My Divine Pet Enables Me To Become The Biggest Winner
Chapter 532 - 373: Eden Cave_3

Chapter 532: Chapter 373: Eden Cave_3

As the appointed time arrived, the melodious sound of three gongs rang out, and the field quickly quieted down. The cultivators stood with their hands tied, looking straight ahead. The grand hall opened, and Evans Graham, in his official attire, emerged from the hall, accompanied by several subordinate officials.

He surveyed the whole scene, eventually fixing his gaze on the cultivators in the square, which became increasingly serious: "After going through all the hardships, you have finally reached this point. If you can pass through the Eden Cave in the back mountain, you will have the opportunity to see the emperor! This is the most critical moment in your life, so I hope you can grasp it well and not let yourselves down!

Now, the old husband is going to announce the rules for this third stage assessment:

Your final ranking will be determined by two aspects: the faster you come out, the higher your ranking; being able to bring out ancient swords from the Eden Cave can also increase your ranking, and the more valuable the sword, the higher the ranking.

Relatively speaking, bringing out swords is more important than passing through quickly!

In addition, I want to tell you all that the swordsmanship you bring out belongs to the Imperial Court and is only used as a reference for your ranking and does not belong to you..."

The cultivators’ faces changed, and someone shouted, "But in history, the swords brought out from the Eden Cave belonged to the students!"

Evans Graham fiercely glared at him and said domineeringly, "As you said, those are students! Students are Merton Academy’s people, and Eden Cave belongs to Merton Academy as well, so the swords they bring out can be given to them by Merton Academy.

You are not students, and it’s already good for Merton Academy to provide Eden Cave as a testing ground for you. You still want to take swords? Dream on!"

Some of the observing crowd sneered, some shook their heads lightly, but they all knew in their hearts that Evans Graham had been driven to desperation and had completely lost face.

The cultivators still felt indignant, but Evans Graham sneered and said, "If you don’t agree, you can quit the third stage assessment now!"

At this point, no one gave up. The cultivators were upset, but the protests gradually died out.

Bart, standing behind Owen Bertram, whispered, "Sir, what should we do?"

The situation in front of them had become the same as in the Zombie Cave: in order to obtain a good score, they had to obtain the approval of the swords, which was helping Evans Graham make money.

Owen Bertram glanced back at the impoverished Cultivators under his command. Bart said, "Sir, don’t worry about us. All of us here will just go in for some training and never help Evans Graham get swords! We don’t plan to compete for the Dragon and Snake List either, as we’re definitely not going to make it."

The impoverished Cultivators nodded in agreement: "Sir, don’t worry about us."

Owen Bertram smiled slightly: "Alright, then. Do as you wish."

Owen Bertram was also in a dilemma. This trip to the Eden Cave was intended to gain some benefits. However, now that Evans Graham was playing dirty and demanding that the swords brought out be handed over to him, why should they?!

"Hmph!" Owen Bertram scoffed coldly.

Finally, Evans Graham revealed a hint of a smile: "Good... Since everyone has no objections, let’s set off for Eden Cave! Please keep in mind, you need to obtain a sword in order to get a good ranking in the end!"

The cultivators set off from the square in sequence, following the guidance of Merton Academy professors and heading towards the Eden Cave in the back mountain.

It had been closed for many years, and the roads leading to it had fallen into disrepair. Many sections had collapsed, but Merton Academy had temporarily built a small path using the methods of cultivators. It took them half a shichen (two hours) to finally arrive outside the cave.

Outside the cave, the style of the previous dynasty could be clearly seen, with thriving ancient trees squeezing their roots into the rock crevices. The cave entrance, originally covered in vines and roots, had been temporarily cleared.

On the ground in front of the entrance was a huge array flickering with spirit light, extending back and merging with the entire mountainside. The Great Formation left over from the previous dynasty that had previously sealed the Eden Cave.

Evans Graham stood to the side with a cold face, and when it was Owen Bertram’s turn, Evans suddenly stepped forward and squeezed out a smile, "Sir Owen, thank you for what happened during the first assessment. I haven’t had a chance to thank you before, but I’ve always remembered it deeply! This is the last checkpoint, so please do your best."

He gently patted Owen Bertram on the shoulder as if encouraging him.

But Owen Bertram heard the grudge beneath the words "remembering deeply" and scolded Evans Graham as an "old yin-yang man" before chuckling and walking away.

Evans Graham’s face turned icy in an instant, and he sneered inwardly. Although Merton Academy could not control the Eden Cave, they had guarded the cave for many years and knew some secrets unknown to outsiders.

For example, in a barren mountain several dozen miles away from the Eden Cave, there was another relic, which only had three statues of kneeling people still remaining, with thick iron chains around their torsos.

According to the books in Merton Academy, anyone who was tainted by the "aura" of these three statues would be despised by all the swords in the Eden Cave. If they were lucky, they’d get beaten up and thrown out; if they were unlucky, they would die inside the cave.

As Evans Graham patted Owen Bertram just then, he hid some stone powder scraped from the statues between his fingers!

The entrance to the cave was huge and wide, spanning several dozen meters. Standing outside and looking inward, it was pitch black as if it was nighttime. However, as soon as they entered, everything brightened up. The surrounding stone walls shone naturally, reflecting a moonlight-like silver light.

Bart led the impoverished cultivators behind Owen Bertram, facing a rugged and difficult mountain path ahead of them which was full of jagged stones like wolf teeth on the uneven ground. The winding cave led to an unpredictable distance ahead.