</img>
Scene after scene played out on the screen.
The students excitedly discussed what they were seeing with their teammates.
Ever since they started their first year of high school,
the school had encouraged students to form teams.
Because a team couldn't learn to work together overnight.
Of course, some people waited until their third year of high school to choose a team.
But that often meant the team hadn't had enough time to gel, making accidents more likely.
Now the students understood how important teamwork was, so they needed to start practicing together right away!
They absolutely couldn't wait until an accident happened and regret it then!
Meanwhile, as the students discussed everything with excitement,
the leaders recruiting for the secondary vocational schools were still desperately trying to win over every student who had failed the trial.
King Yama Zhou watched it all with a heavy heart, but didn't stop them.
He understood that failing the trial and choosing a secondary vocational school might be the only way forward for these students.
King Yama Zhou's tacit approval only made the recruitment leaders even more zealous.
A large group of them had gathered right by the Teleportation Array at the stone tablet, and whenever someone came out, they rushed to promote their schools.
King Yama Zhou's expression was as cold as ever.
Did he have no feelings?
No.
He was heartbroken too!
But this was something they had to go through!
In this era, every student had to be prepared to die at any moment! Since they had chosen this path, they had to be ready for that!
In the stands,
the students' excitement had gradually turned to fear and gloom.
Only now did they realize that people could die in the trial.
"Senior Ling Zhan handled everything so effortlessly that we all got the mistaken impression this stage was easy..."
"Ugh! It'll be our turn next year!"
"When I saw Senior Ling Zhan effortlessly take out more than a thousand poisonous crabs, I thought I could do the same. That scene just hit me like a bucket of cold water."
Ling Zhan's performance had been simply too perfect, too effortless.
It had given everyone the mistaken impression that the "Trial Stage was no big deal."
Now, at last, they had come to their senses.
Effortless... that was only true for Ling Zhan.
For ordinary students like them, the Trial Stage was still full of deadly danger!
They had even wondered if they should try clearing it alone when their turn came.
Now that they thought about it, that bold idea of theirs had been downright stupid! It would have been suicide!
The moment the first team suffered a death,
it meant other teams would suffer casualties too.
Even though those teams had chosen the "Easy" difficulty,
there were hardly any mutated creatures in a swarm of poison crabs at that level.
Even so, casualties kept occurring.
Frequent scenes of death appeared in the projected light screens, making the students in the stands look even more solemn.
Some of the more timid students trembled and turned deathly pale at the thought of facing such terrifying monsters in the trial themselves one day.
All in all, the students in the first and second years wore every expression imaginable, and the sight left them deeply shaken.
A large group of recruitment leaders from the secondary vocational schools had finally cornered another unlucky student. They swarmed around them like flies.
"Join our school, student. We offer a variety of secondary professions."
Secondary professions were, in simple terms, jobs that had no combat ability.
Trial Stages now appeared randomly all over the world, making danger a constant threat. The mainstream professions in demand were all combat professions.
After all, only powerful fighters could safeguard the world's peace,
so that people wouldn't be helpless when monsters invaded.
But students who were truly unsuited to combat could still pursue a secondary profession that didn't involve fighting.
And these secondary professions held respectable status in society.
Take Alchemists, for example. If you were skilled enough, you could concoct special pills, which teams needed to tackle high-difficulty stages.
What team didn't stock up on pills?
Some increased attack power.
Some increased movement speed.
Some increased attack speed.
All in all, Alchemist was a good choice for a secondary profession.
Enchanters were another popular secondary profession.
Every profession's weapon could be enchanted.
As long as you had the materials, you could enchant one.
And the more skilled the Enchanter, the higher their success rate.
By the way, if you asked an Enchanter to enchant your weapon, you had to bear the consequences of failure yourself. The Enchanter wasn't responsible if it went wrong.
So if you wanted someone to enchant your weapon, you should try to find a highly skilled Enchanter. That way, the chances of success would be higher.
"At least there's still hope."
The failed students' expressions gradually improved.
That was right.
There was always a way forward.
This was the path to a new life King Yama Zhou had found for the students who had failed the trial.
He hoped they would seize the opportunity.
Before anyone knew it, more than a dozen people had died.
And that death toll would continue to rise as time went on!
Meanwhile, students who had failed and been injured were also returning to the school grounds.
Some teams had failed and withdrawn, but could still accept the result because they had passed, completing the test requirement of killing a thousand Sewage Poison Crabs.
They might not be able to get into a top university, but at least they wouldn't have to become ordinary liberal arts workers.
But many more teams had failed outright, leaving dejectedly without even earning a passing score.
For a while,
the square was filled with people sobbing in grief and others standing with their heads bowed.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, the reporter from the official broadcaster, who had been quiet until then, let out an exclamation.
Everyone instinctively followed her gaze.
On the giant screen,
Ling Zhan had already ventured deep into the inner region of the Trial Stage.
"This student's progress through the stage is already far ahead of the other trial participants. But why does his profession show as 'None'?" Li Qing, the official broadcaster's team leader, asked.
Ha.
She'd hit on exactly the question everyone there wanted answered.
The school leaders didn't even need to say anything. The first- and second-year students were already shouting at the top of their lungs.
But what they yelled sounded to Li Qing like a bunch of kids trying to fool her.
Jobless Freelancer!
Clearing the stage alone!
A perfect score in the first phase of the trial!
One person killed 10,000 monsters and fought all the way to the outskirts of Sewage City, staining the river red with monster blood!?
What the hell...
Were they kidding?
"Director Zhou, your students love to brag. Aren't you going to do something about it?" Li Qing demanded. She couldn't imagine what kind of people this year's candidates were.
One person bragging would have been one thing, but now thousands of first- and second-year students were all making things up in front of the school leaders. Could anyone believe that!?
"Ahem."
King Yama Zhou's old face reddened slightly.
He thought to himself, Don't blame me. I didn't believe it at first either.
Damn it, that kid's a monster. What am I supposed to do?
Before you continue