Chapter 709: The Confrontation Match within the League Hunting Exam!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 709: The Confrontation Match within the League Hunting Exam!
"Those demons are so disgusting..."
"They’re not just gross, they’re annoying. It was the same during last semester’s joint exam—they suddenly invaded our testing grounds and turned everything into a complete mess!"
"Seriously, with so many Transcendent Academies organizing this final hunt together, are they really just going to let a Demon Academy come in and spoil the fun? This is totally unreasonable!"
"Exactly! I was planning on hunting some large mutant beasts in these last two days to make some extra cash... Hey, do you think the materials from demons can be sold for money?"
"Not sure, but probably not. What if those disgusting things used to be human?"
"Stop, stop! Ugh, so gross. Why does a cancer like the Demon Academy even exist?"
As the morning sun climbed high into the sky, what should have been a beautiful day had instead become a rather unpleasant experience for all the candidates in the Expansion Realm.
However, the hunt continued.
The only difference was that there was now a high probability of encountering dream creatures and meddling demons during the process.
Other than that, not much had changed.
Hunting groups desperate for points had already begun to shift their targets. Since mutant beast packs were becoming hard to find, and demons were now everywhere after all the commotion, they became the new source of points.
They just couldn't make any extra money off them.
But soon, the candidates realized just how troublesome demons were. First and foremost, their vitality was incredibly tenacious; the physical weaknesses one would usually expect simply didn't apply.
Even with an arrow through the heart or a bolt in the head, they continued to fight stubbornly.
These traits were even more pronounced in the undead and the undying.
However... at this level, such advantages were quickly rendered moot when crushed by sheer numbers.
Furthermore, compared to the demon tide from last semester, the "intensity" of these demons was somewhat lacking.
After all, the demon tide encountered last semester consisted of "native races" from the Abyss.
Upon death, their corpses would turn into flesh and blood that would incubate entirely new demons in a short time. Demons were essentially an undying cancer that utilized flesh and blood resources to the absolute limit.
In contrast, these "demon students" who had been "localized" in the Main World still retained human cognitive patterns, even if they had lost their rights as humans. they couldn't achieve that level of pure, instinctual cultivation.
Thus, as the day slowly passed, the demons' peak was quickly toppled.
The reorganized hunting groups sent the "students" of the Abyssal Demon Academy into a full retreat.
The whole thing played out like a joke; the tables had turned far too quickly.
Some candidates, who had been hiding in the city waiting for the joint exam to end, hadn't even clashed with the Demon Academy once before rumors started spreading on the Plant Network that the demons had been repelled.
It left many people staring in dazed confusion.
Until...
News of the hunting groups and the Teaching Assistants joining forces to surround and suppress the Abyss demons began to go viral on the Plant Network.
"This is practically a miracle!"
Lifaeya exclaimed as she watched the news spread like wildfire across the Plant Network.
"Did the sun in the Expansion Realm rise from the west today? Those TAs actually took the initiative to hunt down Abyss demons? And they’re collaborating with the student hunting groups?"
"It is indeed a strange combination," I agreed from the side.
"It’s too weird. Why would they do that?"
"The hype is a bit strange. It feels like they’re driving a narrative, or perhaps they’re building momentum?" I speculated.
"Building momentum? Like how you gave away points earlier to create a consensus? To set someone up at a critical moment?" Lifaeya asked with a frown.
"Not necessarily. Besides, I really did just want to find someone to fight. Building momentum wasn't my goal," I said, shaking my head.
Still, the situation was indeed bizarre. Why had the Abyss demons suddenly become so pathetic?
What was their purpose in invading the Expansion Realm?
Just to be served up as fodder?
That was the part I couldn't wrap my head around. I couldn't think of any other way to describe it besides "thankless toil."
But it wasn't long before the TAs displayed another series of ridiculous maneuvers on the Plant Network.
First, they expressed their willingness to respond to the temporary notice of the League Hunting Exam to collectively deal with the culprits disrupting the exam:
The Abyss demons.
