24: Chapter 24 The Martial Arts Examination Begins: Leave No One Alive
Lin Yuan had already prepared to enter the Martial Arts Examination venue. At this time, many people were starting to form teams.
After all, most examinees only possessed the strength of the Body Tempering Initial Stage. If they didn't team up, based on their individual strength, they would probably only manage to kill one or two ferocious beasts before having to come out.
Therefore, forming a team became the choice for the majority. Although they needed to split the points with their teammates, the efficiency would be much higher.
Only examinees whose strength was overwhelmingly superior would choose to act alone, allowing them to monopolize the points. However, there were almost no such people. No one would delay their Martial Arts Examination results just to show off.
Examinees ranked in the top one hundred in the municipal rankings could basically be certain of getting into a key university. As for the provincial rankings, examinees in the top three hundred had a chance to enter a top-tier university.
"Lin Yuan, you don't have a team? Do you want to join mine? We're still one person short."
Just then, a pleasant voice sounded. Lin Yuan turned his head to see a youthful and beautiful girl standing behind him.
This girl, named Xia Yuhan, was from Class Six. She was a sweet-looking girl who possessed an B-rank Ability and was favored by many boys, yet she had a soft spot for Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan was handsome, with a standard height of 1.85 meters, and had always been the object of her admiration.
After all, if the younger sister was the campus beauty, how could the older brother be far behind?
Especially today, Lin Yuan was dressed in white martial attire, holding a white longsword, giving off the vibe of a refined young master and a cool swordsman.
At this moment, Xia Yuhan was blushing as she boldly looked at him. The Martial Arts Examination would end soon, and everyone would go their separate ways. If she wasn't brave now, she would truly miss her chance.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan smiled slightly. "Yuhan, I'm sorry. I've decided to fight alone and have no plans to look for teammates."
Lin Yuan politely declined her kind offer. Teammates would only become a burden to him.
Moreover, the more beautiful the girl, the more it would affect his sword-drawing speed...
"Heh—That sounds nice. You, an F-rank Ability user, still want to fight alone? But, you have some self-awareness for not coming to drag us down," a boy said sarcastically.
He was Xia Yuhan's teammate and one of her pursuers.
"Yuhan, he doesn't appreciate your kindness and wants to be a lone wolf. Why bother trying to pull him into the team? You can't just look at a man's appearance; strength is the most important thing," said a decent-looking girl beside her. She was Xia Yuhan's best friend, Li Ying.
"Cough, cough—Lin Yuan, don't listen to them. I genuinely wanted to invite you," Xia Yuhan said, a little embarrassed, offering an explanation.
"It's fine. Yuhan, be careful later. I wish you good results."
As Lin Yuan finished speaking, he turned and left, clearly not wanting to converse with the group anymore.
"You too..." Xia Yuhan murmured softly, then followed her teammates to prepare on the side.
"Hi, Lin Yuan, you haven't teamed up?"
Li Meng walked over. She was the girl who went with Lin Yuan to the Training Camp.
Although Li Meng wasn't beautiful, her personality was very carefree, possessing a somewhat heroic air like a boy. She and Lin Yuan had a good relationship, getting along like buddies. Li Meng often sought him out for a chat.
"Do you think my strength requires a team?" Lin Yuan rolled his eyes.
"True. You're too monstrous. If you team up, your teammates won't be able to keep up with you. Oh right, did you see that tall guy over there?
His name is Han Fei. He is number one in the Rocket Class of No. 1 High School and is also called the number one genius of Tai Province. He has an A-rank Lightning Ability, and it is rumored that he already possesses the strength of the Body Tempering Peak, with extremely ferocious offensive power. He is your most formidable competitor," Li Meng said, pointing towards the No. 1 High School contingent at a guy who was about 1.9 meters tall.
Lin Yuan glanced over but said nothing, only smiling and nodding.
"What's with that expression? Could it be that he also poses no threat to you? No way! You're too monstrous..." Li Meng was speechless, then continued,
"Do you see the guy behind him? That's Sheng Yang. He is second only to Han Fei and is also a strong contender for the provincial top scholar."
"Mm."
Lin Yuan glanced at him and responded faintly.
"Forget it. It seems pointless to talk about this with a monster like you. I'm leaving. I need to discuss tactics with my teammates." Li Meng tapped Lin Yuan's shoulder with her fist.
