Among these twenty-odd people, several had even invited Lin Yuan before the exam began, only to distance themselves once they heard he only had an F-rank ability, fearing he would become a burden.
Now that Lin Yuan had effortlessly slain the monsters surrounding them, they felt an indescribable sense of awkwardness and embarrassment.
Even Jiang Ran stood there with his mouth agape, unable to speak. The expression on his round face fluctuated between “I know this guy” and “Am I dreaming?”
Song Zhiyi’s final arrow was still notched on her bowstring, unreleased.
She looked at Lin Yuan, her gaze shifting from his dark purple spear to his face, and then from his face to the field of monster corpses.
Then, she slowly lowered her bow.
“Tier 1, Level 7.”
Her voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet clearing, everyone heard her clearly.
“Not Tier 1, Level 4. It’s the peak of Tier 1, Level 7.”
The surrounding examinees turned their heads in unison to look at her, then snapped back to look at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan didn't deny it.
He shouldered Purple Lightning and walked over to Jiang Ran.
The claw marks on the round-faced youth's arm were still bleeding, but the wounds weren't deep—scratches from a Gray-skinned Jackal that hadn't reached the bone.
Lin Yuan pulled the two bottles of healing spray from his storage bag and tossed one to him.
“Spray once to stop bleeding, twice for pain, and three times for minor wound healing. Tier 2 quality, eight thousand a bottle. Use it sparingly.”
Jiang Ran caught it clumsily, looking down at the bottle in his hand before looking back up at Lin Yuan.
“You...”
“I’m here for the exam,” Lin Yuan said. “I just didn't tell you my true realm.”
Jiang Ran’s lips moved.
He wanted to say “You lied to me,” but he couldn't bring himself to say it. The guy hadn't lied; he just hadn't mentioned it.
Besides, if it hadn't been for him, the twenty of them would have been torn to shreds by now.
Chen Mo pushed up his glasses and muttered a low, “Thank you.”
The twenty-odd examinees behind him finally snapped out of it, their thanks erupting all at once.
“Thank you,” “We owe you one,” “So strong,” “Brother, which school are you from?” The voices rose and fell.
Lin Yuan waved his hand, signaling that no thanks were necessary. He looked at Song Zhiyi.
“How did you guys end up provoking so many monsters?”
Song Zhiyi shook her head.
“We didn't provoke them. These monsters gathered on their own, closing in from all directions as if they were being driven by something.”
Lin Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly.
Over thirty monsters of different species besieging a group of examinees at once was no coincidence.
To make them attack humans simultaneously, there had to be something driving them from behind.
He recalled the three red-hooded figures he had seen on the streets of Hangzhou yesterday evening.
Wearing heavy coats on a hot day, faces completely hidden.
Back in Donghai City, the Blood Eye Cult had also been able to control monsters through runes.
Was there a connection between the two?
He didn't say it out loud.
Without evidence, saying such things would only cause panic.
“What do you plan to do next?” he asked Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran used the healing spray, and the bleeding on his arm had already stopped.
He tried to return the spray to Lin Yuan, but Lin Yuan pushed it back, saying it was a gift.
Jiang Ran gripped the bottle and thought for a moment.
“We plan to retreat and set up camp near the entrance. There were too many monsters this time. If you hadn't shown up, some of us might have already pressed our distress buttons.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
“The perimeter is safer. Stick together and don't split up again.”
He shouldered Purple Lightning and turned to leave.
“Lin Yuan!” Jiang Ran called out to him.
Lin Yuan looked back.
The round-faced youth stood among the group of examinees, his arm wrapped in a bandage someone had dug out of a backpack.
He looked at Lin Yuan with a serious expression on his round face.
“After the exam, Pian'erchuan is on me.”
Lin Yuan smiled.
“Add a side of Dongpo pork.”
“Make it two!”
Lin Yuan waved his hand, lightning exploding beneath his feet as his figure vanished into the depths of the dense forest.
Song Zhiyi stared in that direction for a long time in silence.
“Han Feng from Hangzhou No. 1 High School is Tier 1, Level 5,” she suddenly spoke in a flat tone.
“He has an A-rank spirit blade from the weapon system, and the Hangzhou media has been hyping him up as the strongest examinee this year.”
Jiang Ran turned to look at her.
Song Zhiyi withdrew her gaze and tucked her last arrow back into her quiver.
“Strongest, my ass.”
...
After parting ways with Jiang Ran and the others, Lin Yuan continued westward.
It wasn't that he was hell-bent on heading into danger, but the bone tempering progress on the system panel stuck at 99% was making him restless.
Yesterday in the hotel training room, even the medicinal power of ten Peak Grade bone tempering pills hadn't budged it an inch, which meant it wasn't a matter of medicinal power.
He needed an opportunity.
And opportunities weren't something you could wait for at home; they could only be found in battle.
He walked for over an hour, killing a few more mindless monsters along the way.
One was a Tier 2, Level 2 Green-maned Wolf King, a size larger than a normal Green-maned Wolf with dark teal fur and traces of wind ability on its claws.
Lin Yuan took about three minutes to finish it off, using the deceleration of Sands of Time combined with a Thunderclap thrust to pierce its throat.
【Killed Tier 2, Level 2 monster Green-maned Wolf King, Ability Points +72, Points +10】
【Proficiency in Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens +8】
【Proficiency in Sands of Time +5】
His Ability Points balance was now 664, and his accumulated points were 82.
He cut out the wolf king’s fangs and put them in his storage bag—the teeth of a Tier 2 wolf king could fetch a decent price.
Then he found a large tree to lean against and sat down, unscrewing his canteen to take a few gulps of water.
The endurance from Nine Rounds of Bone Tempering was indeed strong; even after fighting for several hours, his breathing was barely disturbed.
However, the consumption of his lightning ability was real. He had already popped two Source Recovery Pills, and his source energy had recovered to about seventy percent.
While he was resting, footsteps came from the other side of the woods.
They weren't the footsteps of monsters; they were human.
And it was several people, stepping on fallen leaves and dry branches without any attempt at stealth, walking toward him quite brazenly.
Lin Yuan screwed his canteen shut, laid Purple Lightning across his knees, and looked up.
A total of nine people emerged from behind the thickets one after another.
The leader was a tall boy wearing a black, tight-fitting combat suit with the school badge of Hangzhou No. 9 High School pinned to his chest.
He wasn't bad-looking, but his brow carried an air of “I’m number one in the world.” He walked with his chin slightly tilted as if he were constantly looking down his nose at people.
The eight people following him were dressed differently, carried different weapons, and were at different realms.
Lin Yuan scanned them with his system panel. The strongest was the leader, a B-rank fire ability user at Tier 1, Level 5.
Of the remaining eight, three were Tier 1, Level 4, and five were Tier 1, Level 3.
Among Hangzhou examinees, this lineup indeed had the right to walk with a swagger.
The nine people stopped in front of Lin Yuan, fanning out in a semi-circle to faintly surround him.
Rate on N.U.
