Chapter 172 Ranking Argument

Lin Xun looked a little distressed as his clothes were torn and were stained with mud and blood. Even so, no one laughed at him.

The battle on the volcano a few days ago had made Lin Xun rise to fame. Many people had heard about the matter and so no one dared to mock him.

Many students admired Lin Xun. He had been a nobody when he joined Blood Kill Camp but he had proved his strength with facts, which wasn’t something that ordinary people could do.

Zhao Yin was evidently surprised to see Lin Xun. “He actually returned.”

Bai Lingxi remarked, “You seem a little disappointed?”

Zhao Yin chuckled, “I’m not disappointed. I just think that it’s not worth paying so much attention to him since he only returned at the last moment.”

Bai Lingxi suddenly asked, “Who do you think are most likely to be the top three in the war zone assessment?”

Zhao Yin had never thought that Bai Lingxi would ask him for his view. His spirits were instantly lifted and he spoke eloquently, “Speaking about the top three, I can give it a good guess. It will likely be between you, me, Li Duxing and Zhangsun Hen!”

After a pause, he continued, “If there is no accident, the first place crown will no doubt fall on your head and I believe that I will also be in the top three. In other words, we shouldn’t need to worry. The only people who really need to compete for the top three are Li Duxing and Zhangsun Hen.”

Bai Lingxi sighed and said nothing else.

Zhao Yin seemed taken aback. “Lingxi, you seem to have a different opinion?”

Bai Lingxi’s clear eyes glanced at Lin Xun in the distance and she said, “You forgot about him.”

Zhao Yin couldn’t control the disdain in his heart. He sneered, “Him? Lingxi, you think too highly of him.”

He felt that Bai Lingxi had attached great importance to Lin Xun and it made him a little annoyed and uncomfortable.

Bai Lingxi said, “You don't understand.”

Zhao Yin frowned. “Lingxi, I really don’t understand why you are so confident about him? What is it about him that attracts you?”

His voice contained a hint of jealousy.

Bai Lingxi seemed to understand the meaning of Zhao Yin’s words. She shook her head and said, “You misunderstood, I don't have feelings for him, but my intuition tells me that he has enough qualifications to attract my attention.”

Zhao Yin disagreed, “He is lucky to have your approval. It really surprises me. But regardless, I don’t believe that he has the ability to compete with us for the top three positions.”

Bai Lingxi said, “Let’s just wait for the final result to come out.”

……

Lin Xun's return didn’t stir any waves, but it did make Dong Lu and Song Ling breathe an inward sigh of relief. They felt it would be a pity if something were to happen to Lin Xun given his previous performances.

Shi Yu and Ning Meng were also relieved.

“You—why did you take so long?” Ning Meng sounded annoyed.

Lin Xun smiled bitterly and shrugged. “I ran into a group of blood poisonous bees on the way back, so I had to change route.”

Blood poisonous bees!

Shi Yu and Ning Meng looked at each other and couldn't help bursting into laughter.

Blood poisonous bees were a peculiar poisonous creature in Demon Cloud Ridge. They were extremely fast and experts at hiding so were extremely difficult to kill.

Furthermore, they always moved in groups and attacked a cultivator’s buttocks. If bitten, the infected area would become swollen, painful and itchy, but there wouldn't be any life threatening danger. Though the feeling was already disgusting enough.

“Here, let me see if your butt is still there.” Ning Meng smiled strangely as he stretched out his hand.

Lin Xun lashed out with a kick. “Get lost!”

Clang!

A bell rang, signaling the end of the three-month war zone assessment.

In the end, forty-two students had returned to the open space in front of Black Wind Camp!

In other words, a total of 195 students were eliminated of the 237 students who came to participate in the assessment!

The elimination rate was terrifying and shocking.

However, all the Blood Kill Camp instructors knew very well that the result was already very good compared to previous years.

When the bell rang, the group of Blood Kill Camp instructors and Black Wind Army soldiers gathered all the students and counted their military merits and assessed their results.

Based on the order that the students returned, they each came forward and handed over their storage ring for collecting military merits. Bai Lingxi was first.

A pile of blood-stained brute totem runes poured out and stacked up like a hill. They filled the area with a bloody stench.

All the students couldn't help but widen their eyes in shock. So many!

A totem brute rune represented a Magi Brute expert killed. There are so many brute totem runes piled up, how many Magi Brute experts had died under Bai Lingxi’s hands?

Several Blood Kill Camp instructors came forward to count the military merits.

It suddenly became still and quiet. Everyone was anxiously waiting for the final result, but Bai Lingxi seemed very calm, as though she didn’t care.

“1,309 military merits,” reported an instructor.

Gasps of exclamations and astonishment arose from the crowd and their gazes turned strange when they looked at Bai Lingxi.

The maiden with the innate talent Eternal Shining Stars seemed to be cloaked in a dazzling halo that made many people feel inferior.

