Silence, thick and awkward, blanketed the hunting grounds clearing where eliminated examinees materialized. The first layer of discomfort radiated from Yun Baobao. The meteoric rise and catastrophic fall had happened in the space of a few heartbeats. She had touched the pinnacle, felt the crushing weight of the Ape-Demon Chieftain's defeat under their combined might, only to be plucked from that height and dashed to the ground by a single, ruthless strike. The phantom sensation of that light-lance piercing her defenses still tingled on her skin. Under the collective gaze of the spectators—especially the mocking, knowing looks from Hong Yan and the defeated Que Baige—a lifetime's worth of pride curdled into hot shame. But a sliver of hope remained. It's fine, it's fine. Zhang Doudou is still in there. He'll…
Before she could finish the thought, a popof displaced air announced Zhang Doudou's arrival. He landed on his backside with a soft thump, looking utterly bewildered.
Yun Baobao's optimistic narrative shattered. Her tone shifted seamlessly to one of solicitous concern. "…He'll definitely come out to keep me company."
The ever-literal Zhang Doudou scratched his head. "Uh, no, Baobao. I got eliminated by that Xie-scumbag."
Yun Baobao rolled her eyes so hard she feared they'd get stuck. She briefly fantasized about stuffing his simple-minded head into the nearest oversized watermelon and rolling it into the sunset.
The Yun family contingent now found themselves under intense scrutiny. The Xie, Li, and Que families watched them with expressions ranging from speculative to openly hostile. The Que family, nursing the deepest humiliation with Que Baige's early exit, was particularly eager to redirect the shame.
"Well, well," a Que elder drawled, his voice dripping with false admiration. "The Yun clan. Short in stature, towering in ambition. To hide such a potent combination—a master summoner and a vessel with such formidable Willpower. Impressive indeed."
'Willpower Vessel'—an individual whose innate mental fortitude far surpassed the norm. To temporarily host and channel the combined power of four powerful Blue-Grade pets required a Willpower score dozens of times higher than the average elite examinee. Such individuals were historical rarities in Beiluk Province. Conversely, a summoner like Yun Baobao, capable of bonding with four pets at seventeen, was equally extraordinary. So why wasn't shethe vessel? The answer was cold logistics. Simultaneously summoning four pets demanded a psychic energy reserve exceeding 600,000 units—an impossible benchmark at her level. Their strategy was symbiotic: 1+1 = Royal Flush. Zhang Doudou, the adopted son raised as one of their own, was the other half of the equation.
"A pity," the Que elder continued, the feigned sympathy paper-thin. "The children are still so young. Perhaps… a touch lacking in worldly cunning." The unspoken insult—they're not very bright—hung in the air.
The Yun family, whose trade in nurturing companion creatures bred a culture of genuine care (validated by the un-fakeable intimacy bonds with their pets), was fiercely protective. Call us short? Fine. Mock our heirs? War.
A Yun elder sighed theatrically. "Alas, you're right. Our Baobao and Doudou are too pure of heart. To be eliminated with ten minutes remaining… it must have been a devastating blow." He turned his gaze on Que Baige. "Not like your Que Baige. Out so early, and by Hong Yan's hand, no less. At least he was spared the… complexity of facing the one who later defeated Hong Yan himself. A simpler, less painful exit, wouldn't you say?"
The implication—that even Que Baige's manner of defeatwas inferior—was delivered with surgical precision. The Que family members collectively saw red. Damn these vertically challenged…!
"Perspective is everything," a representative from the Xie family's second branch interjected, unable to resist joining the fray. They viewed the Yun clan's rising combination of wealth, influence, and now, terrifying progeny, as a direct threat. "One's vantage point determines what one sees… and says."
The Yun family typically avoided direct conflict with the Xies, whose internal politics were famously cutthroat. The recent, grisly affair of Xie Yao's exhumation was a chilling reminder of that ruthlessness. But the repeated jabs about height were the last straw.
Yun Tuantuan, the university debate club veteran, snorted. "Indeed. And your Xie family's 'vantage point' is a model of harmony. The main branch's heir plays it safe and steady. The third branch's… unexpected nephew runs amok. Yet no internal strife in sight. Such remarkable unity."
The Xie family members from various branches fell silent. Mention of Zhou Miao from outsiders was one thing; internal acknowledgment was another, laden with unspoken guilt and fear. Yun Tuantuan had just poured salt into a festering wound. The shadow of Zhou Miao's retribution, hinted at by the deaths following Xie Yao's return, loomed over them all.
