On a large flatland halfway up the mountain, Huai Shouren stood at the center of the clearing, arms crossed, seemingly meditating with his eyes closed.

Beside him, two Spirit Beasts stood guard.

One was a shark about four meters long and sky blue in color, leisurely swimming through the air, surrounded by a faint blue mist—this mist provided it the ability to move freely in the air.

The other was a lizard-like Spirit Beast, with a similar blue, wet exterior, and limbs proportionate to a human, silently standing guard next to Huai Shouren.

High above, a small ball of light emitted limited warmth and illumination, piercing through the Demonic Qi to brighten the surroundings.

This place, located between two slopes of the mountain, was a rare flatland that had been cleared of obstacles, showing no signs of trees, with the edges piled with large rocks and white bones.

It seemed to have been a nest of some Magical Beast, now transformed into a stage for combat.

"It's been two hours already, why isn't that guy Lin Guang here yet? My Furious Ape [Sunny Day] has been running for so long, even at the lowest power it's hard to sustain!"

A short distance away, beside a giant rock at the field's edge, someone muttered discontentedly.

There stood six or seven examinees, and nearby sat Wang Dawei, gagged with a cloth and hands tied behind his back.

One female examinee said coldly, "Say less, what if you upset Young Master Huai?"

Another person suddenly spoke, "Hey, do you think there's a chance that guy Lin Guang chickened out and didn't dare come?"

"Haha, who knows? Anyway, if I were him, I wouldn't come. Why court death?"

The speaker looked mockingly at the immobilized Wang Dawei: "To abandon his points for someone like this? I doubt he has such noble morals."

"I bet... Lin Guang probably doesn't even see you as a friend!"

Wang Dawei's eyes blazed with red veins, his face bulging with fury, yet he said nothing, just glared intently at their faces, as if etching them into his bones.

One among them remained silent, a face he was all too familiar with.

—He Shenghuang from Experimental Middle School's Class One.

He never expected that after transferring, he would join forces with Huai Shouren.

Meanwhile, in the center of the field, Huai Shouren paid no heed to the sycophantic whispers, silently waiting.

An hour later.

Finally.

In the darkness, four figures suddenly approached, highlighted by Sunny Day.

Huai Shouren abruptly opened his eyes.

Seeing Lin Guang, Vishdair, and Lisa calmly entering the field and standing twenty meters across from him, a cold smile involuntarily crossed his lips.

He couldn't help but speak, "Clearly, there's no chance of winning, yet you still came. Reckless bravery is foolishness."

Lin Guang didn't reply, his gaze shifted to the distant crowd—He Shenghuang met his gaze, his expression subtly awkward, slightly turning his head to avoid eye contact.

The hostage Wang Dawei, seeing his arrival, was first excited, but soon lowered his head, avoiding Lin Guang's eyes, as if apologizing for implicating him.

Lin Guang glanced at Wang Dawei, and Huai Shouren understood, lightly raising his hand with a slight hum: "Release him."

The lackeys, wasting no time, immediately untied Wang Dawei.

Turning around, Lin Guang exchanged a glance with Lv Rui, who, recalling their earlier discussion, quickly grasped Lin Guang's intent, reuniting with Wang Dawei and heading to another corner of the field.

Once Wang Dawei was freed, Lin Guang turned back to Huai Shouren, calmly asking, "Was it you who tampered with the examination site?"

"It was me, what of it?"

Huai Shouren sneered, "My original intent was merely to teach you and your friend a lesson, to know there are mountains beyond mountains, heavens beyond heavens, yet your arrogance gave me unexpected gains."

"You speak the truth."

To Huai Shouren's surprise, Lin Guang lightly nodded, acknowledging his words, momentarily surprising him.

"I came here today to teach you the lesson 'Respect the strong, don't bring disaster through careless words.'"

"I only hope that after this battle, you and your Spirit Beast don't tremble in fear at the sight of me."

Huai Shouren was visibly angered, his eyes flashing sky blue: "You're quite skilled with words."

"But unfortunately...it's just the feeble barking of a weakling."

"Oh, really?"

Dark golden flames burned fiercely in Lin Guang's pupils as he taunted, "When I send you packing, don't go crying home to your mommy for milk."

Both simultaneously reached out, pulling out their Jade Tokens, infusing them with Spiritual Power without hesitation.

The two Profound Dragon Jade Tokens suddenly began to glow, linking to something, emitting a crisp hum.

Betting Object.

Lin Guang/Huai Shouren.

Betting Points.

Lin Guang: 8716

Huai Shouren: 13482

The two of them both unhesitatingly chose to wager all their points!

...

The joint exam isn't broadcasted outside, or rather, there aren't any conditions for an external broadcast.

