Rejecting Beauties, Reaching the Top

"Everyone has overlooked you."

Qi Ziyue's figure slowly emerged, her light purple dress spotless, her skin as fair and flawless as when she entered the examination area.

At this moment, her beautiful eyes were fixed on Shi Yan, as if trying to see through him.

She had a faint feeling that the one who would contend for first place with her in the end wasn't those S-Class individuals, but this... rather handsome young man in front of her.

"So it was you who was poaching my Demonic Beasts. I wondered who it was."

Shi Yan's expression was calm as he also sized up this girl who was impossibly beautiful.

Compared to her, Lu Jiaojiao was not even in the same league.

Lu Jiaojiao was a superficial vase, while Qi Ziyue was a Moon Palace goddess whose beauty radiated from her spirit to her posture.

It was just that the girl seemed a bit cold and unapproachable.

"Are you willing to join me in the core area tonight?"

Qi Ziyue was clearly not good at small talk and got straight to the point.

She wasn't entirely confident in dealing with Second-Order Demonic Beasts.

Furthermore, the three students from Jiangnan High School No. 1 would definitely cooperate, and she wouldn't be able to compete for Second-Order Demonic Beasts then.

Originally, she had planned to cooperate with Wu Qiang from Shennan No. 1 High School, but Wu Qiang had already hooked up with a girl who had a charm ability.

Looking at the candidates on the leaderboard, Shi Yan was the most suitable partner for her.

However, Shi Yan's reply surprised her.

"No."

Shi Yan shook his head, rejecting her offer.

By the time he finished killing until nightfall, he would be able to enter the core area alone.

A Second-Order Demonic Beast was worth fifty Martial Virtue Points, and he didn't want to share the spoils with anyone else.

"Uh... Okay, sorry to have bothered you."

Qi Ziyue was slightly taken aback, then her fair face blushed, and she quickly left with small, quick steps.

From a cold goddess, she instantly transformed into a little girl who seemed to have made a mistake.

This contrast also caught Shi Yan off guard.

This girl wasn't cold and unapproachable, but rather... socially anxious?

"Continue killing Demonic Beasts."

Shi Yan ignored her and walked alone towards the area closer to the core zone.

Not long after, he stopped in a rather dark place.

Compared to the previous location, there were very few students here.

After casually knocking down a few trees, the Demonic Beasts were lured over by the scent.

"As expected of Pig Head Mountain."

Looking at the wild boar demons not far away, Shi Yan snorted through his nose.

Half a minute later.

[Killed First-Order Wild Boar Demon, Martial Virtue Points +3]

[Killed First-Order Wild Boar Demon, Martial Virtue Points +4]

For the next step, Shi Yan skillfully bled the wild boar demons.

This time, no one snatched them away.

Other Demonic Beasts were attracted by the smell of blood.

There weren't as many as before, but they were of higher quality.

Thus, a bloody feast began.

"A grave mistake, this is a grave mistake!"

Outside the examination area, the usually stern Qin Feng kept speaking.

Demonic Beasts were already bloodthirsty, and Shi Yan was still bleeding them; this was a major taboo for Warriors.

The first time, it was because he was in the outer area and the threat from Demonic Beasts was not significant, so he couldn't say much.

The second time, it was because he had the help of four Warriors, so he kept quiet for a long time.

Now, Shi Yan was approaching the core area and still dared to do this, which was simply playing with his own life.

It wasn't just Qin Feng; Principal Li Shuogen, and Mo Changfeng from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall were also frowning.

Was Shi Yan resorting to any means necessary for points?

In past Martial Arts Examinations, quite a few candidates exploited loopholes in the rules.

One such method was to kill demonic beasts frantically at a certain point, earn a large number of points, and then trigger the rescue command.

At Shi Yan's speed, he could completely kill his way to the maximum score.

750 plus the 50 bonus points he'd already received would make it 800, surpassing the vast majority of candidates.

With the difficulty of this year's Jiangnan exam, he could easily get into any of the four top schools.

However, these people didn't want to see a Shi Yan like this.

Those who take shortcuts in martial arts won't go far.

