"That Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan are the worst. Those two were the ones who started the trend of stealing points from each other."
Xu Jintang rubbed her chin and asked, "Do you know who we are?"
Yan Zitao and his sister hesitated for a moment, their eyes full of confusion.
Wei Zixuan stepped forward voluntarily. "I'm that awful Wei Zixuan."
Xu Jintang nodded. "I'm Xu Jintang."
The siblings' pupils shook.
"... Huh?" Yan Yuting's mouth fell open in disbelief.
Yan Zitao looked as though he had been struck by lightning. His lips trembled slightly, and for a long time, he couldn't get a word out.
Xu Jintang continued, "Actually, stealing points is normal enough. We don't have the energy to play heroes. But using our names to act like bandits out there is a little underhanded, don't you think?"
"Yes, yes, absolutely." Coming to his senses, Yan Zitao hurriedly nodded and admitted his mistake. "We failed to recognize Mount Tai and actually ran into the two people themselves. We're willing to hand over all our points as an apology."
Xu Jintang smiled. "We only want the eight hundred points you stole. You can keep the rest. But besides that, I want you to do something for me."
Yan Zitao replied apprehensively, "Please, tell us."
Xu Jintang said, "After I let you go, explain to everyone you meet that Wei Zixuan and I are good people and have never taken the initiative to steal points from other examinees."
Yan Zitao froze. "That's... that's all?"
He had already braced himself for Xu Jintang to squeeze him dry.
Yan Yuting recovered and hurriedly nodded. "Okay, we accept! As long as you let us go, my brother and I will tell everyone we meet that you're good people!"
After transferring away the eight hundred points Yan Zitao had stolen, Wei Zixuan untied the pair.
"Go on." Wei Zixuan put the hemp rope back into his bracelet's storage space.
Yan Zitao and his sister exchanged glances, both still rather bewildered.
They were letting them leave just like that?
After several seconds of silence, Yan Zitao cupped his fists in thanks. "Thank you both for showing mercy. We'll definitely keep our promise!"
With that, he turned and left with Yan Yuting.
Wei Zixuan smiled and withdrew his gaze. "Sister Jintang, our reputation will definitely improve this time."
"Let's hope so." Xu Jintang stretched. "Come on, let's find more demonic beasts."
The joint examination was already more than halfway over. More and more examinees had begun stealing points from one another, and the atmosphere had grown exceptionally tense.
After being released, Yan Zitao and his sister indeed kept their promise, taking the initiative to explain that Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan were good people to every team they met.
The two meant well, but somehow, something went wrong. Every team's expressions changed immediately upon hearing their words.
"You two don't need to say any more. We understand. Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan threatened you, didn't they? Don't worry. Once we're back in the safe zone, we'll pass the news on to everyone else."
Yan Zitao paused, then hurriedly explained, "You've misunderstood. Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan really aren't like the rumors say. Not only did they leave our own points alone, but they also let us go."
Yan Yuting nodded along. "Right. I thought the sister and brother were pretty nice. They didn't seem like people who would steal points in the middle of the night."
The people opposite them waved their hands, wearing expressions that said they understood. "Don't worry. We get it."
With that, they turned and left, beginning to mutter, "Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan are going further and further. To whitewash their reputations, they've actually started threatening examinees into putting in a good word for them. We have to tell everyone else about this immediately."
Yan Zitao stood there in silence.
Yan Yuting's lips quivered slightly. "Brother, I think I know how rumors get started now."
"Yeah, so do I," Yan Zitao replied quietly.
Two days passed in a flash, and the joint examination finally reached its last day.
Thanks to the siblings' earnest explanations, Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan's reputation as bandits became even more firmly entrenched.
"Examinee Sha Wenshu has successfully reached sixth place. The Joint Examination Red Ranking will be updated shortly."
With the joint examination drawing to a close, competition among the examinees became exceptionally fierce. The placements on the Joint Examination Red Ranking shifted considerably almost every ten to twenty minutes.
The top three, however, remained very stable.
Yu Wanyao was still first. Jing Yuanzheng remained in second place as well.
Third place belonged to the infamous "bandit," Xu Jintang.
"Sis, today's the last day of the joint examination. Are you going to try to push your ranking higher?" Wei Zixuan asked curiously.
Xu Jintang yawned. "We'll see. Yu Wanyao and Jing Yuanzheng definitely haven't been sitting idle these past few days. They might already have seven or eight thousand points."
"It's fine. Third is pretty good." Wei Zixuan sat down to rest, looking perfectly content. "My current fifth place isn't bad either."
"The twenty-four-hour countdown has begun. Capture-the-flag mode activated: the red flag's location will be updated in one minute. The first person to pull out the red flag will receive an additional ten thousand points and immediately end this joint examination."
