Chapter 163: The Entrance Examination (Part-9)
By now, several candidates were already wounded. One unfortunate youth was struck by the sweeping wing of the Gold-Winged Black Wind Beast.
His body split in half instantly.
Blood sprayed across the forest floor.
The corpse collapsed without even having the chance to crush the SOS Stone.
Fear spread immediately among the survivors.
Every candidate realized they might be next.
"Brother Miao!" someone suddenly shouted.
The voice came from a Southern District candidate who was desperately blocking the monster's attack.
"If this continues, we'll all die here! Think of something!"
The man's name was Jiang Kangcheng, third place in the qualification test of a Southern District city. His strength was considerable among the candidates present.
The "Brother Miao" he called was an Eastern District genius named Miao Yuan.
Miao Yuan had ranked first in the qualification test of his city and possessed the highest cultivation among everyone present.
Two-Star Exalt.
Because of his strength, he carried most of the battle's burden.
Unfortunately, that also meant the monster targeted him the most.
Moments earlier he had been struck by the creature's wing. The shoulder of his robe was soaked in blood, turning dark crimson.
He looked exhausted but still fought fiercely.
Hearing Jiang Kangcheng's plea, Miao Yuan clenched his teeth.
"What solution do you expect me to have?" he replied bitterly. "I already used my strongest attack earlier. It didn't even scratch that monster."
He glared at the golden beast.
"We underestimated Rank 5 monsters."
At that moment, the Gold-Winged Black Wind Beast lashed out again.
Its wing slammed into another Southern District candidate.
The young man didn't even have time to crush his SOS Stone before blood erupted from his mouth. His body flew more than ten meters through the air before crashing lifelessly to the ground.
Another one dead.
"AHHH!"
Seeing his fellow candidate die, Jiang Kangcheng roared furiously.
He raised his massive blade and attacked with even greater force, hacking wildly at the beast's body.
But it was useless.
His strikes couldn't penetrate the golden feathers.
Suddenly, Jiang Kangcheng turned his head and shouted toward the West District group.
"Yu Mu! This is your fault!"
"You said there was a Rank 5 monster here and gathered us all to kill it!"
"And now look what happened!"
"You dragged us here just to die!"
"If I had known this, I would never have followed you!"
The West District candidate named Yu Mu looked equally grim.
"How was I supposed to know it would be this strong?" he retorted.
"And we're all trapped here now! Stop arguing and think of a way to survive!"
Miao Yuan forced himself to stay calm despite the chaos.
"Yu Mu," he said steadily, "you've been the one organizing strategies so far. If anyone here can think of a plan, it's you."
His tone carried polite urgency.
Yu Mu remained silent for a moment.
Then his gaze slowly shifted.
It landed on the North District candidates.
A strange, vicious glint appeared in his eyes.
"There is… a way," he said slowly.
"But I'm not sure whether you'll be willing to accept it."
"Is there a way?"
The moment Yu Mu spoke, everyone followed the direction of his gaze.
Their eyes landed on the candidates of the North District, who were struggling desperately on the other side of the battlefield while resisting the attacks of the monster.
In that instant, the meaning behind Yu Mu's words became obvious.
Jiang Kangcheng, Yu Mu, and Miao Yuan exchanged glances. Their eyes hardened. A silent decision passed between them.
The candidates from the three districts noticed the signal as well.
One after another, they nodded.
"No! You can't do this! This is betrayal!"
Bai Ye's expression changed drastically the moment he realized what they intended. His voice rang out sharply across the battlefield.
But his shout was ignored.
Originally, the candidates from the four districts had surrounded the Gold-Winged Black Wind Beast from different directions, each group responsible for a section of the encirclement.
Now that formation began to shift.
While continuing to fend off the monster's attacks, the candidates from the East and South Districts slowly moved closer to the Western District group.
Gradually, the three districts gathered together.
The encirclement collapsed instantly.
Two massive gaps appeared in their formation.
Soon, the battlefield was divided into two sides.
On the left were the five or six candidates from the North District.
On the right stood the combined forces of the East, West, and South Districts.
The imbalance was obvious.
