54: The final round? No, it's the talent show round.

The central area of Survival Island should have been a Shura field, a landscape of corpses and rivers of blood.

According to the scripts of previous years, at this very moment, the surviving prodigies should be covered in blood, eyes red with the desire for first place, even willing to overdraw their lives and burn their essence blood.

But this year, the style took a sudden turn.

"Next! Hurry up, why are you dawdling? Didn't you eat today?"

Gu Fan sat on the shoulder of the Vajra Demon Ape—which was as broad as the roof of a bomb shelter—with his legs crossed. He held the Map-wide Taunt Megaphone in his hand, looking like a grumpy talent show director.

Beside him, Xiao Fan's face was flushed red. He held a branch broken off from a tree as a microphone, acting as a temporary host. Lin Xue, on the other hand, had a dark expression, holding a pile of fruit scavenged from wild monsters, acting as logistics.

And beneath the feet of that ten-meter-tall S-Rank giant beast, more than twenty surviving top freshmen were lined up in a neat queue. Their faces were ashen, and their eyes were filled with humiliation and despair.

Among them were sword path geniuses from ancient martial families, mage lords who had awakened S-Rank flame abilities, and muscular men who practiced hard-body cultivation.

At this moment, they had to face an extremely absurd reality: if they wanted to live and make it into the top ten, they had to perform a talent for Gu Fan.

"I... I am Li Qingfeng from the Ancient Martial Li Family. I am skilled in... the Green Lotus Sword Song."

The first in line was a youth in fluttering white robes. Normally, he was a cold and aloof swordsman, but now he held his sword with trembling hands.

"Don't give me that flashy nonsense," Gu Fan said indistinctly while taking a bite of a banana. "Good at sword techniques, right? Here, see that apple? Peel it for me. If the peel breaks even by an inch, I'll have Da Zhuang give you a flick on the forehead."

Saying that, Gu Fan tossed an unripe wild apple into the air.

"Da Zhuang," the Vajra Demon Ape, cooperated perfectly by baring its teeth. It extended a finger thicker than Li Qingfeng's thigh and lightly flicked the air, producing a loud "boom."

Li Qingfeng's face turned green with fright.

If that finger flicked his forehead, wouldn't he go straight to see his ancestors?

"I'll peel it! I'll peel it!"

Li Qingfeng drew his sword, the blade light like a bolt of white silk.

It had to be said, this kid's sword technique really was something. The long sword turned into a ball of silver light in his hand, dancing up and down around the falling apple.

*Swish swish swish—*

A few seconds later, the apple hit the ground.

Everyone's gaze focused on that apple.

The apple peel was... still there.

But the apple core was gone.

The sword had actually precisely avoided all the peel and hollowed out the flesh inside, leaving only a complete, empty shell of skin.

Gu Fan was stunned for a moment, then clapped. "Good! This 'keeping the casket and returning the pearl' move is practiced to perfection! Although you completely misunderstood my request, I'll give you an 8 for the creativity of peeling an apple into thin air. Go stand over there, second place reserve."

Li Qingfeng felt as if he had been granted a great amnesty. He slumped to the side clutching his sword, feeling more exhausted than if he had fought for three days and nights.

[Ding! Detected 'Li Qingfeng's' complex emotions of extreme shame yet forced obedience.]

[malice points +300!]

"Next!" Xiao Fan shouted listlessly.

Walking up was a burly man two meters tall with bulging muscles. He was a strength-type Awakened, known as "Iron-Armed Vajra" Mighty Strength.

"I... I don't have any talents," Mighty Strength scratched his bald head and said honestly. "I only know Hard Qigong."

"Hard Qigong?" Gu Fan became interested. "So you're good at taking hits? Fine, then perform 'breaking a large stone on your chest'."

"This..." Mighty Strength looked around, finally locking his gaze onto a half-man-high bluestone. "Okay! I'll try!"

He walked to the bluestone, took a deep breath, his muscles bulging and his skin turning a bronze color.

"Hah!"

With a loud roar, Mighty Strength actually lay directly on the ground and moved the several-hundred-pound bluestone onto his chest.

"Someone come! Hit it with a hammer!"

A nearby freshman who used a hammer walked out tremblingly, raising the large iron hammer in his hand.

"Aim true, brother!" Mighty Strength instructed.

*Boom!*

The hammer came down.

Everyone thought the stone would shatter.

However, the Law of Karma quietly intervened at this moment.

[Detected 'Mighty Strength' attempting to intimidate the host by performing violent aesthetics.]

[Malice Rank: D-Rank (Simple showing off).]

[Backlash triggered! Multiplier: Twenty times!]

[Effect loading: Due to a certain macroscopic uncertainty of quantum mechanics, the hardness of this stone at this moment exceeds that of a diamond.]

There was only a loud "clang."

The stone didn't budge an inch, not even a white mark was left.

But the hammer handle in the freshman's hand snapped instantly, and the hammerhead flew backward, nearly hitting his own foot.

As for Mighty Strength lying on the ground, his eyes bulged out, and his face instantly turned the color of pig liver.

*Pfft—*

A mouthful of old blood sprayed three meters high.

The stone didn't break, but the force was reciprocal. The power of this hammer strike, plus the backlash bonus, was transmitted entirely through the stone and into Mighty Strength's chest.

"Cough cough... my ribs..."

Mighty Strength clutched his chest, tears coming out from the pain, but he still bravely raised his hand. "I... I can break another one..."

