Chapter 702: Public Outcry?

During the joint exam hunt.

No one knew when it started, but a strange post began circulating on the Plant Network hunting forums.

The cause was an examinee who posted that following Teaching Assistant Xiao Han's Wanted order always led to encountering large-scale Mutated Beasts.

Subsequently, many examinees with the same experience left comments below, confirming that this was true.

It seemed that from the second day of the hunt, they rarely saw the figure of Teaching Assistant Xiao Han.

Every time they could only see the Wanted location tracking.

If they chased according to the location, an accident was absolutely guaranteed to happen.

The Mutated Beasts they usually never encountered suddenly appeared in clusters.

Don't think these were all scoring; a charge from one of those Mutated Beast packs was enough to make large teams of dozens of people temporarily back off.

Even if some smart people tried to rely on this "trait" to hunt the Mutated Beasts, the final result was that they were counter-killed by the Mutated Beast packs.

The best outcome was a narrow escape from death.

As time went on, Teaching Assistant Xiao Han was getting closer and closer to the border of the Ninglan area, and occasionally even crossed the border.

The number and strength of the Mutated Beasts there were even more terrifying.

But even so, this Teaching Assistant Xiao Han was still highly regarded, because… if you couldn't find Mutated Beast packs to hunt, following her would always lead to one.

As for whether you could defeat them once found, that was another matter.

Of course, if it were only the ability to run into Mutated Beast packs that made her popular, the gimmick naturally wouldn't have gone completely crazy.

After all, speaking of crazy, over these past few days, some teaching assistants' Wanted orders haven't even disappeared yet, and the cumulative duration has reached three digits!

That was crazy!

This person was practically a "God of Slaughter" in name and in fact!

She was an existence that most examinees now had to hide from and avoid.

However, she didn't truly solidify the title of "God of Slaughter."

Because soon, some people found that this teaching assistant would also avoid group hunts.

When large hunting parties of dozens or even hundreds of people rushed over, this God of Slaughter would also retreat, and then… someone on the Plant Network hunting section complained that a person like this didn't deserve to be called the God of Slaughter.

It could only be said that this teaching assistant was only popular for a short time.

But Teaching Assistant Xiao Han was different!

"Follow Xiao Han and feast on Mutated Beasts" was merely a joke among most ordinary examinees.

What truly made the name "Teaching Assistant Xiao Han" resonate across the Plant Network hunting section was her behavior.

She was actively seeking out and challenging the prodigies of various Transcendent Academies throughout the entire Expansion Realm.

As long as an opponent was recognized by her, she would seek them out for a duel, a one-on-one or a one-on-many against a small team.

There's nothing wrong with liking a challenge, but the crucial point was that she would even challenge fellow teaching assistants!

And after encountering a teaching assistant and winning, this Teaching Assistant Xiao Han would not kill the opponent, but would instead use them as a "greeting gift" for her next opponent, essentially giving away one hundred scoring points and inviting the opponent to fight her!

If they won, they could get another one hundred scoring points!

Although no one on the Plant Network hunting section had yet stepped forward to claim that they had received the one hundred scoring points from Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, her actions had already been widely circulated.

This Teaching Assistant Xiao Han instantly became the most desired person to encounter, because meeting her was equivalent to another teaching assistant falling victim to her, and if you were acknowledged by this Teaching Assistant Xiao Han and confident enough, you could potentially earn two hundred scoring points in one battle!

Even if one's skills were inferior, there was at least the scoring of one teaching assistant as a fallback, and after deducting the scoring for death and resurrection, that was still a huge profit.

Moreover, this Teaching Assistant Xiao Han was not picky about the academies.

After so many days, her opponents already spanned the Witch Academy, Wizard Academy, Aphrodite Academy, Holy Angel Academy, and parts of the Beast Academy, and so on.

Not to mention that during this period, she was not only battling these examinees, but the teaching assistants who were used as "challenge greeting gifts" were also her opponents!

The strength of the teaching assistants was something many examinees had personally experienced, and their power went without saying.

Under normal circumstances, a one-on-one was very difficult to win.

Even the teaching assistant with the weakest combat awareness possessed a physical constitution and a terrifyingly thick health bar that were part of the reasons why a single person couldn't defeat a teaching assistant.

And this was also why Teaching Assistant Xiao Han was so highly sought after: because of fairness.

The health bar of Teaching Assistant Xiao Han looked very normal.

Even if she was hit by a sneak attack with an arrow, her health bar would drop dramatically.

