37: Li Ziyu ranked ninth? National Youth Wuhan University League

At the edge of the central district.

Xia Lin's sword pierced the head of a First Level Intermediate fierce beast, a Gluttonous Wolf.

The three-meter-long Gluttonous Wolf let out an unwilling howl and fell to the ground.

"Phew... If my swordsmanship hadn't temporarily broken through to intermediate level, and if I didn't have this Second Level asma alloy weapon in my hand, I really might not have been a match for the Gluttonous Wolf."

Xia Lin leaned against a broken wall, panting a few times, while tearing open an energy bar and chewing on it.

Equipment and Battle Skills are both a type of strength, and the Martial Exam does not prohibit students from carrying weapons that exceed their own level.

"Let me check my current score ranking."

Xia Lin tapped a few times on the score bracelet on her right hand, opening the score leaderboard.

Seeing herself ranked second, her expression showed some surprise.

Her gaze continued downwards, searching for Li Ziyu's ranking.

When she saw Student Li Ziyu ranked ninth, a hint of surprise appeared in Xia Lin's eyes.

"Huh, Student Li Ziyu is only ranked ninth? Is he holding back his strength?"

"No wonder I'm ranked second. If it were according to normal strength rankings, Student Li Ziyu should be above me, and I should be below him."

"Nangong Ao first, Student Li Ziyu second, and I third—that ranking should be normal."

"But it seems now that Student Li Ziyu probably hasn't exerted himself yet."

"With his strength, aside from Nangong Ao, being ranked second is definitely not a problem."

...

Snap.

Also at the edge of the Wilderness Area.

Wang Long's two-meter-tall body was bare-chested, his veins like winding earthworms, crisscrossing his skin.

Boom.

With a burst of air, Wang Long's powerful punch smashed heavily into the head of a Gluttonous Wolf in front of him.

Bang.

A spray of blood mist, and the Gluttonous Wolf's head, several times larger than a basketball, was directly pulverized by Wang Long's punch.

He opened the score leaderboard.

"Hmph! Nangong Ao, you're still first, as expected. You have some strength, worthy of being the genius Wang Long wants to step on!"

"Huh? I know the other nine people, but who is this ninth-ranked Li Ziyu? How come I've never heard of him before?"

"Hmph, never mind. What if he's ninth? He's ultimately not in the same league as us."

"My goal is only Nangong Ao! Only Xu Jiang City's number one!"

...

"Cousin, your strength is truly astonishing!"

"Hmph! Li Ziyu's ranking is almost catching up to mine. I can't relax; I need to work harder! Hmph! I, Bai Haoran, will not lose to you!"

"Li Ziyu's ranking... is already ninth..."

Such scenes continued to play out in various locations within the Martial Exam venue.

Zhao Yanan, Bai Haoran, Xu Mengyao, as well as Li Ziyu's classmates and acquaintances, all widened their eyes in disbelief.

Ding, killed a First Level Intermediate fierce beast, Qi and Blood value +0.05.

Ding, killed a First Level Intermediate fierce beast, Qi and Blood value +0.05.

In the outer area of the Martial Exam venue, Li Ziyu withdrew his blade from the fierce beast's corpse, opened the score leaderboard, and his expression was excited.

"Great, my score ranking has soared to ninth, and I feel like I'm about to improve my Martial Skill again!"

"Not bad, at this rate, by the time the Martial Exam ends, all my Martial Skills might be able to advance to the Peak!"

"This Martial Exam, I really came to the right place!"

...

"Mayor Wang, I heard that the difficulty of this Martial Exam has been increased to select good prospects for the National Martial Arts University League?"

"Hmm, but that's only one reason."

Wang Jiannan glanced at the principal of First High School, who was looking cautious, and replied.

Wang Denfa was stunned, a curious expression flashing across his face, and he carefully asked:

"Only one reason? Is there another reason?"

"I only occasionally heard about the specific situation from the Governor. It seems to be due to the conflict between the Martial Arts University Alliance and the two major Martial Halls, Limit and Beyond Martial Hall."

"But what the specific matter is, I don't know."

"Those things are a bit far from us. This Martial Exam is mainly to prepare for the National Martial Arts University League."

"This batch of students who can make it into the top hundred in the Martial Exam will probably beFocus on training and represent their schools in the National Martial Arts University League."

Wang Jiannan's face showed a hint of longing, as if recalling something.

But then the longing turned into regret.

"Alas, it's really too difficult to get into the top hundred nationwide. Our Great Xia's territory is vast, and there are more than a million students participating in the Martial Exam. If one can fight their way into the top hundred from a million students, that truly is a rare dragon among men!"

Wang Jiannan shook his head and sighed.

"Is Nangong Ao capable of it?"

"What do you think?"

Wang Jiannan glanced at Wang Denfa, somewhat speechless, which left Wang Denfa unable to speak, only able to give an embarrassed dry laugh.

Mainly, Nangong Ao's performance was too dazzling, which made him have some fantasies he wouldn't normally dare to entertain.

But now it seems, it's basically impossible.

He can only compete for the ranking in Su Province.

"Alas, last year, only three candidates from my entire Su Province squeezed into the national top hundred."

"Each of those three had the strength of a First Level Peak Martial Artist, and each mastered one or even several Intermediate Martial Skills, or even Battle Skills. It's truly despairing!"

Wang Jiannan said no more, his gaze refocusing on the live broadcast screen, shifting to the score rankings on the side.

When he clearly saw the score ranking, Wang Jiannan was stunned, blinked, and looked at the score leaderboard again.

Secretary Wang, who was beside him, noticed Wang Jiannan's unusual behavior and followed Wang Jiannan to look at the score leaderboard in front of them. After looking, his eyes suddenly widened:

"Hiss, how did Li Ziyu go directly from 49th place to 9th place??"

"How long has it been? What happened in just a moment? Did Li Ziyu take a rocket!?"

"Or was he hiding his strength just now?"

Secretary Wang's eyes widened, filled with shock and confusion, and he subconsciously turned to look at Liu Youde, the principal of Third High School, who was behind him.

Li Ziyu is a student of Third High School, and Liu Youde, as the principal of Third High School, should know.

However, Liu Youde, the principal of Third High School, was equally bewildered. He had been perking up his ears, listening to the conversation between the mayor and the principal of First High School, and hadn't paid any attention to the live broadcast at all.

"Quick! Bring up the video replay of Li Ziyu's recent battle!"

"Let's see what's going on!"

Wang Jiannan was the first to react, and he quickly ordered the staff member responsible for operating the live broadcast video.

After speaking, he still felt it was too slow, so he directly got up and walked towards the broadcast stand.

The other Secretary Wang and several principals, seeing that the mayor had stood up, also quickly followed him forward.

In an instant, a crowd of people gathered around the live broadcast screen.

With so many people watching, the staff member responsible for the live broadcast dared not neglect, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

Immediately, the replay footage of the time period when Li Ziyu's ranking rose was displayed in the center of the screen.