Five hours had passed since the assessment began.
The points leaderboard updated in real time.
[893rd, Changfeng University, Jiang Feng, 150 points, 15 marks] [435th, Changhai University, Li Hai, 230 points, 23 marks] [57th, Zhenyue University, Lu Shan, 325 points, 33 marks] ... [6th, Xuan Kun University, Nangong Chen, 410 points, 40 marks] [5th, Hailan University, Pan Haining, 415 points, 41 marks] [4th, Heavenfire University, Gu Yu, 420 points, 42 marks] [3rd, Xinghai University, Yuan An, 425 points, 43 marks] [2nd, Xinghai University, Lin Qianqian, 500 points, 51 marks]
In terms of points, the gap between the top ten and everyone else was not particularly large.
At the very least, the difference in their scores did not reflect the difference in their strength.
That did not mean the top twenty or thirty contestants were weak.
Rather, because of the special Beast Soul Mark mechanic, the more mutant beasts they killed, the more marks they accumulated, and the greater the risk became.
So even geniuses with top-tier strength and talent needed to pace themselves.
They could easily leave everyone weaker than them far behind on the very first day.
But if they did that, they would face mutant beasts swarming them for the next two days.
They absolutely could not ignore what lay ahead just to gain an early advantage.
He who laughed last laughed best.
"These brats are all pretty smart. They know to slow down so they won't attract too many mutant beasts." Hai Wencang nodded in satisfaction.
The Beast Soul Mark mechanic had been introduced into the first round to ensure a degree of fairness, keeping students a notch weaker from falling too far behind the geniuses.
There was, however, an exception-
[1st, Xinghai University, Zhou Fan, 1,090 points, 110 marks]
Zhou Fan was