"The twenty-four-hour countdown has begun. Capture-the-flag mode activated..."
The broadcast repeated three times before stopping.
Examinees throughout the forest looked up and began glancing around.
"How many? Did I hear that right? Ten thousand points!"
"Even Yu Wanyao, who's first on the Joint Examination Red Ranking, probably doesn't have ten thousand points. Doesn't that mean whoever grabs the red flag can shoot straight to first?"
"This mode is so exciting! If I'm lucky and all the big shots are busy fighting, I might just snatch it while they're distracted. Ten thousand points would definitely put me in first place!"
All the examinees grew excited.
One minute later, the red flag's location was updated. A pillar of red light appeared out of thin air and shot skyward, standing out vividly against the sky.
Everyone within a hundred li could see where the red flag was.
Xu Jintang jumped down from the tree and dusted off her hands, a hint of interest appearing on her face. "Come on. Let's join the fun too."
Wei Zixuan rubbed his hands together eagerly. "This is interesting. Let's see who ends up with this ten-thousand-point red flag."
It was already the final day of the joint examination. Naturally, every examinee wanted to take one more gamble.
Once the capture-the-flag rules were announced, almost every examinee put aside what they were doing at the same time and immediately decided to head for the red flag's location.
Half an hour later, Xu Jintang and Wei Zixuan quietly climbed a large tree. Hidden behind its thick canopy, they curiously surveyed the red flag's location a few meters away.
Quite a few people had already gathered around the flag. Everyone stared excitedly at the red flag wrapped in a ball of light, yet no one dared make a move.
Enveloped in light, the red flag hovered five meters above the ground.
There was no way to seize it in an instant.
That meant that if anyone dared to make the first move, everyone else nearby would attack together to stop them.
No matter how strong someone was, they couldn't withstand so many people attacking at once.
The first person to act definitely wouldn't come to a good end.
Everyone present could only remain at a standoff.
Before long, Jing Yuanzheng and Yu Wanyao arrived as well.
The two were no less famous than Xu Jintang, and someone soon recognized them.
"It's Jing Yuanzheng and Yu Wanyao from the Joint Examination Red Ranking! They're here too."
The examinees who had been itching to move immediately quieted down and turned their gazes toward the pair.
Jing Yuanzheng had never been interested in competing for rankings. He had only come because Yu Wanyao had insisted on dragging him along.
He looked relatively composed, merely giving the red flag a curious glance before looking away.
Yu Wanyao, on the other hand, stared at the red flag with particular intensity.
She was probably planning to join the fight for it.
More and more people arrived. In just a few minutes, the red flag's location was surrounded by layer upon layer of people.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Finally, someone lost patience and sprang from the crowd. "This red flag is mine!"
As his words fell, he unleashed his full power, using his body's momentum to soar into the air. He reached out for the red flag within the ball of light.
Chapter 34
As long as he was the first to pull out the red flag, he would immediately gain ten thousand points and shoot to first place on the Red Ranking.
The temptation was simply too great.
He watched himself draw closer and closer to the red flag, with only one final meter left...
"You dare grab it right in front of all of us? Shoot him down!" Someone immediately reacted, directing their ability at the boy in the air.
In the blink of an eye, dazzling lights of every color erupted together, attacking the boy who was trying to seize the flag.
The boy didn't even touch the ball of light before the others' abilities blasted him down.
After hitting the ground, he clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The examinees around him questioned him speechlessly, their expressions dark. "Bro, all of us are standing right here watching. Do you think we're blind?"
The boy clutched his chest, his face deathly pale. After struggling to his feet, he voluntarily retreated two meters away. "I'm not fighting for it anymore."
After that incident, the others who had wanted to snatch the flag amid the chaos abandoned the idea as well.
There were too many examinees nearby. No one could possibly pull out the red flag right in front of everyone.
At that moment, Yan Zitao and his sister also quietly arrived.
Although both knew that, given their strength, they probably had little chance of seizing the red flag, they still wanted to come and join the fun.
"Brother, how come I don't see Sister Jintang or Brother Zixuan?" Yan Yuting asked quietly.
Yan Zitao cleared his throat. "Maybe they haven't had time to get here yet."
Hidden in the tree, Xu Jintang quietly shifted a little farther back.
Wei Zixuan was hiding in the neighboring tree's canopy as well.
The two turned to exchange a glance, then calmly looked away and continued watching the show.
"Everyone wants this red flag, but no one dares make a move together. Rather than keep wasting time like this, why don't we make it simple and have an all-out melee?" A somewhat carefree voice rang out.
Xu Jintang turned her gaze and saw that the boy speaking held a folding fan. His long black hair fell to his shoulders, and a hint of a smile rested on his refined, handsome face.