He, and Blue?

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In the blink of an eye...

The day of the Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examination had begun.

The playground.

An ancient stone stele stood in the center of the playground.

A line of small characters was carved at the very top of the stele.

Teleportation Array, Number 17

[Trial Secret Realm: Sewage City]

[Trial Difficulty: A-rank]

[Level Limit: Levels 10–13]

[Mission Requirements: 1. Kill Sewage Poison Crabs x1000. 2. Kill Sewage Poison Crab Elites x300. 3. Kill the final BOSS and obtain a Beast Crystal.]

On the podium.

The provincial, municipal, and school leaders each finished their speeches.

With the boom of a cannon, the 234th Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examination officially began.

"Candidates, the Trial Stage Teleportation Array has been activated."

"Please form your teams as soon as possible and enter in an orderly manner."

As the Teleportation Array activated, the ancient stone stele leading to the Sewage City Trial Stage glowed with a hazy white light.

Thousands of students on the playground erupted into an uproar.

"My God, it's actually... an A-rank Trial Stage!"

"Look at the clear rates for past candidates."

"Isn't this way too brutal?!"

Ling Zhan's graduating class was hardly noticeable.

At that moment, under their homeroom teacher's lead, they arrived at the Teleportation Array entrance just like the candidates from the other classes.

When they saw the Trial Stage difficulty rating: A-rank, at least half the students in the class felt their hearts sink.

"It's over, it's over. I heard this year's Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examination would be difficult, but it can't be A-rank right from the start, can it?"

"Even the easiest mission, killing ordinary Sewage Poison Crabs, has stopped half the candidates from completing the Trial Stage."

"The final clear rate is outrageously low!"

"Who set these questions? What a bastard."

"Shh!"

Beads of sweat the size of beans instantly rolled down the homeroom teacher's forehead. She shot the speaking boy a fierce glare, then dragged him aside to give him a scolding.

"You even dare talk about King Yama Zhou like that? If you want to die, can you not drag me down with you?"

Hiss.

The moment they heard the three words "King Yama Zhou," the chattering students immediately fell silent.

Respectful yet fearful gazes turned toward the podium. After lingering there for a moment, they quickly withdrew.

The Trial Stage was unprecedentedly difficult, and the highest-ranking proctor was the famously strict King Yama Zhou.

The candidates immediately felt immense pressure.

"Su Rou, what do you think? Are you confident?"

"I... I don't know."

"Sigh."

"Starting out with hell-level difficulty—who can handle that?"

Only a few top students, represented by Sun Ze, remained calm.

Even Sun Ze felt some pressure at that moment.

After all, it was an A-rank Trial Stage. Even top students would not dare claim they had it in the bag.

Seeing the students complain one after another, the homeroom teacher could not help but worry as well.

As the homeroom teacher of a graduating class, before this Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examination, she had already made a military pledge with the dean and principal.

"Now, all I can do is try my best and leave the rest to Tianming." The homeroom teacher smiled bitterly to herself.

On the playground.

Thousands of candidates wore troubled expressions as they listened to their respective homeroom teachers' instructions.

Faced with a hell-level Trial Stage challenge, no one dared let their guard down.

"Teacher, I'm ready to enter the Trial Stage." From within the group, Ling Zhan suddenly walked up to the homeroom teacher and spoke calmly.

The homeroom teacher froze for a moment and subconsciously glanced behind Ling Zhan.

"You can. But where are your teammates?"

The others had already begun forming teams in groups of two or three.

Only Ling Zhan had walked over alone, and the first thing he said was that he wanted to enter the Trial Stage directly!?

Ling Zhan shook his head, his expression remaining calm.

The homeroom teacher seemed to understand something all at once, and she froze completely.

"Y-you're not telling me that you don't plan on forming a team, and you're going to solo the Trial Stage by yourself!?"

"What?"

"By himself!?"

Several classmates standing not far from the homeroom teacher heard it too and immediately broke into an uproar.

"Ling Zhan, have you gone crazy?"

