Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Points Reward

After reading all the documents, Fang Chen had completely grasped all the intricacies of the first round of the assessment, including the grading criteria, the core objectives, the hidden traps, and even the secret ways to score points.

This so-called dangerous dense forest had long been thoroughly swept by the military; inherently, it posed no great threat. However, to simulate a real perilous environment, the military had deliberately released hundreds of ferocious wild beasts into it—tigers, bears, pythons, and everything in between.

In addition to that, exactly one hundred Rank One Demon Beasts were scattered throughout the area. On average, each examinee would have to face more than one.

"Rank One Demon Beasts..." Fang Chen muttered, recalling the Demon Beast bestiary and weakness analysis he had read in the Martial Arts Association’s Divine Skill Hall.

The ones released this time were primarily the Jade Shadow Leopard, Cyan-faced Fox, Cyan Flame Wolf, and Poisonous Thorn Demon. The Jade Shadow Leopard and Cyan-faced Fox excelled in speed and strength. As for the Cyan Flame Wolf and Poisonous Thorn Demon, one could manipulate flames, while the other spat lethal poison.

Although the Combat Suit provided temporary protection, facing such numerous and concentrated attacks without finding the correct countermeasures would spell disaster. If one relied solely on tanking the hits, the Spiritual Crystal Stone would quickly run out of energy.

Therefore, the examiners had placed some auxiliary supplies within the dense forest.

One was a blue fruit called the Water Mist Fruit, which was filled with a cooling juice. By simply mixing its juice with water and sprinkling it over the Combat Suit, the suit would gain extremely strong fire-resistant properties for a short period. This could effectively defend against flame attacks for at least five minutes, thereby vastly saving the Spiritual Crystal Stone’s energy.

Fire resistance alone was not enough; the threat of the Poisonous Thorn Demon was equally lethal.

The Combat Suit was not completely sealed. While a True Martial Realm Martial Artist could use True Qi to slowly expel poison, staying in a toxic mist for too long would still be dangerous—let alone for an Ordinary Martial Artist.

To counter this, the examiners had prepared another type of plant: the Purifying Sponge Grass.

By plucking off the sponge-like section at its top and holding it in one’s mouth while breathing, it provided immense relief. This thing could effectively filter toxins from the air, and the clear aura it emitted could even help the body detoxify. Similarly, its effects only lasted for three to five minutes.

These two crucial supplies would be the exact focal points of contention among the examinees. Finding and using them directly granted points, but if they were snatched away by others, those points would transfer as well. The examiners intended to use this method to observe the examinees’ overall performance in resource contention and crisis management.

Ultimately, the examinees who successfully crossed the dense forest and reached the gathering point on the other side would receive different ranking points based on their order of arrival.

"Is this similar to a battle royale game?" Fang Chen wondered.

However, what interested him the most was that these points could be exchanged for rewards. The grandest prize was a Rank Two Spiritual Crystal Stone.

It required one thousand points to redeem. If one could reach two thousand points, they could redeem two of them at once! That would perfectly cover one for the Combat Suit and one for a weapon.

The energy contained within these Rank Two Crystal Stones far exceeded the Rank One goods they were currently equipped with. Once activated, they could even allow the user to momentarily erupt with High Martial Realm combat prowess and defense!

"Good stuff!" Fang Chen’s eyes burned with fervor. "These Spiritual Crystal Stones are Enhancement Stones for weapons and equipment, not for strengthening one’s own body. Therefore, I can’t bring them out of the Time Stop Space. I absolutely have to get my hands on them!"

But Fang Chen quickly did the math.

Even if he killed all one hundred Demon Beasts and found over a hundred Water Mist Fruits and Purifying Sponge Grasses, his points still wouldn’t reach two thousand. Not to mention, such a feat was completely unrealistic.

Therefore, he had to complete a hidden mission!

[Find the Mind-Bending Demon Wood and chop it down.]

