Chapter 79: An Hour on the Road, Ten Minutes of Slaying Monsters

On the stage, the deans watched the large screen intently. Next to the screen, the rankings were already displayed.

At the top of the list was Qiao Chao, with a score of 167. Wang Mo followed closely in second place with 165 points. Third was Hua Piaowu, at 164. The scores among the top ten were similar, and all were striving to climb higher.

Zheng Gang crossed his arms, a hint of smugness on his face. "Well? Qiao Chao’s strength is certainly impressive. As long as he keeps up this performance, first place will undoubtedly be his."

Huang Zhengtian smiled. "Hua Piaowu’s score is also catching up fast. She might not be giving it her all yet—let’s wait for the final sprint."

Shui Tianlu thoughtfully stroked his chin. "By the way, I remember this year’s national top scorer is at our university, right? Isn’t his name Xu Han? Why isn’t he on the leaderboard?"

Zheng Gang replied disdainfully, "So what if he’s the national top scorer? The kid probably just got lucky. Look, once he’s in the trial, even the top scorer gets exposed for what he truly is."

The other deans nodded in agreement. Dragon University never lacked talent. Even if you were the top scorer in the country, if you failed to perform, you’d only become the butt of others’ jokes.

"I heard Zheng Zucai vouched for him, directly granting him A-level status as a student," Huang Zhengtian said with a smile. "If he knew how this kid’s doing in the trial, I wonder what he’d think?"

Zhong Zhen frowned slightly. "Zheng Zucai isn’t one to speak lightly, and according to his report, the kid is anything but simple."

The other deans were unaware, but Zhong Zhen knew well. This national top scorer had not only made a name for himself in the college entrance exams, but his later deeds had shocked him: he had single-handedly saved an entire city. Such ability could no longer be described as mere talent.

Jiang Huixin suddenly spoke, "The last place on the leaderboard just changed."

Zheng Gang scoffed, "Isn’t it normal for the last place to keep changing?"

Jiang Huixin said calmly, "Look at the name."

Everyone turned their gaze to the leaderboard’s bottom spot.

Xu Han!

His name now appeared at number fifty, with a score of 101.

Huang Zhengtian nodded slightly. "The national top scorer is catching up. Interesting."

Shui Tianlu spoke up, "Look, his position is showing up now."

Everyone looked at the map.

A single bright spot appeared in the red zone.

In the vast expanse of the red area, only this one point shone with a brilliant light, like the moon high in the sky, its radiance outshining all others.

A trace of surprise flashed in the deans’ eyes.

Huang Zhengtian was taken aback. "He’s actually in the red zone? It takes at least an hour to get there from the blue zone. Could it be…"

He didn’t finish, but everyone understood. Over the last hour, Xu Han must have been traveling, focused solely on reaching his destination, not hunting exotic beasts.

Shui Tianlu said with interest, "This kid is intriguing. He must have headed straight for the red zone from the start."

Gao Zhengguo pushed his glasses up, speaking gravely, "Look at his score, 101 points. Most likely, he’s killed ten second-tier exotic beasts and one first-tier. His target is the second-tier beasts!"

Even Ye Die, who had been glued to her phone, looked up and glanced at the rankings.

Zhong Zhen’s lips curled into a smile. As expected, this year’s national top scorer was extraordinary.

…

Xu Han moved through the swamp.

A giant tree beside him suddenly trembled. A massive python lunged at him, its jaws snapping down.

Xu Han, expressionless, dodged to the side.

The python crashed into the swamp, sending mud flying everywhere.

"Little Eagle, finish it," Xu Han commanded.

A piercing cry echoed from above.

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the python precisely.

The python let out a miserable screech, its body twisting violently.

Then, a shadow fell from above—a claw crackling with electricity struck the python’s head.

Crack!

The head shattered instantly.

The enormous body collapsed, splattering mud in all directions.

The shadow then flew to Xu Han’s shoulder, fluttering its wings as if seeking praise.

Xu Han patted Little Eagle’s head and smiled, "Well done."

He opened Little Eagle’s attribute panel.

[Name: Lightning Eagle (One in ten million bloodline of the Thunder Sky Eagle)]
[Species: Bird]
[Level: 9]

[Strength: 210]
[Constitution: 230]
[Agility: 400]
[Mental Power: 100]
[Skill 1: Thunder Claw LV.1 (Infuses thunder power into claws; when striking an enemy, has a 10% chance to paralyze for 0.5-3 seconds; cooldown 1 minute)]
[Skill 2: Lightning Strike LV.1 (Summons thunder to attack enemy; 10% chance to paralyze; cooldown 3 minutes)]
[Skill 3: Eagle Dive LV.1 (Transforms into a shadow to strike the enemy’s vital spots, dealing double damage; cooldown 5 minutes)]
[Bloodline Purification Condition: Platinum-grade thunder attribute pet food x1]

Little Eagle’s level had increased rapidly. After slaying several second-tier exotic beasts, it had reached level 9.

"I suppose it’s time to purify Little Eagle’s bloodline again," Xu Han murmured.

Earlier, he had wanted to use a Thunder Fruit for the purification, but Little Eagle had been too weak. Attempting to purify again could have injured it. Thus, Xu Han had waited until it leveled up.

He glanced at the leaderboard.

He was already ranked 40th, with 131 points.

But soon, others caught up.

He took out the Thunder Fruit and handed it to Little Eagle. "Eat up. Once your bloodline is purified, we’ll head for the black zone. These second-tier beasts are too weak, and the points rise too slowly."

He intended to raise his score to an unassailable height.

If others heard this, they’d break down in tears.

Brother, you call this slow? An hour traveling, ten minutes hunting, and you’ve already surged ahead in the rankings. How are the rest supposed to compete?

Little Eagle, excited, pecked open the Thunder Fruit.

Dark purple juice, crackling with lightning, was devoured by Little Eagle.

A piercing cry echoed.

Lightning enveloped Little Eagle, forming a giant sphere of electricity over two meters wide, and still growing.

Seeing that purification would take time, Xu Han casually found a dead branch to sit on.

A magic circle appeared.

He summoned Little Tiger.

"You guard me. If anything blind dares approach, bite it to death."

"I’ll make some barbecue."

Little Tiger’s eyes lit up, nodding eagerly as it stood watch nearby.