Back to the situation in Class 4.
Zhao Chi searched for a long time, but couldn’t find a single other student from Class 4.
’Am I the only one left?’
Zhao Chi quickly checked to confirm.
Just as he’d thought, Cao Feng, Lu Yi, Duan Yun, and several others had all withdrawn.
After the end of this 7th stage, the number of remaining students had plummeted from 97 to 19.
In all of Class 4, only Zhao Chi remained.
Right now, both the class and grade-level group chats were filled with complaints.
People were complaining about everything from the Thunder Elements in the fourth stage to the Ghostly Wail in the fifth.
But the Naga Warriors of the sixth stage and the Earth Puppets of this seventh stage were drawing the most complaints.
Most were just saying the difficulty was too high.
Zhao Chi also felt the difficulty was high.
Duan Yun: [No way, I really couldn’t beat this stage. I was planning to bait out all the Earth Puppets’ skills before attacking, but the Stone Spikes are too fast and hard to dodge. I withdrew after losing 5 Soldiers. It’s just impossible.]
Lu Yi: [Yeah, this stage is too hard. Those Earth Puppets have extremely high Defense and Life, so Bow and Arrows are useless. My few Elf Warriors are all enhanced for Movement Speed, but even they had trouble dodging the Stone Spikes. A single Stone Spike can pierce their Leather Boots and stab right through the soles of their feet.]
Li Xun: [Huh? Don’t Elves have really high agility? They couldn’t dodge either?]
Lu Yi: [They can dodge most of them, but if they fail to dodge even once, their legs get injured. Then they get stabbed to death by the continuous Stone Spikes that follow.]
Li Xun: [That brutal? Good thing I withdrew last stage.]
Kong Xiang: [Brother Cao, how did you do this stage? How come you withdrew too? How many Earth Puppets did you kill?]
Yin Lan: [Duan Yun, you’re already amazing. Not many people made it to this stage.]
Zhuang Xiao: [I thought those Naga Warriors last stage were despair-inducing enough, but this one is even worse. I really don’t know how the 19 people who passed did it.]
Sun Quan: [They paid their way through, obviously.]
Yuan Lang: [Yeah, they all have family backing, so they have plenty of troops to sacrifice. If I had 20 more Soldiers, I could have passed this stage too.]
Duan Yun: [But Zhao Chi passed too.]
Yuan Lang: [That’s amazing. Zhao Chi, how did you pass? Besides Stone Spikes, the Earth Puppets’ close-quarters Combat Power is also really strong. You guys didn’t see it, but their two big stone fists just SMASH SMASH SMASH, like a pair of hammers.]
Kong Xiang: [Brother Cao?]
Yang Xiong: [Your Brother Cao is playing dead.]
Lu Yi: [Zhao Chi passed? Wow, he really did! Zhao Chi, how’d you do it? That’s incredible!]
Yang Xiong: [Probably resting and not looking at the chat. Anyway, he’s the real deal.]
Li Ke: [Just luck.]
Shi Juan: [Getting a high rank once is nothing special. Everyone has their moments.]
Yang Xiong: [Luck my ass! Why don’t you try getting lucky for me to see? How about you let your Brother Cao try getting lucky? What are you little followers even yapping about?]
Kong Xiang: [Brother Cao, say something!]
Yang Xiong: [Haha, yeah, Cao Feng, say something!]
Cao Feng never replied.
Zhao Chi hadn’t been looking at the group chat either.
The rest period this time was too short.
He had only glanced at the rankings, and seeing that Cao Feng had already withdrawn, the pressure in his heart instantly vanished.
He’d won the bet.
The remaining few stages didn’t really matter anymore. If the next one was too hard, he could consider giving up.
As for first place in the grade, he hadn’t even thought about it.
After all, that was too difficult.
It was safe to say the other 18 people left were all students who usually got good grades, which was why they had lasted this long.
There might only be a few people left after the next stage.
There were 3 minutes left.
The new coordinates had arrived—50 meters away.
’It’s fine, I won’t head over early this time. I’ll let these women rest for another 3 minutes. It’ll be fine to get up and move after it starts.’
