C36 Xie Yang's Ranking Continued to Rise.

In the Land of Nothingness, on a clearing at the heart of the forest, Lian Xia sat atop the carcass of a ferocious beast, his gaze fixed intently on the leaderboard before him. A towering Rock Golem stood silently beside him, faithfully performing its duty as his guardian.

"Less than a 20-point gap between me and second place? That's too narrow," Lian Xia murmured, his brow furrowed.

The current standings were:

1st: Lian Xia, 754 points

2nd: Han Xuemei, 738 points

3rd: Yun Ye, 732 points

4th: Jin Haocan, 725 points

5th: Loo Si, 467 points

"The scores of those trailing me are impressively high!" A glint sparked in Lian Xia's eyes. He could disregard Loo Si in fifth place, but Han Xuemei, Yun Ye, and Jin Haocan were not to be taken lightly. Their scores were perilously close to his own. Any complacency on his part, and he'd be quickly overtaken.

"This is the Nightbay Academy's entrance exam, after all—a gathering of prodigies. It's incredible how effortlessly I've encountered such formidable rivals."

A flicker of confusion crossed Lian Xia's eyes. Before arriving in Nightbay, he had meticulously gathered intelligence on all the strong contenders among the candidates. His focus had been on the four other third-rank pet owners besides himself. Now, three of those four had secured second to fourth places, but what about the last one?

Lian Xia scanned the leaderboard and soon spotted Xie Yang's name.

"125th? His score is unexpectedly low!"

"He's only amassed less than 300 points?" Han Xuemei peered at Xie Yang's ranking, a hint of perplexity dancing across her refined features. "Isn't his pet of the third rank? How did he manage to score so poorly?" She pondered briefly before shaking her head dismissively.

"No matter, there's no point in concerning myself with someone ranked beyond the top hundred. My true competitor is Lian Xia, and with just 16 more points, I'll catch up and then surpass him!"

"Come on, I've rested enough. It's time we resumed the hunt."

The Steel Striped Dragon lying at her feet let out a soft growl, rising to its feet and affectionately nuzzling Han Xuemei's cheek with its head. Then, it fell into step beside her as they ventured deeper into the forest.

The sound of the air being shredded suddenly erupted.

A thorny vine lashed out like lightning, striking the Thunder Worm midair with a vicious snap.

The Thunder Worm let out a pitiful cry as it plummeted to the ground, now bearing a gory wound from which dark blood oozed.

Soon, the Thunder Worm succumbed to the poison, convulsing briefly before its life faded.

The Poison Vine Demon, triumphant in its kill, excitedly thrashed its vines.

"Well done," Jin Haocan offered coolly, yet his gaze remained fixed on the leaderboard, unblinking.

"By all accounts, Xie Yang should be the strongest among us five. So why are his ranking and score so disappointingly low?"

"Is it possible the intel I got was off? Maybe Xie Yang's abilities aren't as formidable as I thought."

"He's only at 125th place. He's nothing but a glorified nobody," Yun Ye scoffed, eyeing the leaderboard with a disdainful chuckle.

He had assumed the genius who passed the superior grade Apprentice Assessment would be impressive.

Yet, Xie Yang hadn't even cracked the top 100.

Xie Yang didn't deserve the title of genius.

"Sun Bai and the rest got thrashed by Xie Yang, and they still couldn't measure up. Pathetic."

"Let it go. I'll have my chance to deal with that waste of space later. Right now, I need to concentrate on the assessment."

"Just you wait, first place will be mine!"

Sensing Yun Ye's fervor, the Iron-armored Dragon Snake beside him flicked its forked tongue, arching its neck proudly as it hissed sharply.

Yun Ye burst into hearty laughter, reaching out to pat the Iron-armored Dragon Snake's head.

But his hand froze midway, and his laughter abruptly ceased.

Yun Ye's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the leaderboard.

81st place: Xie Yang, 353 points.

In a mere moment, Xie Yang's score had surged by over 50 points.

He had soared into the top 100!

"Did this guy take down a third rank ferocious beast?" Yun Ye's expression flickered with doubt and surprise.

Only a third rank ferocious beast could be worth more than 50 points.

And as he pondered, Xie Yang's standing on the leaderboard shifted yet again.

68th place: Xie Yang, 387 points.

But this was merely the start.

Almost every few seconds, Xie Yang's ranking shot up.

In under a minute, his score skyrocketed to over 400 points.

He was now a mere 10 points shy of fifth place, held by Loo Si.

"How can this be?"

Yun Ye's eyes were glued to the leaderboard, his shock morphing into disbelief.

In less than a minute, Xie Yang's score had surged by over 150 points.

Without witnessing it himself, Yun Ye would have found it impossible to believe.

Had Xie Yang encountered several third-rank ferocious beasts at once?

Even if that were the case, how had he managed to dispatch so many third-rank beasts so swiftly?

It seemed inconceivable!

Meanwhile, every examinee in the forest had taken note of the peculiar shift on the leaderboard.

As Xie Yang's score climbed rapidly, they were rooted to the spot in astonishment.

"What's happening?"

"Why is his score rising so fast?"

"Which high school boasts a genius like Xie Yang?"

"He's incredibly strong! Has he really ascended to sixth place?"

Lian Xia, Han Xuemei, and Jin Haocan were equally dumbfounded.

Moments ago, they were puzzled by Xie Yang's low ranking.

Now, before their eyes, Xie Yang had soared from beyond the top hundred to sixth place in less than a minute.

"What in the world is going on?" The same question echoed in their minds.

Then, Xie Yang's ranking on the leaderboard shifted once more.

Before the watchful eyes of all, his name overtook Loo Si's, landing him in fifth place.

5th place: Xie Yang, 489 points.

Now, the shock was universal among the examinees.

"He's made it to fifth place?"

"Incredible!"

"How did he pull this off?"

"Did he stumble upon a den of ferocious beasts?"

Expressions of disbelief rippled through the crowd.

Some were curious, some shocked, and others envious of Xie Yang.

Naturally, there were those who looked up to him.

"Xie Yang is amazing!" Zou Xinrui beamed as she watched his name on the leaderboard.

"I just knew Xie Yang would make it to the top!" Moo Shuqin clapped her hands in excitement.

Deep in the heart of the forest, Bai Tian gazed at the leaderboard, her face alight with a radiant smile.

She had never once questioned Xie Yang's abilities, not from the start.

And she was aware that this was merely the onset of greater things to come.

"First place is destined to be my brother's!" she declared with confidence.