Heavenly Dao Sect

Jiang Yan was incredibly fast, landing before Ai Ning in an instant.

Ai Ning broke out in a cold sweat, stumbling backward while muttering, "Jiang... Jiang Yan, don't come near me."

Jiang Yan smiled and said, "I still prefer your old arrogant self. Can you bring that back?"

Ai Ning's face showed embarrassment, a flicker of anger rising before he quickly suppressed it.

"We have no past grudges or present grievances. Let me go now, and I promise to reward you once we're out."

Jiang Yan spread his hands and shook his head helplessly. "Sorry, this is the College Entrance Exam. To me, you're just Points."

With that, he stopped wasting words and drew his blade.

"I'll fight you!"

Ai Ning roared, charging forward with his sword.

One second later.

Jiang Yan looked at the extra 600 Points on his Scoreboard and smiled with satisfaction.

"This kid's pretty loaded."

Ai Ning's Martial Exam journey ended there. Most of the examinees still alive were tough nuts, and staying hidden wouldn't do him much good. Those 600 Points, added to his previous total, would already let him get into a decent university.

"Heavenly Thunder Edict!"

From afar, a yellow Talisman flew over and exploded in midair. In an instant, a Startling Thunder descended from the sky, its vast roar rumbling through the air.

Boom!

The Thunderfall struck behind Jiang Yan, only blasting a hole in his clothes without leaving a single wound.

Jiang Yan turned around to see a young man in Daoist robes staring at his unharmed form with shock.

"Damn, I've run into a tough one. This humble Daoist is out of here."

With that, the Daoist rubbed a Talisman between his fingers, wind rising at his feet as he swiftly fled.

Jiang Yan wasn't about to let him have his way.

With the Swiftness trait and the Battle Saint Armor, he used Nine Consecutive Steps to ride the wind, his figure turning into a whirlwind as he chased.

The Daoist's legs pumped furiously. Thinking he'd put some distance between them, he was about to rest when a series of sonic booms reached his ears. He looked back and saw that very man flying through the air at incredible speed.

"Three Pure Ones, Earth-Treasure Bodhisattva, Tathagata Buddha, all the Buddhas—what the hell kind of monster is this?"

The Daoist cursed, crushed another Talisman, and his speed shot up.

"Abyssal Thunder Annihilation Slash!"

Jiang Yan's aura surged as he swung his blade at the fleeing Daoist ahead.

You triggered Dual Casting.

The Subtlety-level Abyssal Thunder Annihilation Slash activated Startling Thunder's momentum, and a sky full of purple divine lightning burst forth, carrying the Blade Momentum.

Endless thunderlight engulfed the Daoist's body, a terrifying aura of destruction tearing through everything.

"Golden Body Talisman!"

"Heaven-Earth Derivation Spell."

"Infinite Golden Body!"

A chill ran through the Daoist's bones as he felt a force that could kill him bearing down.

"Which clan's ancestor is this, taking the College Entrance Exam? Weren't we supposed to be ordinary mortal warriors?"

The Daoist cursed, using every protective Talisman he had. The dozens he'd spent days crafting, meant as trump cards for the final circle, were all burned up.

He looked back at the sea of thunderlight and swallowed hard.

"That should hold, right?"

He regretted it deeply—if only he hadn't been so reckless with that sneak attack. Now all his Talismans were gone.

Boom!

Thunder crashed down, and two giant blade phantoms slashed through.

Pfft!

The Daoist's body flew back like a kite with a cut string, smashing through countless trees before carving a deep trench in the ground.

Those Talismans had blocked at least ninety percent of the attack, but the remaining ten percent was still too much for him to handle.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura wilting into weakness.

Jiang Yan descended from the sky, his gaze as indifferent as a god's as he looked down at the dying Daoist on the ground.

"Brother... it's a misunderstanding."

Jiang Yan didn't listen.

He slashed the Daoist's clothes apart, and a Scoreboard fell out.

Under the Daoist's despairing gaze, Jiang Yan picked up the Scoreboard.

The next second, the Daoist was eliminated and teleported out of the exam grounds.

1902.5

That was Jiang Yan's current score.

"Still, it's pretty rare for a Daoist to show up in the College Entrance Exam."

Jiang Yan muttered to himself, wondering if there might be other disciples from reclusive masters hiding in this exam.

As it turned out, there were.

On the official livestream.

The top spot didn't belong to Shang Xingren, who'd been making waves the past few days, nor to the spear-wielding war goddess Li Qingyue.

It was a name that had barely registered in the previous rounds—almost invisible.

Heavenly Dao Mansion—Zhang Daoran.

In the livestream, Zhang Daoran formed a hand seal, lips moving silently through obscure incantations as he struck an odd pose. Soon, a thunderbolt as thick as a bucket crashed down from the sky, piercing straight through a third-stage early-phase Fierce Beast.

Zhang Daoran's face was cold. He showed no emotional stir from earning Points. Instead, his gaze fixed on one direction, and his sword-like brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Such a dense Talisman aura. Has Junior Brother Daoqing run into a tough opponent?"

Zhang Daoran thought about checking, but stopped after one step.

"Forget it. Junior Brother's usually playful, but since he's used that many Talismans, the trouble should be resolved. No need for me to step in."

With that, he turned and headed elsewhere.

For now, Points mattered most.

This scene was naturally captured by the livestream.

Wow, is this a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect? His strength is insane.

Quick, director—switch to see what happened to that junior brother he mentioned.

We want to see the Talismans! Switch the camera!

The director obliged, cutting the feed to Jiang Yan's location.

Unfortunately, the fight was already over.

Jiang Yan was nowhere to be seen.

On the ground, a deep furrow marked where Zhang Daoqing had been thrown. A bottomless sword scar stretched across the earth, the surrounding area scorched black, with faint crackles of thunder still popping—clear signs of a fierce battle.

"Alright, the scene here is intense. Let's rewind and see what happened."

Soon, the replay aired.

Jiang Yan defeating Ai Ning, getting ambushed, then eliminating Zhang Daoqing—all of it played out in full.

When Jiang Yan's face appeared, the official livestream erupted for a while.

Jiang Yan had barely gotten any screen time in the past few days, so many had forgotten about him.

"Abyssal Thunder Annihilation Slash!"

The moment the thunder blade came out, the entire livestream exploded.

Holy crap, that's the Heaven-grade Martial Skill "Abyssal Thunder Annihilation Slash"!

Look—Startling Thunder roars forth, unending. That's clearly the thunder you only get at Subtlety mastery!

Was Jiang Yan always this strong?

Wait, what rank is he even? How's he already training a Heaven-grade Martial Skill?

Generally, the higher the quality of a Martial Skill, the harder it is to master—especially at the beginning of the martial path.

At this stage, most martial artists focus on tempering their physique. They don't have the energy to practice high-grade Martial Skills.

High-grade Martial Skills only show real power when paired with a high-rank martial artist. Beginners have no business touching them.

An eighteen- or nineteen-year-old student, trying to raise their realm while also training in Martial Skills? There's no way they could manage it.

But Jiang Yan had done it. Not only that—he'd pushed his mastery to the absurd level of Subtlety. It was terrifying.

By the time Daoist Zhang Daoqing was eliminated by Jiang Yan, the comments started flooding in.

This guy... he's a freak.