Why Was He Still in It?

Meanwhile, on the floating platform, the proctors stared at the data on the large screen and fell silent.

The large screen displayed real-time data for all candidates: number of kills, survival time, and number of eliminations. And in first place was none other than Su Mu.

"Kill count... thirty-seven thousand." The middle-aged teacher's voice was a little dry. "He killed more monsters by himself than the second to fiftieth place combined. And only monsters of the same level are counted in the kill count."

"His strength is simply too incredible," another teacher exclaimed. "Thirty-seven thousand kills in half an hour. That's an average of over 1,200 kills per minute. This efficiency is top-tier even in the entire ancient battlefield."

"Look at his expression," someone said, pointing to Su Mu's image on the screen. "He's been fighting for half an hour, and those monsters seem to have no effect on him at all."

"Indeed, given his strength, this level is quite accurate." The older teacher nodded. "However, it will become more troublesome as it progresses. The monsters in the ancient battlefield will become increasingly higher level, and their teamwork will become more and more seamless. He's only in his early twenties now, but he'll continue to climb higher."

"Speaking of which," a teacher wearing glasses suddenly spoke up, "Did you notice?" He kept using the Years Like a Blade on his own stone in the sky. He used it as soon as it cooled down, and copied it as soon as 'Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water' was ready. He's used it almost thirty times already."

Everyone looked at the light screen. In the image, Su Mu was standing high in the dungeon, raising his hand towards the Stone Left Over from Mending Heaven at the top of Flower-Fruit Mountain, releasing the Years Like a Blade.

An invisible wave surged into the stone, causing the iridescent patterns on its surface to flash briefly before fading away. Then he released the Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water, replicating the Years Like a Blade once more, catalyzing the stone a second time.

"What exactly is he doing?" someone wondered. "Time Years Like a Blade, accelerates the passing of life; what use can it have on a stone?"

"Could a stone possibly change over time?" Another teacher shook his head. "A stone, no matter how much it's catalyzed, is still a stone. Unless its core card has some special mechanism."

"This is incomprehensible." The crowd exchanged bewildered glances.

However, everyone is currently only puzzled and more focused on Su Mu's monster-killing. Then, some people noticed something else.

"Wait, look at those two monsters in his pond!" a teacher suddenly pointed at the light screen. "They were only level one before, but now they seem to have leveled up to level ten."

Everyone looked closely. At the bottom of the Jade Wave Pool, two figures were swimming rapidly. One was a catfish spirit, short and stout with whiskers that reached past its waist; the other was a black fish spirit, slender with scales as black as ink. They darted back and forth underwater, killing the monsters that came around by water one by one.

"Level 10. And look at their attribute panels." Someone used Appraisal; although separated by a light screen, the monitoring system of the College Entrance Examination Secret Realm would display the candidates' card data in real time.

On the light screen, the panels of the two cards were magnified.

[Name: Benbo'erba (Catfish Spirit)]

[Rank: SS]

[Level: 10]

[Combat Index: 186000]

[Name: Babo'erben (Black Fish Spirit)]

[Rank: SS]

[Level: 10]

[Combat Index: 196000]

"Two SS-rank cards, with a combined combat index of nearly 200,000." The middle-aged teacher took a deep breath. "This data would be considered core-level in any SSS-rank examinee's deck."

"And you see, when they were only level one, Su Mu didn't use them at all. We didn't even notice. Now that they've reached level ten, they've gained combat power, making Su Mu even stronger and allowing him to clear monsters much faster."

"Even these two double S-rank cards are so powerful," someone murmured, "It will shock Su Mu's future growth."

Everyone fell silent.

The proctors exchanged bewildered glances, speechless for a moment. They had seen countless geniuses and countless awakened individuals who defied the norm, but a candidate like Su Mu, who held two SSS-level cards, two SS-level cards, and one semi-embedded A-level card, was someone they had never even heard of, let alone seen.

"He's only been awakened for eight days." The middle-aged teacher's voice was soft, as if reminding himself of this fact.

"Eighth day, five high-level cards, a dungeon spanning over a hundred kilometers, and two SSS-level combatants." The older teacher shook his head, his tone filled with an almost awe-inspiring sigh. "In previous years, no one would have believed you if you told them this."

"But the facts are right before our eyes," Elder Xiu said, his voice low and steady, "Let's continue."

Everyone turned their attention back to the light screen.

Time passed.

An hour passed.

On the edge of the ancient battlefield, more than half of the people have already been eliminated.

One after another, white lights flashed and disappeared. Those who were still holding on were struggling to hold on. Their core cards had only 30% health left, their biological cards had suffered heavy casualties, and their defenses were on the verge of collapse.

Everyone was watching Su Mu.

The enemy had withstood attacks from monsters dozens of times their size, yet they still managed to hold on.

"It's been an hour... why is he still here?" someone couldn't help but ask.

"Is this a monster?! He managed to withstand this level of density?"

"It's infuriating to compare yourself to others. I was hoping he would lose, so I could at least feel better about it, since he came in first place in the first three rounds. But now I've given up on that hope."

"So what exactly happened? How did he manage to hold out?"

No one can answer that.

Zhao Wuji stared at the projection of Su Mu's copy, his fingers unconsciously clenching.

He originally thought Su Mu would be eliminated soon, and then he could overtake Su Mu and take first place with his stable performance. But an hour later, Su Mu was not only not eliminated, but seemed to be in complete control.

"He's just putting on a brave face," he whispered. "He must be faking it. With such a vast territory and so many monsters, he must be on the verge of collapse, but he just doesn't want to show it."

He tried to comfort himself with this thought, but the unease in his heart grew stronger.

If the monsters that entered Su Mu's vast territory were as he calculated, he would have been defeated long ago. At this moment, he no longer had any competitive mentality; he was just glad that Su Mu, due to the immense terrain and the immense pressure he was under, would not be able to last as long as him, which gave him the opportunity to surpass Su Mu and take first place.

Yes, that must be it. Su Mu won't last much longer.

Meanwhile, Lin Qingyin stood beside her own instance, gently plucking the strings of her guqin, sending waves of sound that repelled the monsters that charged at her.

Her instance area wasn't large, only about two kilometers, and the terrain was a valley, requiring only frontal defense. This made things relatively easy for her. However, she was also constantly monitoring Su Mu's direction.

"It's been an hour," she said softly. "He's faced dozens of times more monsters than I have. If it were me, I would have been defeated long ago. This level of strength is truly impressive."

She paused, her brows furrowing slightly.

"However, he's probably nearing his limit. The monsters attacking him now are approaching level 22 or 23. A level difference of over five levels in attribute suppression isn't something he can easily overcome. Even his cards, no matter how strong, have their limits."

She withdrew her gaze and focused on her own copy.

Ye Qingxue stood beside her own instance projection, Ice and Snow World unfolding before her, its icy blue light standing out starkly against the gray ancient battlefield.

She was also looking in Su Mu's direction. When she saw monsters surging into Su Mu's instance from all directions, her heart jumped.

"He's under too much pressure," she muttered to herself, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the card case. "How could he possibly hold on against dozens of times more monsters than I am?"

She bit her lower lip.

"If he's eliminated so early... then even if I win, it won't be a fair victory."

She paused, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.

"It's not that I care about him. I just think it's unfair. Yes, that's it."

She turned her gaze away and looked at her own copy.

But my gaze kept drifting involuntarily toward Su Mu.

How much longer can that calm-faced man standing high above the dungeon hold on?