With only 10% of his attributes remaining, Ling Zhan had to brace himself against his sword with both hands just to stand up.
His health, speed, base stats, resistance to abnormal statuses... everything was down to 10%.
That meant any monster that appeared now could easily take Ling Zhan out.
Fortunately, this feeling of weakness lasted only a short while before quickly fading.
That was thanks to the Trial Blessing that activated after clearing a trial stage, instantly restoring all of the challenger's health and mana.
All debuffs were also cleared instantly.
Ling Zhan glanced at General Kevil's body lying in a pool of blood and waited there for quite a while.
"Weird. I've already killed the boss of the third stage, so why hasn't the notification that I cleared it appeared?"
"What about my clear reward?"
Ling Zhan looked baffled. "Did something go wrong with the trial?"
"Damn it! They can't just screw me over like this, can they?"
The next second,
the stage notification finally arrived.
[Congratulations, challenger Ling Zhan, on slaying the boss and successfully clearing this stage!]
[Time to clear: 4 hours, 56 minutes.]
[Clear reward distribution temporarily suspended...]
Ling Zhan stared blankly at the notification.
What did it mean, "Clear reward distribution temporarily suspended"?
In the previous two stages, the clear notification and rewards had arrived as soon as Ling Zhan completed the task. Even when there was a delay, it had never been more than a few seconds.
This time, the clear notification had been delayed by a full hour.
Had they just swallowed his clear reward?
"Damn it."
Even Ling Zhan, who was usually so composed, couldn't help cursing.
Something about this arrangement was definitely off.
He wasn't too worried that they would actually withhold the clear reward. After all, this was a province-wide Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examination involving nearly a million people, so a few glitches were to be expected.
Even King Yama Zhou wouldn't dare brazenly swallow a challenger's reward.
It was just incredibly frustrating. He'd worked himself to the bone to clear the third stage, only to end up with... absolutely nothing.
Just as he was about to let loose with a string of complaints, the cold voice of the stage notification rang out again.
[Warning! Warning! Warning! Challenger has successfully triggered the Endless Trial quest.]
[Warning! Endless Trial: SSS-level difficulty mode. (Challenger mortality rate: 99%)]
[Warning! Rewards for the elite stage and Endless Trial will be distributed together.]
Three warnings in a row. The words were chilling.
Outside the trial grounds,
the crowd erupted into an uproar.
"SSS-level difficulty mode, with a 99% mortality rate!"
"That's murder!"
The crowd was furious.
No one had expected King Yama Zhou to go this far.
"Since the rewards for the second and third stages are being distributed together, giving up on the Endless Trial means the challenger won't get the reward for the third stage, and their score for it will be zeroed out."
"Protest!"
It wasn't just the students. The school leaders and teachers on the dais all turned their furious gazes toward King Yama Zhou.
"This is utterly unreasonable."
"With a 99% mortality rate, are you forcing the challengers to their deaths?"
Click, click...
Flashes went off across King Yama Zhou's face.
Reporters from the official and local stations surged toward the dais in a dense throng.
What was a reporter's job, after all?
To make a spectacle of things.
"Explosive!"
"We've got tomorrow's headline!"
Long lenses and microphones were thrust almost into King Yama Zhou's face.
"The public deserves an explanation!"
"Director Zhou, do you understand the consequences of doing this?"
"Unbelievable! The chief examiner of the 234th Job Transfer Trial Entrance Examination is treating the professional lives of a million challengers like a joke!"
"Director Zhou, did you get a medical checkup before setting this test? I mean... a psychiatric evaluation!"
On the dais,
King Yama Zhou's eyes were cold and impassive.
"Campus security!"
At his shout,
countless security guards rushed over and formed a solid wall several meters in front of him.
The reporters were driven back.
But even the security guards, there to protect him, were conflicted and uneasy.
"The professional lives of a million challengers—King Yama Zhou is treating them like a joke."
"Does someone like him, a butcher and executioner, really deserve protection?"
In the stands,
many of the girls were outraged, unable to accept a trial arrangement that was practically indistinguishable from murder.
The boys couldn't understand it either.
But there was... nothing they could do.
"Those seniors who cleared the trial are so unlucky."
"I hope Senior Ling Zhan doesn't fall for it and gives up on the Endless Trial."
"But if he gives up, Senior Ling Zhan won't just lose his chance to compete for first place in the province. His ranking on the city trial leaderboard will be zeroed out too."
"Then what's he supposed to do? Should we let him go die?"
"King Yama Zhou, screw you!!!!"
This move had cut off every senior's way out. It was downright ruthless.
The students were furious.
The reporters were just as indignant.
Even the teachers were deeply baffled by the point of this arrangement.
Now it all came down to... what the seniors would choose...
Inside the trial stage,
Ling Zhan gripped his greatsword, panting heavily as he... dismembered a corpse!
General Kevil's body had already been chopped into pieces.
Crab Legs, Poison Crab Eyes, monster cores, the Crab King Fang Spear...
Ling Zhan liked this spear best. It had been made from General Kevil's fangs, and its quality was quite good.
[Equipment: Scorpion King Tail Needle Spear.]
[Grade: Purple.]
[When equipped: Strength +10, Agility +10.]
[Level requirement: Level 12 or above.]
[Class restriction: None.]
[Attack effect: Attacks can inflict poison on enemies. Poison can stack up to three times; once fully stacked, the enemy will be stunned for 1 second. Stun effect cooldown: 5 seconds.]
[Set effect: None.]
Equipment grade colors matched the colors of monster names.
From lowest to highest, they were white, blue, purple, red, and gold.
Of course, weapon level requirements mattered too.
A level-ten gold weapon would still have terrible stats compared with a level-forty- or fifty-level white weapon.
"For someone at my level, this spear really is top-tier."
Ling Zhan grinned as he stowed the spear in his inventory.
He didn't leave a single other item behind.
The Crab Legs and Poison Crab Eyes were both classified as items.
Their quality wasn't as good as the spear's, but Ling Zhan never left anything behind, so he collected them all.
"And the heart, the blood..."
"Forget it. The internal organs are too disgusting, and they're not worth much."
Ling Zhan looked disgusted. The once-mighty General Kevil (BOSS: Great Emperor Shanli) was now nothing but scraps of flesh and a liver.
He left nothing behind!
"It's time to go."
Ling Zhan spread his hands. A Teleportation Array glowed white in the distance.
Teleportation Array—Endless Trial.
The next second,
Ling Zhan stood on the Teleportation Array, and his body vanished.
They thought they could swallow his clear reward?
Not a chance!
Before you continue