As if sensing someone watching him, Zhou Tao turned his head.
Unexpectedly, this time he did not retort but smiled, "Congratulations, you're temporarily in first place."
Bai Qianqian smiled faintly.
"You're not bad either."
"Quiet!"
Just then, a horn sounded from a distance.
"The forest trial has concluded. All students ranked outside the top fifty have been eliminated. The third round of competition will now commence."
Upon hearing this, many students showed a trace of sadness on their faces.
To be able to participate in this competition, they were undoubtedly the most outstanding batch of people in the academy, mostly students from the advanced classes of the higher grades. However, even with their usual confidence, facing the academy's crème de la crème today, they could only obediently withdraw from the competition.
Deep within the forest, the figure of an elder slowly emerged. His expression was stern, and he said in a deep voice, "The third assessment will now begin: the arena challenge."
The remaining individuals on the field did not show much emotional fluctuation; most of them already knew the content of the assessment.
The competition mechanism was also very simple. Before the match, the academy would arrange three instructors to act as assessors. These instructor assessors would pilot contracted beasts of a similar level to the students for battle. For students to advance, they only needed to defeat any one of the assessors. While this sounded simple, it was actually a rather difficult challenge for the students. Although the instructors could suppress their strength and pilot lower-level contracted beasts, their combat experience was rich. Even with lower-level contracted beasts, they could still exhibit strength that surpassed their level.
Furthermore, during the assessment, the assessor would switch to a different contracted beast after each round, which also increased the difficulty of the assessment.
After reading out the competition rules, the elder with the stern expression put down the manuscript in his hand and said solemnly, "Please proceed to the Beast Taming Arena to commence the next round of competition."
The students present responded, and then followed the elder to the Beast Taming Arena.
Returning to the Beast Taming Academy, the students walked along the corridor of the Beast Taming Arena. They saw students on a relatively small Beast Taming Arena next to them engaging in practice spars. The stands were also full, giving the impression of a considerable event.
Chen Fan of the Jibai team had his hands behind his head, casually watching the fight below, and said leisurely, "These juniors and juniors are worse than the last. Look at those contracted beasts; they look like they haven't eaten enough."
Beside him, a muscular young man wearing only a vest chuckled, "Isn't that the truth? It's like playing around. When we graduate and leave the academy, if we rely on these newcomers to uphold the academy, then the academy can truly just close down."
"Shut up."
A cold shout interrupted their conversation.
"Chen Fan, Hong Tao, save some energy for the upcoming matches. Don't waste your breath here."
The two immediately fell silent, looking somewhat dejected.
Bai Qianqian's gaze also occasionally drifted towards the space beneath the sky-high walkway, where second-year students were undergoing their phased assessments. She recalled her own participation in assessments like them, but she had always been a prodigy in the academy, hence she consistently ranked among the top in any assessment.
After the inter-academy competition concluded, she would apply for early graduation and go to see the big cities.
Thinking of this, Bai Qianqian couldn't help but take a deep breath. Who wasn't once a youth who wanted to roam the world with a sword in hand?
Before long, the remaining fifty students arrived at the competition venue, led by the elder.
"Welcome, everyone."
The speaker was a young man with golden-yellow hair and a faint lightning-shaped scar on his face.
"Senior Lei Mang!"
Sharp-eyed students immediately recognized the person, and murmurs arose. It was rumored that this instructor named Lei Mang was originally a student of Cang Town Beast Taming Academy and later represented Wenmin City in the National Youth Beast Taming Competition.
His specialty was piloting lightning-attribute contracted beasts, and his strength was unfathomable, making him a legendary figure in the academy. Even now, his portrait was displayed in the academy corridors. They never expected to see him here.
"My name is Lei Mang. It's our first meeting. I am your senior and also today's assessor instructor. I hope to spend a pleasant time with all of you."
The students exchanged glances, remaining silent, their eyes turning towards the positions next to Lei Mang. Seated on either side were a woman with fiery red hair and heavy makeup, exuding an extremely cold and aloof aura.
"Instructor Huo Wu!"
The other person was a large, bald man who kept his eyes closed.
"Instructor Man Shan!"
The hearts of the students present churned with excitement. Challenging instructors beyond one's level was an extremely difficult task, and today their opponents were these three renowned instructors!
Lei Mang smiled with a friendly expression and said,
"According to the rules, you only need to defeat any one of us three to advance. However, the academy has added a new reward system. If any of you can defeat all three of us consecutively, you will receive a special reward!"
A murmur of whispers erupted from the crowd.
Some, unable to restrain themselves, loudly asked, "Senior Lei Mang, may I ask what the special reward is?"
"Attribute Pills!"
Lei Mang replied frankly.
"Let me explain. Simply put, after consuming them, you can increase your single attribute stats. For example, if you want to increase physical attack, your contracted beast's physical attack will be strengthened after consumption."
Wow!
The crowd erupted in an uproar.
This was a tangible boost to the contracted beast's combat power. Some of the more knowledgeable students were stunned into silence, unsure of what to say. These were Attribute Pills, rare treasures that might not even be available at auctions. The academy was actually this generous!
This was an immense temptation for them.
Even Bai Qianqian and Zhou Tao showed expressions of desire.
For a moment,
Many candidates became eager to try.
Lei Mang observed this and suddenly showed a playful smile.
"Hey, hey, don't be in a hurry. The rules aren't finished yet."
"The additional challenge is 1v3, meaning one contracted beast will simultaneously face our three contracted beasts!"
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over them, instantly extinguishing the candidates' enthusiasm.
Most people immediately abandoned the idea of trying. This was completely in line with the stingy dean's modus operandi!
Seeing their reaction, Lei Mang felt a hint of embarrassment. This kind of challenge mechanism was truly unscrupulous. Defeating any one of them in a one-on-one battle was already difficult, and winning a 1v3 battle was practically impossible. Therefore, this seemingly tempting reward was actually a facade, meant to impress.
It was like putting up a grand prize of a villa in a lottery, but in reality, there was no such prize in the prize pool.