C38 Sigh of Snow Girl

"Is this guy even human?"

Han Xuemei gazed at the leaderboard, her stunning features etched with astonishment.

It was beyond her wildest dreams that Xie Yang would catch up in such a manner.

He had even outpaced Jin Haocan.

The rate at which he was scoring was simply inconceivable!

A tidal wave of urgency crashed over Han Xuemei.

She had pegged Lian Xia, Yun Ye, and Jin Haocan as her only real competition.

Yet now, Xie Yang appeared to be a far more formidable contender than any of them.

With two hours remaining in the assessment, if Xie Yang kept up this pace, clinching first place was inevitable.

"No, I need to pick up the pace too!"

Han Xuemei bit her lip, her eyes blazing with resolve.

"Come on, let's keep hunting. We're not falling behind those guys!"

The Steel Striped Dragon let out a roar, its head thrown back.

Meanwhile.

Han Xuemei wasn't the only one feeling the heat; Lian Xia was acutely aware of the daunting pressure emanating from Xie Yang.

Determined not to be outdone, he quickened his hunting speed.

"Damn it!"

Yun Ye's eyes were glued to the leaderboard.

The one he had dismissed as worthless was now hot on his heels, a mere thirty points behind.

Though his disdain for Xie Yang had gone unwitnessed, Yun Ye's pride was stung, and he was seething with shame.

"You think you can overtake me? In your dreams!"

With a scoff, Yun Ye and his Iron-armored Dragon Snake ventured deeper into the forest.

He was intent on proving that he wouldn't be bested by some lowly commoner from a small town!

From a distance, a booming sound rumbled like thunder.

Xie Yang halted, turning towards the noise.

"A third-rank ferocious beast?"

His eyebrows lifted, and he strode towards the commotion.

"Let's check it out."

Jennie promptly agreed, staying close by Xie Yang's side.

Before long, Xie Yang reached the source of the disturbance.

What he found was a clearing in disarray, the site of a fierce battle.

One of the combatants was a creature resembling a humanoid bush, bristling with thorns.

It bore some resemblance to a Wilted Beast, but its body was a lustrous gold, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.

"This is a Gold Wilted Beast!"

Xie Yang recognized the formidable creature before him.

The Gold Wilted Beast was an evolved version of a Wilted Beast, capable of reaching the fifth layer of the third rank in strength once it reached maturity.

The one in front of him was clearly fully grown.

Opposite it was a Poison Vine Demon pet.

Its master, a young man, stood a short distance away, watching the confrontation with an anxious expression.

Xie Yang gave the man a lingering look, sensing something familiar about him.

After a moment, it clicked.

This was the same guy Di Feng had pointed out to him at the restaurant.

His name, if Xie Yang recalled correctly, was Jin Haocan.

Even though he recognized Jin Haocan and could see he was in a tight spot, Xie Yang remained still, showing no sign of stepping in to assist.

The examination rules were clear: no one was to offer aid to another examinee in any form.

Jin Haocan soon spotted Xie Yang. His eyes bulged in recognition.

"Xie Yang!"

He was visibly taken aback.

But then it dawned on him that they were near the forest's exit, a place most examinees would have reached by this time. Their encounter here wasn't so odd after all.

"Of all people, it had to be him!"

Jin Haocan's brow creased in annoyance.

Ever since Xie Yang had overtaken him in the rankings, he'd been forced to speed up his hunting to reclaim his position. That rush had led him straight into the territory of the Gold Wilted Beast.

And now, to make matters worse, his rival had witnessed his predicament.

"Wait, this could work to my advantage!"

A scheme quickly formed in Jin Haocan's mind.

He spun around and called out to Xie Yang, "Xie Yang, I'm offering you this Gold Wilted Beast. Do you want it?"

Xie Yang looked at Jin Haocan for a brief moment before a taunting smile played across his lips.

"Well, I'd be a fool to turn it down."

He wasn't one to refuse a gift of points.

With Xie Yang's acceptance, Jin Haocan signaled the Poison Vine Demon to back off.

He and his pet withdrew to a safe distance, about twenty meters away, and settled in to watch the battle unfold with keen interest.

Jin Haocan certainly wasn't being generous when he considered handing over the ferocious beast to Xie Yang. It was simply because his Poison Vine Demon stood no chance against the golden Wilted Beast, and any further combat would only lead to his defeat. It made more sense to let Xie Yang take over. This would also give Jin Haocan the chance to gauge Xie Yang's true capabilities.

"Judging by the rate at which he's been scoring points, Xie Yang is undoubtedly stronger than me. I'm curious about the level his pet has attained. Is it third rank, third layer? Or third rank, fourth layer? If his pet is only at that level, taking down the golden Wilted Beast won't be easy!"

Thoughts raced through Jin Haocan's mind as he kept his gaze fixed intently on the battlefield, not wanting to miss a single detail of the unfolding action.

Xie Yang seemed indifferent to Jin Haocan's maneuvers. Once the Poison Vine Demon withdrew, Jennie swiftly moved in, capturing the golden Wilted Beast's attention. The beast's eyes, hidden beneath withered branches, suddenly glowed red. In a flash, two thorn-covered branches shot out with the speed of lightning, slicing through the air and viciously striking at Jennie.

Yet Jennie remained composed in the face of the fierce onslaught. Without any apparent effort, the branches decelerated dramatically as they neared within three meters of her. Almost instantly, a layer of frost formed on the branches, and in the blink of an eye, they were transformed into icy rods that shattered and fell to the ground.

"Such formidable control over the ice element!" Jin Haocan exclaimed, astonished. He realized that the humanoid pet hadn't used any special skills; it was purely its mastery over the ice element that had effortlessly neutralized the golden Wilted Beast's attack.

This alone was a testament to the pet's immense strength, clearly surpassing his Poison Vine Demon's control over the wood element.

"Xie Yang might actually be able to slay this golden Wilted Beast," Jin Haocan mused, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

The next moment, he watched as Jennie extended her delicate hand, palm facing upward. Her lips parted slightly, and she exhaled a gentle breath towards her palm.

A sigh seemed to echo from the emptiness of the void.

Visible to the naked eye, a white chill burst forth, sweeping toward the golden Wilted Beast with the swiftness of the wind.

The Sigh of the Snow Girl!

The golden Wilted Beast sensed the lethal threat on instinct.

It let out a low growl, its arms unfurling into countless tendrils that wove together to form a massive shield, attempting to ward off the biting cold.

But it was to no avail.

The fog, brimming with intense cold, engulfed both the beast and its shield.

Moisture in the air snapped into ice, the temperature plummeting below zero in a heartbeat.

A series of crisp cracks pierced the silence.

The golden Wilted Beast couldn't even muster a cry of agony before its body was flash-frozen, transformed into a colossal ice statue.

Then, a gentle breeze wafted by.

With a faint tinkling, the ice statue shattered, dissolving into a cloud of ice particles that vanished into the air.

A deathly stillness enveloped the area!

Jin Haocan stood there, his expression blank, his mind buzzing. It took him a long while to snap back to reality.