Chapter 35 – A Genius in Name Only?

Crack!

Xiao Xue waved her hand lightly, instantly freezing three Bagworms into ice sculptures.

The silk threads binding them to the trees snapped, and the ice blocks crashed heavily to the ground, shattering into a mess of frost and debris with a crack.

Lin Ze glanced at the back of his hand.

The number on it had already changed to 9.

Clearly, those three Bagworms had all been Mature Stage Tier 1 Stage 7.

Each one was worth 3 Points.

He then looked at the Leaderboard. In just that short span of time, countless names had already densely filled it.

Ranked first was Tan Yong, with 21 Points.

Second was Guo Xinyi, with 18 Points.

Third was Li Pengyun, with 15 Points.

The top three were all examinees that Zhou Hong had mentioned—those who possessed Tier 3 Pet Beasts.

Lin Ze was ranked 234th.

At least a hundred others had the same score as him.

“They’re pretty fast. Looks like everyone’s being quite proactive.”

Lin Ze smiled, his expression completely unruffled, and continued moving forward.

Along the way, more Ferocious Beasts kept leaping out.

Some launched sneak attacks; others charged head-on.

Man-Eating Flowers, Wither Beasts, Wind-Cut Mantises, Striped Spiders, Thunder-Patterned Insects, Fermi Soldier Ants…

Just as Lin Ze had guessed, the Ferocious Beasts that appeared were almost all Plant Type and Insect Type.

Moreover, the deeper they went, the higher the Power Level of the Ferocious Beasts they encountered.

From the initial Tier 1 Stage 7, now Tier 2 beasts were everywhere, making the traversal Difficulty more than just a notch higher.

But this was clearly not a problem for Lin Ze.

Whether Tier 1 or Tier 2, they were all just a single casual strike for Xiao Xue.

They couldn’t slow their pace even the slightest bit.

And aside from dealing with the Ferocious Beasts they encountered along the way, this pair—one human, one Pet Beast—had no intention of deliberately seeking out more beasts. They simply pressed forward with their heads down.

Over an hour later.

Lin Ze finally stopped, squinting at what lay ahead.

A dozen meters away, past the outermost row of trees, stretched an endless, vast plain.

And in the center of the plain, a colossal stone stele stood towering like a pillar holding up the sky, extremely conspicuous.

Anyone stepping onto the plain would see it at first glance.

“So that’s the stone stele that gives 500 Points for a touch.”

Lin Ze muttered to himself, shrugged, and withdrew his gaze. He turned around with Xiao Xue and headed back the way they came.

“The exit’s already found. Now it’s time to hunt to our heart’s content.”

Outside the Virtual Realm, on the plaza of Ningjiang Academy.

Gao Wenbai and the other teachers stared intently at the massive glowing screen in the air.

On the screen was the assessment’s Points Leaderboard.

It clearly displayed the Point standings of the top thousand students.

Almost every second, the rankings of over a hundred students shifted.

The closer to the bottom of the list, the more violent the fluctuations.

“Not bad. This year’s examinees are overall a cut above previous years,” one teacher said with a satisfied nod.

“Yeah, it’s been less than two hours, and the top hundred students all have over 300 Points already.”

“At this time in previous years, the student ranked 100th only had a little over 200 Points.”

“And the top four examinees are all putting on impressive performances, leaving everyone behind them in the dust.”

Many teachers nodded and smiled in agreement.

Tan Yong, Li Pengyun, Guo Xinyi, and Lv Gang.

These four all had over 700 Points, tightly nipping at each other’s heels.

Every so often, their rankings would swap.

But no matter how they shifted, these four firmly held the top four spots, with their Points exceeding the fifth-place student’s by a wide margin of over 400.

Barring any surprises, this year’s Top Freshman should emerge from among these four.

Just then, a teacher suddenly spoke up in confusion:

“Come to think of it, weren’t there supposed to be five examinees with Tier 3 Pet Beasts this year? I only see four here—where did the other one go?”

The teachers were taken aback.

Only after being reminded did they snap back to attention.

Right, where had the fifth person gone?

As a gifted student who also possessed a Tier 3 Pet Beast, that person’s ranking shouldn’t have been too far off from Tan Yong and the other three.

Why wasn’t he in the top five, or even the top ten?

“I remember… the remaining one is called Lin Ze, right?”

“That’s correct, he’s a student from Pinghai No. 1 High School.”

“I remember now—he’s the one who passed the Apprentice Assessment at Ultra Difficulty and was personally singled out by the Dean as a once-in-a-generation genius!”

“And someone like that isn’t even in the top ten? That doesn’t make sense.”

The teachers were deeply puzzled and immediately began searching the Leaderboard carefully.

Soon enough.

They found Lin Ze’s position.

Rank 125: Lin Ze, 296 points.

The moment they saw Lin Ze’s ranking, the teachers all wore expressions of utter astonishment.

“What’s going on? That ranking is way too low!”

“He doesn’t even have 300 Points!”

“What exactly was he doing?”

“Could something unexpected have happened?”

Exclamations rang out one after another.

It wasn’t that they were easily shocked—it was that the situation before them was simply too bizarre.

An examinee with a Tier 3 Pet Beast couldn’t even break into the top hundred?

That was absolutely mind-boggling!

Could it be that Lin Ze was all talk, and his strength wasn’t nearly as formidable as the rumors claimed?

For a moment.

The same thought flashed through many teachers’ minds.

Just then, Gao Wenbai, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

“Pull up Lin Ze’s assessment footage.”

The moment he spoke, the teachers immediately stopped their discussions.

The Staff Member waiting nearby promptly acknowledged the order.

Before long.

Lin Ze’s assessment footage appeared in the center of the light screen.

The footage began from the moment he stepped into the forest, playing at five times speed.

As they watched, the teachers gradually came to a realization.

“I see—this kid is trying to find the forest exit first.”

“No wonder his Points are so low; he’s barely hunted any Ferocious Beasts.”

“It’s a fairly safe approach, but at this rate, the score gap between him and the others is huge. Can he catch up later?”

“Exactly. The others aside, the top four have already pulled more than 400 points ahead of him. Catching up within the remaining three hours won’t be easy!”

Many teachers couldn’t help but shake their heads inwardly.

Playing it safe was all well and good, but if the price was a massive score gap, then it wasn’t worth it.

Judging by the current situation, even if Lin Ze fought hard to catch up later, he wouldn’t be able to overtake Tan Yong and the other three.

Forget about this year’s Top Freshman—he probably couldn’t even make the top three.

“He should have done what Tan Yong and the others did—hunting Ferocious Beasts while advancing. That would have earned him far more Points.”

A teacher let out a soft sigh.

His words voiced exactly what everyone present was thinking.

Even Gao Wenbai couldn’t help but furrow his brow slightly.

He didn’t care what method Lin Ze used to pass the assessment.

As long as his final results were outstanding enough.

That was also the principle upheld by Ningjiang Academy.

Results matter, not the process.

If Lin Ze ultimately couldn’t even break into the top three, then this rumored prodigious genius would be nothing short of a disappointment.

When that moment came, he might have to advise the Dean that this student was hardly worth such high regard from the academy’s upper echelons.

At that thought, Gao Wenbai’s eyes flickered, and a plan had already formed in his mind.

Yet in the very next second, Lin Ze’s ranking on the Leaderboard suddenly underwent a dramatic shift.