“Unless something unexpected happens, she would definitely take first place.”

Many people had the same thought. They were aware of the number of military merits they had obtained and they knew that they couldn't be compared to Bai Lingxi’s.

Zhao Yin was the second to hand over his military merits for assessment. After checking and verifying, Zhao Yin obtained a total of 1,254 military merits. Although slightly less than Bai Lingxi, his score was still remarkable and caused an uproar.

Zhao Yin only smiled modestly in response. Then, he went to stand beside Bai Lingxi and said, “See, my evaluation is right.”

Bai Lingxi didn’t say anything.

The third to step forward was Li Duxing, and he obtained a total of 1,258 military merits.

The fourth was Zhangsun Hen, and he obtained 1243 military merits.

Zhao Yin was inwardly pleased because it proved that his evaluation was correct.

The only thing that surprised Zhao Yin was that Li Duxing’s military merits exceeded his. Though he felt a little uncomfortable with the result, he could still accept it because there was only a difference of four military merits between them.

“Lingxi, I doubt the top three will change. You are first, Li Duxing is second and I am third.” Zhao Yin said with a smile.

Bai Lingxi frowned imperceptibly and she said, “It's not over yet. Don’t speak so soon.”

Zhao Yin nodded. “You’re right, then let’s wait and see.”

He sneered inwardly, guessing that she was waiting for the other results to be announced. But he felt a little uncomfortable. Could Bai Lingxi actually be thinking that Lin Xun could change the top three positions?

Absolutely ridiculous!

While the two were conversing, the instructors continued to count the military merits.

“Shi Yu, 1178 military merits.”

Shi Yu was relieved to hear his result announced but at the same time he became a little nervous because Ning Meng’s would be announced next!

His score determined the outcome of the bet between them. It was understandable for Shi Yu to be nervous.

When he looked at Ning Meng again, he looked like he was facing a powerful enemy. He held his breath and his eyes were glued to the pile of brute totem runes being counted, for fear of the instructors miscounting.

Standing between the two, Lin Xun was a little dumbfounded by their reactions.

“Ning Meng, 1,179 military merits!”

The announced result utterly stunned Shi Yu. I actually lost to an idiot! And there’s only a difference of one military merit between us!

Ning Meng broke into wild laughter and said triumphantly, “Little White Face, I’ll be waiting for you to send over one thousand gold coins and then obediently admit that you’re weaker than me!”

Shi Yu looked extremely bad. He hated the fact that he couldn’t strangle Ning Meng to death. Ning Ming had yelled out at the top of his voice, so didn’t that mean that basically everyone now knew that Shi Yu had lost the bet?

Suddenly, he noticed Lin Xun next to him and he immediately smiled coldly at Ning Meng. “Idiot, Lin Xun also participated in the bet. Don’t you think it’s ridiculous to talk about the outcome of the bet before Lin Xun’s result is announced?”

Ning Meng was taken aback for a moment and then he smiled brightly. “Little White Face, if you lose, you lose. Don’t use other people to lessen the embarrassment for yourself, isn’t that shameful?”

Shi Yu ignored him, turned his head and asked Lin Xun, “Our assessment results are out, do you think you will be higher or lower than us?”

Lin Xun said blankly, “I’m not sure yet.”

He really wasn’t sure. He had collected a lot of totem brute runes but he wasn’t sure how to calculate military merits since it was dependent on the marking criteria that the instructors used.

For example, the military merit obtained from killing a level-eight or lower brute slave wasn’t as much as the military merit obtained from killing a level-nine brute slave.

Time passed by and the scores of each student were accurately counted. Except for Bai Lingxi, Zhao Yin and a few other elite students, none had over one thousand military merits.

Lin Xun was the last to hand over his military merits.

When Zhao Yin saw Lin Xun appear, he kindly reminded Bai Lingxi, “Hey, it’s his turn now. I hope he will be a huge unexpected variable.” His voice contained a hint of disdain.

Bai Lingxi swept a glance over him and said nothing.

“I can’t let that idiot Ning Meng win, otherwise I won’t be able to raise my head again in the future…”

Shi Yu didn’t care whether Lin Xun could compete for the top three positions. He only hoped that Lin Xun could suppress Ning Meng and help vent his anger.

Ning Meng seemed a little nervous and said nothing.

“Let’s see if he can create a miracle this time.” Dong Lu muttered.

“If he can rank among the top five, I will treat you to a bottle of Floating Light Sky Wine.” Song Ling said directly.

Dong Lu’s eyes suddenly lit up, and the alcoholic bugs in his stomach were aroused. Floating Light Sky Wine was a fine wine that couldn’t be bought even with money!

However, just when everyone was full of anticipation, something strange happened.

All the instructors counting the military merits all paused and gazed at an extremely tattered totem brute rune.

The strange scene immediately caught everyone’s attention. Could there be something mysterious about the tattered totem brute rune?