59: Second kill, second kill!

After listening to the exam rules, Xia Qi did not choose the difficulty immediately, but instead analyzed what the exam primarily aimed to test.

“This round should be testing each examinee’s sustained combat ability.”

“One hour of high-intensity combat puts considerable pressure on any examinee.”

“Furthermore, team combat is not allowed; only solo combat is permitted, so the choice of dungeon must be even more cautious.”

When Xia Qi uttered these words, the Great Examiners were visibly stunned for a second.

That’s right, Xia Qi’s analysis was completely accurate.

The second round of the exam was indeed designed to test individual sustained combat ability.

“This child is not simple. His strength wasn’t tested in the first round, but it should be evident in this round.”

“I checked the information database; he has S-Rank Talent: Lightning Control. He shouldn’t be holding back now, right?”

“It’s hard to say. SS-Rank Talent is too rare, and the difficulty of Acquired advancement is also very high, almost impossible.”

“I do recall there’s one type of person who can successfully advance their Talent without any side effects.”

“You’re not talking about a Natural Awakener, are you?”

“Exactly, a Natural Awakener.”

“That’s just a legend, and Natural Awakeners are so rare that you might not even find one in a hundred million people. You guys should stop guessing wildly.”

With that said, the Great Examiners once again focused their attention on Xia Qi.

Xia Qi revealed a smile, then chose nightmare difficulty.

At this moment, outside the examination hall, principals from various middle schools across the entire Xijiang Province gathered together.

“Jiangcheng is famous this time! Jiangcheng No. 1 High School actually has two students in the top ten in the first round, and they are first and third. How enviable!”

“Wang Changyuan, you’ve hit the jackpot this time! Among dozens of middle schools, your Jiangcheng No. 1 High School stands out, truly magnificent!”

“That Xia Qi, a perfect score in the first round! This is the first time I’ve seen a perfect score in so many years of the college entrance exam. If he can bring back the provincial top scholar, Old Wang will be over the moon.”

Amidst the praises from the principals, Wang Changyuan’s old face turned red, and he felt somewhat lightheaded.

He truly hadn't expected Xia Qi to achieve such excellent results.

After all, this was the first place among all examinees in the entire Xijiang Province, and its value was extraordinarily high.

“My investment in Xia Qi was not in vain. He hasn’t even entered university yet, and the influence is already being felt.”

Wang Changyuan was extremely excited internally, secretly delighted that investing in Xia Qi back then was truly a wise decision.

Trial dungeon.

When all examinees had chosen their difficulty, with a brief countdown, the second round of the exam officially began.

A teleportation portal appeared in each examinee's room, which was the source of monster appearances.

Immediately after, a monster as large as a small car, with sharp, knife-like horns on its head, appeared before them.

Massive and ferocious, this was the Level 15 monster, Ironclad Rhinoceros!

[Ironclad Rhinoceros (Elite)]

[Rank: 15]

[Strength: 200]

[Agility: 180]

[Intelligence: 150]

[Physique: 200]

These attributes...

Too weak.

This was only slightly stronger than the Copper Skin Zombies in the Zombie Mine dungeon that Xia Qi cleared half a month ago.

And half a month ago, Xia Qi could already solo the nightmare difficulty Zombie Mine at will.

However, Xia Qi immediately realized something.

The monsters he found very weak, other examinees might not.

This was the college entrance exam, facing all examinees, so it definitely had to be set according to the situation of the majority of examinees.

Generally speaking, after a month, even those with B-Rank Talent should be able to fight a Level 15 ordinary monster alone.

If the monster's strength was too high, then most examinees would be eliminated.

This would make the exam lose its meaning.

After understanding this point, Xia Qi’s mind stirred, and a bolt of Frenzy Lightning struck the Ironclad Rhinoceros.

Boom!

Lightning surged, and the purple-tinged lightning directly ignored the Ironclad Rhinoceros's thick skin, penetrating its body and causing an explosion.

In an instant, flesh and blood were splattered, and the Ironclad Rhinoceros died miserably.

The entire event happened in the blink of an eye; Xia Qi mentally calculated, it seemed to only take 0.3 seconds for the Ironclad Rhinoceros to breathe its last.

However, after the Ironclad Rhinoceros died, the teleportation portal did not immediately spawn a new monster; instead, it waited for several seconds before a new monster appeared.

Boom!

Xia Qi didn't even lift his head; another bolt of Frenzy Lightning struck, instantly killing the monster.

“This is too easy.”

After a few rounds, Xia Qi understood that a monster would appear every 6 seconds, with a maximum of ten monsters appearing per minute.

This intensity was suitable for most examinees.

However, for an examinee like Xia Qi, who had both high Rank and high Talent, it was a bit boring.

He could only wait patiently.

Meanwhile, the Great Examiners, who were focusing on the top examinees, were already stunned.

“Xia Qi is too strong, isn’t he? He can still instantly kill a Level 15 elite monster?”

“Rank advantage is one thing, after all, he’s the only Level 20 examinee. However, the power of Lightning-type Talent also exceeded my expectations. Some elemental types are strong in the early stage, but might lack stamina in the mid to Late Stages, which is possible.”

“Hmm, no matter what, this round of the exam won’t be difficult for Xia Qi. Perhaps another high score will appear.”

“Not necessarily. Some people do have high burst power, but their energy consumption is also high. This round tests endurance, and it’s for an hour.”

“Then let’s wait and see…”

The screen constantly adjusted, quickly switching to Yun Qingyue’s room.

Yun Qingyue held her staff, and soccer-sized fireballs continuously whistled past.

She chose elite difficulty, which was actually too low.

Because as she kept killing, she realized that two fireballs were enough to kill a monster.

It didn’t even take three seconds.

And when the next monster spawned, she had to wait an additional three seconds.

This created a three-second gap.

However, Yun Qingyue was not foolish; she knew this round tested endurance, so she continuously controlled the energy within her body, trying to kill monsters with the minimum possible consumption.

This kind of operation earned the approval of the Great Examiners.

Such a meticulous examinee was indeed excellent.

There was also Yu Qiu from Tongcheng No. 1 High School. Her profession was an assassin, and her Talent was also S-Rank, having chosen the hard difficulty.

Compared to Yun Qingyue, her movements were agile, like a phantom, and the two daggers danced beautifully in her hands.

Even at the hard difficulty, her movements were still fluid, without any wasted motion, perfectly utilizing her stamina and energy.

Watching Yu Qiu dance gracefully among the monsters, the Great Examiners also highly approved of this second-place examinee's skill.

Experts are experts; the clues were evident from the first round of the exam.

In contrast, Su Yuanchen, who was the first examinee to choose nightmare difficulty, was not in a very good state at this moment.

“Cough cough!”

Coughing up black blood, Su Yuanchen's face turned pale as he looked at the continuously increasing number of Ironclad Rhinoceros in the room.

Initially, he could kill a few normally, but as time went on, the more he mobilized his energy, the more he felt weak and obstructed in his body.

At this point, less than three minutes into the second round, ten Ironclad Rhinoceros had already appeared in his room.

.....