Chapter Forty-Eight: Sudden Upheaval—Invasion of the Academy by Demons from the Netherworld

In the second stage, each monster was worth twenty points.

The examiners had grown numb to the rapid rise of Yang Feng’s score.

“Has Yang Feng already entered the second stage?”

“The monsters in stage two are only one level higher; they pose no threat to him.”

“For Yang Feng, the monsters in this round are simply free points!”

“If only I had the authority, I’d really like to adjust the difficulty level just for him.”

“If we could just send a few bosses, or even dozens of boss-level monsters at once, that would be interesting!”

Looking at Yang Feng’s eight thousand points, and then at everyone else’s scores, the difference was staggering.

Currently, the person in second place was still Ye Mengyan.

Ye Mengyan, a Light Mage, wielded several area-of-effect spells. She was the fastest monster-slayer after Yang Feng. At this moment, her score had also reached seven thousand points. She had already defeated every one of the hundred-plus monsters in the first stage.

Following Ye Mengyan, the third place was surprisingly occupied by Zhan Tian. As a Berserker, his score had now reached six thousand. It seemed that Berserkers were truly a class born for battle.

Zhao Haoran, on the other hand, lagged slightly behind, ranking fourth. His combat style remained the same as before—direct, forceful clashes. Of course, it was not yet the time to unleash his berserk mode, so the increase in his score wasn’t particularly fast; it hovered around five thousand points.

Nevertheless, all of them were quite confident in their chances of success.

After passing the first stage, scoring over five thousand points was not a problem for them. As long as their points surpassed five thousand and their levels met the requirements, gaining admission to Qingbei University was essentially assured.

The college entrance examination in Great Xia was a unified, nationwide event held every year. Each province conducted its own exam on the same day at the same time, so the progress was almost identical everywhere.

Now, in every province, the exam had nearly entered the fifth round. In each provincial capital, the tribute academies had opened their replica spaces. Only the most outstanding talents from each province could enter these spaces—these were the geniuses of this year’s candidates in Great Xia.

In the eyes of the highest-ranking officials, these examinees represented the future pillars of the nation. Every year, a new generation of the powerful would rise from among them, contributing to the strength of Great Xia.

At this moment, in the capital city, a massive structure floated in mid-air. No matter where you stood in the city, you could look up and see it clearly.

Normally, this building did not appear; it only manifested during the college entrance examination. This was the Tribute Academy of the Examination Council of Great Xia, the original body from which all provincial academies were derived. The tribute academies in the provincial capitals were merely its avatars.

There were three grand structures in all of Great Xia, and this tribute academy was one of them. The second was the Ascension Tower. The last was known as the Hall of the War God. The Hall of the War God typically appeared on battlefields, rarely seen by the public.

Suddenly, the sky darkened, and the temperature plummeted to freezing. Night fell abruptly upon the land as a streak of black light shot through the sky at astonishing speed, heading straight for the Tribute Academy.

“Impudence!”

A stern voice echoed throughout the capital, and a gigantic hand appeared in the void, grasping toward the black light.

“You cannot stop me!”

A madman’s laughter emanated from the darkness. The black light erupted in a burst of energy, revealing an elder in black robes. As the black light collided with the massive hand, both vanished into thin air.

Just then, a golden figure appeared in the sky, radiating golden light, and swept toward the black light. The darkness split into two; one beam crashed into the golden light, while the other accelerated, darting straight into the Tribute Academy.

“How dare you!”

Another colossal hand materialized in the sky, seizing the black beam tightly.

The black-robed elder laughed again. “This is only a projection of mine. It makes no difference if you destroy it! But those examinees inside the academy—things will not go so well for them!”

Bang!

With a thunderous explosion, the black-robed elder was crushed.

At this moment, several figures appeared beside the Tribute Academy. Each one was tall and imposing, standing upon the void itself. Their mere presence made it difficult for anyone to look directly at them.

“Who would have thought the demons of the Nether Realm would launch a sneak attack!”

“The denizens of the Nether Realm are nothing but rats in the darkness, unable to endure the light.”

“What are we to do now? The enemies have already infiltrated the Tribute Academy!”

“Their target must be the examinees taking the test inside.”

“The space of the Tribute Academy has been compromised, and dark energy is seeping in.”

“The academy was originally constructed from demon crystals of the Nether Realm, which makes it easy for them to invade!”

“We need time to purge the dark energy from within the academy!”

“How much time do we need?”

“Approximately half an hour!”

Meanwhile, inside the replica space of the Tribute Academy, countless examinees were taking the test. Suddenly, all the monsters vanished. The environment around them shifted abruptly, and a suffocating pressure filled the air. Black mists began to seep up from the ground.

“What’s happening?”

“Why did all the monsters suddenly disappear?”

“Could something have gone wrong?”

Yang Feng, without hesitation, summoned all his Raven Warriors to his side, forming a protective ring around himself. In moments like this, self-preservation was paramount.

“Yang Feng!”

A familiar voice called out.

Yang Feng turned and was surprised to see Ye Mengyan. Meeting someone else in the replica space caught him off guard—not just him, but Ye Mengyan as well, whose face was also filled with astonishment.

The Raven Warriors did not attack her, allowing Ye Mengyan to approach.

“Yang Feng, do you know what’s going on?” she asked.

Yang Feng shook his head. “I have no idea. I was in the middle of the test when suddenly all the monsters disappeared. I don’t know what happened.”

At first, Ye Mengyan was as startled as anyone. But upon seeing Yang Feng, she felt an inexplicable sense of safety.