Miran looked at Shino and smiled slightly "What made you come late ?".She asked . Shino scratched his head and said with an awkward expression . " I was in the middle of a breakthrough so I had to finish my breakthrough fast before exiting my seclusion ". 
 "You could have missed the competition this time ". A grave look appeared on Miran's face as she said while a glance of blame at Shino . A nonchalant look appeared on shino's face as he shrugged ."What could happen , is it not just losing some ranking ". Miran felt like giving Shino a huge knock on his head. "The competition this time is not normal . There is a hidden trial arranged by the martial lord and anybody who passes it will get an unimaginable benefits ". Miran said. 
 The eyes of Shino shone brightly when he heard the statement of Miran . "Are you sure about this ?". He asked with Intense excitement on his face . Miran nodded with seriousness and then a her eyes twinkled with a mischievous light . "Don't tell anyone about this , my master told me to perform well because the hidden price is very important for my future development ". Shino nodded solemnly as he vowed not to tell everyone . 
 He did not doubt her at all because her master was the Desolate martial god , a top powerhouse in the Martial palace so there was no reason for him to lie to her . " Let's enter the hidden realm ". Her cute little face became serious as she said . "Yeah , let's go ". Shino nodded as his lazy aura was replaced with a sharp one . The competition this time was going to be very intense and fierce . 
 Whoosh!!! They both sped up as they entered the spinning vortex . They felt their visions blur for a while before they appeared in a vast world . There were essentially no difference between this world and the outside world except in terms of size and concentration of spiritual energy . They were quite familiar with the small world because it was not there first time here . 
 The first part of the trial was overcoming the pressure that was generated by the statue of the martial lord. It was this part that makes countless of people to fail . Although thousands of people were participating in the competition only hundreds of people will be able to make it to the second stage . Boooom!!! a terrifying aura descended upon them as the statue shone brightly. 
 Many people were already struggling to withstand the pressure as their strength were quickly sapped . Weaker individuals at the early stage of the martial master realm who could no longer hold on were immediately teleported out of the hidden realm . Boooom!! Many people constructed energy barriers around their bodies as they gritted their teeth and resisted the pressure . Beads of sweat were running down the face of Shino as he resisted the pressure without constructing any barrier . 
 His bones were cracking under the immense pressure and his face was warped due to the intense pain he was passing through but he still persisted without constructing any barrier and allowed the pressure to temper his mind . How can he stand out if he could not endure a little pain . The scene was no longer strange to many people because they knew that it was how he usually resisted the pressure . Many people tried to imitate him but the results were them being teleported outside immediately to avoid casualties . 
 Miran furrowed her brows when she saw the condition of Shino . With her strength , she could have passed the stage with bliss but in the end she gritted her teeth and dispersed her own barrier . Boooom!!! a terrifying pressure shrouded her as she could not help but take three steps back . Veins surfaced on her face as she fiercely resisted the pressure . Her cultivation stage was higher than everyone so the pressure that was directed towards her was much stronger . 
 "Fools!". Rex scoffed when he saw their miserable conditions . He was quite calm under the pressure because he had his barrier surrounding him and also his strength was very strong to begin with . The pressure lasted for twenty minutes before it gradually dispersed . Only about 500 people were remaining after the first stage passsed , to show the intensity of the competition . "Phew!!". Miran heaved a sigh of relief because if the pressure had persisted fur another second longer , she would have no chance but to erect a barrier around her . 
 The body of Shino was shaking intensely but a happy expression was on his face , although he experienced deep pain from resisting the pressure forcefully with his body , the corresponding benefits were noticable as he noticed his mental strength becoming stronger . 
 Boooom!!! Intense light started radiating from the statue as the environment rapidly changed and was transformed . Boooom!!! The people present were teleported to different locations as the second stage of the competition began . 
 The second stage of the competition was all about killing crimson apes and collecting their cores . The more you kill , the greater the points you can obtain . The cultivation of the crimson apes varied from the martial master realm to the grandmaster level . The crimson apes were not real rather they were just projections created by the martial lord . 
 Boooom!!!! golden light shrouded the body of Rex as he punched out "Die!!!!". a bright light flashed as countless of crimson apes exploded apart . Rex smirked with an arrogant expression and stowed away the cores that was dropped in the ground . "I have to hurry and get that opportunity ". His eyes narrowed slightly .
 As the son of the first battle king of the battle god palace , he was privy to some hidden information that outsiders can not get . His father sternly instructed him to perform very well and make sure that he passes the hidden trial of the martial lord that was going to surface in this competition. Whoosh!!! he flashed and vanished from his position.  
 In another place in the hidden realm , a young girl with blue hair and eyes was fighting fiercely with dozens of beasts at the Martial master realm . Her name was Chloe and she was ranked fourth on the hidden dragon ranking . She had the Mystic ice body that was ranked in top 300 among thousands of physiques in the universe . Her body type made it that she was well versed in Ice techniques . "Ice sword ". She said coldly as tens of Ice swords that was gleaming with sharp light formed in the air . She waved her hand as the swords came slashing down with immense might . 
 Poof!!! pooof !!! Countless of crimson apes were penetrated by the numerous swords and many of them died instantly or were severly injured . Boooom!!! a terrifying aura exploded from the West side. Immense fire element surged In the distance , making the sky to appear red over there . "The crimson ape king ". Her eyes narrowed slightly as she collected the beasts cores and vanished from her position not willing to fight against the ape king now . 
 Although , they both had the cultivation of grandmaster stage , the ape king was still slightly stronger in terms of cultivation because he was at the peak of the realm and morever , she still had opponents that she was warily of in the hidden realm . People tend to steak from people who were exhausted from fighting a terrifying battle and was incapable of resisting them . 
 Shino was calm as he walked with steady steps while calmly observing the whole environment . He was teleported to an open field so he was prone to be attacked at any time . This was his second time if entering the hidden realm . He cliched the second place last time and rose to prominence . He was quite low keyed in the academy because he knew that his background was quite lacking when compared to other children . 
 He was from the origin world and he was lucky enough to be rescued and transported to the origin world alongside his mother . To avoid bringing unnecessary troubles to her, he decided to lay low while in the academy . 
He never knew that he would place second in the previous competition if not he would have lowered his ability in order to place lower in the ranking but nevertheless , now he was ranked second in the ranking , he was not planning to go down a bit because he wants to become stronger and then protect his mother that was his only kin from harm . 
 Whoosh!! Whoosh!!! ten crimson apes at the peak of martial master realm suddenly surrounded him . "Kill!!". the apes roared as they pounced on him . Shino smiled slightly as he vanished from his position . His speed was so fast that only a blur could be seen . Bang ! Bang !!! the foreheads of the crimson apes were penetrated by the Spirit severing fingers of Shino . He concentrated his sword qi in his finger and with a sharp calculation and precision , he dealt the crimson apes a deadly blow without them being able to react a bit . 
 The spirit severing finger was a supreme realm martial technique and it was very hard to cultivate because it requires high level of concentration and accuracy in order to kill the enemy instantly . Roar!!! a Terrifying ape roared out in the distance , carrying terrifying might . "Oh , an old friend ". The eyes of Shino shone brightly as he remembered how he suffered intensely in the hands of the ape king , nearly killed by him several times in the last competition . It was time to settle scores .