My Arts Evolve When Perfected

Three days passed in a flash, the rankings in constant flux. A large bead of sweat slid down Zhang Heng’s temple, splattering on his red chest armor. His eyes were wide. "We’ve been surpassed."

Dawn had just broken. The three short, forceful words struck the others around him like a hammer blow. They were all stunned for a moment, then stared dumbfounded after looking at the rankings.

[Thirty-third Place: Gao Yuan City’s Outer City Eighth Middle School — 13872]

An Outer City High School with only about eighty people had broken into a rank usually reserved for thousand-student Inner City High Schools. Not only that, they were in the middle of the pack, having already surpassed their Fourth Middle School!

Jiang Qiu alone accounted for ten thousand points, putting his individual rank at 27th in the entire province!

As this news spread to the rear of the column, the crowd grew incensed. They shook their fists and raised their spears. "How can a thousand of us be losing to eighty-something of them? On what grounds?!"

"It’s like all the fucking Demon Beasts in the outer ring have been wiped clean! All we’re finding are the corpses they left behind, making us waste our time searching!"

"Brother Heng, let’s go to another Secret Realm-affected area today. Damn it, we’re not playing their game anymore!"

Amidst the rising shouts, Zhang Heng’s right eyelid twitched twice. He swept his gaze over the thousand-plus students, clenched his fist, and shouted, "To another Secret Realm! This time, we’ll go straight in deep and clear a path by slaying High Tier Demon Beasts!"

...

[Slaughter Drill x1]

[Slaughter Drill x1]

[Slaughter Drill x1]

[Flood Dragon Jade Sinews (Gestating)]

[Qi Blood Points: 90/100]

Jiang Qiu took a deep breath, standing on the rooftop of a five-story residential building. He casually wiped the bloodstains from his face, his vertical pupils reflecting the vast, gray-white world below.

In every corner, students glowing with an orange-yellow light fought Demon Beasts. The air was filled with the ceaseless CLANG of collisions and monstrous shrieks.

’One more day of this, and I’ll be able to step into the Jade Sinew Realm.’

’It’s just a shame all the High Tier Demon Beasts within a six-kilometer radius are dead, and there aren’t many Middle Tier ones left either.’

Over the past few days, another eight students had broken into the top ten thousand. Liu Zili was ranked 9,876th; if she could maintain this intense pace, she should be able to get into Northwest Martial University.

Even the weakest among them, Qian Cheng, had killed more than ten Low Tier Demon Beasts, but with a rank of 48,766, his chances were slim.

He was currently teaming up with Hu Ye’ye to surround and kill a Red Armored Giant Lizard with a broken leg. Their strengths were comparable, and both were ranked near the bottom...

’At this rate, it’ll be a struggle for even half of them to break into the top ten thousand. The lowest-ranked students in Area Eight will have a tough time getting into Northwest Martial University.’

Jiang Qiu sighed, a helpless look flashing in his eyes. ’In the end, their Realms are just too low, and their comprehension of the Spear Dao isn’t high enough. If they were all in the Iron Flesh Realm, their chances of getting into Northwest Martial University would be much greater.’

’If their chances are still slim in two weeks, we could try our luck inside a Secret Realm...’

TAP.

Casually crushing a small spider that had crawled onto a vine on the railing, Jiang Qiu turned and headed downstairs. A long spear materialized in his right hand.

...

As the sun set, Jiang Qiu led the students of Eighth Middle School back, their haul plentiful. When they passed the Fourth Middle School’s base camp, his brow twitched. "Where is everyone?"

’I didn’t see any of them on the way back, and now their base is empty. Where could a thousand people have gone?’

’A few were left behind, relegated to watching the luggage. Surely they didn’t just up and move their entire base...’

The students left behind stood with arms crossed and heads held high, their manner imposing. "Brother Heng and Sister Ye Shu led everyone to another Secret Realm area to hunt High Tier Demon Beasts!"

"High Tier Demon Beasts?"

Jiang Qiu stopped and gazed in the other direction. Beyond the staggered high-rises, a purple mist drifted faintly, blanketing a corner of the horizon and obscuring its outline.

That area was designated as having an active Secret Realm. It was highly likely that at some point, the Secret Realm would "devour" any nearby humans and Demon Beasts—just like what had happened in Qingmu Town.

