"Why is it so deep?!"
Shi Yan's dagger was nearly worn through from digging, yet he still had not found the Lava Spirit Devouring Saber.
Seeing how greatly his stamina had been depleted, he had no choice but to stop and rest.
Opening the Leaderboard, he discovered that the rankings had changed again.
He was still in first place, but second through fourth had become those three from Jiangnan High School No. 1.
All three of them had scored eight hundred points.
"No, I can't keep this up."
Shi Yan frowned. With three geniuses working together, their efficiency in hunting demonic beasts was extremely high.
By the time he dug up the saber, they might have already killed off quite a few Second-Order Demonic Beasts.
The spiritual energy eruption here would not last long, and the number of Second-Order Demonic Beasts born from it was limited. If the others killed them all, there would be none left for him.
The gains from killing demonic beasts above one's level were immense. Chances to farm Martial Virtue Points like this would likely be few and far between in the future.
"Let's go all in!"
He stared at the huge pit he had dug and gritted his teeth slightly.
Southern Bright Blazing Fire was a fire of purification. He wanted to see whether it could burn through the earth as well.
But if he did that, his uniqueness would be discovered.
Everyone knew that the Martial Arts Examination was broadcast live from start to finish.
But so what if they knew?
In a world where martial arts reigned supreme, obtaining vast amounts of resources was necessary if one wanted to improve.
Resources would not fall from the sky. One had to fight for them personally!
And displaying one's strength and talent was one way of fighting for them!
Hiding one's strength was something for wandering the martial world in the future, not now.
He thrust both palms forward, and white Southern Bright Blazing Fire surged forth.
White light flashed into existence, instantly illuminating the area as brightly as day.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
The sound of electrical wires shorting out suddenly rang out. Several disc-shaped aircraft appeared in the sky above the white light.
They swayed unsteadily, sparks flying from their bodies as though they might fall at any moment.
At the same time.
Outside the examination grounds, the screen displaying Shi Yan suddenly flickered before going completely black.
Since Shi Yan was in first place, his screen had been the largest.
The instant this malfunction occurred, everyone saw it.
"A flash of white light, and then the feed was gone. What did Shi Yan do?"
"What kind of fire was that? It looked like it even burned out the equipment."
"This child's future achievements will be limitless."
"This scene feels so familiar."
Mo Changfeng sighed with emotion. Back then, it had also been Shi Yan who had destroyed the strength-testing equipment.
And it was precisely because Mo Changfeng had told the Hall Master about Shi Yan burning out the equipment with his flames that the Hall Master had given that saber to Shi Yan.
"People have been rescued during the Martial Arts Examination before. Rescuing machines is a first."
Chief Commander Luo Hai swept out a hand, and those few wobbling disc-shaped machines vanished in the blink of an eye.
When they reappeared, they were already at his feet.
Without waiting for Luo Hai's orders, Lin Ye, who had been standing by nearby, took out new equipment from his spatial storage and leaped into the air.
In barely a dozen seconds, Shi Yan's screen reappeared on the giant display.
Everyone saw that Shi Yan was already holding the saber in his hands.
But no one was paying attention to the saber. Their attention was fixed on the enormous pit before Shi Yan.
It was a massive pit still burning with flames, four to five meters deep and roughly ten meters wide. The surrounding earth had been burned glowing red, and even through the screen, they could feel its scorching heat.
"Was this caused by a First-Order Warrior?!"
When people saw the pit, the shock from Shi Yan killing Second-Order Demonic Beasts was weakened by more than half.
This level of destruction required, at the very least, a Third Order warrior!
And one who possessed at least an A-class special ability renowned for its offensive power.
No, perhaps even a Third Order warrior could not accomplish this. A Third Order warrior might be able to blast out such a huge pit, but they absolutely would not have the ability to burn the earth into magma.
This child was terrifying beyond measure!
"Looks like the Four Great Famous Schools will have to crack their skulls fighting over him."
Lin Ye had already returned to Luo Hai's side and murmured softly.
