lord to be able to suppress him as much as he had. And he was still full of vitality so there was a chance that he wasn\'t even a hundred years old yet which would put him leagues ahead of any so-called geniuses that Hao Xuan had come across before.

The merman was preparing to launch an attack when an oh-so-familiar voice interrupted him.

"Ahem! Candidates, please refrain from killing the denizens of my domain," Mendax nonchalantly mentioned.

The candidates turned towards the source of the voice and found Mendax standing in the center. The merman immediately withdrew his energy and mind palaces before giving a royal bow to Mendax.

"Senior!" he said clasping his hands respectfully.

Hao Xuan would have never thought him capable of such a humbling gesture which only made Mednax look that much better in contrast.

Mendax threw a smile his way while clapping twice. The ground shook and slowly opened up to let out a stone platform with nine sides (a nonagon).

His figure flickered and reappeared several meters off the ground looking down at all the candidates from above.

The low rumble of unceasing lightning and thunder acted as an apt backdrop for his impending speech.

"What a special occasion we have here today!" he began, as usual, with a cordial smile, "We have not one but four candidates present at once with the remaining five present as spectators and witnesses to their glory."

The five shadows looked at one another with the same well of mixed emotions. Something big was going down and they couldn\'t be here in person to be a part of it. They were all going to be the next generation of leaders, the flag-bearers that everyone looked up to within the sanctum but now these four had surpassed them...at least for the moment.

Mendax gave them a brief moment to come to their own conclusions before continuing.

"Now, I am sure many of you are aware but for those that aren\'t," he glanced towards Hao Xuan and Max respectively, "You are here for one purpose and one purpose alone!-"

The middle of the platform opened up and the same murky water filled it halfway.

"-To prove your loyalty by measuring the depth of your mark! The more valuable you are considered by the Nine the higher your rank will be. But do not be worried if you start low, many of us did and there is no shame in that! In fact, it gives us the opportunity to prove ourselves through hard work and perseverance!"

Once he made sure that all the candidates had properly grasped the reality of their situations he gave them some good news to follow it up.

"That said, the tests and trials that you had to pass through to get to this point will not have been in vain! I have kept an eye on your progress and the fruit of your labor will be given to you after you conclude your final examination. Now, let us begin! Who will be the firs-"

Before he had even finished the sentence the merman was already standing next to the platform.

"Ah, right, we have our first candidate! Now, step inside and leave yourself open. Do not try to hide or conceal anything as it will only diminish your final rewards!"

The merman did not seem anxious or worried in the slightest since he had complete trust in his abilities and walked into the middle of the platform in one go.

Three slimy tentacles protruded from the pool of murky water and climbed up his body. Two wrapped around his legs while the third attached itself along his spine.

"We will begin by inspecting your attributes."