Slaying Demons, An Explosion Before the College Entrance Examination Ends

"Some requirements?"

Shi Yan wiped the blood off his face and couldn't help sizing up Qi Ziyue.

To be honest, her figure outclassed every actress from his past life.

And with her long dress torn at the moment, it added a unique charm.

"It's not what you're thinking. My family has some money; after I get into university, I can give you some."

Seeing Shi Yan's gaze wandering, Qi Ziyue tightened her long legs and quickly explained.

"My family is a bit special. I won't be able to access certain resources until I enter a Martial Arts University. Otherwise, I could give them to you right now."

"Forget it. Just help me with one thing later."

Shi Yan looked at his cracked skin and agreed to Qi Ziyue's request.

After bursting his ability several times, his body was starting to show signs of strain.

With the College Entrance Examination nearing its end, he decided to go for one big finale.

Qi Ziyue's arrival was perfect—she could clear away any approaching Level 1 Demonic Beasts if he couldn't move, or send out a distress signal for him.

In the two hours he'd spent with his cousin, he'd learned enough about Qi Ziyue from a few people.

She was aloof, not fond of conversation, but had good character and often helped the weak.

That was one of the reasons she'd become a Goddess.

"What do I need to do?" Qi Ziyue brightened. Shi Yan's words meant he'd agreed!

Shi Yan pointed to the Stone Cave behind him and said, "Hear that? Inside is a nest of Gold-Devouring Rats. Before the exam ends, I'm going to blow it up. If any slip out or other beasts come near, you handle them. If I'm badly hurt, you call for rescue."

"Understood."

At the mention of Gold-Devouring Rats, Qi Ziyue's heart stirred, and her gaze lingered on Shi Yan for a few extra seconds.

So this is the kind of unsung hero you are!

She thought she now understood why Shi Yan liked killing demonic beasts.

It was because he was eliminating a threat to the people!

Think of every Gold-Devouring Rat tide in history—hadn't each one brought terrible disaster?

Looking at Shi Yan's body, he was already injured in several places, and the exposed skin was badly cracked.

And still, he persisted in slaying beasts. What noble character!

"Good that you understand. Watch closely—when a Gold-Devouring Rat evolves into a Second-Order Demonic Beast, it'll come charging out. It'll be craving human flesh. Seize the chance and cut it down."

As he spoke, Shi Yan tossed another beast corpse into the Stone Cave.

Just as he was about to grab another, he felt a tug at the back of his clothes.

Turning around, he saw Qi Ziyue standing behind him, her slender fingers pinching the hem of his shirt and pulling.

"Shi Yan, I'm... I'm sorry."

Qi Ziyue spoke with guilt, like someone who'd made a grave mistake, bowing her head to him.

"???" Shi Yan was baffled. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm just sorry."

Qi Ziyue lifted her head but offered no explanation.

She felt that the first time she'd met Shi Yan, she shouldn't have left just because of one remark from him.

She should have fought alongside him.

And she also realized that back then, Shi Yan had probably been protecting her.

After all, facing so many demonic beasts, plus the troublesome Gold-Devouring Rats—the danger was obvious.

"Don't say stuff like that. Just give me a hundred or two hundred million as compensation later."

Shi Yan waved his hand, joking.

He figured Qi Ziyue thought she was getting too good a deal from this "transaction" and felt embarrassed.

Just like the rumors said—this girl had a good heart.

Qi Ziyue's eyes flickered with thought at his words, then she nodded.

But Shi Yan didn't see it; he turned back to keep feeding the beasts.

After some unknown time, a sound like tearing cloth came from inside the Stone Cave, drowning out the dense gnawing of flesh.

"Here it comes!"

Shi Yan suddenly retreated, clearing his body from the cave entrance.

Qi Ziyue's expression turned serious. A purple Moon Blade materialized behind her, and she drew her curved knife.

The next second, a shadow the size of a goat shot out.

Its gray fur bristled like steel needles, stained with blood, and its teeth were a dark gold. Just looking at it made one's hair stand on end.

The curved blade shot out swiftly, but was caught between those sharp teeth.

Even though the curved blade was made of hard B-Grade Alloy, under the big rat's bite, a clear tooth mark appeared on it.

