106: Chapter 106 Top Ten in the Province

Huang Hao himself felt his pupils contract violently, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

The point where that blade light erupted was only a dozen meters away from him. The terrifying aura of death brushed past his body, and he could even feel his skin stinging from the residual Saber Intent.

He gripped his twin axes tightly, his muscles tensed to the extreme, and he instantly retreated from the central area, pressing himself against a huge stone pillar of the arena, his eyes filled with indescribable horror.

"Oh?" Li Wen, who was standing in the void observing the battle, finally showed a ripple in his indifferent gaze.

This blade light erupted abruptly, and its power condensation was far beyond what an ordinary person just beginning to glimpse the Momentum Realm could unleash with a casual strike. Although it was still imperfect and the force felt dispersed, in this kind of group battle environment, its power was terrifying enough.

Clearing dozens of people in an instant—this efficiency and deterrent power fully displayed the terrifying dominance of the Momentum Realm in group combat.

His gaze was instantly attracted. Li Wen's thoughts stirred, and through the energy afterglow that had not yet dissipated, he accurately locked onto the source of the blade light's eruption.

It was a tall, thin youth with a cold and arrogant expression.

He held a long, slender battle saber flickering with a cold, eerie luster in one hand, casually performing a saber flourish. His posture was so casual, as if the previous strike was merely swatting away an annoying fly.

What caught Li Wen's attention was that the number following the 'eye' mark suspended above this person's head was a startling '11287'.

Moreover, the number was rapidly climbing, meaning that the attention of over eleven thousand external spectators was focused entirely on him.

The immense disparity in attention directly manifested this person's terrifying fame and strength.

With a hint of exploratory interest, Li Wen's will shifted slightly, instantly switching his observation target from Huang Hao to this cold, arrogant saber user.

The moment the perspective shifted, it was as if he had been transported into a deafeningly noisy stadium filled with ten thousand people.

A massive amount of discussion, screams, and fanatical cheers, like rolling thunder, instantly flooded his ears: "Xuan Shen! Xuan Shen! Cleared the field with one strike!!"

"So cool! Is this the strength of Lin Xuan, the guardian of the top ten in Jiangnan Province?!"

"Tenth place in the last Provincial First Mock Exam! Prodigy Lin Xuan! This chaotic battle mode is practically tailor-made for you!"

"Lin Xuan, look here! Wipe out the entire field!! Go! Go!"

"Lin Xuan? Tenth in the Provincial First Mock Exam?" Li Wen narrowed his eyes slightly, repeating the key information extracted from the tidal wave of sound.

He had some impression of this name, having seen it on the 'Jiangnan Prodigy Ranking' after the Provincial First Mock Exam concluded.

His gaze once again fell upon the indifferent-looking Lin Xuan on the arena stage.

With just a casual strike, he cleared dozens of meters around him, creating a deadly forbidden zone that no one dared to enter.

The arena area within dozens of meters around him was now occupied only by him, standing proudly alone. All other contestants had retreated to the edges, their eyes filled with dread.

Even some contestants with considerable strength, whose skill Realm had reached the Unity Realm, appeared exceptionally cautious now, daring not to approach his sharp edge.

Lin Xuan seemed to have lost interest in the opponents around him, who were like ants. He swept his gaze across the contestants at the edge of the arena, who were like startled birds, and the corner of his mouth seemed to curve into a slight arc of disdain.

He slowly raised his saber, the tip pointing toward another corner where a contestant with an equally strong aura stood.

That contestant instantly became extremely tense, his face turning pale, lamenting his bad luck.

He had originally thought that with his strength at the Late Stage of the Unity Realm, winning the first few rounds should not be a problem, but he hadn't expected to encounter a Momentum Realm Prodigy in the very first round.

Lin Xuan, holding the long saber, seemed to have transformed into a cold Grim Reaper.

He didn't waste any extra words. His figure moved slightly, and the long saber in his hand executed a simple horizontal sweep.

However, the majestic Saber Intent wrapped around the blade's edge erupted like a giant stone thrown into a calm lake, suddenly exploding outwards.

Hum—!

A condensed, gray-white blade light, accompanied by a piercing shriek as it cut through the air, suddenly spread out like invisible ripples of death, instantly sweeping across nearly half the arena.

"Ah!"

"Pfft!"

"No—!"

Terrified screams mixed with the sounds of shattering weapons and tearing armor.

With just one strike, over twenty contestants, whose strength ranged from Top-tier Technique to the Late Stage of the Unity Realm, couldn't even manage a proper resistance before turning into scattered points of light, mercilessly kicked out of the virtual battlefield, their points instantly halved.

Huang Hao felt an overwhelming, irresistible pressure crash towards him. Every hair on his body stood on end, and a chill shot up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

Almost purely by survival instinct, he used every ounce of strength he had to roll backward in embarrassment, narrowly grazing the edge of that violent blade light.

The cold Saber Intent swept over, causing his skin to burn fiercely. His virtual armor let out a groan of being unable to bear the load, its durability instantly plummeting to the bottom.

Still shaken, he lay prone on the ground and looked up. The center of the entire arena looked as if it had been ravaged by a fierce gale, instantly becoming vast and empty.

