Seeing Uno suppress his instincts and adjust his state within seconds, Elara also withdrew her gaze and focused on the surroundings.
[Uno, this test might actually benefit us. Take it seriously, and unless absolutely necessary, don't worry about me.]
After giving Uno a final instruction in her mind through the Holy Spirit Blood Soul, the mechanical voice echoed again in the space. The glowing screen also reappeared, but this time, it wasn't directly in front of Elara. Instead, one projection appeared above her and another above Uno.
[First test: Physical assessment]
[Test content: Please carry a 50KG load and climb over the cliff ahead within 30 minutes. Reach the designated point beyond the cliff.]
[Countdown begins in 15 seconds: 15, 14, 13...]
As soon as the mechanical voice ended, the space before Elara, which had only spanned a few dozen square meters, suddenly transformed into an extremely steep and towering cliff.
The space expanded and pulled away sharply. There was no proper path on the cliff, only jagged rocks, climbable stone walls, and dangerously suspended rope loops hanging at the edge.
Halfway up the cliff, a powerful waterfall came crashing down. The climbing route required them to pass directly beneath it.
While Elara was still shocked by the sudden transformation of the scene, she suddenly felt a heavy pressure around her body.
Looking down, she realized her clothes had changed into a set of tight-fitting modern combat gear designed for protection.
Heavy weights were strapped to her back, wrists, and legs.
Elara's breath caught slightly. She looked up again at the towering cliff that stretched at least a thousand meters high in the distance. Even a regular person would take more than thirty minutes to climb it.
Now, with no accessible paths and only extreme climbing routes that mountaineering enthusiasts might dare attempt, and with all this weight, the climb seemed nearly impossible.
Luckily, this body of hers had deep internal strength. With the support of strong inner energy, it shouldn't be impossible.
Elara let out a small breath and gathered her willpower.
A few seconds before the countdown ended, she instinctively glanced toward Uno. Because of the increasingly dense blue barrier, Uno's figure had already become a bit blurry. Only the countdown screen floating above his head was clearly visible.
[Please complete while carrying 100KG within fifteen minutes...]
She only had time to notice that Uno's requirements were double hers when her own countdown hit zero.
She turned back, bearing the heavy load. At the moment the countdown ended, she rushed toward the towering, steep cliff in the distance.
But after just a few steps, Elara realized she had been wrong. This test area had somehow sealed off her internal power.
This test didn't allow the use of inner energy at all.
Damn... Elara's breath hitched.
During this period of time, whether it was her rapidly improving martial arts or her soaring combat ability, she had relied heavily on the vast internal energy within her.
But now, in this assessment space, her internal energy was completely sealed off. Her greatest combat strength had been taken away from her.
Without internal energy, the one-hundred-pound load that originally didn't feel too heavy now weighed down on Elara like a small, immovable mountain, making every step forward take tremendous effort.
Since Oswyn had healed her body and helped her break through the sixth level of Divine Spiritual Mystics, Elara hadn't experienced the kind of exhaustion that made even lifting her legs feel impossible. Now, she couldn't help but curse under her breath.
This assessment actually required them to carry one hundred and two hundred pounds without using internal energy, relying entirely on their own physical strength to climb a steep cliff with no proper path?
And they only had thirty minutes?
Elara suddenly realized how vicious this assessment was. But thinking about it, it made sense. This was a once-in-several-centuries opportunity involving a divine bloodline. If it were that easy to pass, this hidden underground treasure would have been discovered long ago.
With that thought, Elara forced herself to quickly adjust her condition and pushed up her heavy body.
Fortunately, her body had gone through several months of recovery under Oswyn's care and undergone intense training. Even without internal energy, her basic physical condition wasn't bad.
The hundred-pound weight she carried made every step take double the effort, but Elara still held steady and pushed forward at a stable pace toward the cliff in the distance.
Elara had done rock climbing in her previous life.
Not because she liked it, but because whenever big clients or families of equal status with the Xia family invited her to do extreme sports like climbing or skydiving, she would join them if she had time.
But now, carrying a hundred-pound load and racing against time to climb, she couldn't feel any of the enjoyment she once had when doing this with others.
From the moment she started climbing the towering cliff, every step made her feel her stamina being rapidly drained.
Luckily, even though the assessment space sealed her internal energy, it didn't take away her belongings. The medicine pouch Oswyn had prepared was still tied to her waist, full of pills, not a single one missing. Elara tried taking one and didn't get disqualified or kicked out, which showed that using medicine wasn't prohibited here.
So every time Elara felt her stamina running out, she would take one of Oswyn's energy-recovery pills and rest by the cliffside for two to three minutes. The strong medicinal effect quickly restored her strength so she could keep climbing toward the top.
Even with the help of Oswyn's medicine, Elara still had to use all the climbing techniques from her previous life, scaling the cliff with the highest speed her current body could manage.
Still, the loss of internal energy affected her more than she had expected.
By the time she finally reached the top of the cliff with her hundred-pound burden and was just a short distance away from the target point, the thirty-minute countdown had already reached zero. A bright red "0" hung on the display above her.
[Beep~ Assessment time has ended. The participant did not reach the destination within the time limit. Assessment failed.]
So this was her limit without the support of internal energy...
This assessment had helped her discover one of her weaknesses.
Elara sat at the edge of the cliff, breathing heavily as she thought to herself with a hint of self-mockery, then listened as the mechanical voice continued from above her.
[Beep~ After calculation, the participant's physical condition is close to the standard. Eligible to join the Temporary Training Program. Would you like to join the Temporary Training Program, or proceed directly to the second assessment?]
[Note: The Temporary Training Program consists of ten sessions, tailored to the participant's physical condition, greatly enhancing all physical attributes.]
[Note: Due to the high intensity of the training, please prepare all necessary healing and recovery medicines in advance.]
Elara sat at the edge of the cliff, and after catching her breath, she immediately selected [Join].