They claimed they would minimize the demons' influence and restore a harmonious competitive atmosphere to the joint exam.
Furthermore, these TAs, representing the stances of their respective Transcendent Academies, reached a special agreement with the large-scale hunting groups formed by the various academies.
As the League Hunting Exam entered its later stages, the mutant beast population in the Ninglan Territory had become scarce due to large-scale hunting. The remaining beasts had been forced to leave the Ninglan Territory for outlying areas due to survival pressure.
For the candidates, traveling beyond the Ninglan Territory wasn't worth the effort.
First, the distance was too great.
Convenient tools were prohibited during the joint exam, so a round trip would take a long time.
Moreover, the exam was nearing its end; there simply wasn't much time left.
And... the mutant beasts outside were difficult to kill even with the power network. If they ran into a large pack, they wouldn't even know how they died.
Therefore, the TA representatives and the student hunting group representatives from the various Transcendent Academies prepared to conduct a collaborative exercise.
Yes, during an open-ended hunting assessment, two groups that were supposed to be the hunters and the hunted had actually teamed up to plan an arena-style Confrontation Match!
And their justification was quite thorough. They claimed the idea originated from "Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan’s" actions over the past few days—pursuing mutually beneficial combat conditions to fully realize the academies' well-intentioned goals for the candidates and to ensure every student realized the importance of combat techniques.
They argued that while free hunting increased the chances of confrontation, the emergence of multi-person hunting groups for the sake of points contradicted the original intent of the joint exam, preventing individual candidates from having a proper environment to train their combat skills.
Thus, under the backdrop of the Abyss demon invasion, they had joined forces to expel these unstable factors, finally gaining the opportunity to align their views.
Ultimately, this led to this special, grand event of the joint exam!
The groups currently pushing for this TA-versus-candidate match were also calling for everyone to participate in this "healthy competition."
They welcomed any truly capable individuals or teams to join the fray.
After all, as long as you defeated a TA in the arena, you would receive the points for "killing" them on the spot!
In this final stage where points were hard to come by, this provided an excellent platform for point acquisition!
The various academies offered no comment on the matter.
After all, the joint exam belonged to the candidates. Unless they staged a collective strike, the academies would not intervene.
This was where the art of language came in. Since the mentors hadn't stopped them, they dared to claim the mentors supported them!
In any case, the mentors wouldn't lower themselves to debunk such trivial matters. Besides, wasn't the mentors' silence the greatest form of support?
So, they weren't technically lying.
Under this "joint statement," they gave extra attention to "Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan," hoping that capable individuals would actively participate in the confrontation.
Since you love challenging people everywhere, we’ve built the stage for you. You wouldn't dare not show up, right?
Otherwise, you’d be ruining your own reputation and persona.
At least, that was the implication behind the information circulating.
The massive influx of information on the Plant Network didn't even take half a day to ferment.
By noon that day, nearly every candidate participating in the joint exam knew the news.
"No, what are they even doing?" Lifaeya, who was walking with me, complained for the umpteenth time as she looked at the overwhelming messages on the Plant Network.
"Those guys really know how to make a scene. There’s definitely a trap! Xiao Han, you have to be careful!"
"I know, I know~ How many times have you reminded me now?" I said to Lifaeya, shaking my head.
Besides, we were currently heading toward the venue designated in the joint statement.
To make it easier for more people to participate, this student-organized match was set at Sixth Shelter, where the most Transcendent Academies were clustered.
Of course, the arena was located outside the shelter. The interior was a safe zone where combat was prohibited.
The venue was extremely simple, as everything was being done in a rush. Time was of the essence, so they just drew boundaries on the ground.
The rules were also straightforward: life-and-death battles, gauntlet style. The fight only ended when someone died.
This applied to the TAs and the candidates alike!
Of course, insisting on life-and-death battles was primarily a way to filter the candidates. Those afraid of death had no right to stand on the arena stage and waste everyone's time, nor did they have the right to claim points.
After all, the number of TAs was limited. Moreover, every time a TA died, they had a one-hour "safety period."
This ensured that only the strong were qualified to take the stage!