He had also been the Top Scholar of the Martial Arts Examination back then, and the scene of the Four Great Famous Schools competing for him was still vivid in his mind.
Shi Yan's performance today was even more dazzling than his had been. It would be strange if the Four Great Famous Schools did not come to blows over him.
"Hm? He's still going deeper?"
In the next moment, Lin Ye's brows immediately furrowed into the character for "river."
Logically speaking, after causing such a huge commotion, Shi Yan should have been heavily exhausted and ended the examination early.
Yet not only did he show no intention of coming out, he continued deeper into the Core Zone instead.
And he was moving quickly, as though he were in a great hurry.
What was this kid trying to do?
"System, add points!"
With a thought from Shi Yan, his nearly depleted Blood Vitality was instantly replenished.
The feeling of weakness vanished completely.
Only the muscles throughout his body were a little sore.
But it did not affect him much, and now he was even more confident.
So unleashing all his special abilities at once was this powerful.
He had already cast aside his previous idea of proceeding step by step.
With this ultimate move, even if several Second-Order Demonic Beasts surrounded and attacked him, they would still have to die.
Even if they did not die, he still had Martial Virtue Points and could replenish his Blood Vitality.
"Isn't this a little unreasonable...?"
Following the information he had obtained, Shi Yan arrived at a valley after spending half an hour.
A stream babbled softly, glimmering with specks of light beneath the moonlight.
A faint fragrance of wine drifted through the air, making Shi Yan's nose twitch involuntarily.
"There really is Monkey Wine."
According to Liu Wang's intelligence, there was a group of monkeys here that had hidden Monkey Wine.
He just did not know how many of them had become demonic beasts during this spiritual energy eruption.
Shi Yan kicked a nearby tree, creating an enormous crash.
Then he shouted, "I'm here to collect you!"
His voice rolled outward, startling the surroundings into a flurry of movement.
In barely a dozen seconds, more than ten apes, each taller than the one-meter-eighty Shi Yan, leaped over the forest and appeared before him.
They bared their fangs, their eyes blood-red as they danced about excitedly.
Having become demonic beasts, martial artists were naturally delicious food in their eyes.
At the command of the leading monkey demon, they formed an encirclement and closed in on Shi Yan.
"What a pity. Only three Second-Order ones."
Shi Yan looked somewhat disappointed. Then he stepped forward, lowered his body, and gripped the saber's hilt tightly with both hands.
This time, he had learned his lesson and did not activate his special abilities in advance, lest he scare these monkey demons away like the snake demon before.
In the time it took to speak, Shi Yan had barely assumed a defensive stance when black claws swept over his head.
Then came a second claw, slashing toward his groin.
And a gaping maw lunged for the back of his neck.
Every move was fatal.
"Hmph!"
Shi Yan snorted coldly, and the saber in his hand began to whirl rapidly.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
Eighteen saber shadows appeared like phantoms, falling all around him.
Three furry arms flew into the air along with shrill cries of pain.
The Explosive Flame Eighteen Sabers emphasized explosive force and speed. Clearly, his saber was faster.
It was just that his saber technique was not refined enough. It took eighteen slashes to wound his enemies.
Fortunately, his reactions were quick as well. While the monkey demons were writhing in pain from their severed arms, he darted forward in a single stride and pierced through the monkey demon that had tried to perform a monkey stealing peaches on him.
[Killed a First-Order Monkey Demon, Martial Virtue Points +1]
He then withdrew his saber and stabbed backward, piercing the heart of the monkey demon that had tried to bite the back of his neck.
Just as he was about to slash at another one, he saw the moonlight blocked out as all the remaining monkey demons leaped down from the trees and pressed down upon him.
"Good."
Shi Yan stopped pretending as well, and Southern Bright Blazing Fire erupted again.
Boom—
[Killed a Second-Order Monkey Demon above his level, Martial Virtue overflowing, Martial Virtue Points +50] [Killed a First-Order Monkey Demon, Martial Virtue Points +4] [Killed a Second-Order Monkey Demon above his level, Martial Virtue overflowing, Martial Virtue Points +50]
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