Bonus

That's right, excitement. Shen Xingyue's first reaction to facing danger was excitement; she had never been in such a perilous situation from the time she was a child until now.

Whenever she encountered even the slightest setback, her parents would always intervene.

Her life lacked any shred of fun, which was why she had fought so hard to practice martial arts. Only by doing so could she leave her family and head to the front lines.

"Of course, I still have a bit of strength in me." Xu Ziming grew excited as well.

It was too interesting. He had never felt this way before; having been a "trash" his entire life, this was the first time he had ever been trusted by others like this.

"Are Teacher Ma's selection criteria normal? It seems like I'm the only normal person on this team. What pose should I strike next to look cooler?"

Tang Xing thought silently, and as if he had come up with some flashy pose, his eyes began to glow.

The attack began!

Xu Ziming retreated, gathering power between his hands, seemingly ready to unleash Dragon Trap at any moment.

Tang Xing moved rapidly across the arena, distracting the Demon Vine.

The primary damage dealer, Shen Xingyue, wove between the vines, her agility not resembling that of a normal human.

Every vine in her path was sliced open at high speed by the twin blades in her hands.

Finally, she arrived before the massive monster.

"Xu Ziming, now!"

The moment he heard the shout, Xu Ziming's hands moved so fast they seemed to blur.

Up ahead, Tang Xing immediately sprinted away, exposing the entire front of the Demon Vine to face Xu Ziming directly.

"Dragon Trap!"

Countless sword auras erupted, enveloping the several-meter-wide body of the Demon Vine.

Shen Xingyue joined the hilts of her twin blades and pulled them apart, instantly assembling them into a double-ended spear longer than she was tall.

Then, with a swing of her arms, the blade smashed into the Demon Vine, which was still trapped by the sword aura, like a falling meteor.

"Slash!"

As the voice fell, so did Shen Xingyue's unstoppable long blade.

With a screeching sound, the main body of the Demon Vine, which had been waving its branches in the air just a moment before, was instantly cleaved open by the blade.

It split into two halves, slowly toppling to either side.

"It's over!" Xu Ziming's eyes lit up. He suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for Tang Xing; the guy was at most on his own level, yet he had to fight this fierce god Shen Xingyue every single day.

It was truly hard on him.

"Hey, manager, we're done!"

Xu Ziming lifted his head quickly, staring intently at the spot where the cunning man had disappeared.

With the Demon Vine sliced in two, the remaining crowd in the arena erupted with excitement.

Although they had wanted to see the three of them slaughtered by the monster, it was even more spectacular if the three were strong enough to kill the monster in return.

"Good!"

"Well fought!"

Cheers erupted from all around. Tang Xing basked in it, waving at the crowd repeatedly.

The manager, who had been gone for a long time, reappeared before the three of them with a grin.

Clearly, he had made a killing; even after paying out the winnings to those who had bet on the three, he had still earned nearly ten million in a single night.

"Truly, heroes emerge from the youth. The three of you, follow me."

After saying this, he turned to look at the arena. "The next match is about to begin. Everyone, please stay calm."

No sooner had he finished speaking than several more men, stripped of their clothes, were dragged into the center of the arena.

"Haha, I haven't introduced myself yet. My surname is Li; you can just call me Brother Li."

The cunning-faced man walked in front, heading exactly toward the place where he had just disappeared.

Xu Ziming followed cautiously until...

They saw Ma Mingyu again. It was clear that Ma Mingyu was the one who had signed the life-and-death contract for the three of them.

"This gentleman is with you, right?"

The man surnamed Li turned to look at the three, pointing at Ma Mingyu.

It was obvious he wasn't sure if the four of them knew each other.

"Indeed." Ma Mingyu stepped out from the room, waving his bracelet-clad hand at the three.

Seeing this, Xu Ziming knew his teacher had clearly already collected the money and had been waiting for a long time.

He nodded in response.

"Then it's settled. Five million in total. I've transferred it all to this Mr. Wang. As for how you split it, you can figure that out yourselves."

"By the way, if you want to come again next time, let me know in advance. I'll customize a match for you. It's best to pretend to be weak before the fight starts."

He smiled broadly, clearly looking to rake in more cash.

"Thanks for the offer, Brother Li, but we'll be heading out now."

Xu Ziming offered an awkward smile, wishing he could leave this place immediately.

Staying in this kind of environment for long made him feel sick.

"Alright, I won't see you out. You're welcome back anytime."

The cunning-faced man smiled as he sent the four of them off, only letting out a long sigh once he confirmed they were far away.

"Where did those two Life Evolution come from? I thought they were here to wreck the place, but it seems they just brought the kids here for some training. I wonder if the intensity was enough."

The intensity was naturally enough. Xu Ziming hadn't even learned how to use Dragon Trap properly; he had only used it three times since he started learning, all of which were just now.

And for the first time, Shen Xingyue had unleashed her full strength in front of Xu Ziming—or rather, in front of both him and Tang Xing.

Judging by the strength she displayed, her attacks were far more violent than Xu Ziming's.

And that was just on the level of raw power; in other areas, Shen Xingyue had barely used her full strength.

As for Tang Xing, it went without saying; he had been on the verge of exhaustion throughout the entire battle. He possessed neither Shen Xingyue's formidable strength nor the enhancements brought by Xu Ziming's full set of traits.

He had relied solely on maneuvering between the two monsters, getting whipped by the Demon Vine several times in the process, and was now in a state of total exhaustion.

"I'll take back my one million principal from the five million; you three can split the rest."

Just as Shen Xingyue reached out to take it, Tang Xing spoke up.

"No, no, there's four million left. It's perfect if we four each take one million."

Tang Xing understood social nuances. Unlike Shen Xingyue, in whose eyes a million or two might be no different from pocket money, he knew better.

Naturally, there was no need to split it that way.

"Right, Teacher, you should take a million too, otherwise we won't feel right taking ours," Xu Ziming added.

Ma Mingyu smiled, tucked away two million, and used his wristband to transfer one million to each of the three.

"Since that's settled, let's leave it at that. The second mock exam is coming up soon. Digest the resources you gained today and the experience of fighting against alien races."

"Strive to get a good ranking in the melee for me, and redefine for those geniuses at No. 1 High School what a true genius is."

Ma Mingyu's words sounded passionate—at least, that's what Tang Xing thought.

After hearing Ma Mingyu finish, the kid started daydreaming.

"That goes without saying. In that case, everyone, see you at the second mock exam!"

Xu Ziming looked at the two people beside him; after the battle just now, the three of them had developed a sense of tacit understanding.

"Right, see you at the second mock exam."