Although her physical constitution was also very strong, it wasn't as rule-breaking as the other teaching assistants.

Later, someone on the Plant Network popularized the fact that the teaching assistants' thick health bars were related to their vitality, and the stronger their vitality, the stronger their body's self-healing ability, called Undying Nature.

Overcoming the strong with the weak was the deed most celebrated by people.

Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, who was about the same age as them, constantly fought against the teaching assistants they deemed rule-breaking, and she won every time.

What exploit could be more highly acclaimed than this?

Although some rumors on the Plant Network suggested that Xiao Han did not win every battle against a teaching assistant, no one paid them any attention.

Moreover, the fact was that they had not seen Xiao Han lose!

Given this level of enthusiasm, even if Xiao Han were definitively proven to have lost, a large number of people would still support her, because the teaching assistants' abilities were so rule-breaking that it was normal for Xiao Han to lose, but her battles, more often than not, resulted in a… win!

Judging solely from the Plant Network, Xiao Han seemed to have become the third faction in this joint exam hunt, completely separate from the other teaching assistants, splitting the "examinee" and "teaching assistant" groups.

***

"Alright, it's time to go."

I looked at the Beast Academy's Little Beast King at my feet.

This one was equivalent to a teaching assistant in the Witch Academy and was also worth one hundred scoring points.

I had encountered them many times, as there were many Transcendent Academies under the Beast Academy, and capturing them was the least strenuous method.

Although the half-beastman's body had slight differences from an ordinary human body, the method to keep him unconscious and not dead was equally simple.

The battle had ended now.

I used the Wound Cleaning spell to clean the filth from my wounds, then tilted my head back to drink a healing potion.

After all, I had not yet reached the level of possessing Undying Nature.

Although the Little Beast Kings of the Beast Academy were common, that didn't mean they were weak.

The Beast Academy was the place that valued "beast-like nature" the most, and the academy already emphasized the survival of the fittest and strength is king.

After a simple investigation, I knew that combat was the most common way of interaction there.

I even heard that the academy rules allowed and encouraged students to fight openly on campus.

Although that might be an exaggeration, it was a true portrayal of the Beast Academy.

And in terms of close-combat awareness, the teaching assistants of the Beast Academy… were much stronger than some of the Witch Academy's teaching assistants, and by a large margin!

Although, overall, the Witch Academy still overwhelmingly defeated the Beast Academy people, this was only because the Beast Academy suffered from the disadvantage of the Transcendent System.

At least, that was how it seemed to me.

I looked at the wounds left on my body from the battle and was thinking of taking out another potion bottle for external application, when suddenly I sensed an arrow, which instinctively triggered my Time Sense of cognition.

A blurred visual image and an arrow flashing with cold light whistled towards me.

It was augmented with concealment runes and silencing runes from Elf Magic.

In an instant, I predicted that this arrow was not coming straight for my life; its target was the potion bottle in my hand!

After reaching this conclusion, I made no move, allowing the arrow to pierce the glass bottle in my hand, resulting in the sound of glass shattering.

"Who?"

At this time, I only pretended to look around afterward and questioned, "Who?"

Since the attacker didn't plan for a lethal strike but chose to directly pierce the item I was about to use, this was undoubtedly a form of mockery, or perhaps… a declaration?

It also implied that they were not afraid of me escaping, which meant that I was probably surrounded now.

In just an instant, many thoughts flashed through my mind, and I tried to sense the surrounding auras that might be in stealth.

The joint exam hunt had been going on for many days, and my exploits were likely widely known, so this couldn't be due to the opponent's overconfidence.

They possessed absolute self-confidence.

This confidence could be attributed to their own strength, or it could be provided by their team of accomplices.

"Yang Yuehan, don't you think your actions are going too far?"

At this time, two burly figures appeared from a distance and walked toward me, immediately addressing me by name.

Their voices were low and suppressed with anger.

"Little Beast Kings of the Beast Academy? Strange, you should be the group that most adheres to the belief of power is king. Their skill and strength are inferior to mine… Hmm, are you seeking justice for those who failed?"

I looked at the two people with some surprise.

Two Little Beast Kings of the Beast Academy… this was far from all of them.

The one who shot the arrow just now, judging from the accuracy, should be a genuine Elf student, not merely a Beastman who chose the Ranger class.

"No! They deserved their defeat, but you shouldn't use them as your stepping stone! A beast can be killed, but not humiliated!"

After he finished speaking, a terrifying burst of power erupted and rushed toward me.

"What a poor excuse."

