"I cultivated bitterly for decades and only caught a single glimpse of Lord Zhu Li when I broke through to the Top Tier. I didn’t even dare to raise my head! And after all that, her Bloodline Talent is wasted on a brat like you?"

King Niu threw his arms wide, his huge nostrils sucking in the purple mist like a whale swallowing the sea. His large, bloodshot eyes twitched frantically, like a common thief about to rob the imperial treasury. A chill ran down his spine, but his chest burned with heat. "What a waste of the Lord’s bloodline! The only right use for it is my Transformation!"

Among the Demon Race, there is no kinship, only respect for the strong.

Lord Zhu Li was a Demon Race prodigy who reached the Ancestral Return Realm over ten years ago. How noble her awakened bloodline is!

As long as I perform Refinement on this Human Race brat who inherited the Bloodline Talent, I’ll gain a path to Transformation with even greater potential. Who will dare call my bloodline mongrel then!

Given time, even a backwater demon like me might be able to glimpse the Ancestral Realm!

The greed in King Niu’s eyes brewed like strong liquor, chasing away the chill that the sight of the [Flood Dragon Tong] had sent down his spine.

The muscles on its coarse skin vibrated, and a terrifying pressure, as if a mountain were crashing down, pressed on everyone. A student who had already fainted suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, their eyes rolling in their sockets.

Zhang Heng, still prone on the ground, had just lifted a finger. Before he could cry out, "It’s a Top Tier Demon Beast!" a deafening BOOM echoed. The concrete beneath King Niu’s feet buckled into a crater, and its massive body blurred into a giant black shadow hurtling toward Jiang Qiu, like a locomotive instantly hitting full throttle.

"Brother Jiang!"

Sun Yongsheng screamed. The students of Eighth Middle School saw only a trail of afterimages, and their hearts froze in their chests.

For nearly all of them, it was their first time seeing a Top Tier Demon Beast in person. ’That’s a being on par with the Jade Sinew Realm! How could it be hiding in the college entrance exam’s Secret Realm area?’

Didn’t the examiners find it?!

A collision like that could cost Brother Jiang his life!

Panic washed over them like a flood. At the exact moment King Niu’s charge sent Jiang Qiu’s spearhead flying back with a deafening crash, fear swept in like a frigid tide, scattering their hopes.

Thousands of students from various high schools lay strewn across the ground like garbage, among them no small number of prodigies from the Steel Bone Realm.

Most of the students from Eighth Middle School, however, were only at the Copper Skin Realm. Their strongest, Jiang Qiu, seemed to be at the Steel Bone Realm, just like Zhang Heng.

’If he’s crippled or seriously injured, we’ll all be annihilated...’

The thought had barely taken root before it was washed away by a surge of excitement. At the focal point of everyone’s gaze, a blood-red phantom of an Azure Dragon erupted in front of King Niu, swallowing it whole as a Dragon’s Roar echoed like thunder.

WHOOSH—

A tempest engulfed King Niu’s entire body, and its steel-like arms felt as if they were being flayed by a rain of blades. It curled its lip, arrogance welling up. "I admit you’re a prodigy of the Human Race, but this attack isn’t fierce enough!"

As the words exploded from its mouth, King Niu’s raised arms had already forced the searing spearhead forward a meter. Jiang Qiu’s heels dug into the concrete slab like a plow, kicking up shards of debris.

’Overwhelming strength and a body impervious to blades and spears. At the level of a Top Tier Demon Beast, I have few rivals!’

’The Human Race’s Jade Sinew Realm is divided into a Ninth Rank system to determine potential. Anyone below the Third Rank isn’t even worthy of fighting me, unless they’re a prodigy!’

"Hmph!"

Jiang Qiu’s brow furrowed. His vertical pupils narrowed to slits, and with a CRUNCH, his heel nailed itself to the concrete slab. The spearhead, which had been halted, used its [Momentum] to pierce through the right arm King Niu had raised to block. The blood-red Azure Dragon, which had just finished brewing, finally let out its full-throated roar!

’I will kill King Niu today!’

"!!!"

The dragon head erupting from the spear tip carried a storm with it, ripping the black fur from its arms like a hurricane churning up ants. Its nostrils flared as wide as caves, and its jowls slapped against its cheeks.

’He broke my guard again?!’

THUD! King Niu’s mountain-like body was sent flying even more violently than that time in the Iron Forest. Seized by the blood-red Azure Dragon, it was hurled over fifty meters through the air before landing with a crash that kicked up a twenty-meter-wide cloud of dust, as if a building had collapsed.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP...

