Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
From the audience's perspective, a figure rapidly darted through the darkness as the scenery around him rushed backward.
"Alright, switching the view to Shang Xingren. Let's see how he deals with Jiang Yan's next offensive."
"Shang Xingren moved!"
"Shang Xingren... h-he ran?"
The commentator's voice was filled with astonishment.
The previous perspective had not shown how Shang Xingren was injured, so most people had assumed that he and Jiang Yan were locked in a stalemate where neither could do anything to the other.
But now that the view had switched, Shang Xingren had actually chosen to flee in full view of everyone. The reason behind it stirred suspicion in most people.
Was it a tactic?
Someone guessed.
: Director, we want a replay.
: Hurry up and see what happened in the earlier battle.
: Fuck, that trash was acting so badass earlier. Why did he suddenly run in the middle of a perfectly good fight?
Those outsiders had no idea what Shang Xingren had just gone through, so of course they could not understand why he had run.
But Shang Xingren knew all too well just how terrifying that man was.
His bizarre methods of attack; when they had first exchanged blade strikes, Shang Xingren's body had somehow been injured for no reason.
His practically unsolvable defense; a dagger ambush and the tremendous energy produced by spatial compression had failed to inflict even the slightest injury.
And then there was his absolute strength.
Shang Xingren still remembered the Abyssal Thunder Annihilation Slash Jiang Yan had unleashed.
A Heaven-grade Martial Skill—he himself had only barely come into contact with it, and only reached proficient mastery with the help of his family elders.
That man was, without a doubt, a Stat Monster.
Shang Xingren even suspected that Jiang Yan had been deliberately placed in this exam.
"No examinee could possibly possess such strength."
Shang Xingren's thoughts began to run wild.
The pride in his heart kept him from admitting that he had fled halfway through the battle.
Suddenly, Shang Xingren seemed to realize something, and his expression turned as ugly as if he had eaten shit.
Everything just now... couldn't have been livestreamed, could it?
Running had merely been human instinct. Under that blade aura capable of annihilating everything, Shang Xingren's instincts had made him forget that he was taking an exam. A voice kept repeating in his mind.
"Run! Run! You'll die!"
So Shang Xingren ran.
After running, he was filled with regret.
He gave a bitter laugh. "I thought I would look down on life and death."
His privileged upbringing, absolute talent, and status as the center of attention had made him so arrogant that he believed himself capable of anything.
The barrage viewers watched the replay.
The development of Alternate Space had become quite advanced by now. Even if Shang Xingren used his spatial ability to hide within the void, the Live Stream Room could still make out his blurry figure.
From his high-spirited fighting spirit at the beginning to the despairing strike he suffered afterward.
Lightning and blade aura occupied the entire screen.
The barrage suddenly understood. No one cursed Shang Xingren for being a coward anymore.
: Alright, looks like this really wasn't Shang Xingren's fault.
: I apologize for cursing Shang Xingren just now. If it were me, I'd have run even faster than him.
: Isn't Jiang Yan way too dirty? How are you supposed to play without nerfing this?
: Fuck, I thought Jiang Yan was at most on Shang Xingren's level, but reality slapped me hard across the face. He's a monster among monsters. It's hard to imagine that even Shang Xingren was so helpless. How despairing must ordinary examinees feel when facing him?
Only a spatial talent could barely escape Jiang Yan's grasp. What were everyone else supposed to do?
At this moment, the meaning of this conflict seemed to have changed.
Shang Xingren sat injured on the ground.
His earlier sneak attack had almost targeted Jiang Yan's vital point, and he had even used an Earth-grade Martial Skill. As a result, the injury rebounded onto him was extremely severe as well.
He sat cross-legged and worked hard to circulate his qi through his meridians, regulating his condition.
Tap... tap...
Rhythmic footsteps reached his ears.
Shang Xingren's expression darkened. In his current state, he could not engage in an intense battle again.
"Shang Xingren?"
Shang Xingren frowned and looked toward the speaker. "Xiao Ziming, it's you!"
The taut string in Shang Xingren's heart loosened somewhat.
His Lineage had dealings with Xiao Ziming's Lineage, and the two had fought several times. Shang Xingren knew Xiao Ziming was an extremely proud man who disdained taking advantage of someone's weakness.
Or rather, Prodigies like them all possessed pride in their hearts.
Sure enough, Xiao Ziming sheathed his sword and looked teasingly at the dispirited Shang Xingren.
"Well, well, well. Isn't this the young master of the Divine Capital's Shang Family? How did you end up so miserable?"
The moment he opened his mouth, his mockery was brimming with aggression.
Under normal circumstances, Shang Xingren might have traded a few barbs with Xiao Ziming. But now, he had no mood for it at all.
Without realizing it, the pride in his heart had been battered by Jiang Yan until almost nothing remained.
"I fought someone, then lost," Shang Xingren explained flatly.
"Tch. Looks like you haven't improved one bit these past years. Fine, tell me who it was. I'll deal with him for you while I'm at it."
Xiao Ziming continued mocking him.
The two were often compared by their family elders, and neither had ever accepted the other as superior.
Yet unexpectedly, Shang Xingren—who usually waved around that broken fan and loved putting on airs—did not snap back at him this time. Xiao Ziming found that rather strange.
"You can't beat him."
Shang Xingren's single sentence completely ignited Xiao Ziming's anger.
"Shang, just because you're useless doesn't mean everyone else is trash like you!"
Shang Xingren shook his head, having no energy to argue with him.
"I had no power to fight back in that man's hands."
Those words silenced the previously boisterous Xiao Ziming. He looked at Shang Xingren suspiciously. "You're serious?"
Shang Xingren nodded. "Yeah. I even suspect that man isn't an examinee, but... the final trial arranged by the officials."
Upon hearing that, Xiao Ziming's expression became solemn as well.
He knew Shang Xingren's strength. His spatial abilities were impossible to guard against, yet even he had found that opponent despairing. Just how strong was that person?
"So, what are you planning to do?" Xiao Ziming asked him.
Shang Xingren said, "Join forces."
"Fuck. I disdain doing something so spineless. No matter how powerful the opponent is, I have a heart that will draw its sword against him!"
Xiao Ziming looked at Shang Xingren in disappointment.
"You've grown old. The old you might have loved showing off enough to disgust people, but at least you weren't this pathetic."
Xiao Ziming turned and left.
Shang Xingren's lips moved. In his field of vision, Xiao Ziming's unruly back gradually vanished into the darkness.
Jiang Yan was still hanging in the sky.
Quite a few examinees saw the sun rising in the night and looked at it curiously.
Then Jiang Yan followed their gazes, flew down, and robbed them.
The remaining examinees were now basically at the peak of rank two. Occasionally, there would be a rank three Xiantian, but they still could not withstand a single move from Jiang Yan.
He was like an ultimate BOSS that had wandered into a beginner's village. With a casual strike, he could smash the hero and the hero's shoddy beginner gear into bloody pulp.
A phenomenon appeared in the official Live Stream Room.
Whenever the perspective switched to another examinee, a figure would suddenly shoot down from the sky, seize their points, and fly back into the heavens.
So the official Live Stream Room simply gave up and broadcast Jiang Yan's perspective the entire time.
A global livestream had become Jiang's personal show.
Before you continue