「In the proctoring space.」

Pang Zhangming said, "Did you see that? Zhao Chi cleared it without taking any damage again. The eighth stage didn’t have the difficulty it was supposed to! How is this supposed to test his Ability?"

Li Ruanyu shook her head. "Clearing it without taking damage is a testament to Zhao Chi’s strength! More than ten top students have already quit. You call that not difficult? You’re a Chief Instructor too, why are you being so childish?"

Pang Zhangming huffed, "I know Class 4 has always been subpar. Now that you have a Zhao Chi, you’re trying to defend him, but you can’t just throw fairness out the window. If he had a different Race, Zhao Chi would have definitely been eliminated this time!"

Li Ruanyu sneered, "All this whining. Why are you acting like a woman?"

Pang Zhangming’s tone faltered.

"You... Why are you making personal attacks?"

Li Ruanyu said, "Stop your incessant complaining over a little bit of bonus money. I’ve had plenty of money deducted from my pay and never said a word. The test is almost over, so just be quiet."

Pang Zhangming sneered, "It’s not about the money. What I want is an opportunity. I can’t compare to you. Everyone knows your family is..."

Pang Zhangming left his sentence half-finished, stopped by Li Ruanyu’s icy glare.

Unlike their earlier argument, this glare from Li Ruanyu held genuine Killing Intent.

Pang Zhangming waved his hands dismissively. "That’s not what I meant. Ah, forget it. It is what it is. Let things be as they may."

Li Yin said, "Ruan Yu, calm down. Instructor Pang really just misspoke."

Jin Haibiao added, "That’s right. Ruan Yu, your class is guaranteed a top-three finish this time. Congratulations."

Li Ruanyu’s expression softened slightly.

She nodded. "I think Zhao Chi might even take first place."

Pang Zhangming opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Li Yin smiled. "That kid has some real potential, and his luck is great too. To think he managed to get a mutated Human Race right off the bat. His future is promising."

Yue Chong sighed. "Indeed. My territory was also full of women back in the day. Unfortunately, reality taught me a harsh lesson, and I learned to behave after that. I hope he doesn’t repeat my mistakes..."

Head Instructor Saint Monarch You walked over.

He shook his head. "He won’t. Zhao Chi... Never mind. In any case, he’s a promising talent. It doesn’t matter which class he’s in; he’s from our Eighth Academy."

Li Yin nodded. "Exactly. Later, when we’re competing with other academies for resources, the students’ strength will be a major factor. As long as he’s from our Eighth Academy, we all have to support him."

Li Ruanyu nodded. "Sigh... Yes. I hope he keeps up the good work."

A little over ten minutes passed quickly.

In truth, Gu Qing, Tang Ruan, and the others hadn’t rested well at all.

But there was no other choice; the battle had to continue.

Zhao Chi said, "We’re in the final moments. Everyone, just hold on a little longer!"

Gu Qing smiled. "Let’s go, everyone! If we can clear this stage too, we’ll definitely level up again."

Zhao Chi nodded. "That’s right."

Though Tang Ruan and the others were exhausted, they still got to their feet one after another.

Zhao Chi checked their Morale.

[Zhao Chi Army Morale]

[Gu Qing] 93%

[Tang Ruan] 91%

[Female Militia] 64%

[Female Craftsman] 61%

Gu Qing and Tang Ruan’s Morale were both over 90%. This was likely unrelated to the Encourage skill Zhao Chi had just used.

After using Encourage, the Morale would slowly decrease, with the recently added portion declining first.

Just a moment ago, both of their Morale stats had exceeded 100%. From this, he could determine that the current 90-odd percent was their own base Morale.

Needless to say, Tang Ruan was always obedient and hardworking, with high Morale.

In the previous few stages, Gu Qing’s Morale had been a little lower than Tang Ruan’s, but now she had actually surpassed her.

’It seems Gu Qing is the type who gets stronger the more she’s tested.’

’She might have been careless at the start, but she gets serious later on.’

As for the Female Militia and Female Craftsmen, their situation was perfectly normal.

After all, they were all very tired.

To have to fight increasingly strong enemies while this exhausted and still maintain Morale above 60% was already no easy feat.

Zhao Chi wouldn’t make any unrealistic demands.

But then again, Morale in the 60% range corresponded to a roughly 60% level of enthusiasm.

It was already affecting their combat performance.

Everyone was starting to slack off due to exhaustion.

There was no way they could pass the ninth stage by relying on Gu Qing and Tang Ruan alone.

’Looks like I’ll have to use Encourage on a large scale to raise their Morale.’

Just as Zhao Chi was thinking this, a formal notification came from the system:

[Ninth Stage, Begin!]

"Everyone, pay attention! The enemy is about to appear."

All the women roused themselves and looked ahead.

The Fog Wall began to tremble once more.

This time, it seemed to take much longer. It was quite a while before all the fog finally dispersed.

The women stared blankly ahead, but they didn’t see the ninety enemies they were expecting.

There was only a single object directly in front of them, one larger than the Lord’s House itself.

It was generally oval-shaped, like a sphere.

It was as transparent as a drop of water, yet its outline was clearly visible.

On that outline, two large eyes seemed to be looking at the group.

Zhao Chi watched in astonishment.

"Quick, go, charge! Attack immediately, with all your might! Attack relentlessly! That’s an Emperor Slime!"

The women stared ahead, stunned.

Gu Qing was also extremely surprised.

’That giant water droplet was a Slime? A Slime could be that big?’

It was, indeed, a Slime.

A tremendously huge Slime.

On top of this Slime’s head sat a translucent Crown.

The Crown was inlaid with crystals of various Colors, glittering brilliantly in the sunlight.

Aside from this enormous Slime, there were no other Magical Beasts around.

Gu Qing tightened her grip on her Weapon.

’This was the first time she had ever seen Zhao Chi in such a hurry. Was there not even Time to explain the enemy’s situation?’

But Gu Qing knew Zhao Chi must have his reasons.

So, after only a second of thought, Gu Qing charged forward.

However, Tang Ruan didn’t even take that one second.

The moment Zhao Chi gave the order, she charged out without a second thought.

The other Female Soldiers and Female Craftsmen charged after her.

Zhao Chi took a deep breath.

He focused all the Power in his body into his palms.

The next moment, light burst forth.

Several rays of gentle, yellow light shot into Gu Qing and the others.

The women felt a pure light flow through them, a warm current seeping into every inch of their bodies.

Their Morale rose one by one.

Zhao Chi continuously swallowed High Level Spiritual Power Pills, no longer caring about building a tolerance.

He had originally planned to save them for the final stage, but if he didn’t use them now, he definitely wouldn’t make it to the next one.

Zhao Chi constantly recovered his Spiritual Power and continuously cast Encourage.

The rays shot into one woman after another.

Without exception, the warm current spread through each of them, and their Morale surged.

There were now 81 women, which required him to cast Encourage 81 times.

It was incredibly tedious.

Once he became a Junior Lord today, he would be able to unlock Range Skills, which would make things much more convenient.

But that was for later.

Encourage could only boost each person once.

Otherwise, Zhao Chi would have boosted Gu Qing’s Morale until it maxed out, and then boosted it some more. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

[Zhao Chi Army Morale]

[Gu Qing] 93% → 111%

[Tang Ruan] 91% → 106.5%

[Female Militia] 64% → 79%

[Female Craftsman] 61% → 76%

Gu Qing and Tang Ruan went wild again.

The two of them shrieked as they charged, their voices filled with excitement and drive.

The other women’s Morale was also high, and their Combat Power recovered and rose.