Chu Han stood at the edge of the poisonous fog, sword in hand, resembling a war god.
"It really is Chu Han!"
A student pointed at Chu Han and said in a trembling voice.
"It's him."
Jiang Yan could barely conceal the shock in her heart either. Her beautiful eyes were filled with amazement.
"He's your classmate? This is one of the students from the Wilderness Training Camp?!" a soldier asked in disbelief.
"Yes, his name is Chu Han," Jiang Yan replied.
"My god! He really is just a student!"
The people who had absolutely refused to believe that Chu Han was a student cried out in astonishment.
"What a genius! He's a true genius!"
"A genius like this can only unleash his talent by joining our army."
"Right, send a message to the commander immediately."
Several soldiers had already begun thinking about how to recruit Chu Han into the army.
As the protagonist of the scene, Chu Han was not standing around idly.
He continued attacking, launching a massacre against the remaining Black Stone Scorpions.
In just a few seconds, seven or eight Black Stone Scorpions had fallen at Chu Han's feet.
"Brothers, charge with him! We can't fall behind!"
Chu Han's blazing spirit had completely ignited the soldiers' fighting spirit. They rushed out one after another and joined the battle.
Without the interference of the Mutated Black Stone Scorpion, these men's strength as 1st Rank Martial Artists fully erupted.
They dealt with these ordinary Black Stone Scorpions with remarkable efficiency as well.
The battle ended quickly.
The open ground was piled high with the corpses of Black Stone Scorpions.
"Brother Chu, thank you! If not for you, we probably wouldn't have made it out of here today."
Captain Wang of the military squad walked up to Chu Han and gave him a solemn military salute. A trace of fervor still burned in his eyes—the respect owed to a strong warrior!
"It was nothing. These Black Stone Scorpions were my prey too." Chu Han sheathed his long blade and spoke indifferently.
"Regardless, you're our lifesaver!"
Captain Wang smiled, then turned and shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Brothers, collect all the Black Stone Scorpion tail stingers and hand them to Brother Chu. They're all his spoils!"
Chu Han's eyes lit up. He had not expected these soldiers to be so considerate. This saved him a great deal of effort.
The soldiers immediately got to work. They took out specially made puncture-resistant cloth bags, carefully cut off the tail stinger of every Black Stone Scorpion, put them in the bags, and carried them over to Chu Han. There were a full seventy or eighty stingers.
Adding the sixty-six Black Stone Scorpions Chu Han had killed earlier, he now had more than a hundred Black Stone Scorpion tail stingers on him.
"Could you help transport this back for me?"
Chu Han pointed at the corpse of the Mutated Black Stone Scorpion.
With everyone watching, he could not expose his spatial equipment, so he could only have the army do the work for him.
"Of course. I've already contacted the transport vehicles at the base. They'll transport these corpses back intact. You can handle them yourself when the time comes, including this 1st Rank one."
"Good."
Chu Han nodded, but he still used his blade to remove the Mutated Black Stone Scorpion's tail stinger, just in case.
Captain Wang had no objections.
Half an hour later, two military trucks arrived, and the soldiers worked together to load the Black Stone Scorpion corpses onto them.
Chu Han and the students from Jiang Yan's squad also boarded the trucks and headed toward the training camp base.
By the time the setting sun dipped westward, the trucks finally arrived at the base.
A plaza in the base was already packed with people.
All the students who had participated in the Wilderness Trial had returned and were waiting for the points from their monster kills to be tallied.
A temporary points platform had been set up in the center of the plaza. Several teachers stood there with registration forms, waiting to begin the tally.
The principal and the army leaders were seated on the platform, waiting for the tally to start.
"Captain Li, word has come from outside the city. The rescue team and the students have entered the base. We can begin the tally."
A soldier beside him reported to Captain Li.
Captain Li nodded and said to the principal, "Everyone's back. Shall we begin?"
The principal nodded, rose, and announced, "The Wilderness Training Camp monster-kill tally officially begins!"
As soon as he gave the order, the students stepped forward one after another to display their spoils.
"Sharp-toothed Rabbit, one point!"
"Prairie Wolf, two points!"
"Rotten Dog, three points!"