Shock.

Disbelief.

Xu Hao, Sun Ze, Lei Feng... almost everyone's gaze fell on Ling Zhan at the same time.

Over the years, some had chosen to solo Trial Stages.

But without exception, those people had all been geniuses among geniuses.

Ling Zhan was choosing to solo it too?

What gave him the right?

However, Ling Zhan had already collected a Water-Avoiding Bead and walked toward the teleportation stele.

The entire class was dumbfounded.

The homeroom teacher had not even recovered from the shock...

Before the stone stele.

Ling Zhan's entire body was bathed in dazzling white light. The next second, his figure abruptly vanished as he became the first to enter the Trial Stage.

Countless people were stunned by the sight.

The entire school erupted.

A hundred schools erupted.

"O-one person!?"

"Damn, he really is alone! He didn't form a team at all. Is he planning to solo the Trial Stage?"

"Quick, look at the line of small characters on the Bronze Gate."

Candidate Information:

Name: Ling Zhan

Team Members: 1

Class: None

"He actually has no class!"

"Hiss~"

"Teacher, Ling Zhan has entered the Trial Stage!" A student in the class cried out in alarm.

Gulp.

The homeroom teacher swallowed hard and stiffly turned her head.

Crack~

Crack~

She was so nervous that her neck actually made a series of crisp cracking sounds as she turned.

He was gone.

After a flash of white light, Ling Zhan had entered the Trial Stage.

"Fuck—"

"My teaching qualification rating, my performance evaluation!!"

The homeroom teacher's vision went dark, and the world spun around her.

"Ah! Teacher, what's wrong?"

"Oh no, the homeroom teacher fainted!!"

The graduating class immediately descended into chaos.

On the podium.

"Hm?"

"A candidate has entered the Trial Stage."

"Not bad. Looks like there are still some promising students among this year's candidates."

Director Zhou from the Education Bureau was very satisfied.

He was also the question setter for this year's Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examination.

His nickname was King Yama Zhou.

His word carried absolute weight.

Beside him,

The other principals and teachers quickly nodded in agreement upon hearing him.

King Yama Zhou was seated in front of them. Who would dare disagree with him?

Everyone followed King Yama Zhou's gaze toward the large screen.

The next second.

Several principals and teachers went blank.

The smile on King Yama Zhou's face suddenly froze as well.

Name: Ling Zhan

Team Members: 1.

Class: None.

"This..."

"He's actually an unaffiliated Freelancer. Has this student gone mad?"

After recovering from their shock, several principals and teachers secretly glanced at King Yama Zhou and found that his face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

"Nonsense!"

With an angry shout, King Yama Zhou had passed judgment on the first candidate to enter the Trial Stage.

"Which school is this student from? Which class?" he asked again.

The leaders of all ranks on the podium looked at one another in silence.

"Ahem."

After a long while, a principal answered reluctantly, "He should be from First High School, a graduating class student. His homeroom teacher's surname is Qi."

Behind them.

"What?"

"That student is from our First High School?"

"Fuck, we're done for!"

When First High School's principal and dean heard that, their faces immediately turned green.

The two of them had been gloating and waiting to watch their peers make fools of themselves. In the end... the clowns were actually themselves?

Inside the Sewage City secret realm, at the entrance, white light flashed.

A figure stepped onto hard stone slabs.

Cold and decayed.

Within the enormous Water City, humans were as insignificant as microorganisms.

This was only the outer region of Sewage City. The icy water barely covered the tops of one's feet.

In everyone else's eyes, Ling Zhan entering the Trial Stage alone was indeed no different from courting death.

An unaffiliated Freelancer might seem to have mastered the low-level skills of every class.

Yet compared to true class skills, an unbridgeable gulf lay between them—one was in the heavens, the other on the ground.

Outside, on the large screen.

Because Ling Zhan was the first to enter the Trial Stage, he had drawn the attention of thousands upon thousands of people.

