Chapter 177: The Entrance Examination (Part-23)
Aside from these two unusual individuals, the remaining five candidates also behaved very strangely.
They stared at Brother Bin and the others with glowing eyes.
Excitement flashed across their faces.
Their expressions looked like hunters discovering prey… or merchants discovering a mountain of gold.
Being stared at like prey by a group of seven people was already strange enough.
But the strangest thing was what happened next.
The seemingly "ordinary" young man at the front suddenly spoke.
And his opening line was incredibly classic.
"This mountain was opened by me!"
"This tree was planted by me!"
"If you want to pass through here—"
"Leave behind your money!"
He paused dramatically.
"Robbery!"
"Hand over all your monster crystals!"
Brother Bin froze.
His expression turned completely blank.
He stared at the seven candidates in front of him as if he had just heard something impossible.
"…Robbery?"
He blinked slowly.
Then looked at the seven people again.
There were seven of them.
And on his side—
There were over thirty candidates.
Yet these seven people…
Actually dared to rob them?
"Seven of you… want to rob the thirty of us?"
"Did I hear that correctly? Or am I dreaming? These people just said they want to rob us?"
"Have they gone crazy? With just the few of you, it would already be generous if we didn't rob you. And now you're saying you want to rob us instead?"
Brother Bin wasn't the only one stunned.
All the candidates in his team were equally dumbfounded. More than thirty people stood there staring at the seven figures blocking their path, each of them wearing the same bewildered expression, as if their brains had momentarily stopped working.
The seven candidates who had appeared so suddenly were none other than Ryan and the North District group.
And the "ordinary-looking" young man standing at the very front… was Ryan himself.
"Maybe you didn't hear me clearly," Ryan said calmly, seeing the stunned expressions on everyone's faces. "So I'll repeat it properly."
He straightened his posture and spoke loudly.
"Robbery!"
"Hand over your monster crystals."
"I've already seen them. You just collected them, didn't you?"
"If you hand them over obediently, I'll let you go."
He paused slightly, then gave them a self-satisfied smile like a bandit leader from a cheap play.
"Otherwise… hum."
For a moment, the forest fell silent.
Then—
"Pfft!"
"Sorry… I couldn't hold it in!"
"Hahaha!"
"I'm dying! I'm really dying from laughter!"
The entire team of more than thirty candidates burst into laughter.
They laughed so hard some of them nearly doubled over.
"I've seen arrogant people before."
"I've seen stupid people before."
"But this is the first time I've seen someone this stupid."
One candidate wiped tears from his eyes while laughing.
"We've killed several Rank 4 monsters already today. Sure, people might get jealous. But that doesn't mean any random cat or dog can come rob us."
"Hahaha! I thought the candidates this year were all decent. I didn't expect such masterpieces to appear."
Another candidate pointed at Ryan.
"Brother, if you want to rob people, at least bring an axe or something. Robbery without an axe isn't intimidating at all."
"Yeah! Look at that guy in front. Hahaha. I don't admire anyone, but I admire him!"
"Seven people trying to rob over thirty of us?"
"Who do you think you are?"
The ridicule continued nonstop.
In their eyes, Ryan and his group looked like a collection of idiots who had wandered out of a comedy troupe.
Brother Bin finally spoke after letting the laughter settle a bit.
"You… are candidates from the North District?"
He glanced at their clothing.
Ryan lifted his chin proudly.
"Correct."
"We are candidates from the North District."
Then he added arrogantly:
"So what? Are you scared now?"
Before Brother Bin could even reply, Ryan continued speaking.
"You look like the leader here."
"That's convenient."
"Tell your people to hand over their monster crystals."
"If you do it quickly, I'll let you leave."
"Otherwise…"
Ryan's tone became serious.
"If I get angry, the consequences will be very serious."
He raised a finger and pointed toward the distance.
"See that frozen area over there?"
"That happened because I got angry."
"Afraid?" Brother Bin sneered.
Then he followed Ryan's finger and looked toward the distant patch of frozen forest.
The large icy area was clearly visible even from afar.
But after looking at it for a moment, Brother Bin only laughed even more disdainfully.
"You're saying that frozen zone was caused by you getting angry?"
He shook his head.
