Chapter 43
"Mystic Ice Shield!" Yu Wanyao raised both hands, and a round ice shield two meters in diameter rapidly condensed in front of her. Forged from ice, the shield gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
The moment the ice shield appeared, it completely blocked the charging demonic beasts.
The pressure on everyone instantly eased.
Xu Jintang glanced at the people who had fled over. "You brought the demonic beasts here, so you need to help too."
They hurriedly nodded. "We'll defend together!"
Soon, they too were fighting with all their strength.
With everyone working together to hold them off, the dozens of tier-one demonic beasts outside were soon wiped out.
The demonic beasts fell lifeless outside the cave, with glowing point orbs floating above each corpse.
"We'll split the points equally," Xu Jintang said calmly once the battle was over.
Jing Yuanzheng nodded and added a reminder. "We might run into similar situations later. Don't let your guard down."
Xu Jintang walked out of the cave, bent down, and began collecting the glowing point orbs.
[Points +50] [Points +50]
"The points for tier-one demonic beasts actually increased fivefold, to fifty points," Wei Zixuan muttered in surprise.
Yu Wanyao analyzed the situation. "Then if tier-two demonic beasts give five times as much, wouldn't that be five hundred points? If we survive this demonic beast rampage, we'll all multiply our point earnings."
Xu Jintang reminded them, "If everything that charged at us just now had been tier-two demonic beasts, even everyone in our cave fighting at full strength would have struggled to hold them off. So this demonic beast rampage will probably still consist mostly of tier-one beasts."
Jing Yuanzheng nodded. "It's only the third day of the joint examination. The difficulty probably won't reach the level of tier-two demonic beasts."
As they were talking, another group fled toward them with demonic beasts in tow.
Xu Jintang looked up in their direction.
When she saw the boy charging at the front, her brow furrowed slightly.
"Students in the cave! Please help us!" Gripping his massive axe, Yang Tuo swung behind him. Three tier-one demonic beasts were unable to withstand the blow and immediately fell lifeless.
But there were simply too many demonic beasts pursuing them to kill them all.
In just two seconds, Yang Tuo reached the cave entrance. "We're fellow students. Surely you can't just leave us to die."
Seemingly too panicked, he did not immediately notice Xu Jintang nearby.
Jing Yuanzheng and Yu Wanyao exchanged a glance, then immediately stepped forward to intercept the demonic beasts outside the cave.
The others charged forward as well.
Only Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan remained still.
Once Yang Tuo saw the others step in, he hurriedly turned around and plunged into the beast horde too.
A few minutes later, the battle ended.
Only then did Yang Tuo breathe a sigh of relief and turn to lean against the rock wall to rest.
When he happened to look up, he finally spotted Xu Jintang.
"Xu Jintang! It's you?" Yang Tuo's expression instantly darkened. He clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred.
With those words, Yang Tuo raised his massive axe and charged over indignantly.
Xu Jintang's gaze darkened slightly. She sidestepped the blow, then reached back to seize Yang Tuo's collar and yanked hard. His collar tightened around his neck, and a suffocating sensation washed over him. Holding his massive axe in one hand, Yang Tuo swung it back hard.
Xu Jintang nimbly leaped aside.
At that moment, Wei Zixuan rushed forward and quickly formed a hand gesture, preparing to summon a demonic beast.
"What are you doing?" Jing Yuanzheng immediately interrupted them, his brow deeply furrowed and his expression puzzled.
Yu Wanyao put away her ice shield and glanced hesitantly at Xu Jintang. "Did he just call you Xu Jintang?"
Yang Tuo immediately spoke up. "Did these two siblings tell you their names were Xu Lanxing and Wang Tieniu? Those are both fake names! They already tricked me once before, and they eliminated all my teammates too. If I hadn't had a trump card and escaped in the chaos, those two siblings probably would've eliminated me early too!"
The atmosphere in the cave grew tense.
Over the past few days, Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan had climbed the rankings rapidly, and all sorts of rumors about them had spread along with it.
Anger showed on Yu Wanyao's face. "You actually lied to me!"
Jing Yuanzheng was stunned too. "Could there be some misunderstanding?"
"What misunderstanding? They're Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan from the Joint Examination Red Ranking, but they insisted on coming up with fake names. They clearly have ulterior motives!" Having finally found his chance, Yang Tuo flatly insisted on his accusation.
Jing Yuanzheng was stunned too. "You... really are Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan?"
By then, the people inside the cave had also heard the argument outside. They came running out and asked, "What's wrong?"
Facing everyone's doubtful, suspicious gazes, Xu Jintang spoke quietly. "We did use fake names, but Yang Tuo was the one who provoked us first. Wei Zixuan and I worked together to kill a peak tier-two demonic beast. Yang Tuo had strength in numbers and insisted on fighting us for the points."
"I only repaid him in kind. What's wrong with that?"
