Chapter 37: The Second Round Concludes

Countless vines blotted out the sky and covered the earth, forming an inescapable net determined to suppress Jiang Yan beneath it. The Flower Demon’s eerie pink pupils emitted a terrifying glow, while its lips, woven from stems and leaves, opened and closed, emitting a strange, rustling screech. The piercing cry was like demonic music flooding his ears.

Rustle, rustle!

Jiang Yan found the incessant, grating screeches increasingly annoying. He activated his Battle Saint Armor, and only after his condition improved in all aspects did he feel somewhat better.

“Yan Thunder Destruction Slash!”

Jiang Yan leaped into the air, slashing apart the oncoming vines. Then, using the air as a foothold, he dove downward like a bolt of lightning, striking directly at the Flower Demon’s main body.

The Flower Demon’s main body swiftly retreated, releasing a dense thicket of flowers, grass, stems, and leaves in an attempt to block Jiang Yan’s path of attack.

How could Jiang Yan let it have its way?

A dazzling flash of thunder erupted, brilliant as the blazing sun descending.

A terrifying Saber Qi, like a comet piercing the sun, struck the Flower Demon’s main body squarely.

Boom!

Under this terrifying Blade Momentum, the Flower Demon’s main body was cleaved in two.

Yet, the battle was not over.

The Flower Demon’s bisected body began to wriggle on the ground, quickly piecing itself back together and reviving.

In the System Log, Jiang Yan’s Martial Skill Proficiency continued to rise, and his Physical Body strengthened alongside it.

The Battle Saint Armor grew increasingly fervent during the fight, its golden cape behind him emitting a brilliant light, as if praising this interesting battle.

Jiang Yan mobilized the Qi within his body. The Geng Metal Qi absorbed upon his Breakthrough to the Innate Realm formed a faint Phantom Image on his body’s surface.

Suddenly, the Phantom Image expanded, then condensed onto Jiang Yan’s saber.

The Blade Momentum caused the alloy blade to tremble slightly. The Demon Scale quietly transferred his other attributes into strength, and Jiang Yan unleashed the Yan Thunder Destruction Slash once more.

System Log updated:

Your Yan Thunder Destruction Slash Proficiency has increased to Mastery.

Thunder externalized, coalescing into a terrifying mass of Saber Qi.

“You have triggered Dual Casting.”

The saber shadows overlapped, merging two destructive forces into one, poised above the Flower Demon’s head like a judgment.

“Dual Casting—fortune favors me.”

Jiang Yan murmured, then swung his saber with all his might.

Saber Qi that annihilated everything enveloped the entire Battle Space. All that met the eye was a blinding white light, as if the world had returned to its beginning.

“You have slain the Thousand-Vine Flower Demon. Congratulations, you have obtained the Purple Trait [Flower Whispers Among the Thicket].”

[Flower Whispers Among the Thicket]: Your vitality is as tenacious as the resilient grass among the thicket. Recovery speed after injury increases by 100%.

“You have slain the Thousand-Vine Flower Demon. [Heaven Rewards Diligence] has triggered the guaranteed mechanism.”

“Congratulations, you have obtained the White Trait [Premonition].”

[Premonition]: You can fall asleep immediately and will not be disturbed by external factors.

In a sense, the probability of obtaining a White Trait was even lower than that of a Purple one. Jiang Yan stared speechlessly at the newly acquired [Premonition] Trait, unsure what use this thing could possibly have.

Jiang Yan trained from morning till night every day, only considering a light nap when utterly exhausted. So far, he had never experienced insomnia.

“Forget it. After all, it’s an extra Trait. Can’t ask for too much.”

“Battle Space has been updated. Continue the challenge?”

“No.”

Jiang Yan exited the Battle Space and proceeded to the Study Space to continue his cultivation.

[Host]: Jiang Yan

[Talent]: Battle Saint Armor (Pending Evolution)

[Martial Skill]: (Unranked) “Basic Saber Technique” – Perfection

(Yellow Grade Low) “Wild Bull Strength” Perfection

(Yellow Grade High) “Burst Step” Perfection

(Mystic Grade High) “Nine Leaps Continuous Steps” Perfection

(Heavenly Grade High) “Yan Thunder Destruction Slash” Mastery

【Traits】: Heaven Rewards Diligence (Destined) Truth of Desperation (Blue) Haste (Blue) Wind Riding (Blue) Blade Bearer (Purple) Life and Death Moment (Orange) Demon Scale (Purple) Multiple Casting (Self-selected Special) Flower Whispers Among the Thicket (Purple) Premonition (White)

【Special】: Blade Momentum (can Breakthrough into Saber Intent) Geng Metal Primordial Qi (Self-named)

He wanted to study what exactly the Geng Metal Primordial Qi inside his body was.

Jiang Yan sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and meditated. Within his Divine Sense, the pathways of his Meridians appeared, like roots extending deep underground, intricate and complex within his body.

Strands of golden Aura flowed along with his blood, participating in the circulatory movement.