An outer court Xie elder blustered, "Naturally! Shared blood binds us. A Xie would never collude with outsiders against their own!"
The universe, it seemed, had a wicked sense of timing.
On the massive screen, the 'Xie Scumbag' went berserk, attacking Wei Mingtang and anyone nearby.
Slap.
Then, moments later… Wei Mingtang backstabbed Xie Yiyuan! Simultaneously, Oaks executed Que Baimo!
The hunting grounds erupted. Even the seasoned proctors from the Education Guild and the academies shot to their feet, stunned.
"How…?"
"Why target those two?!"
Superintendent Zhang Ruo's mind raced. "It tells us two things. First, Oaks and Wei Mingtang were allied. Second, their alliance's purpose was the unexpected elimination of Xie Yiyuan and the unnoticed Que Baimo."
At the Fu family's area, Fu Jiang, ever perceptive, let out a low whistle and glanced at his sister. She looked exhausted, fighting to stay awake, but her focus on the screen was absolute. She couldn't afford a single slip.
Then, the plaza buzzed as Xie Yiyuan was ejected. His face was a storm cloud of fury and calculation. He immediately faced the glares of Yun Baobao and Hong Yan.
Hong Yan sneered. "So, Wei Ran's release was your and Que Baimo's little project? Deep. Really deep."
Yun Baobao pouted. "Yiyuan-ge, I expected cunning and treachery from you. But Que Baimo? That's a surprise. Quite the duo. The Que family must be so proud!" She turned wide, innocent eyes on Que Baige. "Baige-ge, were you the brilliant decoy? Sacrificing your own prominence to shield him? That's… next-level strategy!"
Que Baige, whose psychological shadow was now large enough to eclipse a star system, stared blankly. Being outshone by a branch family nobody was bad enough. Having it rubbed in by this infuriating pipsqueak was torture. "All Que descendants have merit," he stated flatly. "This was likely… coincidence."
His attempt to downplay Que Baimo's role was immediately undermined by Xie Yiyuan's cold correction. "Spare me the outrage. The exam has no rules beyond survival. Your anger merely exposes a lack of depth. Wait for the final—"
Pop.Que Baimo appeared.
Yun Baobao burst out laughing. Zhang Doudou nodded sagely. "The 'final' seems to have landed on him."
Hong Yan, his own anger now replaced by morbid amusement, surveyed the scene. "So, the four great clans are taking turns playing the fool and getting humiliated? Quite the coordinated performance."
The collective gloom emanating from the scions of the great houses deepened. In the stands, Lian Sujin and others felt a secondary wave of embarrassment. These people are monsters. How is anyone supposed to compete?
Qin Minfeng, mostly healed physically, writhed internally. The gap between him and these elites was a chasm. Yet, his shame quickly morphed into calculation. They have all the resources, all the intelligence. Without their bloodline, they'd be nothing. I need a better patron. Lian Sujin is useless… If I had targeted Yun Baobao from the start…His scheming was cut short by a far greater shock on screen.
The double-kill was followed by another.
Li Cang struck Wei Mingtang, and in the same breath, delivered what looked like a killing blow to Oaks.
The collective gasp was audible. Wei Mingtang materialized outside, a hand pressed to her chest. Her expression was unreadable. She had been on the giving end of such a betrayal moments before; receiving one was just part of the game. But Li Cang's power…
"In terms of pure combat efficacy, he's on par with your fused state," Hong Yan said grimly to Zhang Doudou.
But Li Cang lacked their fatal weakness. He was, in that moment, the undisputed strongest.
And he had waited, a portrait of patience, watching the chaos unfold until it was time to reap.
Was Oaks dead?
All eyes were glued to the screen.
"If Yun Baobao' genetic gift is taming, a 'family meal ticket,' then Li Cang's choice of Light Sprites over powerful pets suggests the Li family's inherited talent is Spirit Attunement," a Guild analyst murmured. "A strong affinity with light elements. Nurturing four Sprites is a testament to the Li family's resources and focus."
The Li family's influence within the Guild was substantial. Spirit Attunement was a formidable advantage—accelerated element gathering and psychic regeneration. It was a self-sustaining engine for growth. Paired with other talents, it created monsters.
On screen, blood seeped through Yao's fingers as she clutched her stomach. A basic light-healing art sputtered, too slow, too weak against the damage. She was critically vulnerable: Da Hong was an egg, Xiao Huang was non-combat, the energy reserves were draining. Li Cang's power had breached her defensive limits.
