High Mountains and Flowing Water

Li Hanyi's sudden sneak attack stunned everyone present. Such a shamelessly unfair tactic had actually come from an icy beauty like her. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought this wasn't a test at all, but a fight against her mortal enemy.

The corner of Cao Xiaochun's mouth twitched. He really didn't want to use the word "sneaky" to describe a girl.

Li Hanyi hadn't been like this before, had she? His former desk mate had been so principled, so proud. How long had it been since her awakening? How had she become like this?

Unable to make sense of it, Cao Xiaochun pinned all the blame on Xu Laoba. After all, this sort of thing did seem like something Old Eight would do.

And that guy was absurdly infectious too, so it was understandable that Li Hanyi had been led astray!

"Damn, I've seen plenty of exam recordings, but this is my first time seeing an examiner pinned to the ground and beaten up. Listen to those screams—they're heartbreaking."

"Are all pretty girls this violent? Isn't this a little unfair?"

"Pah, this is called being straightforward, okay? It proves the goddess takes every battle seriously. That's exactly the quality a professional should have!"

"That makes sense!"

The examinees below began chattering among themselves. The examiners and officials were equally shocked by the sudden development. The person in charge said that after overseeing so many college entrance exams, he had never encountered anything like this!

For a moment, it didn't seem right for him to step in and stop it—but it didn't seem right to just watch Kou Wenhan get beaten either.

The howls continued for nearly ten minutes before the black mist slowly dispersed. Kou Wenhan was tied up with a rope, his throat locked in the jaws of the Three-Headed Demon Tiger, while two Succubi raised casserole-sized fists and hammered them straight into his face.

At that moment, Kou Wenhan's skin had taken on a faint blue tint. His originally fair face had long since swollen up, making him look like a pig-headed mess!

Kou Wenhan was completely conscious now, but the poison had left him powerless from head to toe. He could only let the three demons manhandle him!

With his Silver-rank strength, avoiding that poisonous mist should have been effortless.

But he had been distracted, and by the time he reacted, it was already too late. And just as he tried to raise his defenses, the Three-Headed Demon Tiger rushed in and pounded him mercilessly, forcing him to swallow a huge mouthful of poison.

When the black mist dispersed and he sensed everyone's gazes upon him, Kou Wenhan wanted to die.

He was Silver-rank! Yet he had been pinned down and beaten like this. Forget saving face—people would laugh at him all the way until graduation!

In his panic, Kou Wenhan's blood surged to his head. His eyes rolled back, and he actually fainted on the spot!

"Assessment over. Passed!"

A white figure flashed onto the platform, casually flung the three demons aside, and shouted.

The newcomer was Wang Gang. Seeing her classmate beaten into such a state, she found it both amusing and couldn't help admiring the girl's blunt honesty.

"Holy shit, she won! Black Iron beat Silver!"

"The goddess is awesome!"

"Goddess, I love you! Let me be your dog!"

Hearing Wang Gang's words, Li Hanyi nodded gently, dismissed her equipment, then gave Kou Wenhan, who was lying on the ground, a slight bow in apology.

"You're amazing, sis. I never thought you'd really take down an examiner."

Seeing Kou Wenhan being carried away on a stretcher, Xu Laoba hurried over to Li Hanyi and praised her in shock.

"How did I do?" Ignoring Xu Laoba's flattery, Li Hanyi turned to look at Cao Xiaochun.

"Not bad. I quite like this approach."

Cao Xiaochun smiled. Though her actions might not have looked particularly moral, it was actually a good quality. In dungeons, no one knew what they might encounter.

Therefore, one should prioritize one's own safety first, before any so-called sense of morality. Cao Xiaochun was quite pleased that Li Hanyi had taken even a simple test so seriously.

Still, he should probably advise her to stay away from Xu Laoba in the future. Some strengths were worth learning from, but certain flaws were best left unlearned.

"Cao Xiaochun, Zhang Han, Li Feng... come up!"

Before long, it was Cao Xiaochun's turn. This battle drew even more attention than Li Hanyi's.

Because of Cao Xiaochun's shout earlier, many people nearby had witnessed Zhao Hao's provocation. An examinee targeted by an examiner—and a Gu Master at that—made many people curious to see how long Cao Xiaochun could last.

"Heh, I didn't think you'd actually dare come up here."

Zhao Hao slowly stepped onto the platform, carrying himself like a sharp, unsheathed sword!

"How many moves do you think you can withstand against a Sword Immortal?"

Though his actions were somewhat contemptible, Zhao Hao didn't mind playing the villain for Shui Yunji's sake. As long as he could eliminate Cao Xiaochun during the college entrance exam, the distance between them would likely greatly reduce Cao Xiaochun's chances of meeting Shui Yunji in the future.

Wouldn't that give Zhao Hao a much better chance?

Hearing Zhao Hao's words, Cao Xiaochun gave a cold laugh. The two of them had no grudge whatsoever, yet Zhao Hao bore a grudge against him for some baseless reason. Cao Xiaochun had no intention of being polite to him.

"Senior Zhao, you're Silver-rank, after all. How about giving this high school student two moves?"

Ignoring Zhao Hao's provocation, Cao Xiaochun said calmly.

"Heh, I could give you three moves without a problem. But after those three moves, get the hell off the stage."

Zhao Hao looked utterly unconcerned by Cao Xiaochun's words. He wasn't trash like Kou Wenhan. Against a Black Iron-rank opponent, one move would be enough!

"Then I won't hold back!"

Cao Xiaochun didn't waste any more words. The White Jade Gourd appeared and slowly floated at his waist.

"I recently learned two new pieces. I'd appreciate it if Senior would give them a listen."

With that, Cao Xiaochun drew out his gu flute and slowly raised it to his lips. A melody of High Mountains and Flowing Water began to drift from the bone flute.

"Bzzzz!"

Two streaks of light shot into the air alongside the flute's melody. In an instant, it was as though dark clouds had blocked out the sun, and a massive net came crashing down over Zhao Hao's head!

"Killer Bee Gu? Locusts!"

Zhao Hao stared wide-eyed at the net formed from two kinds of venomous insects. Without time to think, he hurriedly drew the sword at his waist, unleashing waves of sword qi!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Wherever the sword qi swept through, it cleaved the Killer Bee Gu cleanly in two, producing the sound of metal clashing. As the sword qi took shape, even though the two Gu had sealed Zhao Hao in completely, they could not inflict the slightest harm on him.

Seeing this, Cao Xiaochun remained unruffled. He continued playing the flute at an unhurried pace, and another streak of black light shot forth. A giant toad instantly appeared on the arena stage, its body wrapped in black shadows of the Five Poisons as it charged explosively toward Zhao Hao!

Projectile Formula!

Command Formula!

Cao Xiaochun silently recited. As his talent skills activated, red and green sound waves materialized. The Five Poisons around Xiao Qiang became even more frenzied, while the offspring Gu Zhao Hao had slain miraculously came back to life!

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, Zhao Hao was sent flying by Xiao Qiang's charge, and the Killer Bee Gu shot after his airborne body!