King Yama Zhou watched the large screen expressionlessly. When he saw Ling Zhan's Freelancer class, it was obvious that his previously calm face had turned noticeably colder.

The leaders of all ranks accompanying him were silent as cicadas in winter.

Especially First High School's principal and dean. If the occasion had not been inappropriate, they likely would have rushed into the Trial Stage and strangled that unlucky student to death.

"A Freelancer class soloing the Trial Stage."

"And he was the first to enter it. Isn't this openly slapping King Yama Zhou, the question setter, in the face?"

The principal and dean of First High School were gnashing their teeth in fury.

"That Ling Zhan brat can get himself killed if he wants, but he's dragging First High School's teachers, dean, and principal down with him."

Everyone knew that when King Yama Zhou lost his temper, he showed no mercy to anyone.

During the previous Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examination, a vice principal had merely grumbled and complained a few times in private.

And what happened?

The next day, that vice principal was fired outright. Three deans and several teachers were dismissed alongside him, all sent packing.

In the education world, King Yama Zhou was heaven!

If he wanted someone to live, they lived. If he wanted someone dead, they died.

What was authority?

This was authority!

"Oh no. Sewage Poison Crabs have appeared."

"Gasp... How terrifying!"

"He's not going to die just like that, is he?"

On the giant screen.

Ling Zhan had only just entered the stage when shadows began darting beneath the freezing water outside Water City, accompanied by bursts of rustling.

The next second.

Several Sewage Poison Crabs, each as large as a human face and gleaming black, burrowed out from beneath the current.

Their massive pincers were like blades, flashing with cold light.

Whoosh.

The Sewage Poison Crabs launched their attack.

Quite a few female students cried out instinctively. Some even covered their eyes, too afraid to witness the gruesome scene that was about to unfold.

"Holy crap."

"What the fuck?!"

Suddenly,

A wave of shocked cries erupted from the crowd.

On the giant screen.

Ling Zhan drew a Knight's Longsword from his back.

With a low shout, he flashed forward like a phantom. At the same time, the Knight's Longsword emitted a faint black glow.

Swordsman beginner skill: Sword Dance.

The sword moved like the wind.

Slash!

With a soft puff, one Sewage Poison Crab was cleaved in half by a single strike.

Green blood splattered across the river, highly corrosive as it hissed and sizzled.

"That's... a low-level Swordsman skill?!"

This guy had actually used a low-level Swordsman skill to kill an ordinary Sewage Poison Crab.

An instant kill!

How had he done it?

Tens of millions of teachers and students were dumbfounded.

Outside.

Ling Zhan's homeroom teacher and classmates were equally stunned.

"Ling Zhan... was he this strong?"

"Ordinary Sewage Poison Crabs may not have much attack power, but their defense shouldn't be this weak." Even Sun Ze, the top student of First High School, fell silent.

Ling Zhan's battle just now, where he had instantly killed a Sewage Poison Crab, was simply too astonishing.

"Who would've thought that this guy had kept such a low profile all this time? Seriously, we underestimated him." Another student muttered to himself.

It was not just them.

Everyone else was talking among themselves. That instant one-sword kill had stunned everyone who had mocked Ling Zhan before.

However, the other examinees quickly entered the trial dungeon as well.

They began racing against time.

After all, this was crucial to whether they could enter a Key Combat Academy in the future.

On the main platform.

A flicker of surprise crossed King Yama Zhou's eyes.

But that was all.

"Silence." His gaze darkened, and the teachers and students immediately did not dare even breathe loudly.

His eyes returned to the giant screen.

At this moment.

Ling Zhan had already killed several Sewage Poison Crabs in succession, every one of them dying in a single blow.

For a Freelancer class to instantly kill Sewage Poison Crabs was truly astonishing.

But—

"A few petty tricks. Unfortunately, a Freelancer is still a Freelancer." After watching the screen for a while, King Yama Zhou disdainfully looked away.

Although the power of that strike was impressive enough to catch the eye, King Yama Zhou's judgment was incredibly sharp.

