Third Life Reincarnation: Finally Born Into a Magical World

He could clearly feel the energy radiating from it.

That was unmistakably the aura of a Rank 5 monster crystal.

Yu Mu's expression slowly shifted.

A greedy smile appeared on his face.

"Well," he said slowly, "I don't know how you managed it."

"Maybe someone else helped you."

"Maybe this new person just joined you."

"But since you managed to obtain the monster crystal…"

He extended his hand toward Ryan.

"Hand it over."

The words were spoken as if they were completely natural.

The candidates of the three districts immediately understood Yu Mu's intention.

Their eyes instantly filled with greed as they stared at the crystal.

Jiang Kangcheng stepped forward as well. "That's right."

"You killing that monster must have been because we weakened it earlier."

"If we hadn't fought it for so long, you wouldn't have had the chance to finish it off."

"So that crystal…"

He smiled coldly.

"…doesn't belong to you."

Miao Yuan stood silently beside them.

But the moment he saw the Rank 5 monster crystal, his pupils shrank slightly.

Greed flashed through his eyes.

He had always been calm, calculating, and composed.

Yet there was one flaw he had never been able to overcome.

Greed.

That single word had led him to step over countless bodies on his path to this point.

And now the temptation of a Rank 5 monster crystal was too great.

Finally, he stepped forward.

"North District candidates. I'll give you five minutes. Hand over the monster crystal."

His voice became cold.

"…otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless."

Around him the other candidates immediately echoed the threat.

"Hurry up and hand it over!"

"You can't possibly kill a Rank 5 monster with just a few people!"

"That crystal belongs to all of us!"

"Hurry!"

The North District candidates looked at them in disbelief.

The shamelessness of the three districts had reached an astonishing Rank.

Ryan blinked slowly.

Then he laughed softly.

"Oh?"

"You want the crystal… of my Rank 5 monster?"

He lifted the crystal slightly between his fingers.

"And if I refuse?"

Yu Mu sneered.

He raised his hand and gestured toward the group behind him.

"See this?"

Ryan glanced casually at the crowd. "What am I supposed to see?"

"Our strength."

Yu Mu spread his arms proudly toward the candidates of the three districts.

"Strength means everything."

Ryan nodded slowly.

"Oh."

"So because you have numbers… You want me to hand over something that belongs to me?"

His tone remained calm.

"Exactly."

This time, Miao Yuan answered. "The Holy Mystic Continent has always respected the strong."

"The stronger side deserves the greater resources."

"That has always been the rule."

He took another step forward.

"And…"

Miao Yuan paused deliberately after speaking that word, as though he wanted the silence to stretch long enough for everyone to fully digest what he was about to say. His gaze slowly swept across the small group of North District candidates before finally settling on Ryan, and the contempt in his eyes was no longer concealed in the slightest.

"And it seems," he continued with a cold sneer, "that you still haven't fully understood the rules of the Westerm Mansion's entrance examination."

He folded his arms and began explaining as if lecturing someone who had never even bothered to read the most basic instructions.

"To pass the entrance exam, every candidate must survive inside the Holy Land for seven full days, and at the same time hunt at least ten Rank 4 monsters in order to obtain their monster crystals. Only after collecting those crystals can a candidate complete the basic task required by the exam."

His tone slowly grew heavier.

"But look around this place carefully. Holy Land may be huge, but monsters are not endless. There are nearly ten thousand candidates participating in this examination. If every single person hunts ten Rank 4 monsters, that means the candidates together must kill more than one hundred thousand monsters. Tell me… where exactly do you think one hundred thousand Rank 4 monsters will come from?"

Miao Yuan gave a short laugh.

"And even if you include the Rank 5 monsters, the number still won't be enough."

He shook his head with obvious mockery.

"Besides, Rank 5 monsters are not things that can be killed easily. You've already seen how terrifying that Gold-Winged Black Wind Beast was. Even dozens of candidates working together couldn't kill it. So tell me, how many people among the ten thousand candidates will truly be able to complete the task?"

He didn't wait for an answer.

"In reality, if even a quarter of the candidates manage to complete the entrance exam, that would already be considered remarkable."

Ryan listened quietly.

Then he asked calmly, "Oh? And what does that have to do with me?"

Miao Yuan smiled again.

"So what?"

"I can't tell whether you genuinely don't understand… or whether you're just acting like you don't."

He leaned slightly forward.

"When all the monsters have already been hunted, but there are still capable candidates who haven't completed their tasks, what do you think those candidates will do?"

Before Ryan could respond, Miao Yuan answered his own question.

