The College Entrance Exam Ends

Jiang Yan stepped forward, landing like a falling meteor as his foot slammed into Zhang Daoran's chest.

"Ugh—"

Zhang Daoran let out a muffled groan. The sound of cracking bones rang out as he reverted to his original form, Dao Ancestor Possession forcibly shattered.

Jiang Yan stomped down again, extinguishing even the last trace of the Dao Ancestor's divine aura beneath his heel, stripping him of all strength and means.

Behind his back, a short dagger silently materialized.

The blade's tip scraped across the holy armor, leaving no damage.

Jiang Yan's reflexes were sharp. He reached back, grabbed the blade, and yanked Shang Xingren out from where he'd been hiding in the void.

A punch landed on his midsection. Shang Xingren's eyes bulged as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Bam!

Jiang Yan tossed him into the pit like trash, where he landed beside Zhang Daoran, lying flat.

With that, Jiang Yan had won decisively.

The only thing that had given him any surprise in this fight was Zhang Daoran's Spirit Summoning Art.

He snatched the Scoreboards from the group, and his score swelled by several hundred thousand.

The four figures vanished from the spot, teleported out by the alternate space—and with that, their College Entrance Exam journey was over.

Jiang Yan shook his hands, his fighting drive gone. No matter how hard the remaining examinees tried, none of them could surpass him now.

He found a cliff, flew to the rock face, and chiseled out a cave. He pretended to enter a cultivation state, but his consciousness had already slipped into the Divine Martial Space.

Inside the Combat Space.

"Trickster: Fourth-Rank Inner Gang Initial Stage Martial Artist."

"Talent: Miracle."

"Begin challenge?"

Jiang Yan carefully studied the tall figure before him.

This guy called Trickster wore a suit and a Top Hat on his head. He stood tall, about one meter nine, with the refined look of a middle-aged gentleman. The tips of his handlebar mustache curled up slightly.

"A person this time?"

The previous rounds had all been powerful Fierce Beasts. This was the first time Jiang Yan had seen anyone other than himself appear in the Divine Martial Space.

"A Fourth-Rank martial artist, and a product of the Divine Martial Space at that. His strength is definitely above mine."

Products of the Divine Martial Space were always stronger than those in the outside world—he'd learned that from the earlier challenges.

"Whatever. It's been a while since I died. Let's give it a shot."

Jiang Yan stopped overthinking. Strong or not? Death first, respect later.

"Challenge!"

As Jiang Yan spoke, the Trickster ahead suddenly moved.

He took off his Top Hat and walked calmly up to Jiang Yan.

Under Jiang Yan's curious gaze, the Trickster reached his hand into the hat and began to pump it rhythmically, as if groping for something.

Since this was his first attempt, Jiang Yan was just testing the waters, so he didn't interrupt.

The Trickster's face was full of exaggerated expressions. He kept pushing his hand deeper, straining as if something inside was resisting.

The hat began to tremble. The Trickster's performance was packed with tension.

Poof!

Suddenly, as if yanked by some immense force, the Trickster's entire body dove into the hat.

The hat fell to the ground.

Jiang Yan stared, completely baffled.

"Is this... magic?"

He picked up the hat and peered curiously into the opening.

It was empty inside.

"Tch. People always use the name 'magic' to cover up actual sorcery."

Suddenly, a hand reached out from inside the hat.

The hand was pale and slender—Jiang Yan was sure it belonged to the Trickster.

Its fingers danced nimbly, moving like a tiny person. The index and middle fingers acted as legs, scrambling up the brim, crawling along Jiang Yan's arm to his shoulder, then leaping down to grab the fabric of his chest.

A solo climb!

Then, out of nowhere, a dagger appeared in that hand.

Schlick!

The dagger ignored Jiang Yan's body's defenses and plunged straight into his heart.

Jiang Yan blinked, then gave a thumbs-up for the performance.

"Brilliant."

The little finger-figure gave a slight bow, taking its curtain call for the act.

Jiang Yan hit the ground, dying a bit too hastily.

The little figure strolled gracefully back to the top hat, then dramatically dragged the Trickster out from inside it.

Jiang Yan revived, curious about the Trickster's wizardry. This time, he went all out, planning to face him at full strength.

His deaths came in every imaginable form, but Jiang Yan never wavered.

The Trickster's talent was miracles, but it didn't have to be this unreasonable.

Suddenly pulling several Semi-Trucks out of the hat and hurling them at Jiang Yan—tell me, who could withstand that?

"Your body has suffered severe damage. The Battle Saint Armor undergoes a minor transformation."

After a full day, Jiang Yan had experienced every kind of death imaginable, each one so unexpected that even thinking back on them made him inexplicably want to laugh.

Day seven.

Jiang Yan exited the Combat Space.

Outside, in the alternate space, the final circle had shrunk completely. Roughly a thousand students remained uneliminated.

The final circle was now only as big as a single residential block. A thousand people practically bumped into each other at every turn.

And having survived this long, every one of them held a terrifying amount of Points. So inevitably, fighting broke out.

Jiang Yan couldn't be bothered to hunt down each examinee one by one. Soon enough, as the students were eliminated, the Points would converge onto a single person. All Jiang Yan had to do was take that person down and end the match.

By noon, the sounds of battle had grown faint. It seemed most examinees had already been eliminated.

In the afternoon, a blood-soaked youth approached Jiang Yan.

Rank two on the Scoreboard: Shi Anyuan.

"You're the only one left. If I eliminate you, I take first place in this competition!"

Though Shi Anyuan was covered in wounds, his fighting spirit was anything but weak. He declared his intent to eliminate Jiang Yan the moment he arrived.

Jiang Yan didn't waste words. He raised his blade and pointed it at the other.

"Come fight."

"Hah, just what I wanted."

Shi Anyuan used no weapons, charging at Jiang Yan with nothing but his physical body.

"Vast Tiger Pounce!"

Bam!

Jiang Yan kicked him flying with a single blow.

Exam over.

Yeah, a bit anticlimactic, but that's how it went.

Shi Anyuan was strong enough, sure, but he was only on the same level as Xiao Ziming and the others.

Four of them together couldn't beat Jiang Yan—what made Shi Anyuan think he could do it alone?

After picking up the Scoreboard, Jiang Yan and Shi Anyuan were teleported out of the alternate space together.

"It's Jiang Yan! Examinee 9527, Jiang Yan, has taken first place in this year's College Entrance Exam! Let's congratulate him!"

The barrage flooded the screen.

The words "Top Scholar" filled the entire livestream.

: First place—undisputed first place. The most meaningful first place in the history of the College Entrance Exam!

: One man taking on four Innate Martial Artists alone, crushing every genius—has that ever happened in the exam's history?

: Congratulations to Jiang Yan for winning Top Scholar!

: I declare that from today on, I'm a brainless fan of God Jiang. Damn, he's just too strong.

: A guy from some backwater place, crushing all the Prodigies to take first—and tying for first in all three rounds. Tell me, who else could do that?

: Don't forget, the guy slept through the first four days and only pushed at the end, and still got first. If that's not impressive, what is?