Challenge a Third Rank

By this point, Song Chen had begun encountering other examinees.

The Core Zone was vast, but the top examinees were all heading deeper in, so running into one another was inevitable.

From afar, Song Chen spotted a figure in a gray combat suit, wielding a blade in each hand and locked in battle with three Mutated Wolves.

He vaguely remembered this person. His name seemed to be Chen Mo, a genius from the neighboring city.

Chen Mo's blades were swift, every strike clean and decisive.

In less than ten seconds, two of the wolves had fallen. The third turned to flee, only to be pinned to the ground by a single blade.

Chen Mo pulled out his blade and looked up at Song Chen, his gaze lingering on him for a second.

Song Chen nodded at him. Chen Mo said nothing and turned to leave in another direction.

After walking several hundred more meters, Song Chen heard the dense sounds of battle ahead.

He passed through a thicket and saw a figure—Zhao Lingxi.

She stood in a clearing, surrounded by the corpses of more than a dozen Mutated Hyenas.

Her fire ability was still burning. The grass beneath her feet had been scorched black, and waves of blistering heat filled the air.

When she saw Song Chen, the corner of her lips lifted slightly. Without speaking, she turned and vanished into the forest.

Song Chen continued deeper in.

The further he went into the Core Zone, the denser, stronger, and more numerous the mutant beasts became.

Mid-Second Rank, High-Second Rank, and even Peak Second Rank mutant beasts began to appear.

He no longer chose his targets. He killed whatever he encountered.

A Mid-Second Rank Mutated Lynx was as fast as lightning. With the assistance of the Eye of True Sight, he predicted its trajectory and slit its throat with one stroke.

Two High-Second Rank Mutant Wild Boars charged him from front and back. He first dodged the charge of the first one, paralyzed the second with lightning, then severed the first one's hind leg with a slash before turning around and killing the second.

Against a swarm of Mutated Poison Bees, he directly unleashed Space-Splitting Lightning to clear the field.

His score rose, and so did his ranking: fifteenth, twelfth, ninth.

"Song Chen has entered the top ten!"

At Anning City's Examination Center, someone cried out.

On the screen, that name was climbing at a suffocating speed.

He had gone from fifty-second place to the top ten in less than an hour.

"How many points has he earned?"

"Over ten thousand."

"Over ten thousand? Wasn't he only at a few thousand just now?"

"He's gone mad killing in the Core Zone."

On the giant screen, Song Chen's score was still jumping.

Every jump represented another mutant beast falling.

His ranking jumped from ninth to seventh, then from seventh to fifth.

"He's still killing."

"Look at how fast his score is growing—it's even faster than Zhou Jin's."

"Zhou Jin is in the Core Zone too, but his score isn't rising this quickly. Song Chen's hunting efficiency is too high."

Song Chen stood beneath a huge tree, covered in blood—all of it from mutant beasts. These Second Rank beasts had long ceased to pose any threat to him.

Leaning against the trunk, he closed his eyes and rested for thirty seconds.

Fifth place still wasn't enough. He rose to his feet and continued onward.

Half an hour later, he encountered another pack of Mutated Wolves.

Not three or five of them, but more than twenty.

Wolf-type monsters had always been numerous, and naturally there were plenty in the examination grounds as well.

Leading them was a Silver Gray giant wolf at Peak Second Rank. It was built like a small calf, its entire body radiating suffocating pressure.

Song Chen stopped and tightened his grip on his blade.

More than twenty Second Rank wolves, with one Peak Second Rank alpha wolf.

This was probably the largest wave of monsters he had encountered in the Core Zone.

If he killed them all, he could charge into the top three.

He drew a deep breath and did not retreat.

The first wolf pounced. He sidestepped and killed it with one slash. The second and third wolves pounced together. He spread the Wings of Gale, his body soaring upward to evade their bite, and when he landed, his blade flashed repeatedly.

The two wolves fell.

More wolves surged forward. He stopped holding back and unleashed Space-Splitting Lightning at full power. A purple web of electricity enveloped his body, leaving the charging wolves stiff and rigid from the shock.

He seized the chance to swing his blade and reap them one after another.

The alpha wolf moved. It was so fast that only a Silver Gray afterimage remained. Its claws tore through the air, aiming straight for his throat.

Song Chen had no time to dodge and could only block with his blade. The tremendous force sent him flying, and he hit the ground and rolled twice.