The surviving contestants were all ashen-faced, their gazes toward Lin Xuan filled with the most primal fear, as if looking at a Vicious Beast ready to devour people.

Within the massive spectator area of the virtual coliseum, in several conspicuous locations, several figures also emitting powerful auras were intently watching the slaughter on Arena Number Three.

"Hmph, this Lin Xuan still has this habit of loving to crush weaklings."

A short-haired youth wearing a fiery red tight-fitting outfit sneered, but his eyes held a hint of gravity, "However, this Saber Intent—it is indeed fiercer than before. Last month during the Provincial First Mock Exam, he was stuck at the threshold between the Early and Middle Stages of the Momentum Realm. Judging by the control and burst range of that strike just now, he must be just one step away from the Middle Stage."

A woman next to him, whose figure was as ethereal as the wind and who carried a cyan longsword on her back, nodded slightly: "Very close to the Middle Stage. Condensed yet not scattered, precise range suppression, swift burst. This level of Saber Intent mastery should place him among the top tier of Blade Technique geniuses in the entire country for his age group. It seems he put in hard work this past month."

"Hard work?" Another handsome youth sitting on a floating round stone opened his eyes. His voice carried a hint of indifference, "I heard he rejected the early admission offers from several top martial arts universities in the capital, betting everything on seclusion for a month in that Saber Family Secret Realm left by his father. It's normal for his strength to improve quickly with that kind of ruthlessness and Opportunity. He—he must be eager to fight Chu Feng now, right?"

The conversation among the few revealed acknowledgment of his strength, but also an almost imperceptible sense of competition. They were all geniuses ranked in the top ten of the previous Provincial First Mock Exam, and Lin Xuan's dominant performance undoubtedly put pressure on them.

In an isolated, independent area separated from the noisy public spectator zone, with an excellent view, the atmosphere was entirely different.

This area was quieter and more solemn, filled with an air of professional evaluation and decision-making.

The acting representatives of the Four Great Factions, the representative from the Jiangnan Province Governor's Mansion, and the observers from various top martial arts universities all focused their gazes on the huge light screen suspended before them, which was divided into dozens of smaller screens.

Each small screen corresponded to an arena where battles were raging, and beside them, real-time data scrolled showing the instant points, status, basic information, and System-determined threat index for every contestant in that arena.

At this moment, the screen positioned in the center, labeled 'Arena No. 3,' was the clearest and most conspicuous, its edges flashing with dazzling light-gold warning stripes.

This was a special marker used by the System for individuals possessing extremely high potential and immediate destructive power.

The focal point of the screen was that cold, arrogant figure holding a saber in one hand and looking down upon the entire field—Lin Xuan.

"Lin Xuan's performance shows clear improvement compared to the Provincial First Mock Exam data from last month."

A male observer wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a 'Jiangnan Martial Arts University' badge pushed up his glasses, his voice calm but carrying a professional analytical tone.

"His use of Saber Intent is more proficient, and his explosive power has increased by at least fifteen percent. Looking at his precise control over that wide-area blade light, he should have already touched the edge of the Middle Stage of the Momentum Realm."

A female observer from the 'Huaxia First Military Academy' next to him added, quickly recording data on the light screen with her fingers.

"Only one month—this growth rate is indeed astonishing."

The Governor's Mansion representative crossed his arms, his gaze sharp. "Based on the strength and potential he is currently displaying, his final ranking in this Provincial Second Mock Exam should be able to challenge the top five."

"Indeed," another observer agreed, nodding. "Power burst, speed, control over the Momentum Realm—all aspects are very balanced. His practical combat style is ruthless yet efficient, without any obvious shortcomings. He is a good seedling."

The representatives of the Four Great Factions were comparatively much calmer.

Director Sun Zhenshan carried a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips. His gaze did not linger on Lin Xuan for too long; instead, he swept across the other arenas, as if searching for something.

The agents from the Mercenary Alliance, Virtual Company, and Galaxy Bank maintained calm expressions.

For them, geniuses like Lin Xuan, who had been evaluated in the last Provincial First Mock Exam and even signed high-level contracts, already had their files registered at headquarters.

This time, they were mostly observing the magnitude of his progress and whether his development met expectations; they didn't need to record and evaluate from scratch like the university observers.

Lin Xuan's excellent performance served to validate their previous judgment.

"He is almost meeting the standard line for an S-Class contract," the Galaxy Bank agent whispered slightly to the person beside him. "Last time we only offered an A+ Class supplementary resource package. If he manages to break into the top three this time, headquarters might reconsider granting him a formal S-Class contract."

"Combat capability is the core," the muscular agent from the Mercenary Alliance rumbled. "Seeing him chop up these miscellaneous fish like cutting vegetables is easy, but when he encounters truly tough opponents, like those few people also in the top ten, whether he can maintain this level of crushing power is the key to testing his S-Class potential."

"Yes, this round of chaotic battle won't reveal too much. The focus should be on the subsequent promotion matches and the finals," Director Sun Zhenshan finally spoke, withdrawing his gaze from the arena.