Let My Performance Begin

No wonder Principal Fang of Third High School was suspicious—anyone with a sharp eye could tell that Lu Chong was clearly entering a Hunting Ground for the first time.

More precisely, it was his first real encounter with a live Exotic Beast.

It wasn't just because Lu Chong was studying the cat in his hands, but also because his complete lack of vigilance after entering the Hunting Ground didn't resemble an experienced hunter at all.

In fact, he came off as quite green.

Other students, including those with strong Martial Arts Foundation scores, crept in cautiously the moment they entered, always on guard against a surprise attack from an Exotic Beast.

Or there were the better-performing, more experienced students who had already started mapping out their own routes and hunting methods, racking up points efficiently.

Lu Chong, on the other hand, had been in the Hunting Ground for nearly half an hour and was still loitering near the entrance without a care.

This couldn't be chalked up to skill and boldness—it was more like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.

Everyone present knew that even in a First Stage Exotic Beast territory, you could never let your guard down.

Because once surrounded by a swarm of First Stage Exotic Beasts, even a Martial Disciple at the Eighth or Ninth Stage could be trapped, worn down, and ultimately defeated from exhaustion.

This knowledge had all been taught in class, but many students either dismissed it or handed it right back to the teacher the moment they entered the exam hall or battlefield.

Right now, Lu Chong seemed to be exactly that case.

Still, faced with Principal Fang of Third High School's doubts, Wei Jianguo simply took his time, lifted his teacup for a sip, and said cheerfully, "Old Fang, after all these years, you still have no eye for talent."

"Damn it!" Principal Fang was instantly provoked. "You old fox, don't play the wise sage with me."

"Tell me, what's so outstanding about this student of yours?"

Principal Wei smiled. "Alright, how about this—I hear Third High School has a few good seedlings this time too."

"Let's have a contest, based on the actual combat results of this Mock Exam."

"If any student from Third High School can surpass Lu Chong, I'll call you 'Big Brother' every time I see you from now on."

Principal Fang's eyes lit up at that. After being overshadowed by Old Wei for so many years, he'd been itching for a chance to turn the tables.

"Bring it on, who's afraid of who? Don't think I'm scared of some greenhorn at the Eighth Stage—even those top students from First High School's key class don't intimidate us."

"Hold on." Principal Wei looked at Principal Fang. "I'm putting a lot on the line here. If you lose, you'll have to give something up too."

Principal Fang glared, then laughed. "I knew you weren't brewing anything good."

"Out with it. What's caught your eye?"

Principal Wei grinned. "Old Fang, that Tiger Roar Skill you created yourself—it's not bad. How about passing it on to this student of mine?"

"Heh heh..." Principal Fang chuckled slyly. "You think one 'Big Brother' is worth my top-tier Tiger Roar Skill? That's a bit much to ask."

"Trade me your Golden Cicada Robe, and we'll talk." Principal Fang added quickly.

"Fine!" Principal Wei said carelessly. "Deal. But I want you to personally instruct this student during the special training. No problem, right?"

"Same goes for you." Principal Fang hastily added his own condition.

"Colonel Huang, you heard all that, right? You can be our witness, us two old men." Principal Wei looked over at a middle-aged officer with a square, dignified face sitting nearby, speaking lightly.

The Colonel, stationed at the Guanyun City base Military, quickly rose and saluted. "Yes, Teacher."

Colonel Huang had once been Principal Wei's student. Now past forty, he was already a true peak Martial Master.

Still, he was a bit curious—what did this seemingly inexperienced junior disciple have that his exceptionally discerning teacher valued so highly?

In the back row, Li Chengjun also noticed Lu Chong's lackadaisical attitude and glanced at the scoreboard on the right side of the big screen.

"Old Squad Leader, see that?" Li Chengjun looked at Wang Tong. "That prized student of yours has only scored 1 point so far."

"Look at Xiang Yueya, Zhao Longfei—they're way ahead, already past a hundred points."

It was true. Not just Class 1 students—anyone with decent cultivation had already charged past the outer zone, hunting in territories with Fourth Stage or even Sixth Stage Exotic Beasts.

After all, while the outer zone had plenty of Exotic Beasts, their point values were too low, and they were scattered widely, often hiding and hard to find—which seriously hurt hunting efficiency.

Wang Tong glanced at the scoreboard, then at Lu Chong, who had finally let go of the Shadow Cat, and rallied his spirits. "What's the rush? Sharpening the axe won't delay the chopping. There are still five days left—let's see who laughs last."

Li Chengjun could tell Wang Tong was nervous too, so he held back from more cutting remarks, afraid of truly angering his old squad leader.

Sharpening the axe won't delay the chopping, huh.

This was an exam. Even with five days, every second counted.

At that moment, Lu Chong had no idea he was drawing so much attention. After unhurriedly releasing the Shadow Cat from his hands, he continued walking along the predetermined street, heading straight for the inner zone.

The reason he'd spent time studying a mere First Stage, First Segment Shadow Cat wasn't that he didn't know time was tight, nor was he deliberately slacking off or aiming too high.

Rather, he knew that in this Mock Exam's Hunting Ground, the Shadow Cat was the only type of Exotic Beast.

So he wanted to see the big picture through small details—first using this Shadow Cat to cross-reference what he'd learned from textbooks and videos, to understand the Exotic Beast more thoroughly.

Now, he had a bit of a handle on things.

Most importantly, Lu Chong had firmly memorized the Shadow Cat's scent, or rather, its aura.

Ever since his Golden Cicada Robe reached the Microscopic level, his five senses had become especially sharp. As long as he remembered this aura, finding prey later would be much easier and more efficient.

Walking deeper along the street, Lu Chong still wasn't rushing. Instead, he casually and effortlessly snatched the Tracking Monitors off those First Stage Shadow Cats along the way.

From start to finish, he only used the most basic Monument-Splitting Palm and Nine-Shadow Step, and with such effortless control, few could tell that both of his Martial Skills had already reached Perfection.

It was not until nightfall that day that Lu Chong finally stepped into the territory of the Stage Two Shadow Cat.

At this point, his score was only 36.

Through the universally issued communication and SOS device, he could see that on the scoreboard, the leading student had already earned 232 points—Xiang Yueya from First High School.

In second place was neither Zhao Longfei nor Huang Junyan, but a student from Third High School named Xue Cheng, who had 218 points.

"It's dark. Looks like I need to start putting on a show too." Lu Chong glanced at the sky, took a bite of a Nutrition Bar, then quickened his pace toward the inner area.