Hundreds, thousands of students, whether standing or lying prone, stared wide-eyed at the scene. Their hearts, which had been beaten into submission, now hammered in their chests. In their eyes, the spear-wielding youth, his black shirt shredded by the force of the blast, stood as tall and firm as an iron tower.

Their gazes converged, forming the most powerful battle cry.

’Holy shit! He took a full-force charge from the Top Tier Demon Beast, King Niu, without wearing a scrap of armor, and he still sent it flying?!’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

’Wait a second!’

’Isn’t that the [Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven] skill that was just recently added to the training chambers?’

’It can actually work against a Top Tier Demon Beast!’

"COUGH, COUGH... PTUI!"

The sound of it hacking up blood landed on the crowd’s ears like a glob of thick phlegm. King Niu shook its massive head a couple of times, and the ringing in its ears dissipated.

It pushed itself up, its massive scarlet eyes glancing at the gash on its right arm, which was so deep the bone was visible. It glared at Jiang Qiu, blood oozing from its gums.

"Worthy of a prodigy, indeed. To think you’ve grown this strong in just one month!"

King Niu heaved for breath, its mangled, bloody arms hanging at its sides. The Qi Blood within its body began to surge and burn. The floor beneath its feet cracked and splintered. Its muscles tensed like a rag being wrung dry, trembling faintly.

’It’s only been a month, and I can’t even figure out this brat’s physical Realm anymore. His power has increased more than tenfold.’

’Worse, he’s radiating a faint trace of Lord Zhu Li’s aura, looking down on me!’

’Since when has I, King Niu, ever been intimidated by a mere Human Race brat?’

A fresh surge of hot blood rushed through it. King Niu straightened its spine, its eyes bulging with rage. "I’ll show you just what allowed me to fight my way out of Dongqi Lake and even earn Lord Spider Mother’s reward of a special Pebble to heal my wounds!"

The blood on its arms stopped flowing, coagulating into a Red Armor. Its bones and sinews began to creak and groan like scraping metal, and the evaporating blood vapor faintly coalesced into the phantom of an Ox Demon over ten meters tall.

SCRAPE... SCRAPE... SCRAPE...

The students who were regaining consciousness stared wide-eyed, clawing at the concrete as they tried to crawl toward the periphery. They squirmed and twisted their bodies, like worms trying to escape the feet of a giant rooster.

"Run... run... run..."

The gritted whispers spread through the dust. Sun Yongsheng spotted Zhang Heng and Ye Shu, whom he’d met once before. These two Optimizers were pushing themselves to their knees, roaring with all their might, "He’s buying you a chance, so just fucking run! Run! RUN—"

A cold sweat crept up Sun Yongsheng’s spine. His gaze swept around them—there was nothing but purple mist in every direction, so thick he couldn’t even make out the buildings!

He glanced at his exam wristband. No signal. He had no idea how deep they were in the zone; they couldn’t even send a distress signal!

In an instant, most of the students from Eighth Middle School had shuffled back two or three steps. Suddenly, the sound of pounding feet echoed as someone broke into a frantic sprint, vanishing into the purple mist. King Niu, however, was still locked in a standoff with Jiang Qiu, paying no attention to the commotion.

’That’s a legendary Top Tier Demon Beast! How could anyone below the Jade Sinew Realm possibly have the strength to fight it?’

’Even Brother Jiang... he might have reached the Steel Bone Realm after joining the prodigy program, and he might be able to score a few hits with his powerful Spear Skills, but how could he be a true match for King Niu in a real fight?’

’We should escape first and find an examiner to come save the day!’

These thoughts crawled like worms into Qian Cheng’s mind. As his eyes darted about, student after student slipped past his shoulders. The slight breeze they kicked up seemed to lift his heels, and he took two soft, shuffling steps backward.

Of the sixty-one students at the Copper Skin Realm who were stronger than him, thirty-one had fled.

Of the twenty-one at the even stronger Iron Flesh Realm, four had fled.

Even Sun Yongsheng, the prodigy who had returned from the special program with Brother Jiang, was backing away. No, actually, aside from Liu Zili, Zhang Shan, and Li Juefeng, everyone else was retreating...

’Everyone else is trying to escape. Why shouldn’t I go with them?’

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

His heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum. His fingers curled like claws around his spear. Qian Cheng’s heel landed once more, but this time, it didn’t lift. He gritted his teeth and stood his ground, his gaze as resolute as a steel needle.

’Without Brother Jiang, I never would have made it into the exam hall. My rank never would have climbed. I would have struggled to even return to the civilian districts for the rest of my life, let alone find a home in the Inner City.’

’Brother Jiang was the one who gave me this chance.’

’Repay kindness with kindness, and a debt of honor with honor!’