5: Chapter 5

5

The pair of Mantis Blades in his hands were already soaked in fresh blood, glinting with a dark red luster in the dim light. "There are twenty-six monsters in the valley. Eleven are dead, and the remaining fifteen are all heavily injured and unable to resist."

"Go and finish them off."

He handed over the Mantis Blade in his left hand, while he himself leaned back against a nearby rock, waiting quietly.

At that moment, several lines of text quietly emerged on the Student Badge in his arms: Trial complete. Time: Thirty-two minutes.

Jiang Haojie's gaze narrowed slightly.

He had thought he would be teleported away immediately upon reaching the goal, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

He just didn't know if such a result would help him reach the top of the College Entrance Examination rankings and complete the task assigned by the system.

Before long, Su Qingxue walked out of the valley with unsteady steps and handed back the Mantis Blade.

Her face was as pale as paper, as if she hadn't yet recovered from the sight she had just witnessed—the valley was like an Asura's slaughterhouse, the thick scent of blood almost solidifying, with severed limbs and internal organs scattered everywhere.

If not for her strong will, she probably would have fled in panic long ago.

...

Just then, an ear-splitting dragon roar suddenly tore through the air.

The heads of the three monsters opposite her exploded in response, turning into a mist of blood that filled the sky.

The Frost Giant Dragon stretched its body, its scales reflecting a ghostly blue cold light in the illumination, before its form contracted and transformed into a young girl.

Xu Qing looked down at the Score Plate in her palm, a confident smile spreading across her lips.

Not much time had passed, yet the number of hunted monsters had already climbed to eighty-eight.

She was determined to take the top spot in this Dragon City Great Examination.

She put away the token and cast her gaze toward the mist-shrouded wilderness once more.

She didn't just want to win; she wanted to win beautifully, to win like never before—ideally, to break the long-standing record in one fell swoop.

Only then could she truly catch the eyes of those high and mighty figures.

Possessing the ability to transform into a dragon and rated with an A-rank talent, she had long grown tired of the mundane.

Whether it was Jiang Haojie or Bai Yang, they were merely gravel paving her path to glory.

This era would eventually remember her name—Xu Qing.

Amidst her soaring thoughts, she could almost see herself standing at the pinnacle of ten thousand people, receiving endless praise.

Meanwhile, Bai Yang was fighting on another patch of scorched earth.

Scorching flames surged from his palms, precisely consuming one low-level monster after another.

The numbers on the Score Plate flickered, settling at eighty-five.

Fury smoldered in his chest. Every fireball he blasted out carried a vicious wind, as if the distorted figures of the monsters before him overlapped with that hateful name—Jiang Haojie.

That trash actually dared to provoke him; he would definitely make sure the other party never recovered.

"All of you, turn to ashes!"

He swung his arms vigorously, and an expanding explosive fireball whistled as it plowed through the ground.

A shrill wolf howl suddenly tore through the air.

In the embers where the flames had dissipated, a giant wolf stood tall, its body as large as a van, its gray fur standing upright like iron needles.

Tier 1 Monster, Wasteland Gray Wolf.

Bai Yang's pupils suddenly contracted.

He didn't even have time to think; survival instinct drove his legs to sprint in the opposite direction.

How could he have expected to draw out such a ferocious beast!

The giant wolf leaped, ignoring the residual flames, and chased after him with four paws treading on fire.

Bai Yang fled with all his might, bumping into several other examinees who were also in the area.

Those people were stunned at first, but upon seeing the terrifying shadow behind him, their faces turned pale as they cursed and fled in all directions.

Fortunately, the gray wolf's target seemed very clear; it ignored everyone else and stayed locked onto Bai Yang's back, pursuing him relentlessly.

***

"It's settled."

Su Qingxue waved away the last trace of energy lingering at her fingertips, completely purifying the fallen monster.

To the side, Jiang Haojie stretched his neck and shoulders with a lazy expression.

The girl turned to him, her eyes brimming with sincere gratitude. "Truly, thank you. Can you tell me your name?"

"The name is unimportant,"

he said in a flat tone, "just call me X."

Su Qingxue's expression froze.

So many people went to great lengths just to get to know her, yet the person before her brushed her off with such a casual codename.