The alpha wolf pounced again. Gritting his teeth, Song Chen rolled aside at the instant its claws fell. The Thunderbolt Blade swept upward from below, cutting open the alpha wolf's belly.

The alpha wolf landed with a miserable howl, but it was not dead.

It turned around, its eyes blood-red, and pounced again.

Song Chen did not dodge. He met it head-on, ducking at the instant the alpha wolf reached him. His blade pierced through its throat and punched out through the back of its neck.

The alpha wolf's body crashed onto him, pinning him to the ground as blood poured over him like a waterfall.

[Second-Order Peak Mutant Wolf killed. Obtained 95 Killing Value.]

He pushed the alpha wolf's corpse aside and staggered to his feet.

Wolf corpses covered the ground—more than twenty of them. His ranking jumped from fifth to third, then second, then...

First place.

On the giant screen, Song Chen's name jumped to the very top.

Red lettering, bolded and enlarged.

The entire venue fell silent.

Then it erupted like a pot boiling over.

"First place! Song Chen is in first place!"

"He surpassed Zhou Jin!"

"How did he kill them?"

"Watch the replay! He killed a pack of Mutated Wolves in the Core Zone—more than twenty of them, including a Peak Second Rank alpha wolf!"

Inside Anning City's Examination Center, representatives from every city, admissions officers from major universities, martial arts academy coaches, and countless parents all stared at the name at the very top of the screen.

Song Chen!

The silence lasted several seconds before someone spoke.

"How long has the exam even been running? Zhou Jin hasn't exerted himself yet."

The speaker was Shangjing Martial Arts University's admissions representative stationed in Nanjiang Province, a middle-aged man in his forties. His tone was calm, and there was a faint, dismissive smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Zhou Jin's strategy is to first map out the mutant beast distribution in the Core Zone, then plan the optimal hunting route. It's not that he can't kill them—he's waiting."

Someone beside him chimed in. "Zhao Lingxi too. Her fire ability has powerful large-scale destructive force. If she truly lets loose, her score won't be lower than Song Chen's."

"And Chen Mo. His dual-blade style hasn't truly been unleashed in the Core Zone yet."

The people from Anning City said nothing.

The admissions officer from Shangjing glanced at the screen, lifted his teacup, and took a sip.

"Besides, the practical assessment doesn't only test killing mutant beasts. Endurance, judgment, and risk control are all scoring criteria. Killing quickly doesn't necessarily mean killing for long. It has only been two hours; there are still six hours left."

His words were not without reason.

Many expressions in the Examination Center relaxed somewhat.

That was right. It had only been two hours.

The true test lay ahead.

In the examination grounds, Song Chen leaned against a broken stone pillar and looked at the rankings interface, his brow slightly furrowed.

There were more and more people in the Core Zone. He could sense at least five groups of examinees moving around nearby.

To his left, a team was surrounding and killing a wolf pack. Their efficiency was not high, but they were steady and cautious.

On the hillside ahead to his right, Zhao Lingxi's fire ability erupted every few minutes, its momentum astonishing;

Farther away, there were several more presences. They were probably Zhou Jin, Chen Mo, and the others.

Everyone was competing for monsters, and hunting efficiency was plummeting.

"This won't do," he said softly.

At this pace, if his luck was even a little worse, he would not be able to hold onto first place.

He needed larger prey, a more efficient source of points.

Song Chen knew what to do.

He looked at the drone in the sky and said loudly, "I apply to challenge Third Rank mutant beasts."

Not long after, the drone descended in front of Song Chen, and a holographic projection unfolded before him.

Several lines of text slowly appeared on the pale blue light screen.

[Examinee Song Chen, your current ranking: No. 1. Would you like to apply to challenge Third Rank mutant beasts?]

[Challenge mutant beast information: The Martial Arts College Entrance Exam has a hidden challenge program for outstanding examinees.]

[One hundred Third Rank mutant beasts have been detained in advance beneath the examination site for examinees to voluntarily apply to challenge.]

[The challenge will take place in an enclosed cage area. Other examinees may not interfere.]

[All Third Rank mutant beasts are Early Third Rank, with Vitality Values between 120 and 200. For each mutant beast killed, you will receive 20,000 to 40,000 points based on its Vitality Value.]

[This program carries extremely high risk. Please choose carefully.]

Song Chen stared at those lines, and his heartbeat quickened.

He took a deep breath and tapped the projection.

"Confirm."