Chapter 796 - Ranked First Again

Many disciples who had failed to collect enough points hung their heads in dejection, while those who had secured a significant number stood tall, their chests puffed with pride. This stark contrast instantly divided the Star River Valley into two groups—the defeated and the triumphant.

By rough estimate, only nineteen thousand people had lived to arrive in the Star River Valley. This meant the death toll had reached over six thousand.

"Has anyone seen Wang Linlong?" The Wang Clan's survivors asked around when they couldn't find Wang Linlong anywhere.

Given that Wang Linlong had reached the True Profound Realm, it seemed unlikely that he would have perished in the assessment. Yet, when asked, most shook their heads—they had not seen him. With no trace of his presence, it became clear that Wang Linlong had lost his life in the trial.

"Wang Linlong? I remember he was one of the participants in the True Profound Realm!" murmurs spread through the crowd. With only a few hundred participants reaching the True Profound Realm, Wang Linlong was a recognizable figure.

Through their discussion, they concluded that Wang Linlong had mysteriously disappeared.

Participants at the True Profound Realm stated that they had only targeted those at the Nascent Transformation Realm and had not fought anyone of their own rank.

This meant that Wang Linlong had not fallen to another True Profound Realm cultivator but to someone at the Nascent Transformation Realm.

Wang Linlong's death became a mystery, and only the ten examiners knew what had happened.

Right then, spatial fluctuations could be felt as the ten examiners descended to the ground.

"Line up and present your jade tokens. We will tally the points, and the top five thousand will earn the right to join the academy," Qu Su said, and a table appeared before him.

Ning Hai was the first to present his jade tokens, and with a loud clatter, the table was soon piled high with bloodstained tokens.

"So many jade tokens!" The disciples queued behind and looked with envy. Those who failed to accumulate enough points hesitated at the back of the queue and were unwilling to present their jade tokens.

Hearing the envious voices from the surroundings, Ning Hai felt satisfied.

As the points were tallied, an old man standing beside Qu Su announced, "A total of 3,005 points!"

Everyone wondered how many people Ning Hai had robbed to amass such an astronomical number of points. With seventy percent of the jade tokens worth only a single point, this meant he had plundered an astonishing number of tokens from thousands of participants.

For the past seven days, Ning Hai had focused entirely on collecting jade tokens. This realization sent a wave of gasps through the surrounding crowd.

The ten examiners already knew Ning Hai's performance throughout the assessment but still looked shocked. After all, collecting three thousand points was an extremely rare feat.

The highest score for the previous test had barely surpassed two thousand points. Though there were instances of participants collecting three thousand points in the past, such cases were rare.

However, the increased freedom for this year's recruitment test had resulted in particularly intense competition.

The second person to step forward was another cultivator in the True Profound Realm.

The second participant whose score was tallied was Ma Tianming, but Ning Hai outscored him by an unusually large margin of more than a thousand points.

Unlike Ning Hai, Ma Tianming had refrained from excessive plundering of jade tokens.

The scores continued to decline as the tallying process continued. By Hong Du’s turn, his total had dropped to around six hundred points.

In the past, five hundred points were enough to pass the assessment.

But this year was different. The top-ranking participants had hoarded an astronomical number of points, meaning that even a score as low as two hundred might be enough to qualify.

After all, the number of available spots was fixed—the more the strongest competitors took, the less remained for others.

That said, Hong Du's collection of over six hundred points was still impressive. This was largely due to his obtaining two jade tokens matching his number.

It was an impressive feat if someone could collect a jade token with the same number, and obtaining two didn't just require strength but also luck. Many people hadn't encountered another person with the same number in the past seven days.

Meanwhile, the examiners continued to tally the scores. After half a day, the points began to drop to as low as fifty or sixty.

It didn't take long before it was Liu Xin'er's turn, and she had been worried about her score. But after realizing she had over five hundred points after a rough estimation, she realized it was enough for her to advance.

With all her jade tokens, her score had reached 570, which was well above the qualifying line.

"How is this possible? She was only at the eighth level of the Nascent Transformation Realm before entering—how did she manage to collect so many points?"

Even those at the ninth level of the Nascent Transformation Realm had only gathered around one to two hundred points.

Most scores hovered between one hundred to four hundred on average, and only those at the True Profound Realm could exceed a thousand.

The examiner responsible for tallying the points gave Liu Xin'er a knowing glance. He was well aware that her jade tokens had come from Liu Wuxie—the ten examiners had seen it happen. However, as long as it was within the rules, they had no reason to intervene.

The next in line was Liu Wuxie, and the queue had shortened significantly. Roughly seven to eight thousand participants had already had their points tallied, while another seven to eight thousand, having lost their jade tokens, voluntarily withdrew from the assessment.

Over half of the participants had lost their jade tokens, and only a tiny fraction had successfully collected some.

"This year's assessment is unprecedented; even twenty points might be enough to qualify!" The participants who had lost their jade tokens pounded their chests in frustration. If they had protected their token, they could have advanced with one hundred points.

