The Cruelty of the World

"If he really passes the next elite monster stage, he might just become the top scorer in our city's trial!"

"Indeed, as of now, he is qualified to challenge for the top spot."

"I recall there are many excellent students; the competition is extremely fierce."

"For the same stage, it all comes down to the speed at which one clears the elite monster level."

The principals and teachers were discussing it heatedly.

The smile on Zhong Wenshan's face was already quite clear.

He had not expected that a student without a class could reach the point of challenging for the top spot in the trial.

"Have you all considered that this kid is aiming for the provincial rankings?"

Suddenly, one teacher spoke up.

As soon as these words were spoken.

The original buzz of conversation on the podium went silent for a moment.

Then.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Don't joke around. It's already excellent for a classless freelancer to compete for city-level rankings. Provincial rankings... those are for the true darlings of heaven!"

"Indeed, Ling Zhan's combat experience and handling are excellent, but it's a pity he is a classless freelancer. He is destined not to go far!"

"The difficulty of elite monsters is far greater than dealing with one or two thousand Sewage Poison Crabs!"

After hearing this, that teacher also gave a sheepish smile: "Indeed, my conjecture was a bit exaggerated."

"Oh! So many reporters."

"The school guards won't be able to hold them back."

On the walls outside the school, rows of cameras and microphones had been set up at some point, dense and packed.

Camera flashes flickered incessantly.

This scene looked exactly like Ling Zhan continuously unleashing Prairie Fire on monsters in the trial.

The team of reporters was massive, surrounding the school in layers upon layers.

A proctor responsible for maintaining order during the trial ran from the school gate to the playground, reaching the podium, panting and out of breath.

"King Yama Zhou... reporters from the official station have arrived, requesting an on-site interview."

"There are also recruitment leaders from various vocational schools."

"They've all come."

Whoosh!

In an instant, a wave of noise erupted across the vast playground.

"I believe the official station reporters are here for a genuine interview, but why are the local station reporters joining in on the fun?"

"And the recruitment leaders from vocational schools, they... this is truly going too far!"

They were filled with righteous indignation.

Some freshmen were confused, and after the seniors carefully explained the situation, they learned that there was an unwritten convention for every trial.

Refuse media interviews.

Refuse early recruitment.

"But... why?" a freshman asked, puzzled.

"Sigh."

His homeroom teacher sighed, signaling the freshmen to look at the big screen.

On the screen.

Several numbers were strikingly prominent.

"Trial failures: 39."

"Deaths: 11."

At this moment, the trial had been going on for less than a few hours, and the numbers of those eliminated and killed were constantly rising.

As time passed, this rate of increase was growing exponentially.

"Do you know why the school refuses media interviews?"

"Because their targets for interviews only fall into two categories: 1. Those who were eliminated. 2. The families of the deceased."

"As for the recruitment leaders from vocational schools, their goal is even clearer: to poach students who failed the class transfer trial into their own institutions."

"It is cruel."

"But this is the truth."

On the podium.

King Yama Zhou's face was gloomy, which made the others afraid to even breathe loudly.

But in the end, he signaled the proctor to play a video as per tradition.

The video was projected onto the big screen, visible to every teacher and student present.

"Mom!"

The students in the audience were horrified when they saw the footage change!

Because they saw the screen filled with eye-catching gore!

In the footage.

Three students' heads had been completely shattered!

And the culprit behind this bloody scene was a Defense Mutant Sewage Poison Crab!

It had used its hideous fangs to shear off the heads of those three students!

"Ugh!"

This cruel and bloody scene.

Immediately made the students in the audience feel nauseous, their faces turning pale in an instant.

This scene filled their hearts with endless fear!

Teachers were explaining to their own students; he was equally heartbroken, but at this moment, he could only be as strict as ever, even several times stricter than usual.

"These are just a small segment of the videos left behind from previous trials."

"No one can succeed easily."

"Once you accept the trial, death is everywhere."

"The predecessors left you this video with the lessons of their blood and tears. It is not to make you afraid, nor to make you timid. They used their own lives and blood to warn every one of you—the trial is not a game; it is a man-eating demon!"

Fear, trembling.

This was the most realistic scene of the Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examination.

Countless freshmen were scared to tears.

But more people gradually began to regain their rationality.

"Has everyone thought about it? The reason we think the trial is easy is purely because senior Ling Zhan is too outstanding."

[Announcement: Zhao Lun (Candidate ID: 5423) has been killed by a monster in the trial!]

[Announcement: Zhang Xixi (Candidate ID: 8521) has been killed by a monster in the trial!]

[Announcement: Zhao Jia (Candidate ID: 3875) has been killed by a monster in the trial!]

On the broadcast.

The death announcements came again.

Three people at once.

The freshmen and sophomores were shivering.

On the podium, King Yama Zhou saw that the effect had been achieved, and his expression softened slightly.

"Alright, cut the video."

This was just a video clip, yet it had already scared countless freshmen out of their wits.

And there were countless such clips preserved from previous Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examinations.

Too much is as bad as too little.

Using this clip to sound an alarm for the freshmen was enough.

The video was cut.

On the big screen.

Ling Zhan entered the inner area of Sewage City.

"King Yama Zhou, what about those reporters?"

"Let them in, but warn them: whoever dares to disrupt the trial discipline will not be spared."

"Yes."

Soon.

The school gate opened.

Countless reporters and vocational school recruitment leaders swarmed in.

The local station reporters grabbed any unlucky soul kicked out of the trial and asked questions frantically.

"May I ask, how do you feel after failing the trial?"

"May I ask this student, will you repeat the year?"

"Hello student, we are a vocational school, an Enchanter academy. Are you interested in joining us after failing the trial?"

The student faced the bombardment of cameras and microphones.

He was shaking with anger.

"Get lost!"

"I was eliminated, do you understand? Eliminated!"

"Go to hell!!!"

This was considered a mild temper; those with worse tempers were already cursing.

Thump.

A student being interviewed fainted directly from anger.

For a time, the playground was in chaos.

This was the reason King Yama Zhou had strictly forbidden these people from interviewing at the start; it was simply causing secondary psychological trauma to the students who failed the trial.

Most of the failed students were covered in wounds, with hideous gashes still dripping blood, showing that they had experienced very cruel battles inside.

"What you need to do is learn from the failures of others," a senior teacher said, reprimanding his students.

Many students also suppressed their fear and panic, watching the screen intently.

The students knew that the teacher wasn't asking them to look at the miserable state of these seniors.

But to learn from their experience!

They knew how to use their skills and items, but they lacked actual combat experience.

No matter how good your assessment scores are, if you don't have combat experience, you will still die once you hit the battlefield!

"Look, that senior was hit by the monster's lock-on attack because he didn't use the Archer's [Invincible Slide] in time."

"And this Mage senior, she didn't use Water Prison to restrain the opponent first, but chanted directly. Her team's front line was tied up and couldn't reach her, and then she could only watch as the monster reached her..."

"Facing a Defense Mutant, their team actually let the Archer use [Antelope Lock] and [Tracking Arrow]... that clearly wouldn't pierce the opponent's defense!"

"Why didn't the Warrior in this team reduce the defense first? They shouldn't have charged in mindlessly!"