A Reckless Brute

The rewards offered by the Guanyun City Department of Education were, of course, not aimed at Lu Chong alone, but at any local candidate capable of reaching the provincial Top Hundred.

Lu Chong didn't care what the other two were thinking, but as for his own share, he was determined to secure it.

As the sky darkened, the roars of Exotic Beasts began to echo throughout the mountain forest, reverberating within every livestream channel.

The vast majority of students had found relatively safe areas, such as hiding in concealed caves, while others actively banded together for warmth, terrified of being besieged and eliminated during the night.

Lu Chong, however, had already arrived in the territory of Level 1, Tier 1 Exotic Beasts. He neither hid nor skulked, intentionally staying out in the open and continuing to push deeper at the risk of being besieged.

At the same time, thanks to the tempering of his Golden Bell Shield, his vision, sense of smell, and hearing were far superior to ordinary people, allowing him to keenly perceive the movements of Exotic Beasts even in the dead of night.

The hunting ground here was completely different from the one in Guanyun City; it was no longer home to a single species of Exotic Beast, but a mix of many, forming a small ecosystem that Lu Chong could not identify one by one for the time being.

But it didn't matter; he still had the confidence to roam this area.

Roar!

A black shadow suddenly leaped from a bush three meters away, a foul, fishy stench rushing toward his face.

Lu Chong had long since caught the creature's scent. Without even looking, his right leg sprang out like a coiled wire, slicing through the night air.

With a shriek, the black shadow was sent flying backward at an even greater speed.

Lu Chong followed closely, catching up to the shadow as it lost its balance in mid-air and precisely snatching the locator from its body.

"A One-Horned Wild Boar—a top-tier snack, though it's a pity I can't bring it back."

Lu Chong glanced at the shadow, which couldn't get back up after falling, muttered to himself, and hurried away.

With 500 points in hand, Lu Chong's score reached 926, vaulting him into 79th place on the scoreboard.

However, this was only the beginning.

On the first night of the practical assessment, Lu Chong's basic goal was to reach first place.

At this moment, not only the Guanyun City livestream but even the sub-feeds of the provincial official livestream were broadcasting Lu Chong's footage.

In an instant, the number of viewers in Lu Chong's personal livestream surged again, reaching over five million and surpassing Xiang Yueya.

Yet, for now, not many people were tipping Lu Chong; most remained skeptical, waiting to see how he would perform.

After all, if Lu Chong was just grandstanding and acting recklessly, only to be eliminated tonight, he wouldn't be worth following for long.

In truth, it wasn't that the provincial officials valued Lu Chong so highly, but rather that very few candidates dared to roam the Level 2 Exotic Beast zones at night.

Of the three official Martial Artist candidates from Guanyun City, only Lu Chong had come to the Level 2 zone.

Among all the candidates in Hedong Province, only six Martial Artists had entered this area so far.

Except for Lu Chong, the other five candidates were all students from the provincial capital, each of them famous; four were Level 5 Martial Artists, and one was a Level 6.

It wasn't too surprising to see these five in the Level 2 zone, given their strength and reputation.

But Lu Chong was only mildly famous in Guanyun City; what gave him the guts to roam the territory of Level 2 Exotic Beasts at night?

However, an expert in the livestream soon provided an analysis: "This student, Lu Chong from Guanyun City First High School, is actually quite capable."

"According to my observations, he should be a Level 4 Martial Artist, and that Wind Splitting Leg he just used has reached a rare state of perfection."

Only then did the audience realize that Lu Chong wasn't just a novice Martial Artist; his cultivation was far ahead of the pack, trailing only slightly behind those five.

Moreover, a mid-grade Martial Skill at the state of perfection was a rare sight, even in the key high schools of the provincial capital.

In the teacher apartments of Guanyun City First High School, Wang Tong was also anxiously watching the official livestream and Lu Chong's feed.

Hearing the expert's words, he beamed with joy, grabbed his wife beside him, and said proudly, "See that? That's a student from my class."

"This kid actually broke through again; he's already a Level 4 Martial Artist."

"And his Wind Splitting Leg—heh, that was personally taught by me."

His wife, who had also been watching closely, smiled upon hearing this; she knew how much her husband valued this student, Lu Chong.

However, just as the viewers across the various livestreams had accepted the expert's explanation and begun to recognize Lu Chong as a dark horse, they noticed something wrong.

Lu Chong did not stop in the Level 2, Tier 1 zone to hunt, but continued to move at high speed, heading straight north toward the Tier 2 zone.

"What is he doing? He's almost surrounded by Exotic Beasts; does he dare to keep pushing deeper?"

The viewers in the livestream were shocked; was this not too reckless?

Night was the time when Exotic Beasts were most active, yet Lu Chong dared to push deeper, provoking even more powerful beasts.

In the hunting ground, Lu Chong was indeed moving in a straight line, not stopping to deliberately seek out beasts.

But even so, his blatant advance attracted many beasts foraging in the night.

One, two, three...

Soon, twelve Level 2, Tier 1 Exotic Beasts were trailing behind him, constantly chasing this delicious and daring prey.

Not until Lu Chong neared the Tier 2 Exotic Beast zone did he slow his pace, waiting for the twelve beasts behind him to catch up.

"Not bad, this is efficient; nothing goes to waste."

Lu Chong muttered, turned around, and charged into the pack of snarling beasts.

Monument-Splitting Palm, Nine-Shadow Step, Iron Wire Fist, Cloud Piercing Finger, Heart-Piercing Kick—Lu Chong unleashed a variety of Martial Skills one after another.

No longer relying on fixed routines, he utilized combo skills adapted to the situation, striving to defeat the exotic beasts with maximum efficiency.

The exotic beasts appearing before him were no match for a single blow; one strike each, and they fell to the ground one after another.

From start to finish, Lu Chong did not even need to employ any Martial Skill of mid-grade or higher.

Having cut straight through the twelve exotic beasts, Lu Chong now held the corresponding number of locators in his hand.

Not a single one had managed to escape, and thanks to his deliberate restraint, none of the exotic beasts had even sustained serious injuries.

This was, of course, intentional on Lu Chong's part; if he were to kill or maim the exotic beasts here, the pressure on other candidates would decrease, allowing them to compete for his points.

His first haul after nightfall caused his score to skyrocket, instantly reaching 6,926 points and vaulting him into third place on the Scoreboard.

Lu Chong did not recognize the two people ranked ahead of him: one was named Li Ganzhong, and the other was Wang Shan.

Their scores were 8,689 and 7,955 points, respectively.

As expected, someone is coming for my money. It seems I need to pick up the pace. Lu Chong felt a pang of heartache before stepping into the zone of level two, stage two exotic beasts without looking back.

At this moment, his personal account livestream and the two major official channels broadcasting his feed were in an uproar.