"Enough, enough, don't break anything else," Gu Fan waved his hand, unable to watch. "If you keep going, you'll send yourself to the afterlife. Courageous effort; although the stone quality was too good, it counts as a show. I'll give you a 7. Go lie down over there."

The real world, the Dean's office.

Zhuge Qing was currently clutching his chest with one hand, while the other pointed tremblingly at the screen.

"This... what a disgrace! What a disgrace!"

The old Dean's beard was shaking. "This is the War God Academy's entrance competition! This is the place to select the future backbone of humanity! How did it turn into a circus? Is that guy breaking stones on his chest an idiot too? If the stone doesn't break, doesn't he know to dodge?!"

The Dean of Discipline beside him quickly handed over a cup of water. "Dean, calm down. That Gu Fan... is indeed a bit sinister. Look, even the Vajra Demon Ape is acting as his chair. The students have no choice."

On the screen, the footage continued.

A fire-wielding mage was performing "fireball juggling," but because he was too nervous, he failed to catch a fireball, which set his crotch on fire. He was now rolling frantically on the ground.

An assassin skilled in stealth was asked to perform "the vanishing act," but because the invisibility spell's duration ran out, he only half-vanished. His upper body disappeared, but his two lower legs were still dangling there, making for a very horrific scene.

Gu Fan watched with great interest, occasionally throwing down a few melon seeds as a tip.

"Not bad, not bad. This batch of freshmen has high quality, very multi-talented."

Just then, from the distant lake surface, a roar filled with venomous resentment suddenly echoed.

"GU— FAN—!!!"

The voice was incredibly shrill, carrying a hellish malice.

Everyone turned to look.

They saw a soaking wet Zhao Gang, with a clump of seaweed on his head, struggling to crawl onto the shore from the lakeside.

After being blasted into the lake earlier, due to the backlash effect, he had engaged in a half-hour "intimate interaction" with several mutant crocodiles in the water, and had finally managed to escape and crawl out.

At this moment, how did Zhao Gang look like a young master from a wealthy family? His combat suit had become a beggars outfit, exposing half a butt cheek. His face was covered in mud, and the expensive heavy machine gun in his hand had become a fire poker.

"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you!"

Zhao Gang's eyes were bloodshot. He picked up a stone from the ground and charged toward Gu Fan. "Even if we perish together, I'll take you down with me!"

Seeing Zhao Gang's crazed state, the surrounding examinees moved aside one after another, afraid of being infected by this jinx.

Gu Fan sat on high, looking down at the charging Zhao Gang, without even shifting his buttocks.

He patted the Demon Ape beneath him.

"Da Zhuang, someone wants to cut the line and even wants to hit your master. What do you say?"

The Vajra Demon Ape was happily eating a banana. Hearing this, its eyes, which were originally clear and foolish, instantly narrowed.

It slowly turned its head and looked at Zhao Gang, who was charging like an ant.

"Roar—!!!"

A low roar, carrying the characteristic fishy wind of an S-Rank Vicious Beast, directly knocked Zhao Gang over.

Zhao Gang scrambled up, wanting to continue the charge.

The Demon Ape grew impatient.

It extended a finger, aimed at Zhao Gang, and then lightly flicked.

Like flicking away an annoying fly.

"Boom!"

The air seemed to vibrate.

Zhao Gang only felt an overwhelming force strike him. He didn't even have time to scream before he was launched into the air once again.

*Whoosh—*

He traced a perfect parabola in the sky, heading straight for that lake from before.

*Splash!*

Water splashed everywhere.

The world was quiet.

Gu Fan shook his head with a look of pity. "Young Master Zhao is really too polite, just coming up only to go back down for a swim. This spirit of persistent physical exercise is worth learning for all of us."

The entire audience: "..."

Everyone shrank their necks. They finally understood that on this island, Gu Fan was the heavens, the law, and that invincible BUG.

Time passed minute by minute.

Finally, the System's cold notification sound echoed from the sky.

[Island-wide Announcement: Survival Competition Ended!]

[Calculating points...]

[First Place: Gu Fan's Team. Points: 108,000.]

[Second Place: Li Qingfeng. Points: 850.]

[Third Place...]

This points gap was simply despair-inducing. Gu Fan's points alone were more than ten times the combined points of everyone else.

As the teleportation light lit up, Gu Fan jumped down from the Demon Ape's shoulder.

He walked to the Demon Ape, which was still reluctant to part and trying to stuff the last banana into its mouth, and patted its thigh.

"Alright, Da Zhuang, the Jianghu road is long, we'll meet again if fate permits."

The Demon Ape whimpered and actually shed two lines of hot tears. It reached out its large hand to grab Gu Fan's clothes, but caught only air.

Gu Fan's figure gradually blurred.

But before he completely disappeared, a pleasant System notification sounded in his ear.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host. The accumulated malice points and malice value harvested during this survival competition have reached the threshold!]

[System upgrading...]

[New function unlocked: Luck Plunder (Elementary).]

[Description: Now, you can not only reflect malice, but also randomly plunder a sliver of the enemy's Luck while they suffer the backlash. Make them unlucky and yourself lucky. Although it's only Elementary, it's enough for picking up money or buying lottery tickets.]

Gu Fan smiled meaningfully.

Luck Plunder?

This was a good thing.

If he plundered the Luck of a few more so-called "children of destiny," would he be able to find Divine Artifacts just by stepping out of his door, or trip over Spirit Stones while walking?

"Gu Family... Eden... let's play slowly."

With a flash of light, Gu Fan's figure completely disappeared from the virtual island, leaving behind only a memorable back view.

And that sentimental S-Rank Demon Ape, still waving at the empty air.