In less than two minutes, more than a dozen Crimson Demon Hounds had been completely wiped out through the coordinated efforts of Zhao Mu and Meng Qiuqiu.
The battlefield was littered with torn corpses and splashes of dark crimson blood. The metallic scent of slaughter mixed with the damp wind blowing through the ruined wasteland.
Meng Qiuqiu stared at the aftermath with excitement shining in his eyes.
"Xiao Mu Ge, we're amazing!"
His face was flushed with adrenaline, and his entire body trembled slightly from the thrill of battle.
This was his first true fight against Strange Beasts.
For a young cadet who had only trained in simulations before, the excitement of personally killing monsters was indescribable.
In contrast, Zhao Mu remained calm.
He narrowed his eyes and carefully scanned the surroundings, remaining alert even after the battle had ended.
Without saying a word, he leaped onto a collapsed building nearby and observed the area from above for a while before returning to the group.
"Crimson Demon Hounds are only the weakest type of Strange Beast," Zhao Mu said calmly. "If we can't even handle creatures like these, then how are we supposed to survive later on when we face an endless tide of beasts on the real battlefield?"
His words immediately cooled Meng Qiuqiu's excitement.
The young man scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"You're right… I got a little carried away."
After all, this was his first encounter with real Strange Beasts. Getting excited was only natural.
Seeing his reaction, Zhao Mu smiled faintly and patted him on the shoulder.
"But your marksmanship really is impressive."
The moment he heard the compliment, Meng Qiuqiu instantly straightened his back proudly.
"Of course it is!" he declared smugly. "My dad always says I'm going to inherit the family business someday. A wealthy heir shouldn't risk his life recklessly, so I naturally need some powerful methods to protect myself."
Zhao Mu raised an eyebrow.
"And that method is money?"
"Exactly!"
Meng Qiuqiu grinned brightly.
The spiritual energy firearm in his hand was not powered by Spiritual Power alone.
What it truly consumed… was wealth.
Every spiritual energy bullet was incredibly expensive. The ammunition Meng Qiuqiu had fired moments earlier cost tens of thousands of Xuanfeng Coins per shot.
Ordinary people would never dare use such extravagant weapons in battle.
Zhao Mu could not help laughing.
"At the rate you're spending money, I doubt you'll even make a profit from this trial."
A Crimson Demon Hound's corpse could indeed be sold for a decent amount. Its flesh, bones, claws, and fur all had value.
But even if the corpse remained perfectly intact, it would only sell for around ten thousand Xuanfeng Coins.
The problem was…
The way Zhao Mu fought left almost nothing intact.
Wherever his heavenly halberd passed, the beasts were ripped apart violently.
Most of the corpses were reduced to mangled remains.
Hearing Zhao Mu's words, Meng Qiuqiu simply waved his hand dismissively.
"As long as it's a problem that money can solve, then it's not really a problem."
Zhao Mu rolled his eyes speechlessly.
Only a rich young master could say something so outrageous with such confidence.
At that moment, Lu Yan suddenly spoke in a quiet voice.
"Sorry… I wasn't much help just now."
Her expression carried obvious guilt.
During the earlier battle, Zhao Mu and Meng Qiuqiu had handled nearly everything themselves while she contributed very little.
Zhao Mu looked at her gently before patting her shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't overthink it. Save your energy for now. Once we encounter stronger Strange Beasts later, that'll be your time to shine."
Lu Yan nodded lightly, her mood improving somewhat.
Just then, several black shadows suddenly rose into the sky in the distance.
The three looked up immediately.
Two giant eagles were flying away from the Trial Zone while carrying two cadet soldiers on their backs.
Clearly, those trainees had chosen to withdraw from the examination.
This area was still only the outer edge of the Trial Zone.
The only enemies appearing here were Crimson Demon Hounds.
The fact that those cadets had already withdrawn meant they had failed before even passing the first stage of the test.
Watching the scene from the monitoring station, Xu Zhixiong frowned deeply.
"These two performed extremely well during training," he said unhappily. "But the moment they entered a real battlefield, they immediately turned into cowards. What a waste."
Beside him, Instructor Xie Yingxue calmly deducted points from the trainees' records.
"We'll need to strengthen psychological combat training in the future," she said coldly. "If they still can't overcome their fear afterward, then we can only send them directly to the frontline battlefield to adapt."
Those cadets were not lacking in strength.
The problem was fear.
The moment they saw the savage appearance of the Crimson Demon Hounds, panic overwhelmed them completely.
They forgot their training.
Forgot their techniques.
Some even forgot how to circulate Spiritual Power.
This was not an isolated incident.
Every year, new recruits froze in terror the first time they faced genuine death and bloodshed.
The battlefield was merciless.
No amount of classroom training could fully prepare someone for it.
Back within the Trial Zone, Zhao Mu glanced at the departing eagles briefly before withdrawing his gaze.
He lifted the heavy halberd in his hands and rested it across his shoulders.
"Let's move."
His tone was calm but firm.
"This is only the outer area. We need to go deeper if we want to hunt stronger Strange Beasts."
With Zhao Mu walking in front, Meng Qiuqiu and Lu Yan instinctively felt safer.