With nearly ten thousand candidates, so many exam rooms, and such a large venue, even if High-Star Spirit Masters and Spirit Beasts could use various magical means to broadcast, most of the audience wouldn't understand, unable to find the focal point, making it pointless.

However, the Zhen Sheng City education bureau did provide a way for the curiosity-driven public to follow the progress of the exam by setting up a network for broadcasting on the intercity network of Zhen Sheng City.

What they called a live site was actually just an open field. Eliminated students would be teleported here from the Secret Realm, and in the middle of the field stood a giant flag swaying in the wind. The flag was pitch-black with tadpole-like small characters on it, showcasing the ranking of each exam room in the joint exam, updated in real time based on candidates' scores.

And the Purple A1 exam room was conspicuously at the top, in the most eye-catching position.

In the Secret Realm, whether a student was eliminated by a Magical Beast or another contestant, it wouldn't be displayed on the flag. After a 30% deduction, wherever they were supposed to drop to, that's where they'd be.

When students started betting, it was different. The names of the two participating students would glow like fire, followed by a special effect of being "chained" together.

This design also catered to the gossiping needs of the onlookers.

"Hey, look quickly, the first and fourth are going at it! They've even bet all their points!"

"Huai Shouren… Huai Family? Someone actually dares to challenge the three major families..."

"Which Divine Being?"

"Lin Guang? Is it that Lin Guang from Experimental Middle School?"

Near the City Spirit Beast Mall, in a bar affiliated with the Spirit Master Association, a big man watched the broadcast that had been running on the bar's TV for days, looking very displeased, he snorted coldly:

"With so many points, the things he could exchange them for make me drool, but he has to throw it all away?"

"This young man named Lin Guang, even if he has some strength, is still too naive. He's not thinking about how to protect his base and hold out until the end of the exam to cash out but actually thinking of confronting the progeny of a prestigious family, and risking everything. Truly foolish beyond measure!"

"He's young, too young indeed."

A group of equally tipsy people around him chimed in, not just because the words made sense, but also because this big man was a Three-Star peak Spirit Master, frequently exploring the Wilderness, with considerable prowess.

After some hullabaloo, the group quieted down, as staring at a cold scoreboard and discussing for half a day didn't yield much.

There wasn't even any real-time footage.

It was then that a middle-aged man with a long scar on his temple sitting nearby stroked his chin: "You think he's bound to lose? I think not necessarily."

The big man glanced at him, looking a bit surprised: "Fu Fuyou, are you nuts?"

Fu Fuyou gave him a glance: "Why not place a bet?"

Hearing this, the surrounding suddenly fell silent.

The big man raised an eyebrow: "Hmm? Bet what?"

"Not for something big, the loser just buys everyone here a drink of [Cyan Resonance], how about that?"

"Eh? So even you, the iron rooster, are so generous?"

The big man rolled his eyes: "Is there some insider info?"

Though not particularly close, everyone there was from Zhen Sheng City, and in their early days, they explored the wilderness and seas of Fenghai Province, even having been sailors on the same ship, so he knew Fu Fuyou's ways—appearing fiercely formidable but actually never doing anything without confidence.

Everyone present were Spirit Masters daring enough to venture into the Wilderness, and were quite wealthy. Coming to the bar to spend was naturally not cheap, buying a custom drink mixed with Spiritual Materials for dozens of people here would cost a small fortune in Daxia Coin.

Fu Fuyou showed what he considered a gentle, albeit quite fierce, smile: "Haha, no insider info here, just a gut feeling."

Looking at his face, the big man also rough-looking only hesitated for a moment before nodding, with a cold sneer crossing his lips: "If you win, I'll buy everyone a drink of [Crimson Mist]."

In Zhen Sheng City, a commoner triumphing over a family had to trace back decades to the feat of Master Hua Bo. What qualifications does this kid have to be compared to Master Hua Bo?

If this kid really does it…

It's not a lot of money; if he loses, so what?

But in reality, it's impossible.

"Old Fu, I'll accept your drink with no reservation!"

...

Experimental School, Principal's Office.

"Oh dear!"

Seeing the moment Lin Guang's name and Huai Shouren's name were connected on the computer, Liu Feifan slapped his forehead, a look of pain as if he had been constipated for three days and nights flashed across his face.

"I told him to steer clear of the three major families, how did he still bump into them? Is this kid naturally rebellious, the more I tell him, the more excited he gets and wants to do it?"

He pushed the computer, turning the screen toward the bird perch beside the rosewood desk, then walked over to the window, gazing at the sky.

"Beibei, keep an eye out for me and let me know the result."

"Caw caw caw caw?"

"Stop pretending you don't understand me!"

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