Inside the Martial Arts Exam grounds.
A tiger-shaped fierce beast, larger than an elephant, drooled as its eyes blazed scarlet. It kept pawing at the ground, plowing row after row of claw marks into the earth.
It roared loudly at the black-haired youth standing before it.
Awooo!
With a roar, the fierce beast transformed into a bolt of lightning. Like a tank bringing down mountains and unleashing a tsunami, it charged toward the youth.
Compared to the fierce beast, the youth was like a tiny boat in the midst of a tsunami.
Tiny and insignificant.
But just as the fierce beast was about to tear the youth apart, the youth moved.
Without making any particularly large motion, his body shifted several meters to the side as if by magic, and the fierce beast pounced at empty air.
The fierce beast wanted to continue its attack. It opened its mouth and lunged to bite the youth, but before it could close its jaws—
The youth suddenly rose and leaped into the air, delivering a lightning-fast whip kick that struck the fierce beast in the face with a bang.
Awooo!
A miserable cry rang out.
The fierce beast's head, which was comparable to that of a small car, twisted under the force of the youth's whip kick.
Then all four of its feet left the ground. Its body, weighing more than ten tons, was actually sent soaring through the air before it flew backward in a blur.
With a boom, it smashed into a three-story building dozens of meters away.
The three-story building, built entirely of reinforced concrete and standing firm for decades, collapsed with a thunderous crash.
"Very good. After cultivating my movement technique to the peak, my dodging ability has become even stronger."
"In actual combat, fierce beasts below Peak Level 1 can't even touch me."
"And my strength has also become several times greater than before!"
"Without exaggeration, among Level 1 Martial Artists, I should be firmly in the T0 echelon now!"
He flashed in front of the fierce beast and added another punch, killing it.
Only after hearing the system notification beside him did Li Ziyu nod in satisfaction.
Four days had already passed since the Martial Arts Exam began. After two days of hunting, even he had lost count of how many fierce beasts he had killed.
He killed every fierce beast he saw, carving a path from the edge of the exam grounds all the way to the core region.
He was only one step away from the central region.
By the end, he had grown somewhat numb. He was even tired of hearing the system notifications ringing in his ears.
If the fierce beasts in these Martial Arts Exam grounds had not been specially processed by the authorities beforehand, then given the number he had killed, their consciousnesses would probably have been eroded by now, leaving them devoid of themselves.
Still, he had gained tremendously over the past few days.
His blade technique, movement technique, and body-tempering technique had all reached the peak realm!
Even the defensive Combat Skill he had cultivated later had been raised to the advanced level.
"Open the system panel."
Name: Li Ziyu. Realm: Level 1 Advanced Martial Artist. Combat Skills: Peak Raging Bull Body Tempering Method, Peak Movement Technique, Peak Blade Technique, Advanced Vajra Body, Gale Blade Technique. System: Martial God System. Function: Can absorb all things and increase qi and blood. The remaining functions await the host's own discovery.
"I don't know whether anyone in the other cities has cultivated all their martial skills to the peak like I have, but in Xujiang City, there shouldn't be a second person besides me!"
He was a fairly modest person and did not claim to be invincible among Level 1 Martial Artists.
But Li Ziyu felt that T0 was definitely within reach.
After thinking it over, Li Ziyu tapped his right wristband a few times and opened the Points wristband.
The rankings for the entire exam grounds appeared before him.
First place: Li Ziyu, 3,800 points.
Second place: Nangong Ao, 1,200 points.
Third place: Wang Long, 980 points.
Fourth place: Xia Lin, 970 points.
"As expected, I'm first—and I have almost three times as many points as second place!"
"Looks like I've secured the top score in Xujiang City's Martial Arts Exam, and I have enough points for the four top universities too. I just don't know what rank I'll get nationwide."
Li Ziyu thought to himself. His personality was such that he either did not act at all, or, once he did, he would do his very best.
Since he had decided to enter one of the four top universities, he might as well fight for the highest score in the nation!
After pondering for a moment, a sharp glint flashed through Li Ziyu's eyes.
His gaze hardened. Tightening his grip on the War Blade, he moved and rushed toward the central region.
"I heard that there's a Level 2 Fierce Beast in this central region, specially prepared for the genius examinees who want to compete for the national rankings. Killing it can earn dozens of times the usual number of points."
Can't find the book by searching its title? Try searching for the author instead. Maybe it was just renamed!
"Go there!"