His broad back resembled an unshakable mountain.
As long as he stood there, it felt as though no danger could truly threaten them.
The three-person squad continued advancing deeper into the Trial Zone.
Thanks to Zhao Mu's years of experience hunting in the wilderness, he could easily locate traces of prey hidden throughout the ruins.
His senses were astonishingly sharp.
Soon enough, another group of Crimson Demon Hounds appeared.
Without hesitation, Zhao Mu charged forward alone.
Boom!
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
Like a ferocious beast himself, Zhao Mu rushed into the enemy pack.
The heavenly halberd swept through the air with terrifying force.
Blood exploded everywhere.
Any Crimson Demon Hound struck by the halberd was instantly torn apart.
No complete corpses remained behind.
Meanwhile, Meng Qiuqiu stayed in the rear, acting as support.
Whenever a wounded beast attempted to flee, spiritual energy bullets would pierce through its skull with deadly precision.
The cooperation between the three gradually became smoother and smoother.
As time passed, the number of Strange Beasts they killed increased rapidly.
Before long, their trial score soared toward the top rankings.
However, even with such efficiency, Zhao Mu's team still failed to claim first place.
Inside the monitoring room, Instructor Xie Yingxue stared at the rankings displayed on the screen.
Currently occupying the top position…
Was Shao Han.
Second place belonged to Mo Guanguan.
Xie Yingxue narrowed her eyes slightly.
"In real combat, those with superior Spiritual Energy Talent and higher combat levels naturally possess an overwhelming advantage."
Inside another area of the Trial Zone, Shao Han led a team of over a dozen cadet soldiers.
Every single member of his squad was an elite.
Shao Han himself walked at the very front while holding a frost-covered blade.
Cold air continuously spread from his body.
A layer of crystalline frost armor covered both his arms, giving him an imposing appearance.
Dozens of Crimson Demon Hounds charged toward him from the ruins.
But before they could even approach—
An icy wave erupted outward.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The beasts were instantly frozen solid.
The surrounding temperature dropped dramatically.
Without even changing expression, Shao Han casually swung his frost blade.
The frozen hounds shattered apart instantly.
Pieces of ice and flesh scattered across the battlefield.
A confident smile appeared on Shao Han's face.
"My father is the Deputy Commander of Lujiang City's garrison," he said proudly. "I've been visiting Qingfeng Camp since childhood. I already possess maps of the Trial Zone."
"This competition?"
"Who here can possibly compete with me for first place?"
His confidence was not without reason.
Before the trial even began, Shao Han had already gathered extensive information regarding the examination.
Especially information about the Final Trial.
Compared to the other cadets blindly exploring the Trial Zone, Shao Han possessed a massive intelligence advantage.
It was practically equivalent to cheating with a fully revealed map.
Naturally, his efficiency far surpassed everyone else's.
Currently, all the strongest elites from Group One were gathered around him.
As for the weaker trainees?
Shao Han had long since abandoned them.
In his opinion, large groups were meaningless burdens.
Only elites deserved to survive on the battlefield.
Besides, despite this being called a team trial, the final rankings were still calculated individually.
Shao Han raised his frost blade and pointed toward the deeper ruins ahead.
"Keep moving."
"The monsters here are merely appetizers."
"The truly dangerous enemies are the Remnant Beasts deeper within the ruins."
His eyes gleamed sharply.
"Those creatures have already reached the Private Rank. They can use Spiritual Power offensively. Killing one of them is worth more than a hundred Crimson Demon Hounds."
The surrounding cadets immediately became nervous.
"Private Rank Strange Beasts?"
"Isn't that too dangerous?"
Shao Han chuckled confidently.
"What's there to fear?"
"The Remnant Beasts prepared for this trial only possess combat levels around ten points. With all of us attacking together, taking them down won't be difficult."
Only after hearing his explanation did the others finally relax.
Soon afterward, the group followed Shao Han deeper into the ruins.
Back in the monitoring room, the instructors naturally noticed everything.
Shao Han moved through the Trial Zone far too smoothly.
He perfectly avoided dangerous terrain and headed directly toward areas populated with Strange Beasts.
Anyone with eyes could tell he had prior intelligence.
But none of the instructors interfered.
Was it unfair?
Of course.
But reality itself was unfair.
On an actual battlefield, enemies would never kindly provide equal conditions.
Since the purpose of the trial was to simulate a real battlefield, every possible variable was allowed.
As long as the basic rules were not broken, the instructors would not intervene.
Compared to Shao Han, however, another trainee had captured the instructors' attention even more.
Zhang Biao crossed his arms and looked toward another battlefield zone.
"Mo Guanguan's performance is much more interesting."
On the screen, Mo Guanguan stood atop a ruined structure alongside several female cadets.
Flames surrounded her body like a blazing phoenix descending upon the battlefield.
She held a longbow in her hands.
Surprisingly, there were no arrows attached to it.
Yet each time she drew the bowstring—
A fiery arrow condensed instantly from pure Spiritual Power.
Whoosh!
The flaming arrow pierced through the air at incredible speed.
One Strange Beast after another was instantly skewered and burned alive.
The battlefield beneath her quickly transformed into a sea of flames.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)