Chapter 100: A Familiar Figure in the Exam

It seemed that, because no other examinee had done anything particularly eye‑catching for the moment, or perhaps the monitoring staff in the main control room had also been stunned by Qin Chuan's clean and swift kill earlier.

After the Advanced Demon Bear collapsed, Qin Chuan had already left the frame, but the monitoring feed never switched to the next examinee.

Looking at the enormous demon bear on the screen, the Vice Principal of Second High School couldn't help but twitch the corners of his eyes twice—excited that Qin Chuan had shown off so dramatically before everyone, yet also feeling a twinge of fear toward the demon beast.

"Just now, what level was that Advanced Demon Bear?" he couldn't help but ask Lan Cheng, voicing this crucial question.

"It's a Level 20 demon beast." Lan Cheng took a deep breath and slowly said, "Among the ten Advanced Demon Beasts, only two are Level 20, and this is one of them."

As soon as he said that, the murmurs in the meeting room grew louder.

Many observers' faces flushed with excitement; they wished they could immediately grab their pens and rate Qin Chuan as the highest.

But when their gazes swept over the notebook that Zhou Xiaoyu and Fan Gang had somehow opened in front of them, it felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over their heads.

"Yan Da and Hua Qing—have those two top universities of Yan Huang State also taken a liking to that outstanding boy from just now?"

Although they knew this was only natural, many observers still wore disappointed expressions, for the colleges they represented had no chance against those two towering institutions.

Yet a portion of the observers from various colleges' eyes flickered, and they had not given up.

They prepared to use the utmost sincerity and the best treatment they could secure within their authority to try to sway the other side.

Amid everyone's varied thoughts, the screen finally began to switch; seeing the new footage, the observers who had just been pondering how to approach Qin Chuan quickly calmed down.

Because in the monitoring feed, another examinee had encountered an Advanced Demon Beast.

"It's Chu Zhou!"

The Vice Principal of First High School clenched his fist and swung it hard in the air, revealing a tense and expectant look.

And Chu Zhou did not disappoint him; wielding both fire and lightning affinities, he relied on the most violent output to quickly slay that Advanced Demon Beast, becoming the second examinee in this practical exam to kill an Advanced Demon Beast.

After some deliberation, the observers all began to write down their notes.

Seeing Zhou Xiaoyu and Fan Gang likewise raise their pens, the Vice Principal of First High School felt a surge of joy.

"Good! At last we've won back a point!"

The monitoring feed switched again, showing an intern‑level team battling three ordinary demon beasts; although their strength was considerably inferior to that of the formal‑level examinees, their decent coordination let them win quickly.

During this process, two examinees stood out and attracted considerable attention and notes from the observers.

Time flew by as the monitoring feed kept switching; the tenth Advanced Demon Beast was encountered and slain by Song Ling, finally easing the worry that had been weighing on the Vice Principal of Seventh High School.

As one of the three perfect scorers from the previous exam, Song Ling's strength was equally formidable; her single‑handed wood‑system extraordinary ability enjoyed a natural advantage in Qingwang Mountain, though her luck was a bit poor.

"Is this the last Advanced Demon Beast?" the Principal of First High School glanced at Lan Cheng and suddenly asked.

He felt a slight regret; of First High School's five formal‑level examinees, only three had met an Advanced Demon Beast, and one of them had only barely won after a prolonged fight.

"Yes." Lan Cheng gave a slight nod, "All ten Advanced Demon Beasts have been killed."

"It's a pity that no examinee managed to kill two Advanced Demon Beasts." the Vice Principal of Second High School beside him said regretfully.

In his view, Qin Chuan, who was the first to slay an Advanced Demon Beast, was the most likely to kill a second one; if that were true, first place in this exam would be all but secured.

"Can we take a look at the current exam score rankings?" Zhou Xiaoyu's voice came through.

"Sure." Lan Cheng glanced at Zhou Xiaoyu, nodded, and quickly pulled up the current score rankings, displaying them on the big screen.

First displayed was the score ranking of the formal‑level examinees.

To everyone's surprise, the top spot went to the examinee who had just killed the last Advanced Demon Beast, Song Ling, with a total score of 763 points.

At this point, about an hour had passed since the exam began; after subtracting survival points, her kill points alone amounted to nearly seven hundred.

In second place was Qin Chuan, whose total score was nearly a hundred points less than Song Ling's—only 672.

Third was Chu Zhou with 621 points, and everyone else fell below 600.

Seeing Song Ling's almost overwhelming scores, aside from the calm Vice Principal of Seventh High School, the other four vice principals could hardly stay seated.

"Why is Song Ling's score so high?" the Vice Principal of Second High School couldn't help but protest for Qin Chuan, "Qin Chuan killed a Level 20 Advanced Demon Beast, while Song Ling's was only Level 18, right?"

"Just here, she's missing 40 points."

"This…" Lan Cheng's voice trailed off slightly.

"To be honest, he isn't sure either; after all, like everyone else in the meeting room, he's only seen part of the monitoring feed."

"But it's fine; someone knows."

"The staff responsible for tallying scores are in the main control room; they have a clear record of how Song Ling earned her points."

"A phone call was made, and soon the kill highlights captured by the hidden camera on Song Ling's exam helmet appeared on the big screen."

"After watching just a short segment, everyone understood the reason."

"Song Ling's skill seems able to scout nearby demon beasts within a certain range; relying on this ability, she precisely located every beast nearby and eliminated them without wasting a moment."

"Although her luck wasn't great—she almost missed the last Advanced Demon Beast—her tally of ordinary demon beasts far exceeded that of the other examinees in Qingwang Mountain."

"I concede."

The Vice Principal of Seventh High School chuckled, nodded to the other four vice principals, as if he had already secured first place in this practical exam for himself.

The other four vice principals were unhappy, but there was nothing they could do.

Because judging from how the formal‑level examinees performed, the final exam results were unlikely to hold any surprises.

Next, the big screen showed the score rankings of the intern‑level examinees.

Upon seeing the current top intern‑level examinee, the Vice Principal of Second High School's expression eased slightly.

——

Swish——

With a casual slash he split an eagle‑type demon beast that lunged at him in two, Qin Chuan shook his long blade and showed a hint of helplessness on his face.

The emergency signal transmitter had a timer function; seeing that only ten minutes remained in the exam, he knew he couldn't kill a second Advanced Demon Beast.

Those nine Advanced Demon Beasts should have already been slain by the other thirteen examinees.

Suddenly, Qin Chuan sensed something amiss and instinctively activated Frost‑seeking Trace.

In the next instant, a black shadow pierced through the snowstorm he had conjured, instantly cleaving the rock on the opposite side in two.

Qin Chuan, who had revealed his figure, looked toward that familiar silhouette and was instantly stunned.

'Is it you?!'

(End of chapter)