Chương 86: War God’s : — Chapter 86 - Kid, You Seem Familiar. You're That Wang Feng, Aren't You?

Outside Scarlet Cloud Mountain. Evening had settled in. Cui Sanyan waited, anxiety gnawing at him. Most students had already left the exam site. Many classes had counted heads and headed home. But Class 4 still had several students missing. As the homeroom teacher who'd brought them here, he couldn't leave. He wasn't the only one waiting. Teachers from First High and Fourth High lingered too. From students who'd already exited, and from Li Zihang and the others who'd returned, he had a rough idea of what happened.

"Every year there are accidents during the practical combat assessment..."

"Some even die..."

"But the students who charged into Spiderheart Summit are the elite aces of Western Shu this year... The military won't just stand by... And Grandmaster Bai is there..."

"Their lives are definitely safe... I just don't know if their scores can be preserved..." They'd exceeded the time limit. According to regulations, scores would be voided. Zero points.

"Li Zihang said Wang Xian's practical combat score was close to 3, 000... That would've locked in top scholar for sure."

"That kid, to just throw it away and charge into Spiderheart Summit to save people, too reckless!"

"Too reckless!" Cui Sanyan's words dripped with reproach, but his face held unmistakable pride. To have a student like this. His whole life felt worth it! Even without a score, any top university would admit him on the spot for this alone. Even the Dragon Nation's Big Five might extend offers and make special exceptions. Before long, figures emerged from the passageways within Scarlet Cloud Mountain. The stone in Cui Sanyan's chest finally dropped. Especially seeing them all unharmed, he exhaled hard.

"You few, come to the command tent." Chief Zhao and Bai Hongtian walked out.

"You exceeded the time limit. The scoring system already voided your scores and uploaded them to the Ministry of Education. To restore them, we need to file a report describing the Spiderheart Summit situation in detail, submit it, and wait for approval." The process was tedious. Wang Xian greeted his homeroom teacher first, then followed Chief Zhao into the tent. Led by Chen Yuting, the dozen-plus examinees described everything word by word, detail by detail.

When they mentioned Chen Yuting deploying a special light barrier to protect them at the first moment, Chief Zhao frowned. He exchanged a glance with Bai Hongtian. Both looked at Chen Yuting.

"Do you have first-rank or higher protective gear?" Chief Zhao asked. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"No." Chen Yuting's expression stayed calm.

"It's my talent."

"I've never heard the World-Toppling Demon Body can protect others." Chief Zhao sounded surprised.

"And your talent only awakened yesterday. How could it have power strong enough to withstand attacks from a near-D-rank beast?"

"Does Chief Zhao know when the last World-Toppling Demon Body appeared?" Chen Yuting countered.

"About a hundred years ago... Come to think of it, we haven't really seen this talent in modern times..."

"Exactly." Chen Yuting nodded slightly.

"We understand too little about this talent. I didn't use a light barrier to protect them. I released the World-Toppling Demon Body's 'Demon Enchanting Light.'""This light mimics the aura of creatures that attack me."

"After the Earth Abyss Demon Chi attacked me once, my body remembered its aura. Then I used my talent to simulate it, making the beast think we were the same kind. It created a cognitive illusion, so it stopped attacking."

"Is that so?" Chief Zhao looked uncertain. He didn't know much about this talent either.

"If you don't believe me, ask the other examinees. They should've only seen the Earth Abyss Demon Chi attack once. After that it just coiled at the top, watching." The other examinees thought for a moment and nodded. Chief Zhao and Bai Hongtian exchanged another glance. Their estimation of this talent rose several notches. Honestly, it was strong. So this was a King-tier Talent?

"It's also King-tier, so why is hers so strong?" Lin Ao wondered aloud.

"A beast approaching D-rank, strength far beyond theirs. One flash of Demon Enchanting Light can alter its cognition?"

"Not necessarily impossible." Bai Hongtian nodded slightly.

"This talent is extraordinary. It may not boost combat power much right now, but its utility is extremely high." Wang Xian thought to himself: Demon Enchanting Light was indeed a talent ability. But it wasn't the light Chen Yuting had just released. The Earth Abyss Demon Chi didn't attack, not because it thought they were the same kind. It knew attacking was pointless. It couldn't break through her defense.

'If I'm right, it should be a divine artifact...' To slip past the pre-exam inspection undetected, only a 'divine artifact' could manage that. Though he'd guessed part of it, Wang Xian didn't speak up. It was only a guess. Since Chen Yuting's explanation held up, and she had in fact protected over a dozen examinees, there was no need to say more.

"One more question." Chief Zhao's gaze locked onto Chen Yuting.

"The Earth Abyss Demon Chi was an 'extra credit question' the military set up. The requirement to unlock it was to immediately detect the underground fissure at Spiderheart Summit and jump down to challenge it."

"Logically, it couldn't have crawled out from the abyss fissure on its own."

"What exactly did you do down there?"

"I don't know." Chen Yuting shook her head, looking confused.

"We're not clear either. After I led the team to defeat three Soul-Devouring Broodmother Spiders, I calculated points and time. Felt we could challenge one more."

"Our team had almost 15 people. Challenging four was reasonable."

"Then that Earth Abyss Demon Chi just came running out..."

"Cannibalism. The beast ate too many Soul-Devouring Broodmother Spider corpses..." Bai Hongtian shook his head slightly.

"The number exceeded what the military calculated... Consider it an oversight on our part." Chief Zhao said nothing. No one expected this year's student quality to be this terrifyingly high. It was an oversight. In previous years, barely any teams in the core area could unite to defeat the anchor beast. This year: two King-tier Talents, countless high-level talents. And one person who could complete the challenge solo.

"Mm, let's leave it at that for now." Chief Zhao nodded slightly.

"Go back and rest. Once scores are restored, or if there are other developments, we'll notify you." The group nodded. For some reason, Lin Ao and a few others didn't feel particularly happy hearing this. After leaving Spiderheart Summit, scores didn't seem so important anymore. Seeing the others leave, Wang Xian stood to head home. He was about to walk out with Ye Miyue. Chen Yuting didn't leave. She looked at Chief Zhao instead.

"Chief Zhao, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"Wang Xian rushed over first, killed the Earth Abyss Demon Chi, and saved over a dozen of us." Chen Yuting said.

"His scores might not even be restored... Shouldn't he receive additional commendation?"

"If he'd been any later, none of us might have survived."

"Yes!" The ten examinees spoke up without hesitation.

"Without Wang Xian arriving first, and Ye Miyue helping... we might all be dead at Spiderheart Summit..."

"Even if there's no material reward, there should at least be public recognition, right?"

"If it were me, I wouldn't have had the courage..." The words rang true. If this exam had really killed over a dozen students, both the military and the schools would bear major responsibility. One or two incidents might be manageable. Over a dozen at once was entirely different. Especially if it was the military's oversight. Chief Zhao pondered for a moment.

"There will be commendation, of course."

"Wang Xian, stay a moment."

"The rest of you may leave." Wang Xian's steps halted. Hard to refuse. Inside the tent, only Wang Xian, Chief Zhao, and Bai Hongtian remained. Along with a few military personnel organizing data. Chief Zhao studied the young man before him. Scenes from earlier kept replaying in his mind. And that sentence. He smiled.

"Kid, you feel familiar to me."

"......"

"You're that Wang Feng, aren't you?"

"That first-realm martial artist who cleared the Skeletal Blade Tomb Relic?" ➤ Next: Crimson Dragon War Token, Advanced Martial Arts, Tiger Soul Blade Technique!