Putting aside the shortcuts, Shi Yan's act of bleeding to attract demonic beasts, if it became a habit, could very well lead him to a dead end in the future.

Within the exam venue, there were rescue forces on standby, but he wouldn't have such treatment outside!

"Should I inform the Hall Master..."

Mo Changfeng stared at the screen showing Shi Yan's feed, his fingers tapping restlessly on his crossed arms.

In the end, he decided to wait until after the Martial Arts Examination to say anything.

The overall commander, Luo Hai, also frowned slightly at this moment. It wasn't because of Shi Yan's "shortcut," but because Shi Yan had rejected Qi Ziyue.

Teamwork was a mandatory course for entering the Monster Suppression Bureau.

Shi Yan didn't seem to grasp the essence of it...

"Hmph, Principal Gong, congratulations to your No. 1 High School in advance."

Li Bihuang of Jiangnan No. 3 High School said somewhat resentfully.

The moment Shi Yan rejected Qi Ziyue, he knew the tide had turned against them.

While Qi Ziyue's individual ability did surpass the three from Jiangnan No. 1 High School, with only Qi Ziyue, Jiangnan No. 3 High School couldn't gain an advantage in bonus points.

Killing demonic beasts beyond one's level wasn't child's play.

Qi Ziyue could kill one or two, but what about the rest?

There were 250 bonus points available, and one had to kill 5 to earn them. No one could do it alone.

As seen with Shi Yan, the first to kill a Second-Order Demonic Beast, he had to retreat and rest for a long time after.

The Martial Arts Examination had limited time, and Qi Ziyue wouldn't live long enough to kill the fifth demonic beast.

Shi Yan would be the same.

"Principal Li, you taught that girl many skills for killing demonic beasts, but you completely neglected the ability of social interaction."

Gong Yanhua didn't retort to Li Bihuang this time, merely looking at the screen showing Qi Ziyue with a smile.

If it were her in her youth, she would have had at least ten ways to get Shi Yan to team up with her.

Li Bihuang gave a wry smile and shook his head helplessly, "You know the Qi family as well as I do, how could I possibly teach her..."

Amidst everyone's discussions, on the screen, Shi Yan's ranking kept climbing.

Many people's heartbeats quickened along with the rising ranks.

Eighteenth.

Fifteenth.

Tenth...

Until his score became 751, and Shi Yan directly took first place.

"Shi Yan's in first place!"

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

Qin Feng and Li Shuogen also showed smiles on their faces.

Although they felt Shi Yan's method was questionable, this was the first time Baiyun No. 1 High School had achieved such a result.

After the exclamation, more people turned their eyes to the leaderboard in unison:

First Place, Shi Yan (Baiyun No. 1 High School), 751 points.

Second Place, Qi Ziyue (Jiangnan No. 3 High School), 750 points.

Sixth Place, Wu Qiang (Shennan No. 1 High School), 750 points.

Seventh Place, Zhang Tianzhi (Jiangnan No. 1 High School), 688 points.

Second to Sixth place all had 750 points. Since the base score was already maxed out, killing more wouldn't earn points unless they killed a Second-Order Demonic Beast in the core area.

Furthermore, the top six had a cliff-like lead over those behind them.

However, people noticed that Shi Yan, in first place, was still gaining points.

759, 766, 788... until 800, when he finally stopped.

In other words, he got all the positive points!

Those who had some guesses before couldn't help but hold their breath for a moment.

Eight hundred points, Shi Yan should be calling for rescue by now.

However, in the screen, Shi Yan showed no intention of asking for help.

Even though his breathing was heavy from exhaustion, after killing another batch of demonic beasts, he continued to wait for the next wave to arrive.

He even took the time to cut some demonic beast meat to roast and eat.

"This..."

He must be tired, so he'll eat his fill before coming out?

Then let's keep waiting.

It's just that this wait is taking a bit too long.

Until the sun emitted its last rays of heat and disappeared behind the distant mountains, Shi Yan finally made a move.

Not to send a rescue signal, but to walk towards the core area.

"What?!"