"Some conditions?"
Shi Yan wiped the blood from his face and could not help sizing up Qi Ziyue.
Honestly, that figure eclipsed every female star from his previous life.
With her long dress torn as it was now, she had an altogether different kind of charm.
"It's not what you think. My family has some money. Once we get into university, I can give you some."
Seeing Shi Yan's wandering gaze, Qi Ziyue drew her slender legs together and hurriedly explained.
"My family is a little special. I can only access certain resources after entering Martial Arts University. Otherwise, I could give them to you right now."
"No need. Just help me with something later."
Shi Yan looked at the cracks spreading across his skin and agreed to Qi Ziyue's request.
After detonating his ability several times, his body was beginning to buckle under the strain.
There was not much time left before the College Entrance Examination ended. He decided to go out with one last big move.
Qi Ziyue had arrived at just the right time. She could clear out any nearby Level 1 Demonic Beasts if he became unable to move, or send out a distress signal for him.
During the two hours she had spent with his cousin, he had more or less learned about Qi Ziyue from the others.
She was aloof and disliked talking to people, but her character was good, and she often helped the weak.
That was one of the reasons she had become a Goddess.
"Do what?" Qi Ziyue was delighted. Shi Yan's words meant he had agreed!
Shi Yan pointed at the Stone Cave behind him. "Hear that? There's a group of Gold-Devouring Rats inside. Before the exam ends, I'm going to blow it up. If any slip through, or if other demonic beasts come close, you handle them. If I'm badly hurt, call for rescue."
"Understood."
When she heard Gold-Devouring Rats, Qi Ziyue's heart stirred, and her gaze lingered on Shi Yan for several seconds longer.
So you were this kind of unsung hero!
She thought she now knew why Shi Yan liked killing demonic beasts.
It was because Shi Yan was ridding the people of evil!
Thinking of the Gold-Devouring Rat Tides recorded throughout history, which one had not brought terrifying disaster?
Shi Yan's body had already been injured in several places, and much of his exposed skin was split open.
Even so, he persisted in eliminating demons. What noble character!
"Good. Watch closely. Once a Gold-Devouring Rat evolves into a Second-Order Demonic Beast, it'll run out. It wants to eat people even more. Seize the chance and cut it down."
As Shi Yan spoke, he tossed another demonic beast corpse into the Stone Cave.
Just as he was about to grab another corpse, he felt someone tug at the clothes on his back.
When he turned around, Qi Ziyue was already standing behind him, her delicate hand pinching the corner of his clothes and pulling gently.
"Shi Yan, I-I'm sorry."
Qi Ziyue lowered her head before Shi Yan with an apologetic look, as though she had committed some grave mistake.
"???" Shi Yan was a little dumbfounded. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I'm just sorry."
Qi Ziyue raised her head without explaining herself.
She felt that when she had first met Shi Yan, she should not have left just because of one thing he said.
She should have fought shoulder to shoulder with him.
At the same time, she realized that Shi Yan had probably been protecting her then.
After all, facing so many demonic beasts, along with those troublesome Gold-Devouring Rats, the danger was easy enough to imagine.
"Don't say that. Just give me one or two hundred million in compensation later."
Shi Yan waved a hand and joked.
He thought Qi Ziyue probably felt she had gained a huge advantage from this "deal," which was why she felt embarrassed.
Just like the rumors said, this girl had a rather kind heart.
Hearing that, Qi Ziyue's eyes showed a thoughtful look before she nodded.
Shi Yan did not see it, though. He had already turned around and continued feeding demonic beast corpses into the cave.
After some unknown amount of time, the sound of cloth tearing came from inside the Stone Cave, drowning out the dense sounds of flesh being gnawed.
"It's here!"
Shi Yan abruptly retreated, moving away from where he had been blocking the cave entrance.
Qi Ziyue's expression turned solemn. A purple Moon Blade appeared behind her, and she drew the curved saber in her hand.
The next second, a black shadow the size of a goat shot out.
Its gray fur stood upright like steel needles, stained with blood. Its fangs were dark gold, and merely looking at them made one's hairs stand on end.
The curved saber slashed out at high speed, only to be caught between those fangs.
Though the curved saber was forged from tough B-Grade Alloy, a clear tooth mark appeared in it from that giant rat's bite.
Worthy of being a Gold-Devouring Rat!