"They rob."

His voice turned colder.

"The stronger candidates simply take the monster crystals from the weaker ones."

He pointed at Ryan.

"That is exactly why I said that in the Holy Land the strong are respected."

"The seats of Western Mansion are limited. The weak do not deserve them."

Miao Yuan's eyes glinted.

"This principle has existed since the founding of Xifu. It may not be written openly in the rules, but everyone who participates in the entrance exam understands it."

He extended his hand.

"So now… hand over the Rank 5 monster crystal."

Jiang Kangcheng stepped forward as well, his expression impatient.

"Just hand it over already. We all fought that monster together earlier anyway. Don't force us to take action."

Yu Mu's voice followed immediately after, colder than before. "Hand it over, and you'll still have a chance to stay inside the Holy Land and complete the entrance exam."

He paused slightly.

"But if you refuse…"

His gaze sharpened.

"…then don't blame us for being rude."

Ryan tilted his head slightly as though he had only just grasped their meaning.

"Oh?"

"So if I don't hand it over…"

"You'll attack?"

"Of course," Miao Yuan replied immediately. "That's the rule of the entrance exam. Survival of the fittest. Stop wasting time and give it to us."

Ryan slowly nodded. "A very interesting rule."

He repeated the phrase softly.

"Survival of the fittest."

Then he smiled faintly.

"I understand."

"It seems I'll have to follow that rule in the future."

Yu Mu frowned impatiently.

"Since you understand, stop pretending and hand over the crystal."

Ryan did not answer immediately.

Instead, he slowly turned his head toward the North District candidates behind him.

"Brothers," he said calmly, "these people want me to hand over the Rank 5 monster crystal. They say that if I refuse, they'll simply come and take it by force."

He shrugged.

"What do you think about that?"

The North District candidates immediately burst into laughter.

"Hand it over? Let them come grab it!"

"These three districts really are hopeless."

"I've seen stupid people before, but this is the first time I've seen stupidity at this Rank."

"They're talking about robbing Brother Wei? That's the funniest joke I've heard all year."

"Do they even know who the robber is here? It's our Brother Wei!"

"Exactly! They're the ones who don't know whether they're alive or dead."

The laughter continued.

One of the North District candidates even wiped tears from his eyes.

"Actually, the funniest joke of the year was something else."

"Oh? What?"

"That group of idiots saying they're going to rob Brother Wei."

"Hahahaha!"

The mockery grew louder.

"What exactly gave those frogs at the bottom of the well such ridiculous confidence?"

"Hahahahaha!"

The candidates of the three districts instantly darkened.

"What are you laughing at?!"

"What's so funny?!"

Their expressions turned ugly.

To them, the North District group simply looked insane.

"Look at the situation clearly before you talk," one candidate from the West District shouted angrily. "No wonder people say North District candidates are trash. You can't even see what's right in front of you!"

"There are more than twenty of us!"

"And you only have seven!"

"Who exactly is overconfident here?"

"You frogs are calling us frogs? That's the real joke!"

The insults flew back and forth.

But among the three districts, there was one person who didn't laugh.

Miao Yuan.

Instead of joining the shouting, he silently observed Ryan.

For many years he had survived countless fights because of one habit: before attacking anyone, he carefully judged the strength of his opponent.

If the opponent was weak, he attacked decisively.

If the opponent was strong, he avoided unnecessary risk.

That was how he had avoided stepping on an iron plate despite his greedy nature.

Yet the young man standing in front of him now…

No matter how Miao Yuan examined him, he couldn't see anything.

Ryan looked completely ordinary.

Too ordinary.

An ordinary person couldn't possibly stand here.

An ordinary person couldn't make the North District candidates follow him like a leader.

An ordinary person definitely couldn't hold the crystal of a Rank 5 monster.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy Miao Yuan felt.

But greed pressed heavily against that uneasiness.

After all, there were more than twenty of them.

Even if this person had some hidden strength, could he really defeat more than twenty candidates from three districts?

Impossible.

With that thought, Miao Yuan suppressed the strange feeling in his chest and continued staring greedily at the crystal in Ryan's hand.

Ryan watched them quietly.

Then he suddenly laughed.

"So…"

"You really think you can take this Rank 5 monster crystal from me?"

He lifted the crystal slightly.

Then he pointed at himself.

"Did you see it?"

The three districts frowned.

"Huh?"

"See what?"

"What are you talking about?"

Ryan's smile widened.

"Strength."

He tapped his own chest with his finger.

"My strength."

Then he looked directly at Yu Mu and said calmly,

"Didn't you say that earlier?"