Chapter 37

Ever since he blocked the Ox King's first axe swing, Zhou Yi had known.

The power gap between him and the Ox King wasn't large.

So, Judgment successful—the Spear of Victory pinning him in place—was exactly what Zhou Yi expected.

He grinned widely.

The towering figure, wrapped in holy light, took a step—and in that instant, vanished as if teleporting.

Only a glowing holy cross remained where he had stood.

"Hm?"

The Ox King's heart lurched.

So fast!

Seeing Zhou Yi vanish from his sight, he swung his great axe immediately, ready to block the next attack.

Yet, the moment he raised his battle-axe, a searing pain erupted in his abdomen!

Splash—

A massive, razor-sharp wound burst open suddenly on the Ox King's left flank.

In his berserk state, the Ox King's blood flowed faster than ever.

This meant that the instant the wound appeared,

Red blood erupted like a geyser!!

With all buffs stacked, Zhou Yi's agility was terrifying!!

He had deliberately blocked the Ox King's first axe swing just to gauge their power difference.

Now that Zhou Yi was moving, the Ox King could never catch his figure!!

"Roar!!"

In that instant, realizing he'd been toyed with, the Ox King exploded with furious rage.

A surging wave of energy surged around him as his red aura intensified, causing the entire palace to tremble slightly in response.

His aura climbed steadily higher.

"The BOSS is going all out!!"

Zhou Yi naturally wouldn't let the Ox King unleash his ultimate skill.

"Empty Slash!"

He swung the massive battle-axe, blazing with brilliant golden light.

Boom!!

The three-meter-tall Ox King was sent airborne—his ultimate skill interrupted mid-cast.

Zhou Yi naturally didn't miss this chance; he pressed the attack without pause.

"Pure White Blade!"

The cross-shaped light blade slashed mercilessly at the Ox King, dealing Attribute magic damage and locking him in a stun state!!

Zhou Yi immediately swung the great weapon, launching a furious assault!!

At this moment, the massive battle-axe, heavy beyond measure, danced in Zhou Yi's hands like a toy.

Puch!

Puch!

Puch!

Behind him, the holy cross glowed brightly; Zhou Yi, wrapped in sacred aura, looked like a god.

Every swing left a deep gash on the Ox King's thick, tough hide.

Strike while the iron is hot!!

In just 0.7 seconds of stun, Zhou Yi landed five axe strikes!!

As the Ox King's stun state neared its end,

Zhou Yi's gaze sharpened; he added more force to his swing—the battle-axe slashed out like a coiling dragon!!

In that instant, the Ox King's stun finally ended.

But as a grievously wounded beast, he could only barely raise his axe, using its broad blade to shield his vital spots!

Boom!!

The wounded Ox King received his heaviest blow yet—the axe struck the blade atop his skull.

Under the force of the impact, the pitiful BOSS flew backward like a cannonball.

Boom-rumble~~~

After smashing through several stone pillars, carving a deep trench across the ground, and slamming into the palace wall, he finally stopped.

"Spear of Victory!! Die!!"

Seeing the Ox King sprawled on the ground, his chest wide open, Zhou Yi clenched his hand in midair—the Spear of Victory materialized.

He aimed at the Ox King's heart and hurled it with all his strength!!

"Roar..."

The Ox King, his body shattered, groaned in agony.

He bore at least five deep axe wounds, bone visible—even his mighty physique couldn't heal them.

He could feel his strength draining rapidly.

Watching the glowing spear grow larger in his pupils, he tried to raise his axe.

But no matter how hard he strained, his body refused to obey—motionless.

Puch—

The Spear of Victory pierced through the Bull-Headed King's chest with effortless ease, pinning him to the wall.

"Huff... huff..."

An ordinary monster, struck by such a heavy blow, would probably have already been dead beyond any hope of recovery.

But the Bull-Headed King, at this moment, could still cling to life!!

It's just that the red protective energy shrouding his entire body dissipated, having lost its mana supply.

Boom!!!

Without the protection of the red energy, the golden flames produced by the Holy Light Cross swiftly engulfed him.

Amidst a blaze of firelight, the Bull-Headed King met his end!!

"Phew, finally took down the BOSS."

Zhou Yi let out a long breath.

To take down the BOSS quickly, he could be said to have pushed everything to the absolute limit!!

Not only did he stack every buff on himself.

Even the way he struck and the timing of his skill releases were the result of his rapid thinking and choices.

Using a large number of skills in a short period.

This also caused the mana within his body to be nearly exhausted, leaving only enough to cast a few minor skills.

At this moment...

A sudden sound reached his ear.

Ding!

【Congratulations to examinee Zhou Yi of Lijiang No. 2 High School for successfully clearing the Deep Dark Forest dungeon.】

【Your difficulty rating is: Nightmare】

【Your clear time is: 9 minutes 24 seconds】

【Your college entrance exam score has been successfully recorded.】

【Please claim your dungeon clear rewards.】

【In light of your clear difficulty and time, your clear evaluation is SSS-rank. Congratulations on being confirmed as the first person to set a clear record for this dungeon.】

【Below, the clear rewards will now be distributed...】

"The first person to set a dungeon clear record?"

Listening to the series of prompts echoing in his ear, Zhou Yi keenly caught the key point.

The entire Suhang Province's question-setter is Old Yang.

In other words, the exam for all college entrance examinees is the Deep Dark Forest dungeon!!

At this moment, the voice prompt says he is the first to set a dungeon clear record.

Doesn't that mean he is already the provincial top scorer of this year's Suhang Province college entrance exam?

Of course, Zhou Yi also understood.

The final ranking would still need to wait until after the college entrance exam ended and the province finished tallying all students' scores before the list was released.

"Provincial top scorer — I did it!!"

Zhou Yi couldn't help but pump his fist hard.

Only those who have walked through darkness know how precious the light truly is.

In the one year since transmigrating over.

His mother passed away from illness, and his younger sister fell critically ill.

He not only had to repay the debts left behind by his parents, but also had to cover the treatment fees for his younger sister Zhou Yun.

All of this weighed on him so heavily he could barely breathe.

Beneath this crushing burden.

Every day after school, he had to work three part-time jobs.

If he hadn't later met Uncle Li and been invited to work as a Dangjia Sect tutor, his life might have been even more miserable.

But even so.

After paying the monthly medical fees each month, he still only had seven or eight hundred yuan left for living expenses, and his body was severely malnourished.