As the examiner who had designed this year's test and someone who had participated in previous Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examinations, King Yama Zhou had seen countless brilliant top students and plenty of mediocre examinees with ordinary talents.

While everyone else was still marveling at the terrifying explosive power Ling Zhan had displayed with his Freelancer class,

King Yama Zhou scoffed at it.

"Showboating!"

"With such high-burst output, his mana bar can sustain it three times at most."

"Nothing more than a few petty tricks."

As soon as he said that,

The teachers and students, who had just been thrilled, shuddered and instinctively turned their eyes toward the giant screen.

The principal and dean of First High School, seated not far from King Yama Gao, felt uncomfortable upon hearing this, but they had no choice but to admit that King Yama Gao was stating the truth.

But—

There were always people looking to stir up trouble.

"Haha, why does Principal Li look like he doesn't believe it?"

"Could it be... that you think Chief Examiner Gao is wrong?"

"Come to think of it, Principal Li, you don't actually think that student from your school is some genius, do you?"

As soon as those words came out, the principal of First High School nearly jumped straight into the air in fright.

"Bullshit."

"I don't."

"Don't you fucking talk nonsense."

The principal of First High School wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Damn it.

How could they casually say something like that? What if King Yama Zhou really believed it? Would he even get to remain principal?

Fortunately.

King Yama Zhou did not seem to care about teasing of this level and remained expressionless.

The principal of First High School breathed a sigh of relief, then glared viciously at the leaders from the other schools who had been making snide remarks.

But then again, King Yama Zhou had spotted Ling Zhan's weakness at a glance. His judgment truly was sharp!

Otherwise, why would they call him King Yama?

That insight—

Still, it was only natural. The Freelancer class had always occupied the bottom of the food chain. The experience and lessons summarized by countless "predecessors" during past Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examinations would not be overturned so easily.

Everyone else had simply been fooled by Ling Zhan.

"How many times do you think Ling Zhan can use that skill? Three times, or five?"

"I say three times at most. How much mana could a Freelancer possibly have?"

"I say twice. This guy is clearly just showboating."

Even so, Ling Zhan instantly became the center of attention.

Everyone's eyes returned to the giant screen.

Several Sewage Poison Crabs had already been killed by Ling Zhan in a single stroke.

But three Giant Sewage Poison Crabs, more than three times the size of ordinary Sewage Poison Crabs, slowly crawled out from the underground river.

Their enormous scorpion tails stood inverted like heavenly blades.

Their scorpion eyes were crimson.

Green mucus continuously dripped from beneath their long fangs.

"What the fuck?!"

"What kind of monster is that? Those Sewage Poison Crabs just now were only as big as faces, but these three are... as big as millstones!"

"Blue... Blue-named Sewage Poison Crabs! Level 12 Sewage Poison Crab Elites!"

Ordinary Sewage Poison Crabs were only Level 10.

Level 12 Sewage Poison Crab Elites rarely appeared on the outskirts, yet three had appeared at once. How was anyone supposed to fight that?

"He's done for."

"When this guy killed the ordinary Sewage Poison Crabs just now, he used at least three or four skills. His mana must already be exhausted."

"No zuo no die!"

"A Freelancer entering the stage—its outcome is obvious."

The river water was cold and unfathomably deep.

The sudden appearance of three Sewage Poison Crab Elites startled Ling Zhan as well.

Strangely enough, when facing the three Sewage Poison Crab Elites, the panic on Ling Zhan's face quickly vanished completely.

He raised the Knight's Longsword once more.

Outside, the teachers and students were dumbfounded.

"He didn't give up?"

"He still wants to fight?"

Clang!

The sword rose.

"Sword Dance!"

Slash!

It was still the same familiar move. His sword struck the back of a Sewage Poison Crab Elite, and sparks immediately flew everywhere.

"He didn't break its defense."

"Sword Dance!"

Again!

One strike fell, and another immediately followed.

"Damn it, again?!"

"He still has mana?!"

Outside.

Tens of thousands of people had already been stunned senseless.