C37 Xie Yang's Ranking Continued to Rise.

In the plaza just outside the Land of Nothingness, silence enveloped the area.

Every teacher, including Jiang Hao, was struck dumb, their eyes glued to the leaderboard.

Xie Yang's performance had left them utterly speechless.

In a mere moment, his position had skyrocketed from somewhere in the top hundred to sixth place.

"How on earth did he manage that?"

"Is it possible that Xie Yang took down several third-rank ferocious beasts at once?"

"No way. The third-rank ferocious beasts in the forest are solitary creatures, and they keep their distance from one another. There's no chance they'd all converge at once."

"Exactly. And even if Xie Yang did come across multiple third-rank ferocious beasts, given his abilities, he couldn't possibly have dispatched them all in such a short span of time!"

"That makes sense."

The crowd buzzed with speculation, but the mystery remained unsolved.

Jiang Hao, quick to act, ordered someone to review Xie Yang's assessment footage once more.

As the video played on the screen, a collective gasp rose from the onlookers.

It turned out just as one of the examinees had predicted: Xie Yang had stumbled upon a ferocious beast's lair.

A Fermi Ant nest, to be precise, which he had found by chance while hunting.

In this forest, the majority of ferocious beasts were not social.

Typically, they roamed either solo or in small groups of two or three.

Sightings of them moving en masse were exceedingly rare.

The Fermi Ants, however, were the exception to this rule.

They were a definitively communal species of ferocious beast.

After an encounter with a Fermi Soldier Ant, Xie Yang intentionally left one wounded and allowed it to retreat to its nest.

He then trailed it back to its lair and proceeded to exterminate the entire Fermi Ant population.

The Fermi Ants were categorized into Worker Ants, Soldier Ants, Flying Ants, and Queen Ants.

The Worker and Soldier Ants were classified as first-rank ferocious beasts.

The Flying Ants were second-rank, with the mature ones only reaching the third layer in strength.

The Queen Ants were a notch above, at the seventh layer of the second rank.

Regrettably, they possessed no fighting prowess and served solely as the breeding mechanism for the colony.

The Fermi Ants' most formidable trait lies in their collective action. A single nest can house between three hundred to five hundred of these creatures. Despite their lack of individual strength, their sheer numbers are enough to intimidate many examinees. Even elite prodigies like Lian Xia and Han Xuemei wouldn't dare confront a swarm of Fermi Ants alone. Xie Yang, however, showed no fear—in fact, he seemed pleasantly surprised.

The sound of ice crystallizing echoed through the forest canopy. High above the ground, at a height of over ten meters, numerous razor-sharp ice blades materialized from nothing. After a brief hesitation, they cascaded down like a torrential waterfall. Ice Waterfall! The Flying Ants caught mid-air were instantly engulfed by the ice blades, shredded before they could even struggle, their fragmented remains plummeting to the earth encased in ice.

With a single strike, more than a hundred Flying Ants were annihilated. But this was merely the start. Jennie let out a delicate giggle and pointed from a distance. Suddenly, a dense cluster of ice threads emerged at the heart of the ant swarm, rapidly solidifying into a deep blue gemstone. The next moment, the gemstone burst apart, transforming into an expansive ring of ice that surged outward in every direction. Frost Nova! The crisp sounds of continuous shattering filled the air as countless Fermi Ants were instantly frozen into sculptures.

In less than the time it takes to draw a breath, the ant swarm's numbers dwindled by another hundred. Against the formidable Jennie, the Fermi Ants stood no chance. Teachers observing from outside the Land of Nothingness stared at the display on the screen, mouths agape, struggling to process the scene. Even Jiang Hao appeared stunned.

This was a decisive victory. To Xie Yang's ice-attuned pet, the Fermi Ants were insignificant. Moreover, it was evident to all that the pet hadn't even tapped into its full potential. The implications were clear.

"This is a fourth-rank pet!" one teacher managed to utter, his voice faltering. All the teachers present were at least of the silver-level Beastmaster rank. Normally, a fourth-rank pet wouldn't impress them much. But the fact that an eighteen-year-old student possessed one was nothing short of astounding. Jiang Hao inhaled sharply, his surprise evident.

"It seems the intelligence we had was incorrect. Xie Yang doesn't have a third-rank pet; he has a fourth-rank pet!"

The teachers exchanged glances, their faces etched with astonishment.

Having a third-rank pet was enough to label a candidate a prodigy.

Out of the nearly five thousand elite students from across the nation, only four possessed a third-rank pet.

Yet Xie Yang's prowess surpassed even theirs—his pet had astonishingly reached the fourth rank.

His talent was overwhelming.

Had they not witnessed it themselves, they would never have believed it!

"His talent is simply too great!"

"We had underestimated him."

"The dean's foresight is commendable. We must recruit such a genius!"

"Absolutely. With proper guidance, he's destined to become our academy's trump card!"

"He might even clinch victory in next year's Academy League!"

The initial shock gave way to a wave of excitement among the teachers.

Securing such a remarkable talent for the academy was cause for celebration.

After all, no one would ever complain about an abundance of exceptional students.

Even Jiang Hao, known for his stern demeanor, couldn't help but show unabashed admiration.

"He truly is a rare find."

"Now, let's see if he can outdo the top four and claim the title of number one among the freshmen."

Many teachers nodded in agreement with the sentiment.

Previously, they would have never entertained the idea of Xie Yang taking the top spot among the new students.

But the stunning display they had just witnessed erased any doubts.

Given Xie Yang's capabilities, he could still catch up and seize first place, despite his current score lagging behind.

Unaware of the buzz he'd generated outside, Xie Yang continued his quest, leading Jennie to hunt down more ferocious beasts after dispatching the Fermi Ants.

The most formidable beasts in the forest only reached the sixth layer of the third rank—no match for Jennie.

Typically, any beast that crossed her path was swiftly eliminated.

Jennie's hunting efficiency was nothing short of phenomenal.

On the leaderboard, Xie Yang's score soared at intervals, leaving his fellow candidates in awe.

501, 519, 531, 556...

Such a rapid ascent was astonishing to all.

Then, about half an hour later, under the watchful eyes of the astounded onlookers, Xie Yang's score broke the 800 mark.

He surpassed Jin Haocan, moving into fourth place.

In first place was Lian Xia, with 893 points.

Second Place: Han Xuemei, 885 points

Third Place: Yun Ye, 864 points

Fourth Place: Xie Yang, 828 points

Fifth Place: Jin Haocan, 815 points

With these scores, Xie Yang had finally caught up with the top scorers.

He had even managed to surpass one of them.

Now, he was trailing Lian Xia, the current leader, by less than 70 points.

And with roughly two hours remaining until the assessment concluded, anything could happen.