34: Chapter 34 Mutual Destruction

"Damn it!" Lin Mo gritted his teeth inside the Pill Furnace, wanting to channel his Soul Power but feeling only a stabbing pain in his meridians.

His last shred of Soul Power had been exhausted.

More exotic beasts swarmed around, their sharp claws and fangs incessantly slamming into the body of the Pill Furnace.

Making "ding-ding-dang-dang" clanking sounds, cracks began to appear on the surface patterns of the Pill Furnace at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The scoring device's alert sounds had long since stopped; Lin Mo's score remained at 580 points, just 20 points shy of the first-tier university cutoff.

"Just a little bit more..."

Because his Soul Power was depleted, his vision began to blacken in waves, and his consciousness started to blur.

But just at this moment, a familiar roar suddenly came from below the city wall.

"Boss!"

"Brother Mo!"

"We're here!"

Lin Mo opened his eyes abruptly, looking down through the cracks in the walls of the Pill Furnace.

He saw Lu Mengmeng and Niu Dachun climbing up along the city wall!

Niu Dachun was holding the Frying Pan, with a cloth strip wrapped around his forehead.

It was evident that his recovery of Soul Power earlier had not gone smoothly.

Lu Mengmeng's Nether Vine was stained with blood, striking at the swarm of exotic beasts like a spirit snake with astonishing speed.

"Why did you come back?!" Lin Mo was both shocked and anxious. "Leave quickly!"

"No, I'm not leaving!"

Lu Mengmeng's voice was choked with tears, and the Devil Vine's Soul Power suddenly surged.

It lashed out like a long whip toward the exotic beasts besieging the Pill Furnace.

"We agreed to earn points together; do you want to abandon us and do it alone?"

Lin Mo felt moved inside.

The Soul Power within him suddenly recovered a little, as if in a final burst of vitality.

Then, he saw the Pill Furnace abruptly slam into the surrounding exotic beasts, sending them flying.

"Get in quickly! Today, we'll die here together!"

Lin Mo didn't bother trying to persuade them anymore and immediately opened the lid of the Pill Furnace.

Since they were going to die anyway, they might as well give it one last shot.

"Alright!"

Lu Mengmeng wiped away her tears, and the Devil Vine coiled around Niu Dachun, leaping up violently.

The two of them accurately dove into the Pill Furnace.

"Bang!"

Lin Mo used every last bit of his revitalized Soul Power to slam the lid of the Pill Furnace shut.

The three of them were squeezed inside the Pill Furnace, their breathing clearly audible to one another.

The vibrations from the exotic beasts slamming into the Pill Furnace traveled through the metal, making their internal organs tremble along with it.

"Don't speak, everyone, listen to me!"

Lu Mengmeng and Niu Dachun immediately covered their mouths, watching Lin Mo without blinking.

Lin Mo forced himself to speak: "In a moment, Mengmeng, use your maximum capability to fill the inside of the Pill Furnace with poison mist... Da Chun, you channel all your remaining Soul Power into me!"

"Ah, filling the Pill Furnace with poison mist—wouldn't that mean you and Da Chun would suffer too?" Lu Mengmeng asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, Brother Mo, if I input my Soul Power into your body, how is that any different from killing you?" Niu Dachun was also looking confused.

"Less nonsense! Do as I say!"

"Rest assured, if we succeed, even if we die and are eliminated, our points will be enough to qualify for a first-tier university!"

"Alright then..." Both of them nodded. Regardless, listening to Lin Mo was always the right choice.

Ten seconds... There were only ten seconds left until reinforcements arrived.

Lin Mo shouted sternly: "Begin!"

Outside, many people were shocked to see Lu Mengmeng and Da Chun actually return. After all, this kind of will to live and die together was rare in reality.

"Huh, what are those three doing hiding in the furnace? Shouldn't they continue using their fusion skill?"

In the observation area, Li Guodong stood up abruptly, staring fixedly at the trembling Pill Furnace on the screen.

"Are these three little ones planning to give up?"

"Probably. After all, look at the entire city wall; it's covered in exotic beasts. Even if they ran out, wouldn't they just be torn to shreds by the swarm of exotic beasts!"

All the spectators were discussing it. Meanwhile, inside the silent Pill Furnace on the screen.

