The Dark Night Is My Home Turf

Shadow Cats are nocturnal by nature, their eyes easily locking onto prey in the darkness.

So the vast majority of students choose to hide in pre-prepared corners after nightfall, avoiding the large numbers of Shadow Cats that emerge after dark.

Even the stronger students mostly do the same.

Without a crowd of students to hold the Shadow Cats back, they'd easily get surrounded.

Lu Chong, however, was the exact opposite. He wanted to go against the grain and harvest a wave under cover of night.

The Golden Cicada Robe gave him not just formidable defense—his eyes could also see clearly in the dark.

As for the risk of being surrounded by Shadow Cats, Lu Chong wasn't worried.

With his Nine-Shadow Step at Perfection, he was no slower or less agile than a Shadow Cat of the same tier.

The night was his domain too.

Casually swatting away a Stage Two Shadow Cat that pounced at him, while snatching the locator from its neck with quick eyes and steady hands—that was just basic routine for Lu Chong.

He didn't even need to hurt the Shadow Cats to easily intimidate them.

Any Shadow Cat he sent flying had felt his aura up close, and none came at him a second time.

"See, hunting at night really is the most satisfying."

Lu Chong swept through the streets, adjusting his combat style as he went.

In the darkness, he didn't need to actively search—plenty of Shadow Cats would leap at him, handing him points.

Even if a dozen Shadow Cats surrounded him at once, Lu Chong could weave through the pack effortlessly with his Nine-Shadow Step.

By nine o'clock that night, Lu Chong had scored 128 points and smoothly entered the territory of Stage Three Shadow Cats.

On the Scoreboard, the points of the top one hundred students had started to slow in growth.

Xiang Yueya held first place with 356 points.

The hundredth-place student, Qin Chuan, had 201 points.

Inside the Monitoring Hall, Wang Tong was still wide-eyed and tense, his gaze flicking between Lu Chong's live split-screen and the Scoreboard.

Li Chengjun beside him chuckled. "Don't be so nervous. Look how bold your student is—still hunting alone at night."

"A newborn calf that doesn't fear tigers."

Li Chengjun remarked, "At this rate, I doubt he'll last the night before getting sent out."

Wang Tong ignored Li Chengjun, but he was worried about Lu Chong too.

He felt Lu Chong wasn't the type to act rashly, so why would he break the taboo and move specifically at night?

"Even with his Martial Skill level, moving at night is fraught with danger."

It was nearly ten o'clock, and almost all the students had gone into hiding.

Not just to avoid the large numbers of Shadow Cats active at night, but also to conserve stamina for the final push.

The practical assessment was a marathon, and endurance was a key factor.

Among the front row, Principal Fang of Third High School also noticed Lu Chong's performance. He was surprised by Lu Chong's Perfection-level Nine-Shadow Step, but that was all.

Confidently, he glanced at Principal Wei beside him, only to find the old colleague already asleep in his chair.

In the darkness, Lu Chong pressed on without pause, deeper into the Hunting Ground. No Shadow Cat could block his path.

By the time he entered the territory of Stage Four Shadow Cats, his score had more than doubled, reaching 271 points.

"Finally in the top hundred. Keep it up."

Lu Chong pushed deeper. The number of Shadow Cats charging at him began to drop, but their strength grew.

Still, they posed no threat. His Perfection-level Nine-Shadow Step and Monument-Splitting Palm handled everything with ease.

He lingered in this area for over an hour, his score climbing to 351, vaulting him to second place on the board.

If not for the dwindling number of Stage Four Shadow Cats, already harvested by students ahead of him, his score would have been higher.

But Lu Chong didn't mind. Without resting, he continued deeper.

It was nearly one in the morning. The silent Hunting Ground was broken only by the occasional sharp cry of a Shadow Cat.

The Shadow Cats grew rarer and stronger.

"Looks like I'll have to find them myself."

As the thought crossed his mind, Lu Chong began actively tracking the scent of Shadow Cats, searching through the dark alleys around him.

The higher the tier, the smarter the Shadow Cat. He couldn't just overpower them—he'd have to play hide-and-seek.

Vaulting over a wall covered in long vines, Lu Chong slipped into an old, dilapidated three-story building.

"In here."

Following a relatively fresh scent, he climbed to the third floor's ruined living room.

"Who?" came a low, hushed voice.

Lu Chong glanced over and saw it was actually his classmate Sun Ze.

Besides Sun Ze, two other boys were hiding in the living room, but Lu Chong didn't recognize them.

The three of them must have teamed up to enter the Fifth Stage Shadow Cat's territory and were lying low here for the night after dark.

Judging by their appearance, they were all carrying injuries of varying severity, crudely bandaged up.

The Energy Talisman only activates when a fatal wound is suffered, so they'd managed to hold out this long.

If a student felt they couldn't go on, they could also call for help, keep the points they'd earned, and withdraw from the exam venue.

"Brother Chong?" Sun Ze recognized the newcomer, a hint of joy in his voice.

That guy had been beaten twice by Lu Chong and had watched him race ahead to reach Martial Apprentice Stage 8, so he was long since completely convinced and had started calling him Brother Chong along with the other classmates.

Lu Chong nodded, then looked at the three of them with a slightly odd expression, lowering his voice. "And you guys can actually sleep?"

Sun Ze didn't understand, blinking in confusion. "What do you mean, Brother Chong?"

Lu Chong pointed at the beam above the three of them, telling them to look for themselves.

Sun Ze vaguely sensed something was wrong, his body freezing in place as he turned his head to look.

At that glance, Sun Ze's face instantly turned deathly pale.

Oh god!

On the beam behind them, a Shadow Cat with glowing green eyes was crouching, watching them hungrily.

And he'd been on night watch just now, yet he hadn't noticed at all.

If Lu Chong hadn't arrived in time, that Shadow Cat would have seized the moment they let their guard down and struck a fatal blow.

"What do we do? If we fight it here, we'll probably attract more Shadow Cats."

The other two students had woken up too and saw the Shadow Cat lying in wait. For a moment, they were at a complete loss.

That was the terror of the night—once a Shadow Cat caught your trail, elimination was almost the only outcome, because no one could hold off the other Shadow Cats to help them break free.

Sun Ze looked at Lu Chong, clearly wanting him to make the call.

Lu Chong smiled. "It's fine. I think the reason it hasn't attacked yet is that it's waiting for its companions."

"Perfect timing. We'll take them all out in one go."

Sun Ze was stunned, hardly daring to believe it. Did they really think they could turn the tables and surround them instead?

"You're crazy!" the other two students were terrified. "We don't want to be eliminated this early."