“Sigh, after reaching the Innate stage, one must absorb Qi from heaven and earth to strengthen oneself. I’ve heard some powerful individuals created their own breathing techniques to assist in absorbing Qi for cultivation. I have nothing right now and can only cultivate slowly.”

Jiang Yan carefully communicated with the “Qi” that shared the same origin as the Geng Metal Primordial Qi within his body, attempting to draw it inside.

The Geng Metal Primordial Qi seemed to receive Jiang Yan’s command, beginning to emit gentle, fine rays of light, spreading out and pulling in external Qi of the same origin.

A faint glow appeared on the surface of his body.

【System Daily Update Only】

“You are absorbing Qi. Your Qi absorption speed has slightly increased.”

“You are absorbing Qi. Your Qi absorption speed has slightly increased.”

…

Jiang Yan gradually entered a state of deep focus.

“Sharpness…”

“Resilience…”

Jiang Yan seemed to understand the core of the Geng Metal Primordial Qi.

Simply put, it could be used for both offense and defense—sharpness directed outward, resilience directed inward.

Time passed minute by minute.

The second round of the exam was gradually coming to an end.

Ding ding ding…

“The second round of the exam has ended.”

“Candidates who completed the task and successfully evacuated will begin the final round of the exam in three hours.”

“Candidates who failed to evacuate successfully will be teleported out of the alternate space.”

As the results of the second round were announced, some were overjoyed while others were disheartened.

Some, due to bad luck, had their markers taken by others, missing out on the next round.

Some, due to good luck, found two markers and successfully managed to evacuate.

But more often than not, it came down to strength.

Those with formidable strength always had the opportunity to obtain enough markers. For example, He Xiao, although he was robbed clean by Jiang Yan at the beginning and even nearly had his right hand crippled, his Second Grade Perfection strength was undeniable. In the end, he still managed to complete the task and evacuate by robbing others.

It can only be said that luck might influence success or failure, but strength is more likely to forge victory.

The authorities began releasing the Leaderboard for the first two rounds.

First Place: 【9527】 Jiang Yan 1000 points.

Second Place: 【1】 Shang Xingren 800 points.

Third Place: 【36】 Xiao Ziming 800 points

Fourth Place: 【13】 Lin Li 800 points

Fifth Place: 【124382】 Yang Hanyue 800 points.

…

In the top one hundred, aside from Jiang Yan, everyone uniformly had 800 points.

The Ranking points from the first and second rounds totaled 400 points, while in the second round, extra markers counted as 50 points each, adding up to another 400 points.

All of the top one hundred had perfectly cleared the rounds. Only Jiang Yan, as the first-place holder, could surpass them in Ranking points.

After the top one hundred, the candidates’ strength began to decline, and their scores became more varied.

However, overall, the score gaps in the current rankings were still not significant, and those with lower scores had every opportunity to surpass those above them.

Such uniform scores were naturally unsuitable for universities to select talent, leading experts outside the exam to speculate that the final round would create the largest score gaps.

Names like “Jiang Yan,” “Shang Xingren,” and “Lin Li” were also selected for heated discussions.

No one had expected that someone from a small, remote place could surpass the prodigies from the two capitals and occupy the most prominent position on the leaderboard.

After all, in previous years, the top ten spots had always been monopolized by candidates from the Demon Capital and its counterpart. This sudden emergence of an outsider was somewhat embarrassing for those from the two major cities.

Footage of their battles was clipped and analyzed frame by frame, with speculation about who had the best chance of becoming the top scorer in the College Entrance Exam.

Even Jiang Yan’s battle with He Xiao was dug up.

Although Jiang Yan had wielded his saber casually during that fight, many observant individuals noticed something unusual.

“Don’t you think there’s something strange about the way Jiang Yan holds his saber?”

“Strange? What’s strange about it? I think Jiang Yan looks incredibly cool when he wields his saber—clean, precise, and with an extraordinary aura.”

“No, it’s more like when he strikes, it gives off a feeling… something like… I can’t quite describe it.”

Just as the discussion was heating up, a comment suddenly appeared:

“Jiang Yan has mastered Blade Momentum; he just didn’t display it during the battle.”

“Blade Momentum? Am I going crazy, or is the person above me? Is Blade Momentum something a College Entrance Exam candidate should even be considering at this age?”

“Hiss~ Now that you mention it, I’ve seen a Saber Way grandmaster who mastered Blade Momentum demonstrate Saber Techniques a few times, and the aura was indeed somewhat similar to Jiang Yan’s.”

Later, someone compared footage of that Saber Way grandmaster practicing with Jiang Yan’s battle video.

Surprisingly, after the comparison, they truly saw in Jiang Yan that seamless, innate harmony between man and saber.

An astonishing thought immediately crossed their minds:

Jiang Yan had truly mastered Blade Momentum!

In reality, Shen Donglin put away his phone, quietly reveling in his accomplishment.

After all, Jiang Yan was from their Southeast Province, so it was perfectly reasonable to show him off.

He boasted to his old friend, “I’ve had some dealings with that young man, Jiang Yan.”