Lu Mengmeng's Nether Vine was frantically emitting poison mist. The black mist quickly permeated the cramped interior of the Pill Furnace, even corroding fine patterns into the inner walls.

Under the influence of the poison mist, Niu Dachun gritted his teeth and pressed his palms against Lin Mo's back, with weak Soul Power surging in like a thin stream.

That was all the strength he had left; it carried a scorching temperature, yet it made Lin Mo's meridians sting as if they were being burned by fire.

"Five seconds!" Lin Mo roared lowly, forcing himself to endure a body that felt like it was about to explode. He tried his best to channel this energy, allowing him to continue casting his Soul Skill.

The previously quiet Pill Furnace suddenly shuddered violently, scaring the exotic beasts gathered around it into retreating abruptly.

Then, a miraculous scene began. Fire-red energy could be seen glowing around the Pill Furnace, and then it slowly rose into the air.

Perhaps due to insufficient Soul Power, the Pill Furnace only rose five or six meters before stopping.

"Come on, let me show you beasts what art is!" A crazy roar came from inside the Pill Furnace.

At this moment, the exotic beasts were stunned. The spectators outside were stunned, too.

Only in the secret realm, a roar of engines came from the horizon. Finally... one last sound came from the Pill Furnace.

"Art! Is Patrick Star!"

The next second, the Pill Furnace suddenly emitted a blinding red light.

"Boom!" A massive sound, more than ten times louder than before, rang out.

The moment the red light exploded, it was as if the entire secret realm had been pressed on pause.

The black poison mist and crimson flames intertwined in the sky into a spiral shape, like a flower of death blooming wildly.

The shockwave spread from the Pill Furnace as the center. Wherever it passed, second-tier exotic beasts were like fallen leaves swept away by a gale, and the rock armor of the third-tier Iron-Armored Beasts cracked inch by inch.

The entire section of the city wall was blown open by this explosion. Finally, a mushroom cloud slowly rose.

This scene stunned everyone.

"Th-they actually self-destructed?"

Everyone understood what had happened. These three had perished together with a group of exotic beasts. While feeling shocked, they couldn't help but feel immense admiration.

"Sigh, what a good trio of little ones!" Tears welled up in the corners of Li Guodong's eyes. Because this scene of Lin Mo and the other two reminded him of his old squad leader.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Linjiang City examination site for successfully completing the special achievement "Hold the Line." All examinees +20 points, examinees who held the line on the city wall until the last second +50 points...]

A notification resounded both inside and outside the secret realm. Hearing this prompt, the entire examination site was shocked once again.

"Holding the line until the last second... Those three children..." Li Guodong looked toward the screen abruptly, his voice trembling.

On the screen, the mushroom cloud gradually dispersed, revealing that huge gap on the city wall. But those three figures had long since disappeared along with that explosion.

Everyone immediately looked toward the entrance of the secret realm. The next second, three figures were thrown out as if someone had tossed them from inside.

"Ouch!"

"Holy crap!"

"Ow!"

The three of them slammed heavily onto the ground, covered in dirt and looking incredibly disheveled. But in the arena, not a single person let out a mocking laugh.

The three of them lay on the ground coughing for a long time. Lin Mo was the first to lift his head, his face still stained with black soot. Seeing the surrounding environment, he couldn't help but smile bitterly: "We really were blown out!"

Niu Dachun clutched his arm, groaning.

"Boss, look at the scoring device quickly!"

Lin Mo and Da Chun couldn't care about anything else and immediately opened their personal information. On the pale blue light screen.

Examinee: Lin Mo Score: 710 (660+50)

"Holy, the first-tier cutoff is enough!" Lin Mo exclaimed.

"Wahahaha, Boss, I got 670!" Lu Mengmeng burst into loud laughter.

"Hehe, Brother Mo, with the special bonus points, I also have 652." Niu Dachun scratched his head and giggled foolishly.

At this moment, the information on the leaderboard updated.

First Place: Lin Mo 710 points

Second Place: Lu Mengmeng 670 points

Third Place: Niu Dachun 652 points...

Seeing this, thunderous applause erupted in the spectator stands. Although they had come out early, their scores were not low at all. While they might not necessarily secure the final top three, the admission cutoff for The Four Great Academies was secured.