Hae-Hyuk left the room. However, before he could go anywhere, he was faced with Sophia's angry expression. This little girl's sense of justice was really a pain to deal with... He glanced at her through the blindfold then walked past her without speaking. Sophia turned around and screamed. She wanted this man to answer her.

He turned to face his legacy disciple and asked her: "What is it?"

Sophia glared at him as she said: "Is it true? You are sending them to die?"

Hae-Hyuk pondered for a second before he replied: "One will win and live"

Tears began to form in her eyes as she clenched her fists. She had come to like the two guys after spending a few years with them. She didn't want them to die. She wanted the three of them to stay together and learn under Hae-Hyuk... She said: "Do you really have to do this? Do you have no heart?!"

Hae-Hyuk sighed and told her: "I saved their lives and took them as disciples for this moment, what did you expect? Cultivators, Sophia, are beings whose goal is to pursue the End and go beyond it. My path is blocked and one of them will open it for me. Which one it is, how it happens and the sacrifices that have to be made for it? I don't care. Only the result matters"

She burst in tears and her face contorted in disgust as she looked at the man in front of her. He was so cold. She knew that she didn't know much about the world but she didn't expect to be disillusioned about it. She didn't have any words to describe her feelings. She hated him, she hated the situation and she hated herself for being powerless. She couldn't even find the words to express it to him.

But Hae-Hyuk knew her thoughts and smiled. To him, it meant she was growing up as a person. She was learning that the world wasn't a sweet place. As he turned around, he said: "You will understand one day, after you reach the pinnacle yourself"

Then, he left the crying girl. She didn't spend another moment here and barged into the boy's room. She found them sitting in the middle of the room meditating. What was wrong with them?! They had just been told they would die! She hurriedly went to hug them both and cried in their arms. She couldn't understand why she was so sad and why she seemed to be sadder than them.

The fact was that whether it was Min-Su and Jin, they had come to terms with the situation. From the start, they knew that Hae-Hyuk didn't take them in out of good will. They just didn't expect the risks to be so high. Regardless, they were aware that they had no choice anymore. It was literally a do-or-die situation for them. Instead of feeling downhearted, they meditated and prepared themselves.

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Because they wanted to be the one to survive.

...

Hae-Hyuk left their quarters and moved through a few hallways as he admired the different paintings of esteemed seniors. He glanced at them but didn't feel awe or inspiration. Instead, he wondered how much longer it would take for him to have his own. It was close, nearly in his grasp. As long as one of those two could get him the treasure...

Lost in thought as he was, he still noticed her waiting for him at the next corner. Isla was there. As she showed herself, she asked him: "How did they react?"

Hae-Hyuk didn't hide anything: "Sophia cried more than they did. They are adjusting themselves"

Isla nodded. Then, she said: "Mine have been ready for a long time now. Things will go according to plan"

Hae-Hyuk smiled slightly as he grabbed one of her hand before they both headed forward. They walked for a few minutes before reaching the back courtyard. All the pinnacle experts were already there. In total, there were 86 cultivators taking part in this with each having two champions.

Everyone was limited to two. It had been decided so eons ago. If they could only pick one, some people would stir up trouble. Only having one could lead to incidents and blaming bad luck and such. Nitpicking could be avoided by letting everyone have two chances. As for not giving a third one? It was because two was enough.

The reason it had been limited to the 9th stage was so that the elements on the mountain would prove to be a worthy trial. As for why it wasn't limited to the body strengthening realm was due to the numerous races taking part. Some of them, especially sentient spiritual beasts, would have had too much of an advantage if they used cultivators in the body strengthening realms. Many beasts had higher strength or special abilities from birth...

Picking two champions under the 10th stage evened out the field for everyone.

As for the reason they didn't fight for it themselves? Obviously, it was so that they didn't destroy the world. What's more, they all needed to take part in the week-long sacred ceremony for things to work and the treasure to form. If they had bad blood due to fighting for the previous treasure...

It was a situation where they could compete without much risks and while satisfying everyone. It was a fair contest and no one had the rights to go against the results.

The presence of the only five experts left above the 70th stage was also helping keep it this way.

As Hae-Hyuk arrived, the man who had been the middle spokesperson during the speech approached him and Isla. He had a warm smile on his face. As he arrived, Hae-Hyuk bowed and greeted him: "Greetings, Saint Arialdo Vassi" Isla greeted him the same way. And he happily greeted them too.

Then, he said: "I didn't expect you to use it at this time, Hae-Hyuk. But then again, if not now, when would you?"