They Saw the Light

On the other side...

At the edge of the ancient battlefield, Lin Qingyin stood in his own instance, his core card being the Heavenly Sound Zither Maiden. At this moment, the guqin was placed across his lap, his ten fingers flying across the strings. Waves of sound exploded from the strings, repelling the Evil Mist Puppets that rushed up.

However, there were too many level 30 A-rank monsters. She was facing five at the same time, and Qin Yin could only barely suppress them, unable to kill them.

An Evil Mist Puppet broke through the sonic defenses and charged toward her core card.

Lin Qingyin's pupils contracted, and she activated her soul skill, flicking her fingers sharply. A piercing sonic explosion erupted, sending the puppet flying. But the other two had already circled around from the flanks.

Her core card only had 20% health left.

Zhao Wuji's situation was even worse. His Nine Nether Sword Master was already entangled by three Evil Mist Puppets, his sword light flashing, but he could only barely protect himself.

His core card's health was down to 10%, and it could reach zero at any moment. A puppet broke through from the side and slashed at his core card with its sword, reducing its health by another 10%.

"I can't hold on any longer..." he gritted his teeth, his face deathly pale.

Those candidates who achieved double S grades were even more embarrassed.

Their core cards were teetering on the brink of collapse under the attack of the Evil Mist Puppet, and their creature cards were shattering one after another.

Some people have already started using their bodies to block the core card, trying to buy time with their last bit of strength.

Some were screaming in despair, while others were desperately unleashing their skills.

Many S-level candidates, however, were unable to persevere.

One after another, white lights flashed and disappeared.

Their core card was shattered by the Evil Mist Puppet and remained there forever.

Just when everyone thought they were going to die there.

The Evil Mist Puppets suddenly stopped.

Their shapes began to blur, like a wisp of smoke blown away by the wind, dissipating from the edges.

Their facial features contorted for a moment, then they completely transformed into a wisp of black smoke, drifting away into the sky.

Everyone was stunned.

"What... what happened?"

"They're gone? Has the examiner arrived?"

"Has the Dungeon Master Association arrived?"

Everyone looked up at the sky.

But the sky was empty, with only gray clouds slowly churning. The figures of Elder Xiu and the dark shadow had long since disappeared, and the light of the Cult Evil Token had also gone out.

There was no rescue.

Everyone was puzzled.

Then, someone suddenly remembered something.

"Wait... we're alright now, but what about Su Mu?"

All eyes turned to Su Mu.

Su Mu stood beside his own projection, a few drops of bluish-black blood stained his gray coat, his face was somewhat pale, but his posture remained upright.

His duplicate projection is still running, with the three great mountains of Flower-Fruit Mountain Lion Camel Ridge, and White Tiger Ridge standing quietly.

Su Mu is still alive.

Everyone was shocked.

They were already facing an extremely difficult task, dealing only with a wisp of Evil Mist Puppet that had split off from that evil soul.

Some had their core cards nearly shattered, some had all their biological cards wiped out, and many S-rank examinees even died outright. Su Mu, however, was dealing with the true form of that evil soul.

He's still alive.

Moreover, the core card appears to be intact.

Zhao Wuji stared in Su Mu's direction, his lips moved, but he couldn't say anything for a long time.

He had initially thought Su Mu would be the first to be eliminated. That was an evil spirit that even the examiners couldn't stop; how could Su Mu possibly survive?

Lin Qingyin held the guqin, her gaze fixed on Su Mu, and remained silent for a long time.

Two strings were broken from her arms, and her face was pale, but her attention was completely elsewhere. She was wondering how Su Mu had managed to do it.

Su Mu, meanwhile, was watching the dissipating black smoke in the sky, and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other side, on the floating platform.

The proctors stood in front of the light screen, their faces ashen.

They wanted to rush in to help, but the power of the Cult Evil Token sealed off the entire secret realm's barrier completely.

They tried various methods, but the Dungeon Space couldn't be opened, the teleportation channels were cut off, and even most of the communication was blocked.

"We can't get in." Elder Zhao clenched his fist, his voice deep and heavy. "The Cult Evil Token has sealed off all entrances."

"What can we do? Just watch those students..." someone's voice trembled.

"Elder Xiu is already fighting them up there. We can only wait."

Everyone can only watch what's happening inside through the light screen.

Then they saw that wisp of evil spirit.

It fell from the sky like a black lightning bolt, piercing straight into the secret realm with a clear objective.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts in their throats.

"It went towards the Su Mu!"

"Su Mu is number one. If the other side wants to kill a genius, he'll be the first one!"

"Look!"

On the light screen, Su Mu's image was projected onto the replica, attempting to resist.

The wisp of evil spirit paused for a moment, then flew towards the core card.

Benbo'erba and Babo'erben out of the Jade Wave Pool, both S-rank, level 15, with a combat index approaching 300,000. Then they were instantly killed.

A wisp of black mist rose, and two clusters of grayish-white light appeared, shattering the card.

"Double S-rank... got wiped out instantly?"

"Those two catfish demons are already level 15, with attributes comparable to level 30, and they couldn't even withstand a single attack?"

Everyone fell silent. Their expressions grew increasingly grim.

Then, the White Bone Spirit appeared.

SSS-rank, level 17, combat index exceeding 700,000.

A curtain of fire spread out, and the bone whip coiled towards the black mist.

She withstood the attack, delaying for three seconds, before being engulfed by the black mist, her body shattering and being forcibly teleported as a grayish-white light.

"Three seconds... Even an SSS-level character can only last three seconds."

Then came the little green-skinned demon. Little Drill Wind stood at the front of Lion Camel Ridge, his short sword held horizontally in front of him. He withstood the first attack, losing 40% of his health. He was severely injured by the second attack, a huge wound splitting open in his chest, and he knelt on one knee.

Even the Little Drill Wind...

"Su Mu has no more trump cards left."

"His cards were all badly damaged, and his core cards were exposed to the evil spirits. He's finished."

A surge of indignation and helplessness welled up in everyone's hearts. They wanted to rush in, to help, but there was nothing they could do.

The Cult Evil Token stood like an insurmountable barrier, keeping them outside. They could only watch helplessly as a genius examinee was devoured by an evil spirit before their very eyes.

Then they saw Ye Qingxue.

Without hesitation, she ran towards Su Mu. The Snow Queen released ice shards in an attempt to freeze the evil soul, but was severely injured by a casual blow, losing 70% of her health. But she didn't leave. She took out another scroll, strengthened the Snow Queen, and continued to block Su Mu's path.

"This girl..." Elder Zhao's voice was hoarse, "She's risking her life to save her."

"Fearless," someone whispered.

"But what's the use? The opponent is a fragment of the soul of a top-tier expert from the Evil Race. Let alone Ye Qingxue, even several SSS-level experts wouldn't be able to stop him."

Everyone felt even more helpless. They looked at Ye Qingxue's stubborn profile, at Su Mu's pale face, and at the wisp of evil spirit gathering black mist again, preparing to deliver a fatal blow. Everyone thought Su Mu would die here.

Then, they saw the light.