As expected of a Gold-Devouring Rat!

Qi Ziyue's expression tightened, then she bent backward into an Iron Bridge, dodging the Gold-Devouring Rat's swiping hind claws.

Then she abandoned the blade, spun around, and arrived behind the Gold-Devouring Rat.

At this moment, the Gold-Devouring Rat's old force had just dissipated, and its feet had yet to land.

A purple Moon Blade flashed once, and both of the Gold-Devouring Rat's hind legs were directly severed.

One could see a purple gleam flash at the cuts, turning the already gushing hind legs into a spray of blood.

This was the Moon Blade's special trait—after injuring an enemy, it could emit a sharp cutting intent that burrowed into the opponent's body through the wound.

"Squeak—"

The Gold-Devouring Rat, in pain, hurriedly dropped the curved blade from its mouth and propped itself up with its front paws.

Its eyes bloodshot, it ignored its own injuries and leaped at Qi Ziyue again.

This was how newly promoted Second-Order Demonic Beasts were—their ferocity not yet tamed, still attacking mindlessly like First-Order ones.

Moreover, after being injured, that savagery was only further provoked.

Qi Ziyue was naturally unafraid. She didn't even dodge, instead letting the Moon Blade's purple light flare brightly before it spun and flew past.

The Gold-Devouring Rat's body was instantly split in two.

It fell to the ground, struggled for a while, and then went still.

Qi Ziyue's face paled slightly, then she picked up the curved blade and drove its tip into the Gold-Devouring Rat's head.

She had started killing demons a year ago, and she still remembered to avoid capsizing in a ditch.

"I see."

Putting away the curved blade and Moon Blade, she somewhat understood why she could kill all the Second-Order demonic beasts.

It wasn't that Shi Yan was overwhelmingly strong, but rather that the Second-Order demonic beasts here didn't seem that powerful.

When she killed the first one, she had already sensed it, but because she had gone all out and consumed a lot of blood energy at the time, she thought these Second-Order demonic beasts were the same as elsewhere.

She had been misled by the information before the College Entrance Examination.

Everyone said this year's exam was the hardest in decades.

That was true, but not entirely.

The newly born demonic beasts were indeed full of ferocity, but because they were just born, they were much weaker in strength and experience than ordinary demonic beasts.

For others, the difficulty was high, but for someone of her strength, the threat wasn't that great.

It was the psychological barrier that made her hesitant, or rather, made her and several others overthink, constantly calculating the consumption and allocation of stamina and abilities, missing the best opportunity to find Second-Order demonic beasts.

As for Shi Yan, he had entered the Core Zone early.

Coupled with his ruthless methods, it was a wonder any Second-Order demonic beasts were left for them.

Opening the Leaderboard, she found her rank had climbed to second place.

But it wasn't eight hundred and fifty points—it was eight hundred and twenty-five.

That was the mechanism of the exam's cooperation system: points were distributed to others.

"What are you standing around for? Drag the corpse over."

At that moment, Shi Yan spoke.

Qi Ziyue's score suddenly rising to second place would surely alert the others, who would then rush to the Core Zone.

Whether they could still peacefully "nurture" Second-Order demonic beasts then was hard to say.

"Oh, right."

Qi Ziyue's pretty face flushed slightly, and she quickly moved to help.

Just as Shi Yan had expected, Qi Ziyue suddenly ranking second still made Wu Qiang, Gu Hao, and the others react.

Especially since Qi Ziyue had only gained twenty-five points, they realized she had not only found a Second-Order demonic beast but also cooperated with someone.

So, they abandoned the idea of waiting out the exam time on the periphery and rushed back toward the Core Zone.

However, one misstep led to another.

The distance from the periphery to the Core Zone was too great, and the Core Zone itself was not small. By the time they found Qi Ziyue, the exam time was almost up.

What was even more infuriating was that during this time, Qi Ziyue had gained another twenty-five points.

"Stop! Don't come closer!"

Seeing Wu Qiang and the others about to approach the Stone Cave, Qi Ziyue quickly warned.

Wu Qiang and the others were about to ask why when they felt a terrifying wave of heat rushing toward them.

Immediately after, a white flash appeared, followed by an explosion.

Boom—