The eighth stage had 80 Magical Beasts.
’I just hope they aren’t a counter to me.’
"Are we really not changing the Magical Beasts for the eighth stage? But this stage’s Magical Beasts are countered by Zhao Chi. His subjects are all women, and good-looking ones at that."
Inside the invigilation space, the instructors were arguing.
Pang Zhangming said, "Therefore, this stage’s difficulty will be much lower for Zhao Chi, failing to serve its purpose of testing his Ability. The ranking will be skewed."
Li Ruanyu shook her head. "All 10 stages were decided beforehand. They were voted on and approved with the support of over six Chief Instructors before the test began."
Pang Zhangming countered, "Even if they were decided beforehand, they can still be changed based on the actual circumstances of the test. That’s also within the rules."
Li Ruanyu was firm. "No. Luck is a part of one’s strength. If the eighth stage is less difficult for Zhao Chi, that’s his good fortune. There’s no reason to change the Magical Beasts because of it."
Li Yin: "I support not changing them."
Jin Haibiao: "Me too."
Chang Miaoxuan: "I, on the other hand, support a change. After all, this test is meant to measure true strength. Luck isn’t consistent, so it doesn’t count as real strength."
Pang Zhangming: "Exactly. Otherwise, it would be unfair to the other students."
Li Ruanyu was getting angry. "If you change it, then it would be unfair to Zhao Chi."
Pang Zhangming snorted. "Being unfair to one Zhao Chi is better than being unfair to 18 genuinely outstanding students."
Li Ruanyu said furiously, "If Pei Yuanxiu and Xiao Liu hadn’t been eliminated, their Golem and Skeleton Races would also have had an advantage! The opportunities were equal!
Pang Zhangming said, "That’s right. If they hadn’t withdrawn, the Golems and Skeletons would indeed have an advantage. But then it wouldn’t just be Zhao Chi with an advantage, so I wouldn’t have said anything. But they’ve already been eliminated."
Li Ruanyu: "They withdrew because they lacked strength! It has nothing to do with Zhao Chi!"
Pang Zhangming: "And so now, Zhao Chi has the advantage."
Li Ruanyu: "Pang Zhangming! Don’t bring our personal grudge into matters concerning the students!"
Seeing that a real argument was breaking out, the other instructors hurried to mediate.
Li Ruanyu usually had a very good upbringing and demeanor.
She was rarely ever seen raising her voice, let alone getting angry.
It was unexpected that she would get into a public argument over a single student.
Pang Zhangming said, "This has nothing to do with any personal grudge. I just don’t want an unfair variable like this to disrupt the competition."
Li Ruanyu questioned him sharply, "Stop making it sound so noble! After they graduate and face a Magical Beast invasion, are you going to be there to change things for them then, too? You’re the one disrupting the competition!"
Zhang Shouning tried to smooth things over. "Everyone calm down. We all have good intentions and valid points. Let’s just suppress our emotions for a moment."
Li Yin: "There isn’t much time left. A last-minute change really is unnecessary."
Chang Miaoxuan: "It has nothing to do with time. Making a change is easy."
Li Yin: "But it’s still unnecessary."
The other few instructors also joined the discussion.
Naturally, some agreed with the change, and some disagreed.
"Alright! That’s enough!"
Chief Instructor Saint Monarch You cut the instructors off.
He sighed and said, "Zhangming, the Magical Beasts for each stage were chosen by a vote. We shouldn’t change them lightly. Although last-minute changes are indeed permitted, that’s only under extremely special circumstances. A simple case of good or bad luck isn’t a sufficient reason. The next stage will proceed as planned. Everyone, prepare yourselves."
Pang Zhangming frowned. "Understood."
Li Ruanyu shot him a glare before turning her gaze back to Zhao Chi’s territory.
Zhao Chi was already prepared.
Although he hadn’t given the order yet, Gu Qing and the others were already on their feet.
"My lord, isn’t it about time?"
Zhao Chi nodded. "Just half a minute left. Let’s go. I wonder what kind of Magical Beasts we’ll face this time."