Qi Ziyue's expression tightened. Then she bent backward into an Iron Bridge, evading the Gold-Devouring Rat's rear claw as it swept at her.
She released the saber, spun, and arrived behind the Gold-Devouring Rat.
This was precisely the moment its old strength had faded, yet its feet had not touched the ground.
The purple Moon Blade flashed past, and the Gold-Devouring Rat's two hind legs were severed cleanly.
Purple light flickered across the wounds, turning the hind legs, which had already been pouring blood, into fountains of spraying blood.
That was the Moon Blade's special trait. After injuring an enemy, it released a razor-sharp cutting intent that burrowed into the opponent's body through the wound.
"Squeak, squeak—"
The Gold-Devouring Rat howled in pain, hurriedly dropped the curved saber from its mouth, and braced itself on the ground with its front paws.
Its eyes were blood-red. Ignoring its own injuries, it leaped at Qi Ziyue once more.
Newly advanced Second-Order Demonic Beasts were like this. Their ferocity had not diminished, and like Level 1 Demonic Beasts, they only knew how to attack.
Moreover, after being injured, their savagery was stimulated even further.
Qi Ziyue was naturally unafraid. She did not even dodge. Instead, she made the Moon Blade blaze with purple radiance before sending it spinning through the air.
The Gold-Devouring Rat's body was instantly split into two.
After landing on the ground and struggling for a moment, it went still.
Qi Ziyue's face turned slightly pale. Then she picked up the curved saber and drove its tip into the Gold-Devouring Rat's head.
She had started killing demons a year ago. She still remembered not to let her boat capsize in a gutter.
"So that's how it is."
After putting away the curved saber and Moon Blade, she somewhat understood why Shi Yan had been able to slaughter all those second-order demonic beasts.
It was not that Shi Yan was overwhelmingly strong. Rather, the Second-Order Demonic Beasts here did not seem all that powerful.
When she killed the first one, she had already sensed something. But because she had gone all out at the time and spent a great deal of Blood Vitality, she had assumed the Second-Order Demonic Beasts here were no different from those elsewhere.
She had been misled by the information from before the College Entrance Examination.
Everyone said this College Entrance Examination was the most difficult in decades.
That was true, but not entirely true.
The newly born demonic beasts were indeed extremely ferocious, but because they had only just been born, they were far weaker than ordinary demonic beasts in both strength and experience.
For others, the difficulty was extremely high, but for someone with her strength, they were not much of a threat.
It was the psychological hurdle that had made her timid and hesitant. Or rather, it had made several people, herself included, overthink everything, constantly calculating their physical strength and ability consumption and allocation, missing the best chance to search for Second-Order Demonic Beasts.
As for Shi Yan, he had entered the Core Zone early on.
And with how ruthless his methods were, how could there possibly be any Second-Order Demonic Beasts left for them?
Opening the Leaderboard, she found that her rank had climbed to second place.
However, it was not 850 points, but 825.
That was how the exam's cooperation mechanism worked: the points would be divided among others.
"What are you standing around for? Drag the corpse over here."
At that moment, Shi Yan spoke.
Qi Ziyue's points had suddenly risen to second place. Wu Qiang and the others would definitely notice and head for the Core Zone.
Whether they could still peacefully "cultivate" Second-Order Demonic Beasts then was hard to say.
"Oh, okay."
Qi Ziyue's pretty face reddened slightly as she hurriedly began helping.
Just as Shi Yan had expected, Qi Ziyue's sudden rise to second place made Wu Qiang, Gu Hao, and the others react.
Especially since Qi Ziyue had only gained twenty-five points, they knew she had not only found a Second-Order Demonic Beast, but had also cooperated with someone else.
Thus, they abandoned the idea of waiting at the outskirts for the exam to end and rushed toward the Core Zone once more.
However, one wrong step led to wrong steps all the way down.
The Core Zone was too far from the outskirts, and it was not small either. By the time they found Qi Ziyue, the exam was nearly over.
What angered them even more was that Qi Ziyue had gained another twenty-five points during that time.
"Stop! Don't come over!"
Seeing Wu Qiang and the others approaching the Stone Cave, Qi Ziyue hurriedly warned them.
Just as Wu Qiang and the others were about to ask why, they felt a terrifying wave of heat rush toward them.
Immediately afterward, white light burst forth, followed by the sound of an explosion.
BOOM—
Before you continue