"Go ahead. With your strength, you have a chance to challenge the top-tier universities. Go for it!"
Lin Yuan encouraged her. Li Meng nodded heavily, then turned and left.
Lin Yuan surveyed all the examinees present, a faint smile appearing on his face.
...
Dong!
The gong sounded on site, signaling the start of the Martial Arts Examination.
All examinees rushed toward the huge silver portal. The portal was massive; five thousand examinees entering it was not crowded at all.
Lin Yuan stepped into the portal. A familiar sensation washed over him, and he appeared in an unfamiliar environment.
This was a mountain range, and he was currently standing at the foot of the mountain.
Lin Yuan tapped his wristband, and a map instantly appeared before his eyes. The examination ground for the Martial Arts Examination was vast, covering an area equivalent to half a district in Spring City.
His location was the outer perimeter of the mountain range, marked as a green area on the map with the character "Easy" (easy). The closer the location was to the mountain peak, the deeper the color displayed.
The areas were marked as Easy, Difficult, Dangerous, High Danger, Super Dangerous, and Super High Danger, respectively. The Super High Danger area was marked in deep red and continuously flashed with red light, reminding examinees of the level of danger there.
The area was too large, and the examinees were randomly teleported around the mountain range. It would be genuinely difficult to run into another person.
Examinees who formed teams could see their teammates' locations on the map, allowing them to gather first before killing ferocious beasts together.
"For this Martial Arts Examination, I must not only achieve good results, but I also can't pass up the ability points here. I'll start from the perimeter and not let a single soul body escape."
Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan began searching the perimeter for ferocious beasts. Even a mosquito's flesh is still meat.
As for the Martial Arts Examination points, he wasn't in a hurry. He was confident that very few people would have the ability to enter the areas marked High Danger and Super Dangerous. He had already reserved the huge amount of points in those areas; it was just a matter of when he would go collect them.
At this time, in the live broadcast area outside the examination ground, there was a background wall with ten huge display screens hanging on it. The topmost display screen was the largest.
This screen would show the live broadcast footage of the top ten examinees in the municipal rankings, and the largest screen at the very top was naturally the exclusive display screen for the municipal top scholar.
In the front row sat the Director of the Provincial Education Bureau and the Director of the Municipal Education Bureau. Behind them were the Principals of various schools, followed by the teaching teams from each school, and some parents who had come to the scene.
Just then, ten figures appeared on the screens, immediately causing a stir.
"It's started! Examinees are appearing. Look, the one ranked first is indeed Han Fei, worthy of being called the number one genius of Tai Province," someone said.
"Sheng Yang is here too, he made the list."
Principal Zhou Haoran of No. 1 High School said excitedly, "Spring City hasn't produced a provincial top scholar in several years. All our hopes this time rest on these two."
Spring City, as the provincial capital, could not afford to be without a provincial top scholar. This year, Spring City had produced two excellent seedlings. No. 1 High School, being the best high school in Spring City, had poured all its resources into cultivating the two of them for this very moment.
"Don't celebrate too early. My No. 2 High School's genius, Wang Jingyu, is also on the list. It's only just begun; it won't be until noon before we can see who truly has the potential to be the provincial top scholar," Principal Yang Zhenyu of No. 2 High School said dismissively from the side.
Last year's municipal top scholar came from No. 2 High School, and this year their school's genius, Wang Jingyu, was no less impressive than the previous municipal top scholar.
Behind everyone, there were three more huge display screens showing the rankings, displaying only the examinees' names and schools.
The first screen was the municipal ranking, the second was the provincial ranking, and the last one was the national ranking.
"Why hasn't Lin Yuan appeared on the list yet? What is that kid up to?" Principal Tang Weiguo looked at the municipal thousand-person list, saying somewhat anxiously. He had high hopes for Lin Yuan; whether he could bring glory to the school depended on him.
"Principal, don't worry. He probably just hasn't encountered any ferocious beasts yet. With that kid's strength, it's not a problem," Chief Instructor Du Feng comforted him from the side, though he himself was tightly clenching his fists, clearly also a bit anxious.
While people outside were discussing animatedly, many geniuses had already headed straight up the mountain to the Difficult and Dangerous areas to kill ferocious beasts with high points.
But Lin Yuan was unhurriedly killing some Body Tempering Initial Stage ferocious beasts on the periphery. His goal was to leave no one alive...