Chapter 165 – Grand Examination: Second Round!

Within the Nightmare Ghost Realm, Ye Sheng’s body was enveloped in brilliant golden Aura Radiance, tinged with a faint red glow.

“It is said that at the ‘Peak Tier,’ Aura Radiance completely transforms from gold to blood-red!” Ye Sheng glanced at the faint red glow mixed within the golden radiance and murmured thoughtfully.

In terms of Combat Power, he had now stepped into the ranks of a ‘High-Tier Giant.’

This level was likely among the rarest in this Federation Grand Examination!

Among tens of millions of examinees, there would be High-Tier Giants, but their numbers would certainly not be large, as reaching this level was extremely difficult—only true Aberrations could achieve it.

“That woman with the Fire-Red Longbow fused 108 arrow Skills into one before barely touching the realm of a ‘Beginner-Tier Giant.’ If even reaching the Beginner-Tier Giant realm was so challenging, one can imagine the difficulty of becoming a High-Tier Giant.” Ye Sheng shook his head. Just thinking about it made him realize how formidable the challenge was, something ordinary people could never accomplish.

“If becoming a High-Tier Giant is already this difficult, how does one reach the Peak Tier?” Ye Sheng frowned, a question naturally arising in his mind.

After promoting to High-Tier Giant, even with the 180,000 Amplification from the ‘Diamond Demon-Subduing Sword,’ he still couldn’t touch the threshold of the Peak Tier—it felt incredibly distant.

He truly wondered how any Monstrous Talent at that level could possibly achieve it.

“The Heavenly Manifestation has even greater potential than the Diamond Demon-Subduing Sword. Perhaps by Increasing it, I could touch the threshold of the Peak Tier.” Ye Sheng shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it further.

Whoosh—this Clone dissipated as he withdrew from the Nightmare Ghost Realm.

…

The sky gradually brightened, and dawn of the second day approached. Streaks of mottled light filtered into the basement, making the environment less dim.

“The first round is over,” someone sighed.

The first round lasted three days, and now three days and nights had passed.

“What a pity, Brother Wei didn’t make it back,” a young man said with regret.

The severely injured young man should have returned by dawn of the second day, but unfortunately, there had been no sign of him until now. It wasn’t hard for everyone to guess that he had likely been eliminated.

Xu Xingchen opened his eyes and glanced at Ye Sheng beside him, only to find that Ye Sheng had already opened his eyes at some point.

“Boss, you’re awake?” Xu Xingchen lowered his voice and called out, his face lighting up with joy.

Ye Sheng glanced at him but didn’t respond.

The person beside them thought they had misheard—did Xu Xingchen, a High-Tier Super-Limit, just call Ye Sheng “boss”? That person rubbed their ears, convinced it must have been an auditory hallucination.

“Everyone, the second round is about to begin!” Shangguan Ying opened her eyes, scanning the basement. Her gaze lingered briefly on Ye Sheng before she continued, “We’ll wait here; there’s no need to travel!”

Upon hearing this, the dozen or so people nodded in understanding, all aware of what was to come.

Once the second round began, the first task would be to travel.

They would head to the prearranged gathering point in Ghost Mountain City.

This wasn’t unique to Ghost Mountain City—other major cities followed the same procedure.

After reaching the gathering point, the city’s Experts would lead them, uniting them into a cohesive force to navigate the chaotic second round.

Ye Sheng and the others were fortunate—Ghost Mountain City’s designated gathering point this time was nearby.

They didn’t need to travel; they could simply wait in the basement for the main force from Ghost Mountain City to arrive!

“This way, we avoid the risks on the road!” someone exclaimed happily.

“Exactly, traveling to the assembly point is extremely dangerous. Many people fail at this stage, getting eliminated on the way before they can even meet up with their citymates,” another sighed nostalgically.

The dozen or so people from Ghost Mountain City chattered noisily, discussing animatedly.

After Shangguan Ying finished speaking, seeing everyone’s excited faces, she felt no joy. Instead, a trace of hidden worry flickered in her expression.

As a member of the Shangguan Family, she naturally knew some insider information from the Upper Echelon…

This time, Ghost Mountain City had no 4th Revolution Giant Tier overseeing them, only a dozen or so High-Tier Super-Limit individuals!

She had already known this before leaving.

She also understood what it would mean for Ghost Mountain City to lack a Giant Level overseer…

Once the melee began, Ghost Mountain City, without a 4th Revolution Giant Tier, would likely be seen as an easy target, picked off first as points to farm!

In short, without a 4th Revolution Giant Tier overseeing them, this second round would be Hell difficulty for Ghost Mountain City!

Not far away, Ye Sheng and Xu Xingchen sat cross-legged in a corner.

“For this Federation Grand Examination, how does Fengdu University select examinees? Based on points?” Ye Sheng asked with a frown.

Xu Xingchen replied seriously, “Points are just the Basic foundation. The most important factor is the potential displayed!

Once this second round begins, Fengdu University’s divine artifact, the ‘Eye of Reincarnation,’ will activate.

It will then record the performance of every examinee during the Grand Examination.”

Xu Xingchen smiled, “So, in the second round, you must go all out and fight desperately. Only then can the Eye of Reincarnation record your performance and award you a high score.

Those who scheme to coast through won’t succeed. Even if they manage to last until the end, they’ll still be eliminated—utterly meaningless.”

“The Eye of Reincarnation?” Ye Sheng looked at him.

Xu Xingchen nodded gravely, “The Eye of Reincarnation is a divine artifact with many wondrous uses. It’s said to be able to monitor three thousand great worlds simultaneously. It’s the treasure that safeguards Fengdu University!”

As everyone spoke, the sky gradually brightened, and the night receded.

At the same time, the extreme weather that had persisted for three days dissipated. Even during the day, one could now travel to Blood Fiend City.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As soon as the sky brightened, a series of whistling sounds instantly erupted from outside.

At first, there were only a few scattered sounds, but after just a moment, they grew dense, buzzing like a swarm of bees.

“People are starting to move!” a young man from Ghost Mountain City looked up and outward, awestruck by the dense sounds outside.

With such a dense chorus of whistling sounds, how many people must be on the move? To reunite with their citymates, the entire Blood Fiend City must be bustling!

“Let’s go, let’s check it out!” someone couldn’t resist and dashed out of the basement in a single bound.

The group quickly followed.

“Let’s go, we should take a look too,” Ye Sheng stood up, not wanting to miss this rare spectacle.

Xu Xingchen followed, “Heh, good! I was thinking the same thing.”

…

The group emerged from the basement. Outside, the sky was already bright. Over a dozen people climbed to the rooftop to survey the entire Blood Fiend City.

In the daylight, without the extreme weather, Blood Fiend City appeared as a vast expanse of ruins and dust, as if the entire city had been abandoned for a Hundred Years.

Standing on the rooftop, they witnessed a breathtaking sight!

As daylight broke, the tens of millions of candidates who had lain dormant for three days and nights all sprang into action at this One Moment.

They rose into the air like swarms of bees, all sharing the same goal: to rush with all their might toward the prearranged gathering point and join forces with other Experts from their own cities.