Wei Mingtang was gone. Li Cang, his hand stained with light-tinged blood, made a sharp, downward gesture to his remaining followers.
Annihilation.
A wave of purifying light descended, indiscriminate, targeting every non-allied entity—examinee and prisoner alike. The remaining contenders, like Yu Qin and Luo He Sanqian, were instantly overwhelmed, forced to flee into the dwindling ranks of criminals. The air grew thick with the scent of ozone, burnt flesh, and despair.
Eight minutes.
Some tried to disengage and quit, hoping to salvage their point items. Others fought on, driven by stubbornness or hope.
Li Cang ignored them. His focus was a laser on Yao. Another Arcane Diagram blossomed in his palm.
Yao, bleeding and pale, reacted. Her fingers twitched upward. Dozens of near-invisible threads erupted from the ground, wrapping around his wrist and yanking.
Swish!
The beam of light he fired went wide. Yao didn't dodge the miss. Instead, she wove the errant energy into her own construct, threads of light interlocking around Li Cang, attempting to form another elemental vacuum cage.
Li Cang's second Diagram flashed. "Purification: Energy Dissolution."
The threads binding him softened, their structure unraveling, and fell away. Coating himself in solidified light, wings flaring with a 50% speed boost, he shot backward, escaping the cage's radius. Hovering high, he took aim.
Arcane Lock: Cage of Radiance!
How many Diagrams did this man possess?! The display was terrifying.
Yao, anticipating the lock, blurred backward. But her retreat was a feint. She detonated a cluster of light-threads ahead of her, not at Li Cang, but at the empty space between them. The resulting flash was a sunspot, a deliberate blindness.
"Light's Rebuke!" Li Cang countered, dispelling the visual static.
But in that split-second of recalibration, a shrill, pained cry echoed. One of his four Light Sprites, which had been hovering near Yao's last position, was now in her grasp. Crimson vines from her left hand had speared through its ethereal form, voraciously draining its essence.
No!
The connection between master and sprite was profound, a bond of shared vitality. The theft felt like having his own life force ripped out. Rage, pure and white-hot, flooded Li Cang's practiced calm. The Diagram in his right palm warped, complexifying. He reached into its heart with his left hand and pulled.
A long, elegant spear of condensed sunlight materialized in his grip.
Diagram Manifestation!
The audience, en masse, shot to their feet. This was the purest expression of arcane genius. Gene talents were inherited; Diagram Manifestation was intellect, insight, and will forged into tangible, world-altering power. At his level, it was unprecedented.
The radiant javelin flew, a line of dawn aimed at the spot where Yao had landed, kneeling, one hand pressed to the blood-soaked earth as if for support.
But those with sharp eyes saw the faint crimson glow beneath her left palm.
Another Vine trap? No, she expended those on Wei Ran…
Realization dawned on Li Cang. Wei Ran's body.
It was underground, right beneath her. And within it, Xiao Huang was working ferociously, breaking down every last ounce of the Blood-Arcanist's potent flesh and energy, feeding it directly into the waiting root network of the Star-Devouring Vine.
A torrent of energy, laced with the iron-tang of powerful blood, surged upward into Yao. The stolen essence of a Light Sprite merged with the lifeforce of a near-50-level Elite. A nimbus of unstable power haloed her body as she lifted her head, her eyes meeting Li Cang's through the hundred meters of dusty air.
"I'll pass on the feast," her voice, amplified by energy, carried clearly. "You're not as troublesome as Xie Yiyuan, after all."
Her smile was a razor-cut. "Your eyes aren't as good."
If Oaks's weakness was defense, Li Cang's was perception. He hadn't seen through Xie Yiyuan's plot, hadn't spotted her early preparations, hadn't gauged the true threat of Zhang Doudou's fusion. His strength was patient, reactive power. He let others play their hands, waiting for the chaos to subside, so his one weakness wouldn't be exploited. It was a winning strategy—until it met someone who could survive the chaos and turn his own patience against him.
Yao stood. In her left hand, the Star-Devouring Vine writhed, alive with stolen power. In her right, light coalesced. With a sweeping, almost painterly motion, she hurled both upward—a storm of crimson tendrils and blinding needles ascending to meet the descending spear of pure light.
The Vine's hungry red versus the Manifested Diagram's sacred gold.
There was no contest. The spear was superior. Everyone knew it.
