Chapter 36 – Overtaking the Rest: A Rocket-Like Ascent

Virtual Realm.

In a clearing at the heart of the forest.

Tan Yong sat atop the corpse of a Ferocious Beast, his gaze fixed intently on the Leaderboard before him.

Beside him, a towering Rock Golem stood motionless, faithfully carrying out its duty as a guard.

“Only a gap of less than 20 points? Still too little.”

Tan Yong muttered with a frown.

On the Leaderboard, the current rankings were as follows:

1st Place: Tan Yong, 754 points

2nd Place: Guo Xinyi, 738 points

3rd Place: Lv Gang, 732 points

4th Place: Li Pengyun, 725 points

5th Place: Kang Liang, 467 points

“Those people behind me are closing in too fast!”

A flicker of light passed through Tan Yong’s eyes.

There was no need to worry about Kang Liang in fifth place, but Guo Xinyi, Lv Gang, and Li Pengyun were not to be underestimated.

Of these three, even the one with the largest point gap from him was less than 30 points behind.

With even the slightest lapse in vigilance, he would soon be overtaken.

“As expected of the Ningjiang Academy Admission Assessment—geniuses gather here like clouds, and I run into this many formidable opponents so casually!”

“But…”

A trace of confusion suddenly flashed through Tan Yong’s eyes.

Before coming to Ningjiang City, he had specifically gathered intelligence on all the formidable contenders among this year’s examinees.

The ones he focused on most were the other four Tier 3 Pet Beast owners besides himself.

Now, three of them occupied second through fourth place, nipping closely at his heels.

But what about the last one?

Tan Yong focused his gaze and quickly found Lin Ze’s name on the Leaderboard.

“125th place? That score is way too low!”

“Less than 300 points?”

Guo Xinyi looked at Lin Ze’s ranking on the Leaderboard, a hint of confusion surfacing on her delicate face.

“Isn’t this person’s Pet Beast Tier 3? How did they get so few points?”

After pondering for a moment, she shook her head.

“Forget it, there’s no need to pay attention to someone ranked over a hundred. My target is only Tan Yong. Just 16 more points and I’ll catch up to him, then surpass him!”

“Let’s go, Emma. We’ve rested enough—time to continue hunting.”

The Steel-patterned Wyrmling lying on the ground let out a low cry, straightened its body, and affectionately rubbed its head against Guo Xinyi’s cheek. Then it followed by her side as she walked toward the depths of the forest.

Shriek!

The sound of air being torn apart suddenly exploded.

A vine covered in thorns lashed out like lightning, striking the Thunder-Patterned Insect mid-air with the force of a whip.

The Thunder-Patterned Insect let out a mournful cry and crashed to the ground, a bloody wound now visible on its body, with blackened blood oozing from it.

Before long.

The poison took effect—the Thunder-Patterned Insect convulsed a few times before going still.

“Hiss!”

The Poison Vine Fiend that had slain its enemy waved its vines excitedly.

“Well done.”

Li Pengyun offered a faint word of praise, but his gaze remained fixed unblinkingly on the Leaderboard.

“Lin Ze, huh… This person should logically be the most formidable of the five of us, so why are both his ranking and score so low?”

“Could it be that the intelligence I received was wrong, and this person is simply undeserving of his reputation?”

“Hmph, 125th place. Someone like that is nothing but a useless fraud with an empty name. To think I was lumped together with him in the rumors—it’s practically dragging my level down!”

Lv Gang stared at the Leaderboard with a sneer of contempt.

He had thought that the genius who passed the Apprentice Assessment at Ultra Difficulty would be something truly remarkable.

Who would have thought he was nothing but a weakling.

The moment he entered a fiercely competitive assessment like this, his true colors showed.

He couldn’t even break into the top hundred.

He was an embarrassment to the very title of genius.

“Those guys Chen Xuan and the others got beaten black and blue by someone like this—what a bunch of useless trash.”

“Whatever, a piece of garbage like that can be dealt with later. There’ll always be a chance to get even. For now, I need to focus on the assessment.”

“Just you wait—the position of Top Freshman is definitely going to be mine!”

Sensing the excitement surging within its master, the Iron-clad Dragon Snake beside him flicked its forked tongue, raised its serpentine head high, and let out a sharp, piercing hiss.

Lv Gang laughed heartily and reached out to pat his Pet Beast’s head.

But his hand stopped mid-air, and his laughter abruptly cut off.

Lv Gang stared wide-eyed at the Leaderboard, his face filled with utter disbelief.

Rank 81: Lin Ze, 353 points.

In just an instant.

Lin Ze’s score had skyrocketed by more than 50 points.

He had burst straight into the top hundred!

“Did this guy kill a third-tier Ferocious Beast?”

A look of shock and uncertainty spread across Lv Gang’s face.

Only a third-tier Ferocious Beast would be worth more than 50 points.

But just as the thought crossed his mind, Lin Ze’s ranking on the Leaderboard shifted once again.

Rank 68: Lin Ze, 387 points.

And this was only the beginning.

In the moments that followed, Lin Ze’s ranking kept climbing higher almost every few seconds.

His score was rising like a rocket.

In less than a minute, Lin Ze’s score had skyrocketed to over 400 points.

His ranking had also climbed to sixth place, less than 10 points behind Kang Liang in fifth.

“Wh-What!? How is that possible!?”

Lv Gang stared at the Leaderboard, dumbfounded.

His expression shifted from initial shock and bewilderment to growing disbelief and incredulity.

In less than a minute, his score had surged by over 150 points.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it.

Could this guy Lin Ze have encountered multiple third-tier Ferocious Beasts at once?

But even so, how could he have taken down multiple third-tier Ferocious Beasts so quickly?

That’s impossible!

At the same time.

All the examinees in the forest noticed the bizarre changes on the Leaderboard.

Watching Lin Ze’s score climb like it was doing somersaults, everyone stood frozen in place.

“Holy crap, what’s going on!?”

“Why is his score increasing so fast?”

“Lin Ze? Which high school is this beast from?”

“That’s insane! He’s already up to sixth place?”

Even Tan Yong, Guo Xinyi, and Li Pengyun were stunned.

Just moments ago, they had been wondering why Lin Ze’s ranking was so low.

And now, in the blink of an eye, they watched this guy charge through like a force of nature, climbing from over a hundredth place to sixth in less than a minute.

That speed was more explosive than taking drugs!

“What on earth happened?”

The same question surfaced in all three of their minds.

And at that very moment, Lin Ze’s ranking on the Leaderboard jumped once again.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, his name directly overtook Kang Liang, landing in fifth place.

Rank 5: Lin Ze, 489 points.

Whoa!

This time, all the examinees were in an uproar.

“Damn, he’s already in fifth place?”

“Does it have to be this ridiculous!”

“Oh my god, how did he even do it?”

“Did this guy stumble into some kind of Ferocious Beast nest?”

Countless examinees let out cries of disbelief.

Some were curious, some were shocked, and some were envious.

Others felt a sense of excitement and admiration.

“Sister Lin is amazing!”

Liu Siyan’s eyes sparkled as she stared at Lin Ze’s name on the Leaderboard.

“I knew it—Sister Lin would definitely fight her way to the top of the Leaderboard!”

Zhang Xiaoyun clapped her hands excitedly.

Somewhere in the center of the forest.

Guan Ning gazed at the Leaderboard with sparkling eyes, a bright smile blooming on her face.

She had never doubted Lin Ze’s strength from start to finish.

At the same time, she knew this was only the beginning.

“The number one spot is definitely my brother’s!”