15: Top 20 in the province

The Martial Examination livestream started at eight o'clock.

Seeing Lu Yuan's Guie Army being mistaken for a beast tide, which sent nearby candidates scurrying in fear, the audience was left laughing and crying at the same time.

Four million, six million, eight million...

Not long after it started, the number of viewers in Lu Yuan's livestream reached ten million!

"This is too funny; I'm lying in bed laughing until my stomach hurts!"

"The key is that the momentum and oppressive feeling are just too much like a beast tide; anyone would be trembling in fear!"

"I can only say it's fortunate that it's Lu Yuan and not a real beast tide, otherwise, candidates within a ten-mile radius would have lost their lives on the spot!"

"Huh, isn't that Jiang Tianxia, ranked second in the country? She's met up with Lu Yuan."

Jiang Tianxia, ranked second in the country for the Martial Examination, with a score as high as 140,000 points.

Qi Refining Realm Three Star!

Lu Yuan and Jiang Tianxia looked at each other, both surprised by the other's cultivation realm.

"Same SSS-Rank Talent as me!" Jiang Tianxia's beautiful eyes flashed as she immediately guessed Lu Yuan's talent.

As for his Combat Class, she hadn't noticed it yet.

Looking at Jiang Tianxia, who was beautiful with a face like an exquisite porcelain doll, yet was carrying a two-meter-long pitch-black greatsword, Lu Yuan had a strange expression.

The sense of contrast was just too strong!

And Jiang Tianxia had awakened a Gold Attribute Combat Class with an SSS-Rank Talent!

The Martial Examination allowed candidates to carry weapons, but there were many regulations regarding them.

"Beast tide!"

The two stared at each other, and before either could speak, a muscular candidate with rock-covered fists charged toward Blood Butcher.

Yu Gaocen, at Qi Refining Realm Second Star, relied on his Earth Attribute defense and strength and was confident he could take down the Qi Refining Realm Three Star Blood Butcher!

The next second, Yu Gaocen felt regret. The moment he threw his punch, Blood Butcher's pupils dilated, and it reached out to firmly choke Yu Gaocen by the neck!

"Cough, cough—"

Yu Gaocen was flushed red, finding that he couldn't break free from Blood Butcher's claws no matter what he did!

"You're courting death!" Lu Yuan said in a cold tone, controlling Blood Butcher to throw Yu Gaocen flying!

Yu Gaocen coughed violently and looked up in disbelief.

"Get lost!" Lu Yuan said. It was Yu Gaocen who had attacked his Guie first, so he was acting in self-defense.

"You... it..." Yu Gaocen looked at Lu Yuan, and then at Blood Butcher, having discovered something.

These monsters were all summoned creatures of the candidate in front of him!

"I'm leaving right now." Yu Gaocen gasped for air, praying he wouldn't be disqualified from the Martial Examination.

"It's not a beast tide."

Jiang Tianxia had a disappointed expression. Unlike Yu Gaocen, she had realized something was wrong as soon as she arrived at the scene, so she didn't act rashly.

Just as she had expected, how could a beast tide not attack candidates and only kill fierce beasts?

Just as Jiang Tianxia was preparing to leave, she heard a familiar voice.

"Cousin, I finally found you."

"Yo, Brother Lu is here too!"

Jiang Zhengyu, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, walked over, greeted Jiang Tianxia first, and then waved at Lu Yuan.

Seeing this pair of cousins, Lu Yuan thought they looked very similar.

Jiang Zhengyu looked like a little boy, and Jiang Tianxia looked like a porcelain doll, but the latter had a somewhat cold temperament and seemed not good at communicating with others.

"You know each other?" Jiang Tianxia asked.

"Yeah, this is my Brother Lu!"

Jiang Zhengyu said, widening his eyes as he looked at Lu Yuan's Guie Army.

"Brother Lu, you can summon so many monsters at Qi Refining Realm Three Star? I can only summon at most two hundred Skeleton Warriors at Qi Refining Realm Second Star." Jiang Zhengyu said with an envious tone.

"I am a Puppet Master." Lu Yuan corrected him.

Nearby fierce beasts were quickly cleared out by the Puppet Corps. Blood flowed along the soil, and the pungent smell of blood and the colorful corpses of the fierce beasts made people feel nauseous.

"Cousin, Brother Lu just likes to mess with people; there's no such Combat Class as Puppet Master." Jiang Zhengyu said.

"Who told you there isn't?"

Jiang Tianxia said coldly.

Jiang Zhengyu: "???"

"It actually exists!" Jiang Zhengyu scratched his head; it turned out Lu Yuan wasn't messing with him.

"So far, only two Puppet Masters have awakened on Blue Star. He is the third, and the only living Puppet Master." Jiang Tianxia clarified Lu Yuan's awakened Combat Class.

"Stay safe, I'm going to hunt fierce beasts."

Jiang Tianxia told Jiang Zhengyu a few words, then carried her black greatsword and disappeared from view.

In the Martial Examination, she only had one competitor, and that was Chu Wushe, son of the Alliance Master of the Thunder Alliance!

She didn't take anyone else seriously at all!

After clearing the fierce beasts in this area, Lu Yuan had a bountiful harvest.