"Striped Snake, three points!"
Even monsters below the rank of 1st Rank varied in strength, so the points they awarded differed as well.
Students who had only killed Sharp-toothed Rabbits or Prairie Wolves naturally found themselves at the bottom of the rankings.
Those who had killed Rotten Dogs or Striped Snakes, however, had far more points.
"Next, Zhao Lei!" a teacher called.
A sturdy young man stepped forward. He took three Black Stone Scorpion tail stingers and five Rotten Dog fangs from his backpack and proudly placed them on the table. "Reporting to the teacher: three Black Stone Scorpions! Five Rotten Dogs!"
"Oh? Black Stone Scorpions?" The teacher picked up the stingers and examined them. He said with satisfaction, "Not bad. A B-rank talent really is something else. Thirty points!"
The surrounding students immediately erupted in exclamations.
"Zhao Lei's pretty impressive! He actually managed to kill Black Stone Scorpions!"
"Thirty points. That puts him in the top three for now, right?"
"As expected of a B-rank talent. He's far stronger than us C-rank talents!"
Listening to the discussion, the corners of Zhao Lei's mouth nearly rose to the heavens. He swept his eyes around challengingly, as if searching for someone who could surpass him.
Being able to kill Black Stone Scorpions required at least a student with a B-rank talent. His result was indeed something to be proud of.
Just then, the crowd suddenly fell silent. Everyone's eyes turned toward Li Mengran, who was next to appear.
Li Mengran carried an exquisite leather bag and walked proudly toward the points platform amid a crowd of people.
"It's Li Mengran! Li Mengran, the A-rank talent!"
"She must have killed even more powerful monsters!"
"Look at her bag! It's bulging!"
Li Mengran reached the points platform, elegantly opened the bag, and took out the tail stingers one by one, arranging them on the table. "Instructor, eleven Black Stone Scorpion tail stingers."
"What? Eleven?!"
The teacher responsible for the tally abruptly raised his head and counted the stingers. There were indeed eleven!
"Eleven tail stingers, fifty-five points! That's the highest score so far!"
The entire plaza instantly erupted.
"My god! Eleven Black Stone Scorpions? Li Mengran is incredible! She must have spent the whole time hunting these dangerous monsters."
"An A-rank talent really is terrifying. She's definitely taking first place!"
"Zhao Lei was still showing off earlier, but compared with Li Mengran, he's far behind!"
Hearing the crowd's cheers, Zhao Lei immediately reined in his pride.
Indeed, compared with Li Mengran, he was still far behind!
A smug smile appeared on Li Mengran's face as she basked in everyone's attention.
She paused, then took another claw with feathers still attached from the bag and placed it on the table. "Oh, right. There's also this—the claw of a 1st Rank monster, a Gale Falcon Eagle."
"A Gale Falcon Eagle?!"
The eyes of several teachers responsible for the tally instantly widened. They snatched up the claw one after another and examined it carefully. Pale golden feathers still clung to it, and its sharp tip shimmered with cold light. It was indeed a characteristic of a Gale Falcon Eagle.
"1st Rank monster, Gale Falcon Eagle. The kill reward is one hundred points! Li Mengran, your total is 155 points!"
"This Gale Falcon Eagle was already injured. I only managed to kill it by luck." Li Mengran spoke modestly.
"Even an injured Gale Falcon Eagle isn't something an ordinary Quasi-Martial Artist could handle. These points are absolutely valid!" the tallying teacher said enthusiastically.
"155 points?!"
The entire plaza exploded. The students' cries of astonishment rose and fell, clearly shaken to the core by this result.
The principal and the many school leaders stood up in excitement. Li Mengran had already displayed strength comparable to that of a 1st Rank Martial Artist. How could they not be thrilled?
"Hahaha, as expected of Li Mengran. First place really ought to be hers!"
one of the school leaders said excitedly.
The other leaders nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"Before the martial arts examination, Li Mengran will definitely become a 1st Rank Martial Artist. She might even be able to challenge the 2nd Rank!"
The principal of Third High School spoke with satisfaction as well.
Beside him, Captain Li shook his head, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.
"First place isn't hers."
Before you continue