Chapter 49: Annual Examination (6)
'Here it comes!'
Qing Zhong laughed. The so-called Free-For-All exam he mentioned earlier was this. He had seen his relatives taking similar exams, and he was aware of the true nature of this event.
The fat cultivator glanced at the VIP stand of the mountain goose sect, looking at the top 10 outer disciples. His father had bribed some of them and told them to assist Qing Zhong during this test.
'This round will be simple!'
...
Qing Zhong wasn't the only one with an insider, Wei Yuan also relied on her elder brother, Wei Feng.
The little sister's eyes met with her brother's. They understood what they had to do.
'I don't want to cheat, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.'
Living in this world as a female cultivator was hard, especially for a demon like her. Wei Yuan had to protect her body as well as the secrets of the Wei family.
...
From the previous test, 2,000 candidates out of over 6,000 test-takers managed to pass the second round. Now, when they heard that they might also die in the 3rd round, only 1500 candidates decided to continue. They waited for Jian Meng to start the exam.
Jian Meng noticed the crowd in front of the stage. He glanced at the sect master to check if they were ready.
Jia Shan nodded, signaling that everything was set. Jian Meng turned toward the VIP stands and announced.
"Since this round of exam is a joint test, outer disciples will enter the space one hour before other candidates to show how the safe zone and the monster hunt worked. I invite all elites from both sects to the stage and demonstrate how you hunt monsters in the alternate dimension! Oh, by the way, you will be staying in that world for 3 days as well. You need to prove that this round is doable."
Again, the trial involved the 20 top outer disciples. Xu Miao, Kang Yan, Nie Ping, Wei Feng, and 16 others leaped onto the stage after being called.
But when they got on the stage, Jian Meng reminded them again.
"This exam doesn't allow any candidate to bring a spatial ring, a weapon, or other items other than your clothes and armor. Please leave your items behind."
Mountain Goose workers walked up the stage with several baskets. They placed them in front of the 20 disciples, so they could deposit their items here.
Xu Miao came here prepared. He already deposited magic weapons, refined Yin stones, refined Yang stones, a barrel of drinkable water, and two packs of dried food into his system inventory.
Refined Yin and Yang stones were stackable, so Xu Miao packed all spirit stones into the system inventory. Unfortunately, magic weapons, water barrel, and food packs occupied one slot each. Therefore, he couldn't bring too many of them.
Obediently, Xu Miao left his spatial ring and a pair of hidden knives in his deposit basket. As for the other disciples, they didn't look too happy with the rules.
The worker didn't take advantage of snooping into Xu Miao's spatial ring or his belongings. They collected them and packed all items in a box with his name. Then, sect elders sealed the packages in an array, making sure that none of them could be stolen.
With all the preparation done, Xu Miao and everybody else entered the circle arrays. As soon as they stood on them, their bodies were teleported into the monster realm. However, a semi-transparent screen appeared above their arrays, broadcasting the actions of each participant in a bird-eye view.
.
.
.
When Xu Miao reopened his eyes again after the nauseous teleportation, he found himself laying on a grassland.
Humongous dead grey trees surrounded the wide area of short weeds. Each of them was at least 10 meters in diameter, and over 100 meters tall. They were dried and withered, making the surrounding environment creepy.
The tree small branches were like hand-made spear tips, which protruded from the main branches, making these dead trees ominous.
Separating the grassland and the surrounding dead trees was a transparent dome, which protected everyone inside. This place was a safe zone that Jian Meng had mentioned.
But something was different than Xu Miao had imagined. The safe zone dome was only about 250 square meters, which was too small for all candidates to live here for 3 days.
As Xu Miao looked around, he couldn't find fellow outer disciples. He was alone in the safe zone.
'I thought some of them entered the arrays before me. Why am I alone?'
Looking around like an idiot for 5 minutes, Xu Miao concluded that they got separated by the exam organizers. He gave up looking for the girls and gazed into the dead forest.
Movements inside the forest were visible, but Xu Miao couldn't confirm what it was. He walked closer to the safe zone border to get a better look.
*Grrr*
The threatening groan of a beast could be heard. As Xu Miao looked closer, he found the red eyes of a 2-meter-tall dire wolf.
Instead of being panicked, Xu Miao snapped his finger, taunting the monster, "Here, doggy, doggy. Come here. Let me see you."
*ROAR!*
The monster wolf leaped and tried to bite Xu Miao's neck, but its head slammed onto the invisible wall.
*DONG*
The wolf was repelled and stunned because of its own force. It shook its head a couple times and glared at Xu Miao again.
"Seriously, I don't eat dogs. I'm against eating domesticated animals, you know?"
*GRRRR*
As if the wolf was provoked, it bared fangs and tried to snap Xu Miao's legs, hands, or neck, but it couldn't get through the dome barrier.
Xu Miao just sat there, looking at the frantic wolf as if he was looking at wild animals in a glass zoo. He recalled YouTube clips of tigers or lions trying to bite children on the other side of the glass.
Curious if he could kill the beast without leaving the safe zone, Xu Miao circulated his yin qi into his feet and tried to send an ice spike to skewer the wolf.