But in the instant before collision, Yao brought her hands together. The ascending storm fused. Tendrils wove into light-threads, density manipulated by her unseen tentacles, compressing into a single, thumb-thick beam of impossible density. It wasn't a true Composite Arcane, but a desperate, brutal hybridization—Thousand-Luo Luminous Sequence.
It accelerated, a scintilla of focused annihilation.
Scree—BOOM!
Light met light. The world turned white, then silent, then deafening. The shockwave vaporized dust, evaporated blood, seared stone. When the brilliance faded, a single beam was embedded in the far wall of the crater—the deepest foundation of the prison complex.
Impaled upon it, pinned like a specimen, was Li Cang. The beam had missed his heart by a centimeter—a testament to his last-ditch evasion. A prince of light, brought low, could only manage to avoid the absolute end.
"The Xie ocular gift… truly is among the best for survival," he coughed, blood flecking his lips. "I am inferior."
Below, Yao, connected to the beam by a thread of will, prepared to finish it. The Vine was already inside him, draining. One thought would make the beam explode.
Then, a whisper, transmitted through a tiny, hidden messenger-pet Xiao Huang had carried: "Cooperate. Keep your points. Something's wrong below. The blood-energy… it's not gone."
Before Li Cang could process this, the ground rupturedagain.
A pool of fresh, bubbling blood welled up. From its depths, a figure clawed its way out. Pale, lithe, with long hair plastered to a strikingly androgynous face, it raised its head and smiled, revealing needle-sharp fangs.
Wei Ran.
The realWei Ran, having successfully completed his blood-exchange in secret. The one killed earlier was a masterfully crafted decoy, a flesh-puppet.
In the spectator stands, a white-haired Guild elder stroked his beard. "The Blood-Drinker's reputation is earned. I wondered why he fell so easily. To create a convincing somatic double under such conditions… he had help." His eyes flicked to the ejected Que Baimo, who had been unnervingly quiet.
Que Baimo finally spoke, his tone mundane, as if discussing the weather. "My genetic talent isn't the Que family's Crocodile Assault. It's Somatic Division. Useless in direct combat, but quite handy for… other tasks. Like preparing a blood-pool matrix without anyone noticing." He met Xie Yiyuan's stunned gaze. "Loose lips sink kingdoms, Yiyuan-ge. True operators know when to keep secrets." He had made a separate, private deal with Wei Ran, using them all as stepping stones.
"But you're eliminated," Wei Mingtang stated, her cool voice cutting through the revelation. "How do you collect?"
Que Baimo looked at her, his gaze softening. "The agreement between the prisoners, the prison, and the Education Ministry. This exam is also theirtest. Survive, accomplish a set goal, and earn reduced sentences or even freedom. The Ministry, pushing reform, mandated a 'bonus round' in each provincial exam. Wei Ran is the bonus. If he completes his task and survives, the rewards are… substantial. We agreed to split them."
He had sold them all. The collective stare directed at him was a mixture of hatred and primal fear. This unassuming branch family member was a viper.
On screen, the resurrected Wei Ran fixed his sanguine eyes on Yao and smiled. Then he moved—a blur of unnatural speed, appearing before her, then behind her, his breath chilling her ear. "I let you slip away once, my lovely little secret…"
Lovely? Secret?Dread iced Yao's veins. He knows. If he gets out…
She bolted, but he was faster, spider-like limbs sprouting to pierce her body, beginning the Soul-Devouring Transference—a ritual to steal her genetic template!
A desperate blast of light-energy broke his hold. As she staggered back, she saw the other prisoners, empowered by the true blood-pool, rise with renewed fury. The 'bonus round' had begun.
In the midst of this, Yu Qin, battered and bleeding, was finally cornered by the prisoner whose cell she had once locked. Zhang Keqing leered, his fingers nearing her eyes. "Let's see what secrets your brain holds…"
Back in the hunting grounds, a strikingly handsome, if dissolute-looking, man from the Li family shot to his feet, his face a mask of fury. "Give me his file!" he snarled at the Guild officials. "If that bastard walks free today, my life's work will be hunting him down!"
"Li Se, sir, please—"
"NOW!"
Other Li family members were baffled. "Sixth Uncle, Li Cang is still fighting. Why this outburst over Wei Ran?"
"It's not Wei Ran!" Li Se roared, his eyes fixed on the screen where Zhang Keqing's fingers hovered over Yu Qin's eyes.
On screen, bleeding and broken, Yu Qin met her tormentor's gaze. "Want my secret?" she whispered. "Here it is."