"Then I might as well say I created the entire world."
His expression became mocking.
"Bragging should at least sound believable."
"That frozen area is obviously some kind of natural phenomenon in the Holy Land."
"You don't even know what a heavenly phenomenon looks like, yet you dare to claim credit for it?"
Of course…
Brother Bin had absolutely no idea that Ryan wasn't bragging at all.
That frozen wasteland had indeed been created by Ryan's Frozen Thousand Miles.
If Brother Bin knew the truth, he probably wouldn't be laughing right now.
He would likely be kneeling and begging for mercy instead.
But unfortunately for him…
He didn't know.
"North District candidates?"
"Ah… now it makes sense."
Several members of Brother Bin's team immediately began laughing again.
"No wonder they're so stupid."
"So they're from the North District."
"Those people are famous for having no brains."
"I was wondering where such idiots came from."
"Angry consequences? That frozen area was caused by him? Hahaha! That's the funniest joke I've heard all year!"
"Hand over monster crystals? Even if we handed them over, do you think you could take them?"
"I think the ones who should hand things over are you."
"You should be grateful we didn't find you first."
"And yet you actually delivered yourselves to our doorstep."
"Seven people robbing thirty? That's a new Rank of stupidity."
The ridicule grew louder.
In fact, Brother Bin's team consisted entirely of candidates from the three major districts.
Not a single North District candidate was among them.
Earlier, several North District candidates had tried to join their group.
But they had been rejected.
Not only that.
Brother Bin and his people had even robbed those candidates of their resources.
One unfortunate candidate who refused to surrender his monster crystals had been killed on the spot.
For years, candidates from the three districts had treated North District candidates as easy targets.
It was practically a tradition.
Everyone knew that North District candidates were weak and easy to bully.
So whenever they encountered them, they robbed them without hesitation.
In their minds, the North District was nothing more than a barren wasteland.
The people who came from there had no right to enter Western Mansion.
And yet—
Now a group of seven North District candidates had appeared and tried to rob them instead.
It was ridiculous.
"Why?" Ryan said coldly, his brows slightly furrowed.
"You're not willing to hand them over?"
"What if we don't?" Brother Bin asked mockingly.
"Are you going to kill us?"
Then he turned around and addressed his teammates.
"Brothers, what do you think?"
"Should we hand them over?"
"Hand them over? Who does he think he is?"
"North District candidates really have brain problems."
"Brother Bin, let me handle them. I can finish all seven by myself."
"This isn't them robbing us."
"It's us robbing them!"
"Forget their crystals. Let's take everything they have."
"Exactly!"
The candidates behind Brother Bin spoke one after another, completely ignoring Ryan.
After hearing their responses, Brother Bin turned back toward Ryan with a smile.
"You heard them."
"I'm really curious."
"What kind of confidence makes the seven of you think you can rob more than thirty of us?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Did something break in your brain?"
Ryan's expression gradually turned cold.
"Oh… nothing's broken."
"You'll understand where the confidence comes from very soon."
He took a step forward.
"But before that…"
Ryan looked directly at Brother Bin.
"I'll ask you one last time."
"Are you handing over the monster crystals…"
"…or not?"
"Are you threatening me now?"
Brother Bin suddenly burst into laughter, his voice loud and sharp, carrying a trace of disbelief mixed with anger.
"Hahahaha! Someone actually dares to threaten me?"
He stepped forward slightly, his gaze locking onto Ryan with cold arrogance.
"Do you even know who I am?"
This was the first time in his life that someone had spoken to him like this.
Even the top geniuses of the Eastern District would not dare to treat him with such blatant disregard. Yet now, a mere candidate from the North District stood before him, calmly issuing threats as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
In Brother Bin's eyes, this was no longer just arrogance.
This was courting death.
Ryan, however, did not care in the slightest.
"I don't care who you are," he said indifferently, as if brushing away dust. "Since you're unwilling to hand over the monster crystals, then there's nothing left to discuss."
A faint sneer appeared at the corner of his lips.
"And since there's nothing to discuss…"
"…don't blame me for being cruel."
"Cruel?" someone scoffed loudly from the crowd. "You're trying to make us laugh to death."
"Do you even know who Brother Bin is?"