"Aww~ I’m just worried about you," Lifaeya said.
She didn't say anything more, though. Since we were currently under a live stream, saying anything unsubstantiated would only invite trouble.
"Oh! Xiao Han, the response you posted under their joint statement has been pinned by them!"
"That just proves their target is definitely me." I didn't particularly care.
Previously, when so many of them had teamed up to hunt me down...
To be honest, that was the most high-pressure battle I had ever faced, and one of the few times I knew for certain I couldn't win.
In the end, after I played them for fools and escaped, they learned to start using open schemes...
But I was still curious how they managed to convince so many people... no, so many academies.
The herd mentality of humans meant that a leaderless crowd was easy to handle, but the leaders representing the interests of a group were never pushovers.
And they had moved far too quickly...
This forced me to recall what Fu Xinglan had told me. Although she had been talking about players at the time, she also mentioned that other Transcendent Academies wanted to target me.
Now, I only needed to be clear on one thing... my self-worth. Was my value truly high enough for so many academies to unite just to see me ruined?
Thinking about it that way... did Teacher Lina really let me join this exam just to "experience" and "learn combat techniques"?
I already had an answer to the first question in my heart. As for the second... I’d probably find out soon enough.
When Lifaeya and I reached the perimeter of Sixth Shelter, we could see a massive crowd gathered from a distance.
When the people there saw me arrive, they were momentarily stunned. Then, a flash of pleasant surprise crossed their eyes, and a group of people even rushed over enthusiastically.
After a brief exchange, I realized they were members of the "Xiao Han Fan Club."
They asked me eagerly if I was really there to participate in this "doomed" confrontation. When I gave them a firm "yes," they were overjoyed.
After all, they didn't want to support someone who would back down.
Once they knew I wouldn't retreat, they began explaining the rules of this student-organized match to me.
The two sides were TAs and candidates. TAs had to fight alone, while candidates could fight solo or in teams. If a team won, they would split the points for killing the TA.
This format essentially defaulted to the assumption that TAs were stronger than candidates.
However... even a TA with little combat experience could wear down many teams using their Immortality.
And a TA was not allowed to "surrender" before they were defeated.
It was clearly aimed at a TA like me who lacked Immortality. Or, to be more specific, it was aimed directly at... me.
They had given the TAs a dazzling halo, which meant the TAs had to be brilliant. You could die, but if you lost in the first few rounds, you weren't worthy of the honor of being a TA.
This was originally what Teacher Lina had used to mock those incompetent TAs, but now... those TAs were using it against me.
As I approached the arena, I heard a high-pitched voice, similar to a commentator or a host.
"Let’s see which heavyweight Teaching Assistant has arrived for our match!"
"Look! It’s the one and only TA Xiao Han! The legend who currently holds an undefeated record in this League Hunting Exam!"
"I knew that the TA Xiao Han, who is dedicated to challenging geniuses and the strong, wouldn't dare to avoid this life-and-death confrontation! Let’s hear your cheers get even louder..."
As I stepped onto the somewhat crude arena grounds, the candidates acting as temporary commentators used enthusiastic and inflammatory words to turn me into the visual focus of the entire field.
But this passionate shouting, which seemed to be cheering for me, was saturated with the intent of "killing with praise."
Perhaps many people could hear it, but they were happy to see it happen. After all, they weren't the protagonists.
If the idol fell from grace, they would be more than happy to step forward and give a kick.
If she truly had the skills, they wouldn't mind turning their current cheers into something heartfelt!
"Come! Let’s clear the pre-reserved Arena Number One for our TA Xiao Han!"
"Let’s use our loudest cheers to welcome our protagonist... Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan to the stage! And then, let’s give a warm round of applause to... her opponents!"
"Wooooooh—!"
"Go, Sister Xiao Han~!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill! I want to see Blood Flowing into a River!"
Amidst the cheers of the crowd and the cringeworthy commentary, I walked onto the simple arena without saying a word.
At this moment, I had only one thought... Is this really still a multi-school joint final exam?