Suppressing a subtle flicker of displeasure, she took out her communicator. "Then, at least leave a contact method? That way I can transfer the agreed-upon reward to you."

Jiang Haojie lit up his phone screen. "Give me your number. I'll send the account information to you later, and you can just transfer it directly."

Su Qingxue was momentarily speechless, but she still recited a string of numbers.

"The task is over, let's go."

She thought to herself: Once we leave this place, he should finally take off that ridiculous mask.

"You go first, I'll stay a bit longer."

Jiang Haojie shook his head.

He had his own considerations—he didn't want to get too deeply involved with Su Qingxue, nor did he want her to see the face behind the mask.

Su Qingxue's lips twitched, but in the end, she said nothing more, only giving a light snort before turning to step into the halo of light.

Confirming the other party had teleported away, Jiang Haojie was in no hurry to move.

Since the results were already settled, he wanted to see if there were any Tier 1 monsters hidden in this area.

If he could hunt a few more, perhaps he could exchange them for a new weapon from the system.

...

"They're out! Someone's coming out!"

On the rostrum, the Dean of Students stared intently at the ripples appearing on the light gate of the secret realm. Before he could finish speaking, several figures stumbled out of the teleportation range.

Several class teachers frowned simultaneously.

"Li Tianming, what's the situation?"

A teacher stepped forward quickly.

Li Tianming's face was flushed with embarrassment. "We ran into a Tier 1 monster... we could only exit the assessment early."

His voice grew lower.

No one would be satisfied with a task that was about to be completed being forced to an end due to a sudden encounter.

"Return to the ranks first."

The class teacher waved his hand with a grave expression.

Li Tianming and the others silently moved back to their class queue, with various gazes following them.

The light gate flashed repeatedly, and more students appeared one after another, most with dejected expressions—clearly, they had all met with similar situations as Li Tianming's group.

The buzzing sound rose again.

Xu Qing and Bai Yang's figures emerged in the halo. Both had disheveled clothes and were covered in dust and mud.

"How was it? Did you complete the task?"

The class teacher rushed forward to meet them.

The several people questioned previously had all failed to meet the standard; now, all expectations were weighed upon this pair of partners.

"Barely managed it."

Xu Qing wiped the dust from her face, a trace of arrogance flashing in her eyes.

Beside her, Bai Yang nodded, though his face was still pale.

He thought back to the dangerous situation of being chased by the giant wolf—if they hadn't met up with Xu Qing halfway and fought desperately together to kill the monster, he might have already ended up in the wolf's belly.

The subsequent tasks were also only completed with great difficulty through cooperation.

The class teachers all breathed a sigh of relief in unison.

If even these two had failed, the results of this year's graduation assessment would have been extremely embarrassing.

The light gate continued to flicker, and more and more students appeared one after another.

The crowd grew denser, and whispers washed over the plaza like a tide.

"Yan Chun is out; he must have passed."

Whispers rose from the crowd as a tall and burly figure stepped out of the secret realm's light gate.

Yan Chun looked around with a calm, emotionless expression and walked straight back to his class queue.

The light gate rippled again, and Su Qingxue appeared immediately after.

She didn't leave immediately, but instead paused by the gate for a moment, her gaze fixed deep into the shifting light curtain—she wanted to see exactly who it was that had helped her in the secret realm.

However, the light and shadow remained silent; no one else walked out.

She lightly pursed her lips, a faint sense of disappointment flashing in her eyes.

"Qingxue, hurry back to the ranks."

Seeing her not moving, her class teacher quickly beckoned to her.

This teacher had been worried: although Su Qingxue's talent was high, she wasn't a combat-oriented Awakened.

Seeing her return in one piece, even if her clothes were a bit messy, the teacher finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Qingxue had no choice but to turn and silently walk back to her class's area.

Soon, the light gate spat out a few more young figures.

Bai Yang's class teacher stepped forward at this time and said loudly, "Dean, why don't we tally the results of the students who have already come out? It's better to organize them early. As for those who haven't come out yet... the outcome is probably not optimistic."

The Dean of Students pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Several class teachers immediately went into action, organizing the students to take their Identity Badges to the rostrum to register their results.

