The edge of the central area.
Xia Lin thrust her sword into the head of a Level 1 Intermediate Fierce Beast, a Gluttonous Wolf.
The more-than-three-meter-long Gluttonous Wolf let out an unwilling howl before collapsing to the ground.
"Phew... If my swordsmanship hadn't broken through to the intermediate level just now, and if I weren't wielding a Level 2 weapon forged from Asma Alloy, I really might not have been a match for the Gluttonous Wolf."
Xia Lin leaned against a broken wall and panted several times. At the same time, she took out an energy bar, tore open the wrapper, and began chewing.
Equipment and martial skills were both part of one's strength. The Martial Arts Exam did not prohibit students from carrying weapons above their own level.
"Let's see my current Points ranking."
Xia Lin tapped her Points wristband several times with her right hand, opening the Points rankings.
When she saw that she was ranked second, a trace of surprise crossed her face.
Her gaze continued downward as she searched for Li Ziyu's ranking.
When she saw that Li Ziyu was ranked ninth, a trace of surprise appeared in Xia Lin's eyes.
"Huh? Li Ziyu is only ranked ninth? Is he preserving his strength?"
"No wonder I'm ranked second. If we were ranked according to our normal strength, Li Ziyu should be above me, and I should be below him."
"Nangong Ao is first, Li Ziyu is second, and I'm third. That should be the normal ranking."
"But judging from the current situation, Li Ziyu probably hasn't exerted himself yet."
"With his strength, aside from Nangong Ao, he definitely has no problem ranking second."
At the edge of the Wilderness Area as well.
Wang Long's two-meter-tall body was bare from the waist up. The veins across his body looked like winding earthworms, crisscrossing in every direction.
With a blast of exploding air, Wang Long's fist, wrapped in immense force, smashed viciously into the head of the Gluttonous Wolf before him.
Blood mist scattered like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers. The Gluttonous Wolf's head, several times larger than a basketball, was smashed to pieces by Wang Long's single punch.
He opened the Points rankings.
"Hmph! Nangong Ao, you're still first, just as expected. You've got some ability—no wonder you're the genius I, Wang Long, want to trample beneath my feet!"
"Huh? I know all the other nine people, but who is this Li Ziyu in ninth place? How come I've never heard of him before?"
"Hmph, forget it. So what if he's ranked ninth? In the end, he isn't even in the same tier as us."
"My goal is only Nangong Ao! Only the number one spot in Xujiang City!"
"Cousin, your strength really is astonishing!"
"Hmph! Li Ziyu's ranking is almost catching up to mine. I can't slack off—I need to work harder. Hmph! I, Bai Haoran, won't lose to you!"
"Li Ziyu's ranking... he's already ninth..."
Scenes like this continued to unfold throughout the Martial Arts Exam venues in various places.
Zhao Yanan, Bai Haoran, Xu Mengyao, as well as Li Ziyu's classmates and everyone who knew him, all widened their eyes in disbelief.
Ding! Killed a Level 1 Intermediate Fierce Beast. Blood and Qi increased by 0.05.
Ding! Killed a Level 1 Intermediate Fierce Beast. Blood and Qi increased by 0.05.
In the outer area of the Martial Arts Exam venue, Li Ziyu withdrew his blade from the Fierce Beast's corpse and opened the Points rankings, his face brimming with excitement.
"Great, my Points ranking has climbed to ninth, and I feel like I'll be able to improve my martial skill again soon!"
"Not bad. At this rate, by the time the Martial Arts Exam ends, perhaps all my martial skills will be able to advance to the peak!"
"I really did come to the right place for this Martial Arts Exam!"
"Mayor Wang, I heard that the increased difficulty of this Martial Arts Exam is to select promising talents for the National Martial Arts University Tournament?"
"Yes, but that's only one of the reasons."
Wang Jiannan glanced at the nervous principal of First High School beside him before answering.
Wang Defa was startled. A trace of curiosity flashed across his face as he carefully asked:
"Only one of the reasons? Could there be other reasons?"
"I only happened to hear a little about the specifics from the Governor. It seems to have been caused by the conflict between the Martial Arts University Alliance and the two major martial arts halls, Extreme and Transcendent Martial Arts Hall."
"But I don't know what exactly happened."
"That's all rather distant from us. The main purpose of this Martial Arts Exam is still to prepare for the National Martial Arts University Tournament."
"The students from this batch of examinees who make it into the top hundred will probably receive key training and go on to represent their schools in the National Martial Arts University Tournament."
A look of longing appeared on Wang Jiannan's face, as if he were recalling something.
But then that longing turned into regret.
"Alas, it's a pity that making it into the national top hundred is simply too difficult. Great Xia's territory is vast, and more than a million students are taking the Martial Arts Exam. If someone can fight their way from a million students into the top hundred, they truly are dragons and phoenixes among men, one in ten thousand."
Wang Jiannan shook his head and sighed.
"Does Nangong Ao have a chance?"
"What do you think?"
Wang Jiannan shot Wang Defa a speechless glance, leaving him unable to say anything. He could only offer an embarrassed, dry laugh.
Nangong Ao's performance had simply been too dazzling, causing him to entertain fantasies he normally would not dare imagine.
But now, it seemed basically impossible.
They could only compete for a ranking within Su Province.
"Alas, last year, only three examinees from all of Su Province squeezed into the national top hundred."
"All three of them possessed the strength of Peak Level 1 Martial Artists, and each had mastered at least one, or even several, intermediate martial skills, or even battle techniques. It was truly despairing!"
Wang Jiannan said no more. His gaze returned to the livestream screen before shifting to the Points rankings beside it.
When he saw the Points rankings clearly, Wang Jiannan froze. He blinked, then looked at the rankings again.
Wang Jiannan's secretary noticed something strange about him and followed his gaze toward the Points rankings before them. After looking, his eyes immediately widened.
"Gasp! How did Li Ziyu go from forty-ninth place straight to ninth place?"
"How long has it been? Just a moment ago, what happened? Could Li Ziyu have ridden a rocket!?"
"Or was he hiding his strength just now?"
The secretary's eyes were wide, shock and confusion filling them. He instinctively turned to look behind him at Liu Youde, the principal of Third High School.
Li Ziyu was a student of Third High School. As its principal, Liu Youde should have known.
However, Liu Youde was just as dumbfounded. He had been straining his ears to listen to the mayor's conversation with the principal of First High School and had not paid the slightest attention to the livestream.
"Quick! Pull up the video replay of Li Ziyu's battle just now!"
"Let's see what happened!"
Wang Jiannan was the first to react. He hurriedly ordered the staff member responsible for operating the livestream.
After saying that, he still felt they were moving too slowly and immediately rose to his feet, heading toward the livestream platform.
When the secretary and the several principals saw that the mayor had stood up, they hurriedly followed him forward.
In an instant, a large crowd gathered around the livestream screen.
With so many people watching, the staff member responsible for the livestream did not dare slack off. His fingers flew across the keyboard.
A moment later, the replay of the period when Li Ziyu's ranking had risen appeared in the center of the screen.
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