Although this tree had a rather peculiar shape, as long as its trunk remained intact, it was colorless, odorless, and carried no strange effects. But once it was chopped down, the severed area would secrete a viscous liquid called the Demon-Luring Potion. The aura of this liquid would instantly attract all Demon Beasts within a certain radius, sending them into a frenzy to gather around it.

Meanwhile, the examinees could seize this opportunity to safely cross the dense forest.

The person who completed this mission would directly be rewarded with two thousand points! Which meant two Rank Two Crystal Stones in the bag!

...

After memorizing the key information from the documents, Fang Chen conveniently swept through a few military canned goods and Energy Bars stocked in the command post. He ate and drank his fill, replenishing his stamina.

Then, he picked up a few Spirit Crystals, felt the energy contained within them, and attempted to sit in meditation and cultivate.

However, there was no progress whatsoever.

"As expected, once the True Martial Realm reaches 120% in the Transcendence Realm, is the path completely sealed off? If I were only cultivating in the middle stages, my progress would definitely be lightning-fast!"

Following that, Fang Chen began moving through the Time Stop Domain according to the regional information marked on the documents. He individually confirmed the concentrated distribution points of the Water Mist Fruit and Purifying Sponge Grass, as well as the locations of every single Demon Beast.

Finally, he walked to the area labeled "Mind-Bending Demon Wood" on the map.

"This is a bit tricky..." He frowned slightly.

Not only did this place deviate from the optimal route to the exit by delving deep into the forest’s hinterlands, but according to Fang Chen’s scouting, the number of Demon Beasts entrenched here was the highest in the entire examination grounds. It was an absolute death trap. Ordinary examinees would avoid it like the plague.

To pinpoint and chop down the Mind-Bending Demon Wood, one had to satisfy at least three conditions:

First, they must understand the properties of the Mind-Bending Demon Wood and the alluring effects of its sap.

Second, they must know that the Mind-Bending Demon Wood actually existed within this assessment area.

Third, and most importantly, they must possess enough formidable combat power to slaughter their way in and deal with the massive influx of Demon Beasts drawn by the wood’s aura.

To verify his own combat power, Fang Chen intentionally sought out a few different types of Rank One Demon Beasts and tested them with the Longsword in his hand.

When he struck with an ordinary slash, the tough fur and muscles of the Demon Beasts indeed provided considerable resistance, making it somewhat strenuous. But when he circulated the True Martial Level Swordsmanship, the Profound Tiger Wind-Breaking Sword, and pushed it to the Great Success stage, True Qi surged over the edge of his blade. With the faint, low roar of a fierce tiger, the flash of his sword easily tore through their defenses, slaying the Demon Beasts in a single strike!

"Killing these Rank One Demon Beasts isn’t too difficult," Fang Chen assessed. "The real difficulty lies in..."

His eyes flickered as he considered a deeper issue. "I can’t appear too purposeful."

For one, he didn’t want to arouse the examiners’ suspicions. If he made a beeline straight for the Mind-Bending Demon Wood, it would inevitably raise doubts about whether he had obtained inside information in advance. Any subsequent investigations would bring unnecessary trouble.

Secondly, and more importantly, he had no intention of exposing the true nature of his Superpower too early. Since the Talent Evaluation Center believed that his own memories would also rewind after a Time Stop, he would just let them continue to misunderstand.

"Although this caused me to lose out on some early resource allocation—to the point where I had to desperately earn the 500,000-yuan martial arts exam registration fee myself, let alone other potential cultivation resources...

"But... heh, within the Time Stop Domain, what resources can I not find? What intelligence can I not pry into?

"As long as a single share exists in this world, I can consume ten or a hundred shares!

"Compared to those meager early-stage benefits, allowing potential enemies to misjudge my abilities so they pay the price at critical moments... that is far more important."

True mastery conceals its edge; true wisdom feigns ignorance.

Having figured this out, Fang Chen already had a plan in mind. After mapping out his upcoming combat strategy, he exited the Time Stop Domain.

The world began to flow once more.

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