The Gold-Winged Black Wind Beast was not a fool. Its golden eyes quickly locked onto the weakest group.
The North District.
"They want us to be bait!"
"Damn it! That's too vicious!"
"Candidates from the other three districts are all scum!"
"I told you not to cooperate with them!"
"Run! Run!"
"No… we can't run…"
Panic erupted among the North District candidates.
At this moment, they finally understood their situation.
If they tried to flee, the monster would chase them immediately.
But staying meant facing a Rank 5 monster alone.
When all four districts fought together, thirty or forty people were unable to defeat it.
How could just a handful of them survive?
There was only one outcome.
Death.
Despair spread like cold water poured over their hearts.
Bai Ye's face turned pale.
Regret twisted in his chest.
It had been him who accepted Yu Mu's proposal in the beginning.
Yu Mu had promised that if they succeeded in killing the Rank 5 monster, the spoils would be divided among the four districts.
The crystal of a Rank 5 monster could be exchanged for one hundred Rank 4 monster crystals.
Split equally among four districts, each side would receive the equivalent of twenty-five Rank 4 crystals.
For individuals, that meant roughly five crystals each.
Five crystals meant completing one-quarter of the entrance exam task.
That temptation had been irresistible.
But now Bai Ye understood how foolish he had been.
All because of a single word.
Greed.
That greed had dragged him and the North District candidates into this deadly trap.
"Now! Go!"
Yu Mu suddenly shouted.
The moment the monster's attention shifted toward the North District group, he led the candidates from the other three districts and fled without hesitation.
They ran as fast as they could.
One unfortunate Eastern District candidate was caught by the sweeping wing of the Gold-Winged Black Wind Beast during the escape. His scream echoed briefly before his body was crushed.
But the rest escaped successfully.
Just as they predicted, once they left the monster's attack range, the creature did not pursue them.
Instead, it turned entirely toward the North District candidates.
The bait had worked perfectly.
"Blame your bad luck for being born in the North District," Yu Mu muttered coldly as he fled.
He felt no guilt.
Suppressing the North District had always been tradition among the other three regions.
And in a life-or-death situation like this, someone had to become the sacrifice.
Soon the three leaders, Jiang Kangcheng, Yu Mu, and Miao Yuan, reached a safe distance.
Without even glancing back, they quickly disappeared into the forest.
Behind them, the North District candidates were left to face the monster alone.
***
"Those bastards…"
"They're worse than beasts…"
"I can't hold on much longer!"
"Brother… what do we do?"
"Should we crush the SOS Stone?"
"I don't want to die!"
"I don't want to give up!"
Desperation filled the voices of the North District candidates.
The Gold-Winged Black Wind Beast attacked relentlessly, forcing them back step by step.
Every one of them had already taken out their SOS Stone.
But no one dared crush it.
Crushing the stone meant giving up the entrance exam.
It meant losing the chance to enter Xifu.
It meant their dreams of becoming powerful warriors would end here.
For many of them, that future was worse than death.
Bai Ye clenched his fists and sighed bitterly.
"This is my fault…"
"I was blinded by their promises. I believed we could really share the spoils."
He looked at the raging monster in front of them and shook his head.
"A Rank 5 monster… something with the strength of a War King… how could candidates like us possibly kill it?"
"And even if we had succeeded… do you think they would have truly shared the rewards with us?"
His voice was filled with regret.
"They probably would've killed us afterward to keep everything for themselves."
Several North District candidates lowered their heads.
"If only we had just hunted Rank 4 monsters instead…"
"And waited for Li Wei to find us…"
"Then none of this would've happened."
At the mention of that name, a faint spark of hope flickered in their eyes.
"If Li Wei were here…"
"He could definitely save us."
"Yeah… Li Wei defeated even the War Emperor. A Rank 5 monster wouldn't be anything to him."
"If Li Wei were here, this monster would already be dead…"
They spoke as if clinging to the thought itself.
But deep inside, most of them knew.
The Holy Land was enormous.
The chance of Li Wei appearing here… right now…
Was almost impossible.
Yet at that exact moment—
Above them, hidden within the dense branches of a towering tree…
Ryan silently watched the scene unfold.