From the core of her being, a vortex ignited. The genetic tree of the Li family—Spirit Attunement—awoke. The chaotic residual energies in the crater rushed toward her, and for one glorious, devastating second, she became a singularity of light.
BOOM!
Zhang Keqing and a dozen prisoners around him were utterly annihilated.
The Li family section went rigid, then slowly turned to stare at the now-weeping Li Se. "My baby…! That glorious talent! Just like her old man! I knew it, I knew it!" He sobbed unabashedly before whirling back on the stunned Guild staff. "THE FILE, YOU MORONS!"
Shen Yunyou, watching from a distance, sighed deeply and took another step away, disassociating from the emotional spectacle.
In the crater, Yu Qin, with her last iota of strength, directed the fading pulse of her awakening not at an enemy, but toward a specific point in the chaos. Captain. A farewell gift.
The blast wave, though fleeting, washed over Yao and Wei Ran's struggle.
Wei Ran had Yao pinned, his grotesque tongue darting for her mouth. She exploded with light again, breaking free and ensnaring him with every remaining thread of power. He struggled, but she was relentless, using his own momentum to slam him against the nearest wall—the very wall etched with the prison's foundational suppression runes.
His face pressed against the cold stone, he saw the activated lines. NO!
It was too late. Yao, backed by the transferred power of Li Cang's three remaining Light Sprites (a partnership brokered in desperation via messenger-pet) and amplified by Yu Qin's final, sacrificial surge, pointed a finger.
A single, hyper-compressed beam fired.
Thump.
It struck Wei Ran in the abdomen, painting the ancient runes with his blood.
The prison reacted. The air hummed with a profound, authoritarian resonance. A voice, neither human nor machine, boomed through the complex:
"Prisoner 5438, Wei Ran. Escape attempt detected. Threat level exceeds guard parameters. Activating autonomous purge protocol. Execution: authorized."
Wei Ran's body went rigid, fused to the wall. Arcs of raw, juridical lightning crawled across the stone. "YOU WITCH! YOU'LL DIE TOO—!"
The world turned white and blue. A cataclysm of purgative lightning filled the crater, a divine judgment raining down. Prisoners, examinees—Li Cang with a look of stunned betrayal, Yu Qin with peaceful acceptance—were vaporized.
Only one entity moved in that storm. In the split-second before the first bolt fell, Yao's light-threads had lashed out, not to attack, but to retrieve. They yanked the heavy, specialized chains that had once bound Wei Ran—chains designed to nullify arcane power—from the rubble. She wrapped them around herself in a frantic, clanking cocoon, then shoved the whole bundle into her private dimensional pocket.
A double-layer defense.
To the outside world, she was a metallic chrysalis hanging in the air. The apocalyptic lightning struck it, cascaded over its slick, non-conductive surface, and grounded out harmlessly, though the kinetic fury of the blows shook it violently.
For five eternal seconds, the lightning reigned. Then, it ceased.
The chains, stressed beyond limit, began to snap. One by one, they fractured. As the last bolt dissipated, the final chain broke. Her private pocket took the last residual shockwave.
Silence. Smoke. Devastation.
In the ruins, with two minutes left on the clock, the prison dimension began to glitch and dissolve. In the fading light, a single figure stood, then dropped to the scorched earth, moving quickly. She began looting the voided items left behind by the eliminated.
Then she paused. A thread of light lifted a solitary, non-descript item from the ash.
A pair of men's underwear.
She frowned, hesitated. The owner had, in his final moments, indirectly aided her. With a shrug, she tossed it into her pack.
In the hunting grounds, Li Cang, who had just materialized and was hastily re-fastening his belt, happened to glance at the screen. His blood ran cold. He tried to turn away, to find a medic, anything—
The figure on screen held up the garment, her voice echoing faintly through the dying broadcast. "Hey, Li Cang. Are these yours?"
Li Cang froze. Every muscle in his body locked in profound, soul-crushing mortification. Please. Just vanish. You monstrous…
His epic humiliation was complete. The exam ended not with a grand duel, but with a bizarre, intimate footnote.
The screen went black. The Education Ministry's privacy protocols engaged, shielding the ultimate victor's final haul from public view.
In the stands of Jingyang, a collective, weary understanding settled. It was just like the final round of the middle school exam. She stood alone atop a mountain of defeated rivals and allies alike, the last one breathing.
She lets all others perish so that she, the lone wanderer, may rise, leaving golden footprints in her wake.