Chapter 232: The altar of punishment

The white lightning city served as the entrance of the Thunder academy. If one wanted to take part in the competition, they had to start here. The test grounds were set upright in the northern corner of the city, which bordered the area where Thunder Academy was situated.

The academy tasked outer disciples and elders with the registration process for the upcoming competition. They were to enlist the participants of this year's competition and formulate the list into groups. Each group would take the examination separately. 

Only those who managed to emerge within the top 100 rankings were eligible to enter the next test.

Huge lines were formed by the enthusiast who arrived here from the various subordinate forces of the Thunder Academy. Those recommended by the academy elders were also present within the groups. Participants needed to put forward their identity tokens along with the tab handed by their academy heads to register.

Needless to say, the area was bustling with activity. With so many young cultivators present within the city, it was quite natural to see a few people discussing Dao within themselves. Major merchant organizations even set up an arena where people could go ahead and test each other out.

This event was a huge source of income for various parties. The audience usually placed a bet on the side they had hoped for. Even before the true examination started, the competition was quite fierce. Li Meng visited these arenas to see the fights.

He couldn't help but gasp in admiration after looking at the talent of these fighters. This without a doubt was one of the sacred lands for martial artists. Any one of them could easily bathe the whole great wasteland in blood. What was even more astonishing was the fact that they weren't even the top contenders.

As the time of the examination was drawing near, the exceptional geniuses all decided to go into solitary cultivation, trying to comprehend their future paths. They not only tried to become stronger but prepared for the upcoming examination too. There was speculation about some of the top contenders.

"Have you heard about the Ling family boy? He seems to have comprehended the wind lightning art."

"What about the little girl from Luo family. She too is a heaven-defying genius, who has a top-grade lightning body. Who could compare with her? She is also said to be an exceptional beauty."

"How about Yue Shen? He is someone who hasn't resurfaced since he went into seclusion, trying to comprehend the 9-thunder body peak. He is about to come out for the entrance examination."

"Geniuses are hidden within the masses of the white lightning city. Some of the recommendations remain a mystery even now. There are supposed to be some heaven warping talents in this year's test."

Li Meng moved around the city, trying to get as much information as possible. He wanted to understand the internal standings within the Thunder academy. He arrived before one of the top merchant guilds in the area, the brown-stone guild which he previously received a badge from.

"How can I help esteemed sir?" one of the store attendees came forward to greet Li Meng.

"I wish to seek some information?"

"If sir wouldn't mind following me to the internal caravans." Li Meng followed the man to one of the upper floors. The caravan he was referring to was a simple room in the interiors that were secluded from the rest of the world.

After patiently waiting for some time, he finally managed to get a glimpse of someone entering the room. It was an old man well within his eighties, maybe even higher. 

"Would I be fortunate enough to know what information Daoist friend is after?"

"I have a series of queries which I would like to get information about." Li meng handed a list out to the elder. While going through the list, the elder did have multiples changes in expression, as some of the information was quite sought precious.

"Let���s start with the cheap sections first."

"The test conducted this time is quite a mystery to us. We only know that the final battle is going to be a one-on-one fight among the top 10 geniuses who make it that far. As for the first level, there are some speculations, with the majority of believers supporting the 'Altar of Punishment"

"What is the altar of punishment?"

"It would cost you 100 Qi stones to get that information." Li Meng simply handed over the amount. He was quite rich at the moment and hence didn't hesitate to pay.

"The altar of punishment is said to be something which was personally refined by one of the ancestors within the Thunder academy. It is directly linked with the thunder mountains via formations and hence can utilize some of the thunder energy which is produced within the region."

"The altar is used to bombard the disciple's body with extremely powerful lightning. The longer one is able to sustain, the higher is the benefit gained from it. The thunder increases in power as time passes. When the system was first established, only those who could pass the whole process were allowed to appear in the next round."

"But as new generations arrived, the cultivator wasn't able to sustain themselves through the process. That is why the amount of time is taken into consideration as of now."

"It is rumored that one needs to have a great affinity with thunder energy, as well as a peerless thunder art if they want to sustain to the end. As of now, if you manage to hold out for 3 incense sticks, you could definitely enter the top hundred."

Li meng couldn't help but be shocked. This was truly a land of geniuses. 3 incense stick was the base time for getting into the top 100.

"What is the record as of now?"

"Except for those ancient figures who managed to sustain themselves through the process, the longest record is 7 incense sticks."

Li Meng was truly eager to experience the lightning within the Altar of Punishment. He might be able to take the final step within the 9-thunder body art.