Chapter 85: The Empty Top Scholar Secret Realm

"Mr. Ceng, may I leave now?" Ye Lin asked.

"Ah? Oh, yes, you may."

Ye Lin's voice brought Ceng Canqi back from his shock.

It was too terrifying; to rise seven levels in just one month was simply unheard of.

He could hardly imagine how fast Ye Lin's efficiency in killing monsters within the secret realm must have been.

No wonder the Forbidden Spellcaster profession never lives past 25; when God opens a window for you, He closes the door and then slams it on your head.

If Forbidden Spellcasters could have the same lifespan as other professions, then the others might as well give up and find a 36E to crash into and die.

"Wait, no, hold on, you can't leave!"

Watching Ye Lin walk past him, Ceng Canqi suddenly reacted.

"Your level is the highest so far; you are very likely this year's national top scholar, so you must stay until the secret realm closes!"

"National top scholar, is there any reward?" Ye Lin asked directly.

"Of course there is!" Ceng Canqi nodded. "Besides the honor, the Great Xia authorities will also grant generous rewards directly to the national top scholar!"

"How generous?" Ye Lin's eyes lit up instantly.

"About... three or four stories thick."

After hearing Ceng Canqi's explanation, Ye Lin decided on the spot to stay, even though he had originally planned to return to Qingcheng immediately.

After all, he had thoroughly offended Wu Shaoqi, and Wu Shaoqi was a local tyrant in Shencheng; it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

But since there was a reward, that was a different matter.

Ye Lin waited with peace of mind, and soon, five days flashed by.

The top scholars in the Top Scholar Secret Realm walked out one after another, but at this moment, their faces were extremely ugly, as if they had eaten several pounds of "you-know-what."

During these five days, some of their five-person teams had only killed 4 monsters in total, averaging less than one per person.

Some hadn't even encountered a single monster, having spent the five days in the Top Scholar Secret Realm just wandering around.

It was as if all the monsters in the entire Top Scholar Secret Realm had mysteriously vanished due to some irresistible force.

For instance, Wu Shaoqi, Ning Yiyi, and their group of over a dozen people only encountered two monsters in five days.

One was killed by them, and the other was a Treasure-Gathering Golden Toad!

They used all their might, chasing and intercepting it, before finally managing to capture the Treasure-Gathering Golden Toad alive.

However, an even more bizarre scene occurred: the Treasure-Gathering Golden Toad's stomach was actually empty, containing absolutely nothing.

This completely contradicted the habits of the Treasure-Gathering Golden Toad, which is obsessed with treasures and would definitely swallow any it found.

The only explanation was that someone had gotten there before them and taken all the treasures from the toad's stomach.

Wu Shaoqi's face was long, and he looked like a volcano about to erupt, sending chills down everyone's spines.

He was level 22 when he entered the Top Scholar Secret Realm, and he was still level 22 when he came out, meaning he had gained nothing in the realm and had only suffered a brutal beating, spending over half a month recovering.

And the culprit behind all of this was clearly Ye Lin!

When Wu Shaoqi came out and saw the indifferent-looking Ye Lin, he almost charged straight at him.

If not for Ye Lin, he could have leveled up at least three or four times in this month, and he might have even had a chance to compete for the position of national top scholar.

But Wu Shaoqi suppressed the agitation in his heart; he gave Ye Lin a cold look and then withdrew his gaze.

He certainly wasn't Ye Lin's match if he fought in the Top Scholar Secret Realm, and he wouldn't be stupid enough to fall in the same place twice, but this matter clearly couldn't just end like this.

As everyone left the Top Scholar Secret Realm, everyone's levels were clearly tallied.

And the person with the highest level was undoubtedly Ye Lin, after all, the monsters in the secret realm had been slaughtered by him.

"Congratulations, Ye Lin, you are the person with the highest level in this Top Scholar Secret Realm," Ceng Canqi praised.

Seeing this result, even though he had expected it, Ceng Canqi could not hide the shock in his eyes.

After all, the title of national top scholar had always been monopolized by students from top-tier big cities.

Top scholars from big cities could reach level twenty-something before even entering the secret realm, which was simply incomparable to the level-teens top scholars coming out of small counties.

Yet Ye Lin had undoubtedly broken this rule, because Qingcheng was a small city, no doubt about it.

Once this news spread, it would surely drop the jaws of countless people.

"What? Level 25!"

Wu Shaoqi could no longer remain calm, staring at Ye Lin with resentment.

He clearly remembered that Ye Lin was only level 18 before entering the secret realm; rising seven levels in one go, no wonder there were so few monsters left in the Top Scholar Secret Realm.

In other words, Ye Lin not only beat him into a meat patty, causing him to spend over half a month just recovering, but also slaughtered all the monsters while he was healing.

"Ye Lin, you damn bastard! I will never let this go!" Wu Shaoqi gritted his teeth.

The top scholars from other cities also began to look at Ye Lin with unkind expressions, harboring hidden hostility.

They now knew that the culprit behind them barely seeing a single monster in the last five days was clearly Ye Lin.

"Damn! A Forbidden Spellcaster who won't live long, and he still has to steal monsters! How disgusting!"

"Exactly, it's sickening. Previous national top scholars were all level 26 or even 27, right? Because of him, the value of the national top scholar title has been lowered!"

"Damn it, why can Forbidden Spellcasters even take the college entrance exam? No one in this profession lives past 25; what's the point of training them? They're just wasting resources that could go to the future pillars of Great Xia!"

The crowd discussed it heatedly, clearly extremely dissatisfied with Ye Lin.

Ye Lin didn't care, but Mi Xue couldn't listen anymore and took the initiative to put her hands on her hips and argue with those people, but how could she, alone, win an argument against so many?

Just as they were arguing, the sky of the Top Scholar Secret Realm suddenly turned gloomy, as if all the light had been swallowed!

Everyone's hearts tightened, and an inexplicable fear began to spread. Just then, a deafening roar came from the center of the secret realm, as if something was waking up underground.

Immediately after, the entire secret realm began to shake violently, making people feel dizzy and nauseous.

"Everyone, don't panic, crouch down where you are!"

Ceng Canqi's face changed wildly because he discovered that the exit to the Top Scholar Secret Realm had closed, and no matter how he tried, he couldn't open it!

The Top Scholar Secret Realm had existed for so long and never had any issues; what was going on now?

The sky of the secret realm grew increasingly gloomy, and the thick darkness pressed against everyone's souls like a physical weight.

Suddenly, a scarlet light shot up from the depths of the secret realm, piercing through the shackles of darkness and reflecting on everyone's faces.

In that light, one could vaguely see massive monsters; they had various forms, some with horns, some with wings, and some covered in scales, all exuding a strong, evil aura.

Ceng Canqi's pupils shrank violently, and he could no longer maintain his composure; even his voice carried a hint of trembling.

"This is... the Demon Race!"