82: Chapter 82 Breakthrough on the Spot, Shocking
The finish line of Dragon Gate Valley.
This was a vast circular plaza with a floor paved in smooth white jade, and a massive crystal stele stood at its center.
Radiance flowed across the stele as names continuously emerged and flickered upon it.
That was the real-time leaderboard for the Dragon Gate Baptism.
At this moment, dozens of Students had already gathered sparsely across the plaza.
They were the cream of the crop who had been in the first batch to charge into the valley and had successfully persevered until now.
However, every single one of them looked incredibly disheveled.
They were slumped on the ground, panting heavily, their faces etched with exhaustion and collapse.
Their gazes were fixed intently on the massive crystal stele, nervously monitoring their rankings.
"Phew... finally... I finally made it..."
"Damn it, I almost died in there! That hundred-fold gravity is simply no place for a human!"
"Look at the rankings! Senior Brother Li Mofan is still first! So fierce! He's actually nearly half an hour faster than second place!"
Everyone's eyes converged on the very top of the leaderboard.
First Place: Li Mofan, Arrival Time: 7 hours 23 minutes, Total Absorption: 87 units.
Second Place: Zhou Tai, Arrival Time: 9 hours 02 minutes, Total Absorption: 75 units.
...
The one named Li Mofan was clearly the strongest among this group.
He was currently sitting cross-legged in the center of the plaza, regulating his breathing to recover, with a hint of undisguised pride on his face.
Just as everyone was discussing animatedly,
A familiar figure walked out from the valley's exit at an unhurried pace.
It was Lin Zhan.
He still maintained that calm, unruffled demeanor, cradling his long spear in his arms, though his face was slightly paler than before.
His appearance immediately caused a small commotion.
Everyone's eyes instantly turned toward the crystal stele.
A flash of radiance appeared.
A new name forcefully squeezed into the top three of the leaderboard!
Third Place: Lin Zhan, Arrival Time: 9 hours 15 minutes, Total Absorption: 123 units!
Whoosh!
The entire field erupted in an uproar.
Although his arrival time was much later than Li Mofan's and Zhou Tai's,
His massive total absorption of 123 units directly crushed everyone else!
Based on the comprehensive evaluation, his rank instantly surpassed Zhou Tai, firmly occupying the second-place position!
Even Li Mofan, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, opened them now and glanced at Lin Zhan with a slight frown.
Lin Zhan ignored everyone's gazes.
He simply walked to a corner of the plaza, found an empty spot to sit cross-legged, and continued his meditation.
He seemed unsatisfied with this result.
Because he knew there was one person who would definitely be stronger than him.
Time passed, minute by minute.
One after another, more Students reached the finish line.
The names on the leaderboard were also constantly changing.
The competition was exceptionally fierce.
Right then,
A figure that no one expected appeared at the valley exit.
It was that silver-haired youth, Qin Wushuang.
He and his six companions were currently disheveled to the extreme.
Each of their faces bore a dejected expression, as if they had been utterly crushed and demoralized.
Their appearance made the atmosphere in the plaza turn somewhat peculiar.
Everyone still remembered how the seven of them had high-spiritedly joined forces to suppress that "country bumpkin" named Wang Pingan before the assessment began.
But the result...
"Look! Qin Wushuang's results are out!"
Seventh Place: Qin Wushuang, Arrival Time: 10 hours 05 minutes, Total Absorption: 98 units.
It was a decent result.
But under his aura as a "Fourth Grade Mid-Stage monstrous talent," this result seemed somewhat... underwhelming.
Quite a few people had a hint of playfulness and mockery in their eyes.
Qin Wushuang felt the strange looks from his surroundings, and his handsome face instantly flushed bright red.
He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes scanning the entire plaza with venomous resentment.
He was looking.
Looking for the figure that had caused him such utter humiliation!
But there was no one.
There was no sign of Wang Pingan in the plaza at all.
"Hahaha! That shrinking turtle, could he have died inside?" one of the companions beside Qin Wushuang shouted mockingly, as if he had found an outlet for his frustration.
"I think it's very likely! With his flimsy foundation, it's already good enough if he could survive under a hundred times gravity!"
"Serves him right! Who told him to be so arrogant!"
The few of them chimed in one after another, trying to use this method to reclaim a bit of their long-lost dignity.
However,
Just as they were clamoring at their loudest,
A leisurely, even somewhat lazy voice drifted faintly from the valley exit.
"Oh, so lively?"
"Are you... waiting for me?"
Everyone's voices came to an abrupt halt.
They all turned their heads in unison.
They saw Wang Pingan with his hands in his pockets, walking out of the thick mist at an unhurried pace with a swaggering gait.
His body was spotless.
A gentle smile played on his face.
His aura was as deep and steady as an abyss.
That calm and composed appearance formed an incredibly sharp and stinging contrast with these "geniuses" on the plaza who were as tired as dead dogs.
When... when did he arrive?
How could he possibly be completely fine?
Everyone's minds were filled with countless question marks.
Qin Wushuang looked as if he had seen a ghost, pointing at Wang Pingan as his voice cracked.
"You... you..."
Wang Pingan ignored him.
He simply walked straight to the massive crystal stele, looked up with interest, and checked the rankings on it.
"Tsk tsk, seventh place."
"Not bad, not bad, quite promising."
As he looked, he even commented with mock seriousness, his tone sounding exactly like an elder praising a junior.
Pfft!
Qin Wushuang could no longer hold it in and spat out a mouthful of blood.
And right at that moment,
The massive crystal stele burst with brilliant light!
Wang Pingan's results were finally about to be revealed!
Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats at this moment!
They wanted to see what kind of result this monster, who had performed so freakishly from start to finish, could actually achieve!
Radiance flowed.
A line of golden, domineering characters slowly emerged at the very top of the stele.
First Place: Wang Pingan.
Arrival Time: 11 hours 59 minutes.
This time was very ordinary, one could even say it was at the bottom.
Seeing this, a look of sinister gratification appeared on Qin Wushuang's face.
"Hahaha! I knew it! He's just trash! Just to show off, even his time..."
His laughter didn't even have time to fully erupt,
Before he saw the next line—a terrifying number that froze his very soul.
Total Absorption: 3275 units!
Three... three thousand two hundred and seventy-five?!!!
The entire plaza fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone's eyes widened as they stared fixedly at that number, feeling as if their breathing was about to stop.
What kind of concept was this number?
It was twenty-six times that of the second place, Lin Zhan!
It was thirty-three times that of Qin Wushuang!
This... this is no longer just a gap!
While everyone was still immersed in this incomprehensible, miracle-like shock,
Wang Pingan, standing before the stele, suddenly moved.
He slowly closed his eyes.
That aura of his, which he had always perfectly restrained, could no longer be suppressed at this moment.
Boom—!!!
A blood-qi surge, far more vast, more condensed, and more terrifying than the one at the valley entrance, erupted from within his body!
That airwave swept across the entire plaza!
Everyone was pushed back repeatedly by this sudden pressure!
Under everyone's horrified and despairing gazes,
Wang Pingan's body actually began to slowly float upward!
The blood-qi within him was like boiling lava, racing and roaring frantically through his meridians!
Under the impact of this massive energy, his Fourth Grade Early-Stage realm was like paper.
It disintegrated instantly!
The bottleneck was forcibly broken through!
Fourth Grade Mid-Stage!
In full view of everyone!
At the very moment the assessment ended!
He broke through on the spot!