Could You Try Being Human for Once?

Shouts rose to a fever pitch. Calamities fell from the sky, the ground shook, and countless figures leaped up, swinging their fists at the descending Calamities.

Just like the generations before them who had risen to meet adversity over the past several centuries, they did not fear unknown Calamities. They explored the way forward, step by step, never fleeing the disasters before them, always holding on to hope.

Only because their souls shone bright enough, because their conviction could illuminate the road ahead, had people managed to survive each hellish day under the pressure of the apocalypse progress bar.

Watching the people charge toward the Calamities, Ye Buyu seemed to see those golden meteors traveling upstream along the River of Forgetfulness again. Tiny lights gathered together could illuminate the entire long night.

A gleam flickered in her red eyes. Ye Buyu parted her lips and could not help marveling.

"They're incredible."

Mu Bingge grabbed Ye Buyu and pulled her behind her, then turned and neatly kicked a falling Calamity to pieces.

"Don't just stand there. Protect yourself."

Ye Buyu snapped out of her daze and drew the Flower Edict. She took specially made bullets from the ring on her finger, loaded them, and fired in one fluid motion.

Howling lightning streaked out and struck an approaching Calamity.

"I've been preparing properly all this time, too."

Mu Bingge turned her attention back to the fight. Her bracelet flashed, and a long whip dropped into her palm. The power of Water Mirror enveloped it, turning into blade after blade as she attacked the Calamities diving toward them.

Watching the Calamities drop like dumplings into a pot, Zhao Zhe looked at Lan Huaiyu and the others beside him. "Did we release too many?"

The candidates were practically getting buried.

Ding Ruixue offered her biting assessment. "They look like chocolate-covered raisins."

Lei Yue's eye twitched. "I won't be eating either of those for a while."

Lan Huaiyu kept her eyes on the arena and shook her head slightly. "Not at all. The first wave only had one Calamity per candidate. The next wave will have twice as many."

Zhao Zhe closed his eyes. Forgive me, children. Your future teachers are all devils.

Twice as many Calamities as candidates-how was that any different from a small Calamity tide? They would be worked to death.

"You're really strict," Zhao Zhe reproached them.

With pity in his heart, he considered it for a few seconds. "Let's add a few level-four Calamities, too. After all, low-level ones won't do much against candidates like Mu Bingge."

The other three Principals shot him sidelong looks. How had this man had the nerve to criticize them just now?

The teachers sitting behind the four Principals gaped, their faces darkening with exasperation. Not one of the four Principals in front of them was any good.

At the feverishly busy Points Competition, the candidates were suffering terribly. It was not that they could not beat the Calamities-there were simply too many.

They had been fighting forever, yet they were still surrounded.

"Don't stand in the middle of them. Put some distance between you!" Su Wuwei hurled a mass of flame, creating a wall of fire.

Watching the Calamities struggle in the flames, he felt a headache coming on. "Who planned this competition? Releasing this many Calamities at once-are they trying to wear us to death?"

How was this supposed to showcase individual strength? Individuals and teams were scattered haphazardly, all tangled up with the Calamities. There was no room to fight freely.

He found a moment to glance toward the teachers, and even his smile turned helpless.

Tch. I really want to burn those Principals' tables down.

"Keep your distance! These Calamities aren't high-level. Gather them together and wipe them out!" someone shouted amid the chaos.

People in different areas began identifying the problem and offering suggestions. Teams that could quickly cooperate and powerful individuals stood out.

Quite a few others failed to show their abilities during the onslaught, or simply lacked the strength. At the critical moment, they were teleported out of the arena, bringing their Points Competition to an end.

Amid all this chaos, one person was especially conspicuous: Lou Guanshan, rampaging through the field.

He carried Kou Ying in one hand and swung the Mo Dao with the other. His sweeping, fearless attacks carried the valor of a warrior no army could stop as he charged in and out of the swarms of Calamities.

"Not enough, not enough! Send more!"

Reduced to a dangling accessory, Kou Ying felt no pressure whatsoever. With Lou Guanshan there, none of the Calamities could get past the Mo Dao's reach anyway. He was happy to take it easy.

"Thanks, Lou Guanshan."

"You're welcome!"

Chu Lie and Wei Changming were fighting enemies in the crowd when they heard a roar.

"Everyone, please make way!"

They looked back and saw Lou Guanshan swinging his Mo Dao, giving them both a fright.

"Holy shit!"

Chu Lie and Wei Changming shoved each other aside at the same time. Once Lou Guanshan had run past, they stared at one another.

"Was he... carrying something?" Chu Lie asked.

Wei Changming faltered for a moment. "I think it was Kou Ying."

They exchanged a look and silently made up their minds. They absolutely could not team up with someone like Lou Guanshan.

Neither wanted to be carried around like a chick.

Wan Lan, who had been quietly shooting Calamities in the crowd, clicked her tongue impatiently. "They're all low-level Calamities. Can't they send in something stronger?"

"And that guy over there is way too loud!"

In her irritation, Wan Lan drew her longbow to its full extent and loosed an arrow. It whipped up a storm, pierced the Calamities lunging toward her, and plowed a deep furrow through the ground.

Beside her, Guan Xiaomei's mouth twitched. "Shouldn't you rein in that temper of yours?"

Wan Lan gave a light snort. "Restraint isn't my style."

As shouts rang out from all directions, the chaotic situation gradually settled down. After the candidates concentrated their efforts and wiped out most of the Calamities, some of the remaining ones fled toward empty areas.

Everyone finally had room to catch their breath.

No more Calamities were falling from the sky, and most of those on the ground had been cleared away. Ye Buyu let out a relieved breath, leaning back against Mu Bingge, deeply moved.

"Mu Bingge, you're really reliable."

Calamity remnants lay piled within a ten-meter radius around the two of them. No Calamity could enter the area within the whip's reach.

"Don't let your guard down."

Mu Bingge looked up at the Micro-Mobility Fortress overhead. "It can't be this simple. After all... the four Principals are overseeing the exam."

Even setting aside those four Principals' devilish personalities, many people had yet to show their true strength. This was not over.

"Here they come."

Ye Buyu pressed her lips together and looked skyward, her pupils trembling. "I think I see... a huge group of wooden figures coming at us."

Staring at the dense, dark mass of zombies, Mu Bingge sighed. She was a little envious of Ye Buyu's ability. At least what Ye Buyu saw pointed straight to their true nature.

"To our eyes, those are zombies."

"What?" Ye Buyu stared wide-eyed. "There's no end to them! How are we supposed to fight that? Play red light, green light?"

The candidates, who had only just caught their breath, saw the zombies filling the sky and completely lost their composure, cursing furiously.

"Holy shit, there are high-level ones in there, too. They really think highly of us."

"Could you try being human for once?!"

"Holy shit, a zombie horde! There are even more than before! Who are they trying to scare to death?"

"I hate filthy humanoid Calamities!"