’They said they were going to hunt High Tier Demon Beasts, but it’s more than likely they wanted to get a look inside the Secret Realm.’

After all, some Secret Realms truly contained treasures and opportunities. There were occasional rumors online that spread from the Northern Wilderness, telling of an Independent Martial Artist in the Copper Skin Realm who had stumbled into a small Secret Realm and emerged having ascended to the Jade Sinew Realm...

"They dare enter a Secret Realm during its active period?" Zhang Shan’s thick brows furrowed. He shifted the Middle Tier Demon Beast corpse on his shoulder, making it jiggle. "General Gao himself told us not to go near it, yet they still went. They must have a death wish."

"What’s so strange about that? It’s forbidden during the exams every year, but over a fifth of the participants still enter a Secret Realm. They all want to try their luck. If you find Celestial Materials and Spiritual Treasures that have been gestating inside for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, it can trigger a huge transformation."

Hearing this, Zhang Shan’s brows knitted together. He turned and saw that the speaker was Sun Yongsheng, who had returned from the Prodigy Project. A trace of reverence flashed in Zhang Shan’s eyes. He let out a soft breath and said nothing more.

But those few casual words seemed to hook the gazes of most of the group like a fishing line. Even while shouldering the corpses of Middle Tier Demon Beasts, they secretly watched Jiang Qiu’s back. Their hearts pounded, and a fervent energy brewed in their chests, ready to burst forth.

THUMP THUMP THUMP...

They strode back to the dilapidated grand hotel. The Demon Beast corpses were dropped onto the floor with heavy THUDS. The usual chatter was subdued; instead, reserved gazes kept sweeping over Jiang Qiu.

BEEP.

Just like the previous three days, the team rankings projected from the exam wristband on Jiang Qiu’s right hand. It listed the schools—the top ten from the provincial capital, thirty-six from the Inner City, and seventy-two from the Outer City—all ranked by points.

"We’re still in twenty-second place."

Jiang Qiu’s brow fell. But then he glanced up the list, and his pupils contracted. "Sanliang City’s Inner City Fourth Middle School is in twenty-first place?!"

’This morning they were trailing by three or four ranks. Logically, that gap should have only widened.’

’Who would’ve thought that after changing hunting grounds, their team ranking would jump five or six spots?’

Everyone was stunned, but no one said a word. It was already a miracle for Eighth Middle School to have achieved this rank, and ninety percent of the credit for that miracle belonged to Jiang Qiu.

Pushing even higher was a monumental task.

"Fourth Middle School mostly sticks together, so they probably don’t have individuals off farming extreme numbers of points. That means the higher their team ranking, the more of them have made it into the top ten thousand."

Jiang Qiu scanned the faces of his schoolmates, their eyes now dim with disappointment. In a sincere voice, he asked, "How many of you want to do what Fourth Middle School did and hunt in that active Secret Realm area?"

"I want to go."

Li Juefeng puffed out his chest and resolutely raised his hand.

Sun Yongsheng’s eyes widened, and he nudged Li Juefeng with his elbow. "What are you doing? The only reason Fourth Middle School racked up so many points is because the area hasn’t been cleared of Demon Beasts yet. There might even be hidden members of the Demon Race in there. Don’t—"

"I want to go too."

Zhang Shan raised his right hand. Wang Guanjia slowly raised his as well, even glancing at Xie Kuang, who was standing near the edge of the group. Xie Kuang snorted coldly and raised his hand.

One after another...

In Sun Yongsheng’s vision, one bloodstained right hand after another shot up like bamboo stalks. His right eyelid twitched twice, and he sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

’The greatest number of casualties during the exams come from Secret Realms.’ The words were on the tip of his tongue, but the sheer momentum of the group inexplicably forced them back down.

’Ugh, I just hope the Secret Realm doesn’t suddenly activate and "eat" us all. It would be much better to just kill Demon Beasts like normal...’

He sighed inwardly and raised his right hand.

"Since everyone has raised their hand, tomorrow we’ll go to the area shrouded in purple mist. But don’t split up. If a High Tier or even a Top Tier Demon Beast appears..." Jiang Qiu took a deep breath. A fleeting image of a familiar aura flashed through his mind. His eyes became as sharp as a spear’s tip. "...wait for me to make the first move."