First, his cultivation realm was about to break through to Qi Refining Realm Fourth Star, and second, he had a whole pile of demon crystals from beasts above Qi Refining Realm Fifth Star.

His Martial Examination score had even reached 60,000 points, doubling once again!

Just as Lu Yuan was moving to the next area, he suddenly felt a strong desire from the Star Swallowing Legion!

This desire stemmed from instinct. Over a hundred star-swallowing soldiers were staring at the fierce beast corpses on the ground without blinking.

"You want to devour the fierce beast corpses?" Lu Yuan muttered to himself.

When slaughtering the fierce beasts, the star-swallowing soldiers had acted as cheerleaders standing on the sidelines, while the other six Puppet Corps had outputted crazily!

It was mainly because the star-swallowing soldiers didn't look like they had any combat power, and since there were enough ghost puppet soldiers, Lu Yuan hadn't controlled them to join the battle.

What Lu Yuan hadn't expected was that the star-swallowing soldiers actually craved devouring the fierce beast corpses!

Over a hundred star-swallowing soldiers swarmed forward, enjoying the delicious feast, and their bodies expanded rapidly.

Their originally cute appearances became ferocious and terrifying, exuding an oppressive force that crushed the other six Puppet Corps soldiers!

"So that's how it is." The corners of Lu Yuan's mouth lifted into a smile.

It turned out the Star Swallowing Legion was a growth-type corps that could evolve through devouring. In other words, they were the strongest soldiers of the Nine Great Marionette Corps!

Of course, the prerequisite was having enough fierce beast corpses to devour!

"Continue." Lu Yuan moved to the next area. His spiritual power was currently abundant; he could fight from day until night and still not run out!

...

"He's in the top thirty of Hailan Province!"

At the Tianhua City government office, a loud voice startled the government staff.

Mayor excitedly crushed his water cup, looking at Lu Yuan on the livestream screen.

In the video, Lu Yuan controlled the Puppet Corps to start a new round of slaughter, and the score on the right side increased on average every thirty seconds!

Everyone present in the conference room was equally excited, staring unblinkingly at the large LCD screen.

"Top thirty in the province! This is the first time we've seen our Tianhua City's name in the top thirty!"

"The top thirty is far from Lu Yuan's limit. Not counting today, there are still three days left in the Martial Examination. The top twenty, or even the top ten, is his goal!"

"Top ten? Can Lu Yuan do it?!"

Principal of Yunhai High School rubbed his face hard, staring at the ranking board with a wild expression of joy.

[Hailan Province First Place: Fu Zhiqiu, 120,000 points (Hailan City, Hailan High School)]

[Hailan Province Second Place: Li Feipeng, 110,000 points (Hailan City, Hailan High School)]

...

[Hailan Province Thirtieth Place: Lu Yuan, 80,000 points (Tianhua City, Yunhai High School)]

Hailan City was the provincial capital of Hailan Province, and those at the top of the rankings basically came from Hailan High School.

And Tianhua City had two people who broke into the top one hundred in the province: Lu Yuan in thirtieth place and Li Jinxue in ninety-ninth place!

"This is already very good, of course, it would be even better if Lu Yuan can continue to work hard!" Mayor used his spiritual power to float the glass shards on the floor into the trash can.

He was too excited, so excited that he had crushed several water cups!

Huaxia had thirty-six provinces in total, and Hailan Province's overall Martial Examination results were in the middle to lower tier, roughly around twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth place.

The national top one hundred was too far away; Mayor felt they should be down-to-earth.

Although as Principal of Yunhai High School said, Lu Yuan's score was visibly skyrocketing, the provincial top thirty was far from the position he should be in; the top twenty, or even the top ten, was the ultimate goal!

"Calm down, everyone calm down."

While speaking, Mayor crushed another water cup.

"Mayor, if Lu Yuan ranks in the provincial top ten, will Tianhua City still be dissolved?" Principal of Tianhua High School asked.

Li Jinxue's score could no longer catch up with Lu Yuan's. This year, the best Martial Examination results in the city undoubtedly belonged to Yunhai High School, and right now, he was more concerned about this matter.

Not only him, but the principals, school leaders, and head teachers present all looked at Mayor.

"If Lu Yuan ranks in the provincial top ten, it will be the nearby cities that are dissolved, and their districts will be divided to us, Tianhua City!" Mayor said resoundingly.

Of the thirty-five cities, only the provincial capital, Hailan City, dominated and occupied the provincial top ten.

After all, with the title of provincial capital, the educational resources they obtained were something other cities dared not even imagine.

If a candidate from a city squeezed into the top ten, then that city would be prioritized for cultivation by the province, with a large amount of educational resources tilted toward it!

"Twentieth place!"

Principal of Tianhua High School pointed at Lu Yuan's ranking. During their conversation, Lu Yuan had charged all the way from thirtieth place in Hailan Province to twentieth!

His score reached 100,000 points!

The clock on the wall stopped at five. The sky was getting late; there wasn't much time left for Lu Yuan to hunt fierce beasts!

Looking at Lu Yuan in the livestream screen, and then looking at the clock on the wall, the same thought burst into everyone's minds.

"Can Lu Yuan's ranking continue to rise?"