"There are too many prodigies this year, and most of the points are concentrated at the top. Aside from those at the True Profound Realm, the highest score among Nascent Transformation Realm participants is only around five hundred, with most ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred."

The gap was stark—the elites had claimed nearly half of the total points, leaving the rest to scramble for whatever remained.

"How many points do you think Liu Wuxie has collected?" Even those at the pinnacle of the Nascent Transformation Realm had given up on queuing, and Liu Wuxie was merely at the first level. This made him stick out like a sore thumb in the line.

"Probably a few dozen," someone guessed. Even so, a few dozen points surpassed the majority of participants.

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Liu Wuxie stepped forward, and jade tokens rained onto the table like a sudden downpour.

As the examiner in charge recorded the scores, he wrote Liu Wuxie's name beside the number seven before beginning the tally. Yet, the tokens continued to spill steadily from Liu Wuxie’s interspatial ring, trickling down like sand in an hourglass.

"There's more?" someone murmured with disbelief. Over a hundred jade tokens had already piled up on the table, yet there was no sign of it stopping.

Many widened their eyes, struggling to believe what they were witnessing.

Qu Su’s eye twitched at the sight. However, the examiners had already known each participant’s score—this tallying process was merely a formality, ensuring that everyone accepted the final results.

Still, the jade tokens kept falling, an endless cascade overflowing the table.

Ning Hai's expression darkened. Until now, he had firmly held first place, but at this rate, Liu Wuxie was likely to surpass him.

He had accumulated 3,005 points—nearly a thousand points ahead of the second-place contender, Ma Tianming. But now, for the first time, Ning Hai felt a sense of unease.

Even so, the jade tokens Liu Wuxie took out had already surpassed the majority at the first-level True Profound Realm.

Liu Xin'er stood behind Liu Wuxie, her sharp gaze flickering between him and the growing pile of jade tokens on the table. She had been worried that he wouldn’t make it through the assessment, but now it was clear her concerns had been unnecessary.

Miao Hanxuan's face turned darker with each passing second as jade tokens continued to pour out with no signs of stopping. Three minutes later, roughly seven hundred jade tokens were piled on the table.

However, the majority hadn’t been personally collected by Liu Wuxie. They originally belonged to Wang Linlong and Gan Liang, who had plundered them from other participants. But after their deaths, the jade tokens they had amassed ultimately ended up in Liu Wuxie's hands.

The examiner responsible for tallying the points began his calculation. As someone in the Earth Profound Realm, his calculating speed was astonishing, and the final tally was announced in less than a minute.

"H-He collected four number seven jade tokens! How is that possible? That means he gathered every single one except Ning Hai’s!" Shock rippled through the crowd as they stared at the four number seven jade tokens in disbelief—even Ning Hai was visibly shaken.

At last, Ning Hai understood why he had been unable to find another participant with a number seven jade token—Liu Wuxie had taken them all. Those four tokens alone were worth four hundred points.

On the other hand, the majority of jade tokens collected by Ning Hai were only worth one point. This meant Liu Wuxie's four tokens were equivalent to four hundred of his.

Aside from the four number seven jade tokens, Liu Wuxie had also collected many jade tokens with seven as the last digit, unlike others whose tokens were a chaotic mix.

"The final score—3,500 points!" the examiner announced. It was unbelievable how Liu Wuxie had collected so many jade tokens with seven as the last digit, and his total points surpassed Ning Hai's.

When Liu Wuxie’s score was announced, gasps echoed through the crowd. Ning Hai had not only lost his position as the top scorer—he had been completely outclassed. Liu Wuxie had surpassed him by nearly five hundred points.

"If nothing unexpected happens, Liu Wuxie will take first place in all four stages!"

He had already claimed the top spot in the first three stages, and now, against all odds, he had done the same in the fourth.

Never before in history had someone at the lower levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm secured a staggering 3,500 points.

"Did he pick those jade tokens from the ground?" someone whispered, as this was the only explanation that made sense.

A murderous intent flashed in the depth of Hong Du's eyes. Just moments ago, he had mocked Liu Wuxie for being doomed, but Liu Wuxie's score was a resounding slap across his face and those who doubted him.

Countless people wanted him dead, and the brutal reality had crushed them all.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie didn't bother to count his collected points. He walked to the side and ignored the murderous gazes coming from Ning Hai and the others.

"You've stolen the limelight again," Liu Xin'er said, her face bright with joy.

She was relieved that Liu Wuxie had passed the assessment—this meant he wouldn’t have to die. After all, he had sworn to take his own life if he failed the recruitment test.

As the tallying continued, Liu Wuxie and Liu Xin'er shifted their gaze toward the back of the line.

"Liu Lin is still alive?!" Liu Xin'er's expression soured at the sight of Liu Lin.

"He's pretty lucky," Liu Wuxie said with a faint smile. It seemed Liu Lin had been blessed by fortune—he must have had a fortuitous encounter to have survived.