"Has he left?"
"He has. Phew, the pressure was terrifying."
After Li Ziyu left, the two female examinees who had been hiding nearby and secretly watching, too afraid to come out, finally emerged from the ruins.
Xu Mengyao's best friend, Xiaoya, patted her ample chest with a look of relief and said:
"Even a Level 1 Advanced fierce beast couldn't withstand a single punch from Li Ziyu. Just what level is he?"
"With that kind of strength, he's at least a Peak Level 1 Martial Artist, right?"
"Luckily, he didn't notice us. Otherwise, if he held a grudge against you for breaking up with him back then and used his position for personal revenge, we'd be doomed."
Xu Mengyao did not respond to her best friend. She merely stared blankly in the direction where Li Ziyu had disappeared, her face filled with indescribable bitterness and regret.
Five days ago, Li Ziyu had still belonged to her.
Yet now, she did not even have the courage to stand before Li Ziyu.
All she could do was hide at the side like a rat and witness Li Ziyu's martial valor.
"If the heavens gave me another chance, I definitely wouldn't have made that choice back then..."
"Fuck! 3,800 points!? That's three times more than mine!? Li Ziyu, you sly bastard, you were actually hiding your strength! Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
"How does he have so many points? Just how many fierce beasts did he kill? He cheated! Li Ziyu must have cheated!"
Central region.
Nangong Ao saw Li Ziyu's name at the top of the rankings, and his expression grew extremely ugly.
He furiously kept pounding the wall. His hands were smashed bloody, yet he did not notice in the slightest.
"I'm the strongest in Xujiang City! Some nobody must have cheated to get such a high score!!"
After venting, an unwilling look flashed across Nangong Ao's face.
Among the examinees in Xujiang City's Martial Arts Exam, he had always been the most dazzling one.
When had anyone ever stolen the limelight from him like this?
Whenever he imagined the outside world's reaction after seeing Li Ziyu's points, Nangong Ao felt as miserable as if he had swallowed a fly.
"Hmph! I'll go to that Level 2 Fierce Beast!"
"I don't believe Li Ziyu has the strength to kill it. As long as I kill it first, I can prove to the outside world that I'm stronger than Li Ziyu!"
With that thought, Nangong Ao reined in his emotions. In a flash, he transformed into a yellow afterimage and rushed toward the very center of the central region.
"Gasp?! 3,800 points? This can't be real, can it? Doesn't that mean he's even stronger than Nangong Ao?"
"How could someone in Xujiang City be stronger than Nangong Ao?"
A certain area of the central region.
Wang Long sat atop a fierce beast's corpse.
While wolfing down an energy bar, he scanned the points rankings, his expression shifting between light and dark.
"What a monster. With 3,800 points, he could already be the top scorer in Su Province, couldn't he? Fuck, how am I supposed to catch up now!?"
"Nangong Ao is probably feeling even worse than I am right now. Knowing him, he'll definitely head to the central region to hunt that Level 2 Fierce Beast and prove his strength."
"In that case... I'll go take a look too!"
"I want to see just how strong that Li Ziyu really is."
As someone who dreamed of surpassing Nangong Ao, Wang Long had thoroughly studied Nangong Ao's personality.
Based on his understanding of Nangong Ao, he would definitely charge off to hunt that Level 2 Fierce Beast on impulse.
Perhaps that Li Ziyu would go too.
No—he definitely would!
With that thought, Wang Long could no longer be bothered to eat.
He stuffed everything into his mouth in three quick motions, swallowed it down, and rushed straight toward the very center of the exam grounds.
"3,800 points. Student Li Ziyu, have you finally started showing your strength?"
"You're actually even more formidable than I imagined. You really exceeded my expectations..."
Xia Lin looked at the name far ahead of the others on the rankings. Brilliant light bloomed in her beautiful eyes as she murmured to herself.
"He's strong, and he's handsome too..."
As if she had thought of something, a blush unconsciously crept across Xia Lin's fair cheeks.
But when she looked up and saw the drone filming her from nearby in the sky, she finally realized what she was doing. She rubbed her cheeks in embarrassment and said:
"Oh no, what am I thinking?"
"I hope Student Li Ziyu didn't see that, or it'll be so embarrassing."
After calming her mind, Xia Lin looked toward the central region again, her eyes thoughtful.
"The Martial Arts Exam is almost over. They'll probably all go to that Level 2 Fierce Beast. I'll go take a look too!"
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