It was too late to tell Arthur to prioritize the family, and it was too late to tell the true children to take pride in their hard work and achievement instead of their birthright. He could only hope that the current situation doesn't escalate and he can put his hope in a reformed family on the future generations.
Two weeks later, a notification reached every participant who had registered. It didn't matter where they were in the five kingdoms. They all learned that the examination would start in six days.
The notification also contained some rules and regulations of the examination. For example, beast helpers cannot be used in the first examination. Slaves can't be used too.
This rule meant that Roar couldn't help him in the first section of the examination. This could change for the other sections. Usually, there are at least four different sections in the regional sect examination that test various aspects.
There was also another rule about the ban on talismans. He didn't know what talismans were, so he asked his mother.
She told him that talismans were items containing the power of strong entities. They were consumable items that could be activated and used without much power by their wielders.
With a talisman from a cultivator at the third mortal coil, someone at the first mortal coil can defeat an enemy at the second mortal coil. Someone from a powerful family can use talismans to cheat on the exams, so it was explicitly banned.
Other special items and shortcuts, such as transplanting the bones and organs of a powerful ancestor into a junior or attaching the divine sense of a powerful being to a junior to assist them in the exams, were also banned.
The list of rules and regulations was extensive. He had to scroll across the identity card for hours reading it. He had never seen or heard such things, so he was enlightened. His interest in them made reading the rules and regulations not boring.
The final information contained in the notification was the exam time that the examinees should gather for the first examination. There was also a deadline in which anyone who arrived past that time would not be able to participate in the examination.
This notification caused tensions to rise and for many people to become anxious. There was some fighting and disturbance among the people, but these were quickly quelled by the security guards.
Anyone found causing trouble, no matter their background, was punished severely. Even the true children of cultivation families would not escape this. It is why they all stayed within the ship and rarely went out.
Six days went by slowly. It was as if time had slowed down. The wait was agonizing.
Even someone as confident as Arthur felt anxious during the wait. He was always pacing around anxiously. So when it was time for the examinees to gather, he was one of the first to leave the ship.
He got dressed quickly and bade farewell to Roar in a hurry. Then he began to hurry down to the teleportation platforms.
Lady Vena shouted at him, "Slow down. Don't forget your helpers."
She was referring to Thompson and his other students. He had forgotten about them in his hurry.
Since they were going to help him if they encountered him in the examination, he decided to slow down for them to catch up. So the eleven of them went to the teleportation platforms together.
They went up the yellow road together with the other participants. The number of participants was too numerous to count. Fortunately, there was no rush, or there would have been a stampede and many people would have been injured in the crowd.
The stations at the end of the yellow roads had been changed to an inspection and identification booth. Every participant had to present their identification card, and tests were done to make sure that the card truly belonged to them.
Then the participants were assigned to a teleportation platform to stand on. They waited there for the platform to be activated.
Despite his anxious state of mind, he had to wait for his platform to be full before it could be activated. His heart was beating wildly the whole time.
He said to himself, "It feels just like when I was sitting for the SATs. Both exams had a lot to determine one's fate."
If there was a difference between the regional sect examination and the SATs, it would be that he is confident of passing the regional sect examination and doing very well in them. It was just the fear of the unknown and the long wait that was making him anxious.
While he was waiting, a large cubic pillar had appeared above the teleportation playoffs. The pillar was 100 meters thick and 1 kilometer tall. It had four faces facing north, south, east, and west.
This pillar was the ranking list. It would show the top-performing participants. By the end of the examination, the names on it would be the names of participants who would gain admission to a sect.
Once the pillar appeared, the viewing card that spectators purchased was activated. With the viewing card, the spectators could watch the performance of whoever they wished, and they could check their ranking at any time.
The prerequisite to spectate a participant is to know the name they used to register and the registration number of the participants on the identity card. This information is needed so that not just anyone can spectate any participant they want.
After these two items were activated, the first teleportation platform was also activated. The platform lit up, and after a short moment, the participants disappeared in a flash of light.
After this teleportation, the platform dimmed and returned to its natural state. Then another batch of participants was sent to the platform.
Arthur saw all of this happen because he wasn't on the first platform to activate. His platform was the third one, so he saw two platforms activate and send away participants before it was his turn.