Yang Tuo's expression darkened for an instant before he immediately retorted, "Bullshit! You two saw how strong our team was and deliberately acted weak to win my sympathy. Then you joined our team to fish in troubled waters. Later, when we weren't on guard, you stole all my teammates' points and even tried to steal mine!"
Wei Zixuan was furious at his words. "You... you're twisting right and wrong! Have you no shame?"
Yang Tuo sneered, then turned to Jing Yuanzheng and Yu Wanyao. "Xu Jintang and her partner deliberately disguised their identities. They must be plotting something. We might as well take advantage of this demonic beast rampage to drive them out and let the beasts eliminate them, so they can't cause trouble later."
The others had all heard something of Xu Jintang's deeds, and they spoke up one after another. "Exactly. We can't let someone who tells nothing but lies stay in the cave."
A trace of hesitation appeared on Jing Yuanzheng's face. "I don't think these two siblings look like that sort of people. Could there be some misunderstanding?"
Xu Jintang swept her gaze over everyone. "If none of you believe us, we can leave."
Wei Zixuan was still indignant, but when he saw everyone eyeing them with suspicion, his own defiance rose. "That's right. Jintang, let's go!"
"Please wait, both of you," Jing Yuanzheng called out to stop them. "You're each telling a different story, so it's hard for us to judge. But the beast tide outside is dangerous right now. Why not set aside your conflict for the moment and get through this crisis first? Once the demonic beast rampage ends, you can decide for yourselves whether to stay or leave."
Yang Tuo's tone grew urgent. "You're nurturing a tiger that'll bring disaster! Since none of you wants to be the bad guy, I'll do it!"
With that, he summoned his supernatural massive axe and moved to attack Xu Jintang.
No one noticed the gleam of a successful scheme flash through his eyes.
Xu Jintang's expression turned cold. A large amount of mental power immediately condensed in her hand, and the power of her domain spread over the entire area.
Just as the fight was about to begin, Yu Wanyao acted first, summoning an ice shield to block Yang Tuo's blow. "Don't get so arrogant either. Without evidence, all we have is your side of the story. Who knows whether you're telling the truth?"
Yang Tuo was immediately at a loss for words. "I... of course everything I said is true!"
"Enough. There are dangers everywhere outside. Let's not fight among ourselves," Jing Yuanzheng said, bringing the dispute to an end. "From now on, you and Xu Jintang's pair will stay apart. Once the demonic beast rampage ends, you can fight however you want."
Xu Jintang glanced at Yang Tuo, her voice icy. "We spared you last time out of mercy. There won't be a next time."
Wei Zixuan flexed his wrists, his expression equally cold.
Gritting his teeth, Yang Tuo withdrew his ability, a ball of anger pent up inside him.
He had wanted to use this chance to get rid of Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan, but they had slipped through his grasp again.
Before long, another wave of rampaging demonic beasts attacked.
Fortunately, everyone was hiding inside the cave and did not attract too many demonic beasts' attention.
While there were fewer demonic beasts, Xu Jintang took the initiative to charge out and quickly kill several. After collecting the points, she turned around and retreated into the cave to rest.
After several rounds of this, Xu Jintang's total points had climbed past a thousand.
Yet her position on the Joint Examination Red Ranking barely changed. The others were probably raking in points too.
As the sky gradually darkened, the others in the cave came over to relieve Xu Jintang and her group.
Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan returned inside, found a corner to sit by themselves, and began recovering their mental power.
Across from them, Yang Tuo stared at the pair with a dark expression. There was no telling what scheme he was plotting now.
After their identities were exposed, Yu Wanyao and the others became more wary of Xu Jintang, sitting far away from her and Wei Zixuan.
The atmosphere in the cave became exceptionally quiet.
"Sis, do you think he'll steal our points while we're asleep tonight?" Wei Zixuan cautiously leaned over and asked in a low voice.
Xu Jintang stopped cultivating and looked up at Yang Tuo opposite them. "He wouldn't dare. If he really did that, everyone else would know he was the one lying."
Only then did Wei Zixuan withdraw his watchful gaze, lean against the rock wall, and close his eyes to rest.
It grew dark outside very quickly, and before long, the entire cave was pitch-black.
Jing Yuanzheng took an energy lamp out of his spatial bracelet.
Mental power could be channeled into the energy lamp and converted into electricity to produce light.
Once the lamp was lit, it illuminated the entire cave.
"Judging by the pattern of the demonic beast rampage, they'll attack less often at night, so everyone can rest for now," Jing Yuanzheng said, then added, "But we'll still need people to keep watch tonight. We'll take turns using the same groups as before."
"All right." The others nodded and began making the most of their time to recover their mental power.
Xu Jintang had already rested for a long time. She stood up of her own accord and said, "Wei Zixuan and I will go outside to take the first watch. The others can come relieve us later."
Having finally found an opportunity, Yang Tuo immediately protested, "Who knows what bad intentions you two might have! If we let you keep watch, what happens if the demonic beasts wipe us all out?"