Yes, she was excited. Shen Xingyue's first reaction to danger was excitement. She had never been in such a perilous situation before, not once in her life.
Whenever she ran into even the slightest setback, her parents would step in.
Life had no fun in it at all. That was why she had wanted to train in martial arts with all her might. Only then could she leave her Lineage and head to the front lines.
"Of course, I've still got some strength left." Xu Ziming was getting excited too.
This was so much fun. He had never felt anything like this before. He had been a good-for-nothing all his life, and this was the first time anyone had trusted him like this.
"Are Teacher Ma's selection criteria even normal? I think I'm the only normal person on this team. What pose should I strike next to look cooler?"
Tang Xing thought to himself in silence. He seemed to have come up with some flashy pose, and his eyes were practically glowing.
The attack began!
Xu Ziming retreated, power gathering between his hands. It seemed he could unleash Dragon Trap at any moment.
Tang Xing darted around the arena, distracting the Demon Vine.
The team's real damage dealer, Shen Xingyue, weaved between the vines, moving with an agility that seemed inhuman.
Every vine in her path was sliced apart at lightning speed by the twin blades in her hands.
At last, she reached the enormous monster.
"Xu Ziming, now!"
The moment he heard her call, Xu Ziming's hands moved so fast they seemed to leave afterimages.
Tang Xing immediately ran out of the way, exposing the Demon Vine's entire front and leaving it facing Xu Ziming.
"Dragon Trap!"
Countless streaks of Sword Qi burst forth, enveloping the Demon Vine's several-meter-wide body.
Shen Xingyue brought the hilts of her twin blades together, then pulled them apart in one swift motion. In an instant, they had assembled into a double-ended greatsword longer than she was tall.
Then she swung both arms, sending the blade crashing down like a meteor onto the Demon Vine trapped by the Sword Qi.
"Cut!"
Her cry fell alongside her unstoppable greatsword.
With a ripping sound, the Demon Vine's body, whose branches had just been lashing through the air, was cleaved apart.
Split in two, it slowly toppled to either side.
"It's over!" Xu Ziming's eyes lit up. He couldn't help feeling a little sorry for Tang Xing. The guy was at best on par with him, yet he had to fight alongside the ferocious Shen Xingyue every day.
He really had it rough.
"Hey, boss! We're done here!"
Xu Ziming quickly raised his head, staring at the spot where the treacherous-looking man had disappeared.
As the Demon Vine was split in two, the remaining spectators in the arena all grew excited.
They had wanted to see the three people before them slaughtered by the monster, but if the three were strong enough to kill it instead, that would be even more thrilling.
"Nice!"
"Well done!"
Cheers rang out all around them. Tang Xing was swept up in the excitement, waving to the crowd again and again.
The organizer, who had been gone for a long while, reappeared before the three of them with a broad grin.
He had clearly made a fortune. Even after paying out the money he owed to those who had bet on Xu Ziming and the others to win, he had still made nearly ten million overnight.
"Heroes really do come from the young. You three, come with me."
After saying that, he turned toward the arena. "The next match is about to begin. Please be patient."
As soon as he finished speaking, several men stripped bare were dragged into the middle of the arena.
"Haha, I haven't introduced myself yet. My surname is Li. Just call me Brother Li."
The man with the treacherous face led the way, heading in the same direction as when he had disappeared earlier.
Xu Ziming followed warily, until...
They saw Ma Mingyu again. Clearly, Ma Mingyu was the one who had helped the three of them sign the death contract.
"This gentleman is with you, right?"
The man surnamed Li turned to Xu Ziming and the others, pointing at Ma Mingyu.
He obviously wasn't sure whether the four of them knew one another.
"That's right." Ma Mingyu came out of the room and waved at Xu Ziming and the other two with the hand wearing his wristband.
Seeing this, Xu Ziming realized that his teacher had already collected the money and had been waiting for them for quite some time.
He nodded.
"Then that's settled. It's five million in total. I've transferred all of it to Mr. Wang here. You can figure out how to split it among yourselves."
"Oh, and if you want to come again, let me know in advance next time. I'll arrange a custom match for you. It's best to act weak before the fight."
He smiled knowingly, clearly hoping to rake in another fortune.
"Thanks for the offer, Brother Li. We'll be going now."
Xu Ziming smiled awkwardly, wishing he could leave this place right away.
Staying in a place like this for too long made him feel sick.
"Sure, I won't keep you. Come back anytime."
The treacherous-looking man smiled as he saw the four of them off. Only after he was certain they had gone far away did he let out a long breath.
"Two second-stage Life Evolutions—where did they come from? I thought they were here to wreck the place. Turns out they just brought the kids here to get some training. I wonder if the challenge was tough enough."
It had certainly been tough enough. Xu Ziming still hadn't learned how to use Dragon Trap properly. He had used it three times total since he began learning it, and all three times had been just now.
And this was also the first time Shen Xingyue had shown her full strength in front of Xu Ziming and Tang Xing.
Judging by what she had displayed, her attacks were far more brutal than Xu Ziming's.
And that was only in terms of strength. Shen Xingyue had hardly used her full power in any other area.
Tang Xing needed no further mention. By the end of the fight, he had nearly fought himself to exhaustion. He had neither Shen Xingyue's overwhelming strength nor the boost Xu Ziming got from his many traits.
He had relied on himself to keep the two monsters at bay, and the Demon Vine had lashed him several times along the way. Now, he was thoroughly cowed.
"Out of the five million, I'll take back my original one million. The three of you can split the rest."
Just as Shen Xingyue was about to reach for it, Tang Xing spoke up.
"No, no. There are four million left, so the four of us can each take one million."
Tang Xing was good at handling people. Unlike Shen Xingyue, he didn't see one or two million as pocket change.
She naturally had no need to take so much.
"Right, Teacher, you should take one million too. Otherwise, we wouldn't feel right taking it." Xu Ziming chimed in as well.
Ma Mingyu smiled, pocketed two million, then used his wristband to transfer one million to each of the other three.
"Then let's leave it at that for now. The Second Mock Exam is coming up soon, so take some time to absorb the resources you gained today and the experience you got fighting the foreign races."
"Try to get a good placing in the battle royale and show those prodigies at No. 1 High School what a prodigy really is."
Ma Mingyu's words were stirring—or so Tang Xing thought.
As soon as Ma Mingyu finished speaking, the kid began to daydream about it.
"Of course. In that case, everyone, see you at the Second Mock Exam!"
Xu Ziming looked at the two beside him. After that fight, the three of them had developed a bit of chemistry.
"Sure. See you at the Second Mock Exam."