I complained, then used my superior agility to maneuver, and simultaneously, plant vines silently extended from beneath the opponent's feet—it was the third skill, Plant Entanglement, which served as a control ability.

However, this spell had a negligible effect on Beastmen, who possessed extreme brute strength.

But I had developed a new use for this spell.

While Beastmen were very strong, their limbs were weakest at the initial stage of generating force.

As a Body Cultivator, I had some research on how the body exerts force.

Therefore, the Beastman who rushed over intending to give me a rude awakening failed in his attempt.

He looked at the plant vines that should have been easily torn apart, but which stubbornly impeded his movement.

He only needed a little more force to tear them, but at the crucial moment, his attack rhythm was always broken, and his advancing steps and swinging punch couldn't reach me at all.

So, after only a few brief exchanges, he lost due to his recklessness and carelessness.

Watching this figure lose balance and finally be knocked to the ground by my book, I didn't have the chance to deliver the finishing blow.

After all, he still had another companion beside him.

What's more, there was the Elf hiding in the shadows, ready to fire a dark arrow at me at any moment.

I was not in my full-power state with the confidence to deal with all attacks; I was only in a state where I could use the power network and basic Physical Arts strength.

Therefore, when dealing with the unknown, I had to reserve at least more than half of my reaction margin to calmly deal with unforeseen dangers.

"Brilliant. You defeated a Little Beast King in just a few moves. I can now acknowledge the rumors on the Plant Network that you don't fear a duel with anyone."

"Who are you? You've stepped from behind the scenes to the forefront, speaking of brilliance. It would only be complete with applause. Where is your applause?"

I looked at the figure and spoke.

"Alright, then I'll grant you this final wish."

The female figure clapped her hands with a "pat, pat, pat," but it sounded rather perfunctory no matter how one listened.

"Oh, an Elf. Were you the one who shot the cold arrow that shattered my potion bottle just now?"

The opponent removed the shadow's concealment and revealed herself.

It was then that I recognized her as an Elf.

After all, the Elf Ranger's stealth ability was also very outstanding.

"I'm afraid not, it wasn't me."

"It was me."

At this time, another figure jumped down from the tree, admitting it very straightforwardly, even carrying the distinct arrogance of an Elf in her tone.

"Look at you, your tone is quite confident. Can you perform another demonstration?"

As I spoke, I took out another potion bottle, holding it between two fingers and shaking it at the Elf.

"An Elf's archery is not a performance art for you to watch! It is a hunting technique!"

"Tsk So you just don't want to perform?"

I put the potion away, mocking the opponent's mindset in the process.

But I had already confirmed one thing internally: the situation I was in was a trap.

I looked at the "Little Beast King" lying on the ground not far away.

No wonder this person was so obviously isolated.

However, his strength should not be underestimated.

So, it was all premeditated.

Wait!

I suddenly thought of something and looked at the wound I had treated earlier.

The previous Little Beast King was focused on scratching me rather than defeating me… That was the main reason for my injury this time.

I had thought the opponent had become smarter…

And the moment I realized it, a curse rune suddenly appeared in the area I had treated with the Wound Cleaning spell!

"Oh? Did you notice? That Little Beast King was somewhat capable, but not very. All he managed to do was scratch a small wound on you at the cost of being subdued?"

"Wizard Academy… you certainly think highly of me. You guys…"

I looked at the figures walking out again, and my slightly relaxed mood immediately sank.

This was a curse ability performed by the Wizard skill tree using a special medium.

I tried to use the Magic Power Protection Spell to attempt to increase my magic resistance to counteract the corrosive effect of the curse, but the effect was not very good.

Even the Stone Skin Physical Resistance Spell only slowed down the curse's progression.

"Of course we think highly of you. If we didn't, would so many of us need to surround you?"

At this moment, the people in the shadows no longer hid but boldly stepped forward.

The number, just at a glance, was over a dozen!

This was even more than the number I had observed in the initial ambush.

It seemed there truly were many prodigies from the various academies.

"Yang Yuehan, we have let you show off for so long these past few days. You don't truly believe that out of so many Transcendent Academies, you are the only genius, do you?"

"Do you really think every competition is a stage for you to show off?"

"You must know that the most dedicated actor on the stage is often the clown, just like you. You've stolen the spotlight these past few days, so what?"

"Don't you know that your actions these past few days have incurred the public's wrath!"

"Public's wrath?"

I chuckled lightly, as if the person in dire straits was not me.

"The so-called public's wrath is merely the pride that you can't let go of."