Arriving at the location of the second test, Louis heard a voice announce that the exam would begin shortly. Of the initial twenty thousand candidates only one thousand remained, and most of them were nobles with elite educations.
Then a group of nobles walked past him, staring at him with contempt and arrogance. One of them threatened him, saying that next time nobody would show up to help him. But Louis was unfazed, and stared back at the noble with a cold, defiant look. The noble continued to taunt him, saying that he had only passed because of the academy director's help.
With a smirk on his face, the young man simply said that the noble was a complete idiot.
The noble was completely shocked and furious at the boy's unexpected response. Louis then explained that the grand master had much better judgement than they did. Angered, the noble got closer and asked whether the boy wanted to get beaten right there. Louis just smiled confidently, accepting the noble's challenge.
The noble was blinded by rage and prepared to attack the boy with all his strength. He shouted that he was going to finish the commoner, and lunged forward with a punch aimed straight at Louis's face.
But Louis remained calm. With a swift movement he prepared to strike with his fingers, to hit a vital point. His attack hit the noble's fist dead on, paralysing its movement in midair. The noble was terrified as he realised that his body simply would not move any more.
The young man had used a spiral point strike to disrupt the noble's meridian and paralyse him. With a single blow the noble was sent flying with force, as his friends watched. His companions shouted in desperation as they saw their friend defeated in such a way. The noble's body hit the ground with a heavy impact, surprising everyone there.
The other candidates looked on in shock, unable to comprehend the commoner's strength. A friend ran to help him and asked whether he was all right. But the noble complained of great pain. Desperate, he said he could not feel his arm, and was terrified by this. He realised, too, that he could not even move his right arm normally. Full of rage, he accused Louis of using poison and threatened to report him.
But Louis corrected him, saying that it had not been poison, but martial arts. The boy explained that he had been holding back, as his mother had asked, but that he had his limits. Then he said that only those prepared to take a punch could throw one at others.
Suddenly Cain grabbed him by the arm and reminded him that they were in the middle of an exam. Cain then asked whether he was all right with the idea of being disqualified because of a fight. The boy stared at Cain for a moment, seeming to consider the consequences of his actions.
The other nobles shouted for Cain not to get involved, and threatened Louis again. Cain turned to them and asked whether they knew who he was, telling them to back off.
Frightened, the nobles decided to forget the fight and prepared to leave. The group turned and walked away from the scene, leaving the trouble behind for now. But before leaving, the noble said that commoners were trash, and told Louis to remember that. Louis thought that all nobles were the same, using their status to do whatever they wanted.
Then Cain approached and complimented him, saying that he was strong and brave for having stood up to the others. With a smile, the blond noble extended his hand and suggested that they form a team for the test.
Suddenly a group of girls appeared and asked whether Lord Cain was looking for partners. At this a crowd formed around him, everyone begging to be chosen for his team. The others commented that teaming up with him was a sure pass, because he was from the Aurank family. Louis simply ignored all the commotion, with an expression of total disinterest on his face.
At that moment a giant magic circle appeared in the centre of the arena, glowing with a blue energy. The director appeared, floating, and congratulated everyone for passing the willpower test. He then announced with a smile that the next phase would finally be the test of power.
Suddenly glowing marks appeared on the chests of all the candidates, who were left confused. Cain was startled to realise that it was an earth attribute mark on his body. The blond boy was completely shocked and could not understand what was happening there.
His body suddenly felt heavy, and he almost fell to the ground along with the other candidates. Then a huge golden magic circle activated on the floor of the entire battle arena. The director explained that the second exam would be a fight under the influence of his earth magic. The nobles complained that it was impossible to fight with a grand master's magic weighing on them.
One of them then pointed in shock at someone who was walking as if it were nothing.
It was Cain, who despite the difficulty managed to stay on his feet under the immense magical pressure. With an expression of effort, he looked ahead, surprised by what he was seeing.
The person Cain was looking at was Louis, who was managing to walk despite the magical pressure. The young man stepped onto the stage, shocking all the candidates present. The director then smiled at the boy and said that he was the first to arrive once again. The others recognised the boy and were shocked by the intense pressure he was enduring. Cain could barely stand, and wondered how the commoner was handling this pressure so easily.
The director then warned that only those who were still standing would be able to participate in the next test.