Over the next period, classes proceeded normally under the protection of the school board's guard.
Soon, the first semester concluded, and it was time for final exams.
The impact of the previous student disappearances gradually faded from people's minds.
There were no news reports of large-scale demon spirit attacks worldwide.
Only occasional scattered cases of demon spirit attacks occurred within cities, and life seemed to have returned to normal.
However, Zuo Nan remained convinced that the Demon God was plotting a grander scheme.
Yet, the Demon God's thoughts and power were far beyond what a lesser demon spirit like himself could pry into or guess.
At the Phoenix Academy's public practice grounds, everyone gazed at the giant stone gate in the center of the field, murmuring amongst themselves.
“Aren’t final exams supposed to be starting? What is this stone gate for?”
“They say it’s a teleportation gate, specifically for sending us to the examination grounds. It’s probably a place similar to a training ground.”
“No way, after the last incident, haven't all the training grounds been closed and under strict guard? Are they going to send us to a location outside the borders?”
“Outside the borders? That’s impossible. The country has explicitly forbidden crossing the national boundaries. At most, they’ll open a training ground. After all, with so many of us, and with the school board and the Spirit Energy Association present, the demon spirits wouldn’t dare cause trouble, right?”
“But I heard that this time, it’s not about fighting demon spirits, but about combat between schools. Phoenix Academy is taking this final exam extremely seriously.”
“Phoenix Academy is one of the four major academies, after all. If all academies are competing together, our advantage should be quite significant.”
“Our advantage is indeed significant, but if our ranking doesn’t reach the top 10%, we might be required to retake the exam or even be expelled…”
Hearing this, many students wore troubled expressions.
The top 10% meant eliminating at least nine other school contestants.
If they encountered only vocational schools, or even second or third-tier institutions, they might have to eliminate even more contestants to secure a good ranking.
*Buzz!*
Soon, the teleportation stone gate was activated.
In the center of the massive stone gate, blue energy continuously rotated and flowed.
“Enter!”
Xu Linna, standing on a large rock nearby, said calmly.
Although her voice was not loud, it simultaneously reached the ears of all the students, clear and distinct.
Starting with Class One, everyone entered the stone gate one by one.
Beyond the stone gate was a small patch of grass.
Towering trees surrounded them.
In the center of the grassland stood a Spirit Master from the Spirit Energy Association, with a three-star emblem on their chest.
This indicated a three-star certified Spirit Master, a rank that placed them within the top one hundred within the entire Spirit Energy Association.
“Esteemed juniors of Phoenix Academy, please allow me to explain the rules of this examination!”
“This examination adopts an elimination system. All high schools, regardless of their tier, will participate. The approximate number of participants in this examination is 50,000.”
“This examination is an individual competition. You may also form combat alliances beforehand, but these are not protected by the rules. Betrayal and internal conflict are permissible within the rules, so please choose your alliances with caution.”
“The competition uses an elimination system. Initially, each person has only 1 point. Defeating a first-tier demon spirit grants 1 point. Eliminated contestants will receive all the points held by that contestant.”
“The points of eliminated contestants will not change; they will be entered into the overall ranking as their final competition score.”
“The competition will last for 72 hours. Points will be automatically calculated upon time expiration, so be wary of contestants who favor night ambushes.”
“Finally, a reminder: the passing score for Phoenix Academy is a top 5% ranking. Please do your best!”
After the supervisor finished speaking, he waved his hand.
Over two hundred devices resembling wireless earphones automatically inserted themselves into everyone’s ears.
These were for communication, positioning, and point calculation.
At this moment, a countdown voice came through the earphones.
10, 9, 8, 7… 3, 2, 1!
Start!
The students of Phoenix Academy immediately rushed into the forest.
Their targets were demon spirits and students from other institutions.
After all, the students of Phoenix Academy were too strong, and rashly engaging them would not yield much benefit. Furthermore, eliminating a fellow student at this stage was equivalent to forcing them to withdraw from school.
Even from a standpoint of camaraderie, no one would do such a thing.
Moreover, eliminating a Phoenix Academy student only yielded 1 point, the same as eliminating a contestant from a third-tier university.
The difficulty and cost-effectiveness were clear.