First Place Again

"Alright, I've given you everything I was supposed to give."

Instructor Jing yawned, having absolutely no intention of revealing his clever little arrangements. For once, he planned to be an unsung hero.

He walked to the staircase. "Go on back. I've seen your performance on this mission, and you all scored perfect marks. Pack up and head back to the academy to get some sleep."

"What about you?" Yin Chen asked.

"Me? I still have missions to do, of course." Instructor Jing looked completely nonchalant. "If you want to help me, wait until you reach the ninth tier."

He wasn't lying. After sorting out the affairs of these kids, he was heading into the heartland of the monster race.

If he dropped these kids in there as well, they wouldn't even know how they died. Strong as he was, he wasn't that arrogant.

What he needed to do now was wait. Wait for this younger generation to fully mature.

Just like he did many years ago.

The searchlights in the air raid shelter flickered a few times before finally going out completely.

Yawning, Instructor Jing bundled the three of them—along with their three pets—into a military transport plane.

During the two-hour flight, the atmosphere in the cabin was indescribably bizarre.

Yin Chen sat by the window, his legs together and his back straight, maintaining the dignity of a noble young master.

But at his feet, the Siberian Husky—transformed from an eighth-tier Frostbone Wolf—was panting with its pink tongue hanging out. Ice shards dripped down with its drool, freezing into a layer of crystal-clear ice on the floor.

Hong Yuan sat cross-legged on the floor, cradling the Profound Tortoise in her arms.

The turtle was sleeping soundly; no matter how much Hong Yuan shook it, it remained as steady as a mountain.

As for Chen Guan, he leaned quietly against his black coffin.

The fifth-tier Lightning Cheetah was curled up into a ball, acting as a fleshy footstool beneath him. It kept its breathing extremely low, terrified of drawing the attention of the "Husky" next to it.

After all, according to its animal instincts, the aura of an eighth-tier monster was enough to turn its bones and muscles to jelly.

The bullet comments had disappeared again, as if they had only come to witness the scene of the three of them picking out their pets.

After some time in the air, the plane landed on the tarmac of Huaqing Academy.

Instructor Jing didn't even have the interest to escort them back to their dorms. He simply waved his hand, boarded the plane in his flip-flops, and flew straight off.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over these forty-eight hours, the freshmen who had participated in the practical exam returned to the academy one after another.

A large number of students who had just gotten off their vehicles gathered in the academy's central plaza.

The combat uniforms on most of them were in tatters, covered in dried blood and mud.

Some supported each other, while others simply slumped by the fountain pool with vacant stares. The cruelty of Battlefield No. 3 had far exceeded their imaginations. Even in the outer zones, the surprise attacks from the monsters were enough to make these pampered geniuses from the ivory tower suffer tremendously.

In contrast, the vibe of Chen Guan and his two companions seemed completely out of place.

Yin Chen had changed into a brand-new, custom-made silver-gray school uniform, sporting a Windsor knot at his collar. Beside him was the energetic Husky.

Hong Yuan carried her giant axe on her shoulder. The Profound Tortoise was hung in a net bag on the back of her backpack, looking like a weirdly shaped keychain.

Chen Guan stood beside the two of them, his long black trench coat completely free of wrinkles. The massive Lightning Cheetah followed by his side; the originally intimidating fifth-tier monster was now as meek and submissive as a large house cat.

A commotion broke out at the other end of the plaza.

An Changqing jumped down from an armored personnel carrier. His uniform was a bit dirty, but overall still relatively neat.

His gentle, sunny face bore unconcealable exhaustion, yet his eyes remained bright.

Su Yuehe followed closely behind him. Her condition looked even better. Bringing up the rear was Long Ao, who still carried a faint air of arrogance.

The first thing Long Ao did was sweep his gaze across the entire plaza.

An Changqing and Su Yuehe followed his line of sight.

By the fountain pool at the edge of the plaza stood three people and three living creatures.

The condition of these three didn't look at all like they had just narrowly escaped death from a perilous exam site; it looked more like they had just gone on a shopping spree at a suburban pet market.

The freshmen gradually gathering in the plaza, most of whom were covered in mud and utterly exhausted, looked at Chen Guan's group, whispering to each other with faces full of existential doubt.

Wait, did we really go to the same place?

An Changqing walked up. "Classmate Yin, looking at your condition, it seems the practical combat over the past few days was very easy for you."

Yin Chen adjusted his tie knot with one hand, his movements composed. "It went smoothly enough. I just changed clothes, that's all. Can't let the grime stay on for too long."

He would absolutely never mention the fact that he was almost frozen into an ice sculpture by the Frostbone Wolf.

Because the person in front of him was An Changqing—the "neighbor's kid" his dad constantly compared him to.

Su Yuehe stood slightly behind An Changqing, her gaze sweeping over the turtle on Hong Yuan's leg before finally landing on the cheetah.

Her intuition told her there was something wrong with that leopard, but it didn't emit the slightest fluctuation of monster energy, as if it had been completely domesticated.

Long Ao bypassed the crowd and walked straight up to Chen Guan.

Only when he got close did Long Ao belatedly notice the cheetah's abnormality.

"Where did this come from?"

He clicked his tongue in wonder and asked bluntly.

Chen Guan's expression was placid as he lied without blushing or skipping a beat, "It insisted on following."

Long Ao's eye twitched. Did you even believe that yourself?

The cheetah also wore a resentful expression: Yes, yes, I followed on my own accord. It's because I just don't love nature.

Before he could press further, a piercing microphone feedback sound echoed from the high platform at the front of the plaza.

Instructor Black Crow stood in front of the microphone, holding a thick stack of printed papers.

With the screeching of the mic, the noisy plaza quickly quieted down.

"Let me just say this first: the fact that you are still standing here proves that you aren't completely useless trash." Black Crow's opening remark was straightforward.

Black Crow flipped open the pages in his hand.

"Enough nonsense. I'm announcing the rankings for this practical exam. You all know the rules—it's based on points."

"First place." Black Crow cleared his throat, his voice spreading across the entire plaza through the loudspeakers. "The team of Yin Chen, Hong Yuan, and Chen Guan."

No loud gasps of surprise erupted from the crowd.

Yin Chen was a top-tier genius of both the ice and wind elements, Hong Yuan's giant axe had astonishing lethal power, and although Chen Guan was low-key, his strength was nothing to scoff at.

Many people were mentally prepared for them to take first place; after all, they were always first.

An Changqing looked at Yin Chen and said, "Congratulations. It seems you found some good prey. I wonder how many points you beat us by?"

According to past trends, the point gap between first and second place was usually around a few hundred points.

Comparisons went both ways. When he first arrived, his scores were slightly lower than Yin Chen's, and his dad had already interrogated him about it.

Who could blame them when their dads had also been competing with each other for their entire lives?

Black Crow sped up his speech and threw out the data directly: "Total points..."

"Nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine."

"That is the maximum limit of our tracking system, not their actual final score."