"???"
The Qi circulation got stuck at his feet. Xu Miao couldn't use Qi inside the safe zone.
'What if I use a physical attack instead?'
Instead of using a ranged skill, Xu Miao circulated his Qi and activated a body enhancement skill.
Demonic Body Strengthening!
100 strands of Yang Qi circulated throughout Xu Miao's body, increasing his muscle strength. Different from the last time, his Qi wasn't interrupted by the safe zone since it was an internal circulation.
Qi Circulation techniques were categorized into 5 major types.
The first one was basic manipulation, which was commonly used to open meridians or increase blood flow efficiency. Aside from making a cultivator refreshed, this circulation category was only useful for practicing basic Qi manipulation techniques or warming up the body.
The second type involved conjuring techniques. By sending a batch of qi strands into a cultivator's hands or feet, cultivators could detach their qi from their bodies, creating something with their energy. This type of circulation process was commonly used in many external techniques, such as summoning ice needles, Yang Flame, or conjuring type skills. All ice-based skills that Xu Miao could use belonged to this category.
The third type was an alteration, transformation, and transmutation circulation. This circulation technique could only be used by alchemists and shapeshifters like Xu Xiuying or high-rank cultivators as the complexity of Qi circulation required decades of training. However, once mastered, a cultivator could use their Qi to change material properties and elements. Top skills, such as rapid regeneration, eternal youth, and healing abilities fell into this type of Qi circulation technique.
The innate conversion was the fourth type of Qi Circulation technique. Qi could be converted into a spiritual substance or another sophisticated form of unique Qi, becoming another form of energy. Soul attack, mind attack, illusion, and puppeteering techniques required this type of Qi to fuel its usage. Similar to the third category, the only specialist, such as soul cultivators, necromancers, or spirit summoners could use this ability as it required decades of training and experience to master.
And lastly, the last category was physical enhancement, aura enchantment, and refining. This category was close to the first type as it was the next step of all basics. Cultivators could use their internal Qi to coat their bodies, increasing the strength of muscle and bone, making them faster and stronger. Most basic skills belonged to this category. Even a third-rate thug often used aura or body enhancement skills as these Qi Circulation techniques were useful.
Qi Hong used to teach Xu Miao the difference in Qi categories during the weekly lecture. The latter understood the concept, and he had an idea of how he could exploit the loophole inside the safe zone.
The safe zone blockaded the Qi usage in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th categories. However, it didn't block the internal circulation technique. Even though external aura, such as Qi Barrier, couldn't be used, Xu Miao could still consume his Yang Qi and enhance his physical power temporarily.
Xu Miao's pale skin reddened, and his muscle expanded.
*RIP*
The white robes were torn as they couldn't contain Xu Miao's expanding muscle. He took off his clothes and armor, which was too tight for him at the moment, revealing his bare naked upper body.
The V-shape and 6 packs were visible. The ripped beach body of Xu Miao didn't belong to a sex maniac, who never worked out.
After activating the body enhancement technique, Xu Miao could feel the strength similar to the time when he went berserk in the bar during his early day in this world. It was the same technique that the system activated it for him as a teaser.
"Let's see if I can beat you from here, doggy."
Xu Miao walked toward the monster wolf and threw a punch to its face.
*POEK*
The right hook connected with the wolf's left cheek. The giant monster was flung away by the impact and slammed onto a nearby tree.
This was a cheap shot. The wolf couldn't get inside the barrier, but Xu Miao was free to enter and leave any time. Thus, he used the loophole to hunt.
Xu Miao didn't exit the safe zone after delivering the first punch. He walked toward the wolf, but he still hugged around the edge of the barrier, waiting to see what the wolf could do.
The wolf slowly stood up, but its legs were wobbling. It growled and barked at Xu Miao.
The next second, it shot a dark bullet at him.
*DING* *DING*
The shadow bullets hit the safe zone barrier.
Xu Miao laughed. He was glad that he didn't follow up with another attack, or he would have been dead. Xu Miao taunted the wolf again, "Come here, little puppy. Is this all you can do?"
*GROWL*
The wolf leaped at him again slammed its face on the barrier. As soon as the monster got close, Xu Miao threw another right hook to its face, sending it back to the tree.
Xu Miao kicked the ground and left the safe zone. He pulled out the magic dadao and swung it while the wolf was down.
*SWUA*
He beheaded the dire wolf on the spot.
Floating number "540" kept following Xu Miao around and stayed on top of his head. This was the combined score of his previous two test results.
*WHOOM*
After the wolf had been killed, Xu Miao's score was updated. From 540, it increased to 550.
Xu Miao didn't care about the changes. He dragged the wolf's dead body into the safe zone right away, securing the only meat source for himself. He left the wolf's head outside, so the blood scent could attract more monsters to the area. Then, Xu Miao could use this cheap trick to hunt monsters without stepping outside of the safe zone.
'Eep! I don't like dog meat, but I need food. Eh, it's not like I need food, but I can use this to bargain with other test takers.'
Everything Xu Miao had done didn't escape the eyes of the other candidates, who was watching his actions from the very beginning.