C35 A Genius with an Undeserved Reputation

With a graceful wave of her hand, Jennie instantly turned three Straw Worms into ice sculptures. The threads binding them to the trees snapped, and the ice crashed to the ground, breaking into a scatter of icy fragments.

Xie Yang took a quick look at the back of his hand. The number on his arm had changed to 9. Clearly, the Straw Worms were all mature, at the seventh layer of the first rank, with each worth three points.

He glanced at the leaderboard again. In just a brief span, it had filled with a multitude of names. Lian Xia was in the lead with 21 points, followed by Han Xuemei with 18, and Jin Haocan with 15. The top three contenders, all mentioned by Di Feng, had third-rank pets. Xie Yang found himself in 234th place, among at least a hundred others with the same score.

"Their pace is impressive; everyone seems quite eager," Xie Yang noted with a smile, his composure unshaken as he pressed on.

Along the way, a succession of ferocious beasts emerged. They ambushed or charged head-on: Man-eating Flowers, Wilted Beasts, Wind Slice Mantises, Striped Spiders, Thunder Worms, Fermi Soldier Ants... As Xie Yang had surmised, the beasts were predominantly of the plant and insect variety. And as he ventured deeper, the strength of the beasts he encountered steadily climbed.

Yet, for Xie Yang, this posed no issue. Whether facing first or second-rank beasts, Jennie handled them with ease. They were no match for her.

Focused on their journey rather than hunting beasts, they forged ahead. Over an hour later, Xie Yang paused and narrowed his eyes toward the horizon. Just beyond the outermost line of trees, a vast, open plain stretched out before him. Dominating the center was a colossal stone pillar, impossible to miss.

"That must be the stone tablet worth 500 points," Xie Yang mused, then shrugged and turned his attention away. With Jennie at his side, he retraced his steps back down the path they had come.

"I've found the exit. Now it's time for the hunt to really begin."

Outside the Land of Nothingness, in the plaza of Nightbay Academy.

Jiang Hao and his fellow teachers were fixated on the massive screen floating before them.

Displayed on the screen was the leaderboard for the exam.

It showed the point totals for the top thousand students, clear as day.

Nearly every second, the rankings of over a hundred students would shift.

Those closer to the bottom experienced the most dramatic changes.

"Not bad. The overall strength of this year's candidates has significantly improved from previous years," one teacher remarked with a nod of approval.

"Indeed. In under two hours, the top hundred students have all scored over 300 points."

"In past years, the student in hundredth place barely had 200 points at this time."

"And the top four students have been particularly impressive, their scores leaving the rest trailing far behind," several teachers agreed, nodding and smiling.

Lian Xia, Jin Haocan, Han Xuemei, and Yun Ye each had over 700 points, with a narrow margin between them.

Their positions would switch every so often.

But no matter how their rankings shifted, they solidly held the top four spots, with the fourth place's score a significant leap ahead of the fifth.

Barring any surprises, this year's seat of honour would likely go to one of these four.

Suddenly, a teacher voiced their confusion: "Come to think of it, weren't there five students with third-rank pets this year? We've only seen four; where's the fifth one?"

The teachers paused, taken aback.

Reminded, they began to realize the oversight.

These five were all prodigies with third-rank pets; logically, the missing student's rank shouldn't be far from the other four.

Why wasn't he in the top five, or even the top ten?

"I remember now, the missing student is Xie Yang, correct?"

"Yes, he's from Lakeshell High."

"That's the one. The unparalleled genius acknowledged by the dean himself. He passed the superior grade Apprentice Assessment!"

"It's odd for someone like him not to be in the top ten."

Baffled, the teachers scrutinized the leaderboard more closely.

Soon enough, they found Xie Yang's name.

Number 125: Xie Yang, 296 points.

As the teachers caught sight of Xie Yang's ranking, their expressions turned to ones of utter astonishment.

"What's happening here? His ranking is abysmally low."

"He hasn't even broken 300 points!"

"What's he up to?"

"Could Xie Yang have run into some trouble?"

They were all visibly shaken by the revelation.

Their shock was understandable, given the bizarre circumstances surrounding Xie Yang.

How could an examinee with a third-rank pet fail to make it into the top 100?

It was simply inconceivable!

Was it possible that Xie Yang was all hype, lacking the formidable strength rumored about him?

This question flickered through the minds of several teachers in the blink of an eye.

Just then, Jiang Hao, who had been quiet up until now, spoke up.

"Let's review Xie Yang's surveillance footage."

With Jiang Hao's interjection, the buzz of conversation among the teachers ceased.

The nearby staff member responded with prompt reverence.

Shortly thereafter, Xie Yang's surveillance footage was displayed on the central screen.

The video played at five times normal speed, starting from his entrance into the forest.

As the teachers watched, understanding dawned on them.

"Now I see. Xie Yang's strategy was to locate the forest exit first."

"That explains his low score; he's hardly been hunting any ferocious beasts."

"His approach is cautious, but it's put him at a significant disadvantage in points. Can Xie Yang catch up?"

"Indeed. While Xie Yang's current score might allow him to overtake some, the top four are over 400 points ahead. Closing that gap in just three hours will be no small feat!"

Many teachers shook their heads in concern.

While Xie Yang could opt for a cautious strategy to pass the exam, the cost of lagging far behind in points seemed too great.

Given the situation, even if Xie Yang were to go all out in hunting ferocious beasts, he still wouldn't be able to match the scores of Lian Xia and the others.

Forget claiming the top spot among this year's newcomers; Xie Yang might not even break into the top three.

"Xie Yang would have been better off adopting a strategy similar to Lian Xia's. By hunting ferocious beasts as he progressed, he would have accumulated a lot more points."

A teacher let out a soft sigh.

His words echoed the silent thoughts of everyone in the room.

Even Jiang Hao found himself frowning slightly.

He was indifferent to the methods Xie Yang employed to pass the exam.

The only thing that mattered was an exceptional final score.

This was the guiding principle of Nightbay Academy.

The principle that the journey didn't matter, only the destination.

Should Xie Yang fail to secure even a top-three finish, it would be a grave disappointment for someone touted as a once-in-a-generation prodigy.

In such a case, Jiang Hao might feel compelled to advise the dean that this student hardly merited the high regard of the academy's elite.

With this in mind, a calculating glint appeared in Jiang Hao's eyes, his decision taking shape.

But in the very next moment, Xie Yang's position on the leaderboard underwent a dramatic shift.