"Li Tianming, seventy-eight monsters killed, failed to meet the standard."

...

"Wang Yanyan, fifty-two monsters killed, failed to meet the standard."

...

A series of announcements caused the atmosphere in the field to gradually drop.

Most students looked dejected, having failed to complete the set assessment.

"Bai Yang, one hundred monsters, time: forty-eight minutes, passed."

Bai Yang's tense face finally relaxed, and a smug look appeared at the corner of his mouth.

His gaze swept through the crowd, and not seeing that familiar figure, a look of disdain quietly surfaced.

But this self-satisfaction did not last long.

"Xu Qing, one hundred monsters, time: forty minutes, passed."

The recording teacher's voice fell clearly. The entire field was silent at first, then an uproar broke out everywhere.

"As expected of a Dragon-type Mutant... even with an A-rank talent, she's actually faster than an S-rank Awakened!"

"It seems the top spot in the school this year belongs to her. Maybe... she really can take the title of Dragon City's College Entrance Exam Top Scholar."

"Forty minutes! The best record of the previous year's Top Scholar was forty-three minutes."

"This time, Xu Qing is going to make history."

"Sigh, there's no comparison. I thought fifty minutes was already good, but in front of her, it's simply not worth mentioning."

Amidst the diverse discussions, Xu Qing slightly raised her chin, the light in her eyes growing even brighter.

She was determined to take the position at the peak of Dragon City this time.

As expected, no one was able to surpass her in the subsequent assessment results.

"Yan Chun, one hundred monsters killed, time: forty-nine minutes, passed."

The onlookers were not surprised by Yan Chun's result.

As a power-type Awakened with S-rank talent and an indestructible physique, passing such a trial was within reason.

"Su Qingxue, please show your Identity Badge."

Her mentor nodded gently at her, his tone carrying comfort, "You are an SS-rank Wood Spirit Envoy of the Support System. Even if you didn't complete it..."

Before he could finish, the mentor's gaze fell on the runes appearing on the badge and suddenly froze, the subsequent words choking in his throat.

"Is something wrong?"

The nearby Academic Dean noticed the abnormality and asked, glancing over.

He took the warm jade badge from the mentor's hand. At first, his expression was normal, but once he saw the shifting light and shadow numbers on it, his face was instantly occupied by a look of disbelief.

"Su Qingxue, one hundred monsters killed, time: forty minutes, passed."

The result personally announced by the Academic Dean was like a stone thrown into a quiet pond, first stirring up a silence, then igniting a wave of clamor.

"Forty minutes? This... how is this possible!"

"It's truly unbelievable... a Support System actually reaching such a speed."

"A Wood Spirit Envoy not only perfectly achieved the hunting quota, but the time taken even surpassed many combat-type Awakened. How does this leave the others?"

This is absolutely impossible!

Several students who originally had excellent results also showed shock and suspicion, especially Xu Qing, whose gaze was fixed on Su Qingxue like something physical.

She had gone through a hard battle to just barely finish within forty minutes; on what basis did Su Qingxue do it? Why should a Support System, who was supposed to have no combat power, stand side-by-side with her?

The flames of resentment burned in her chest.

Several invigilating teachers also found this result inconceivable and gathered around to examine the Identity Badge.

After repeated testing, they had to admit that the badge's record showed no signs of tampering; the result was genuine and correct.

The Academic Dean exchanged glances with several mentors. When they looked at Su Qingxue again, their gazes were completely different.

They realized that their previous assessment of this girl might have been far from sufficient.

Su Qingxue just stood quietly in front of the platform, her expression indifferent.

She was already well aware of her own result.

She just hadn't expected that the forty-minute record would be tied with Xu Qing.

No, to be precise, it was a tie for second place.

Because she knew clearly that there was one person who had completed all of this even earlier than her.

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind—as long as she found out who was first, wouldn't she find the person who reached out to help her in that dangerous situation?

Thinking of this, an imperceptible faint smile crossed her lips, and a light sense of joy rose in her heart.

You think that by hiding your tracks and not letting me see your face, I won't be able to know who you are?

She put away the badge and returned to the ranks with steady steps.

When the light gate rippled one last time like water, Jiang Haojie walked out with his hands in his pockets.