The uneven ground was covered with a layer of frost.
Ice crystals also formed on the surrounding tree canopies.
A bone-chilling gust of wind swept past, making Li Pengyun shiver involuntarily, finally snapping him out of his shock.
His blank stare swept across the ground.
The corpse of the Golden Withered Beast was no longer there; only ice shards scattered on the ground proved that it had once existed.
At that moment, Li Pengyun couldn't help but gasp.
A powerful beast at the third tier, fifth stage was instantly killed without any resistance!
Even if you broke his head, you would never have imagined such a situation.
The expected fierce battle did not materialize.
With just one strike, the Golden Withering Beast was dead beyond any hope of survival!
The scene before his eyes truly brought an indescribable and enormous shock to Li Pengyun.
"This is definitely not a third-tier pet!"
"Even a Tier 3, Stage 9 pet beast couldn't possibly kill a Tier 3, Stage 5 Golden Withered Beast instantly!"
"To achieve this, one would need to be at least fourth-order..."
Li Pengyun subconsciously swallowed, his gaze towards Lin Ze filled with shock and awe.
Everyone assumed that Lin Ze, like them, possessed a third-tier pet beast.
However, it was actually wildly wrong!
Lin Ze didn't possess a third-tier pet, but a fourth-tier one!
Now Li Pengyun truly understood why Lin Ze could rack up points so quickly.
The opponent's strength is simply not on the same level as theirs.
Neither he nor Tan Yong, Guo Xinyi, and Lü Gang had any idea that they were competing against a monster.
"There's absolutely no chance of winning against such a genius!"
A bitter look appeared on Li Pengyun's face.
From childhood to adulthood, he has been hailed as a genius.
Although he didn't show it, he must have felt proud and honored about it deep down.
After all, at only eighteen years old, possessing a third-tier, second-stage pet beast, this strength undoubtedly places him among the top few in his age group.
However, that pride has been utterly shattered today.
At the same age, his achievements pale in comparison to Lin Ze's.
It seems utterly insignificant.
Li Pengyun, who had always been regarded as a genius by those around him, finally began to understand their mentality.
"He's a monster!"
Li Pengyun murmured softly.
Just as he was in shock and confusion, the other examinees in the forest were also caught up in a huge commotion.
This was because Lin Ze's ranking on the leaderboard suddenly surpassed the top three, reaching the top spot in one fell swoop!
1st place: Lin Ze, 918 points
2nd place: Tan Yong, 903 points
3rd place: Guo Xinyi, 898 points
4th place: Lü Gang, 884 points
5th place: Li Pengyun, 815 points
"Holy crap, Lin Ze is already in first place!?"
"90 points increased in an instant!"
"That's too fast!"
"That's incredible! This scoring speed is insane!"
All the test takers who saw the changes in the rankings were taken aback.
Although they had long suspected that Lin Ze might surpass the previous three, they never expected things to happen so quickly.
Guo Xinyi, who had just killed a ferocious beast, froze on the spot, her mouth slightly open, her pretty face full of astonishment.
"This guy... is he really that exaggerated?!"
Tan Yong was also taken aback, and after regaining his senses, he couldn't help but give a wry smile.
"Impressive, no wonder you were assessed as a genius through an extremely difficult internship."
on the contrary.
Lu Gang's face turned ashen, and his expression grew increasingly grim.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest.
Guan Ning, who had been keeping a close eye on the leaderboard, beamed with a smile, her eyes crinkling.
"I knew it! My brother is definitely the best!"
...
Beyond the virtual world.
The teachers who watched Lin Ze's hunting process from beginning to end all showed expressions of amazement.
"You've come in first place."
"It seems that Lin Ze is the clear favorite to be the top freshman this year."
"Yes, the dust has settled."
No one believed that with Lin Ze already in first place, any candidate could take the top spot from him.
After all, Lin Ze's scoring speed is undeniable.
In the remaining hour or so, it would be quite an achievement if Tan Yong and Guo Xinyi could avoid falling too far behind.
Want to catch up?
That's almost impossible!
"Amazing strength and talent."
Gao Wenbai looked at Lin Ze in the picture with admiration.
"It seems our academy is about to welcome an unprecedented genius this year."
This is undoubtedly a very high compliment.
Moreover, the fact that it came from Gao Wenbai, a highly respected Gold Beast Tamer at Ningjiang Academy, speaks volumes about its significance.
In a short time.
All the teachers were secretly taken aback.
The scene became quiet for a moment.
Seemingly to break the silence, a teacher suddenly said:
"Do you think Lin Ze can get the 500 points from the stone tablet challenge?"
Everyone was slightly taken aback, and many shook their heads with a wry smile.
"How is that possible?"
"No one has ever scored 500 points in the past, not even Lin Ze."
"This reward was not set up for the test takers to receive."
"That's right. The academy set up this rule to make freshmen understand that there are always people better than you and there is always something beyond your understanding. Ningjiang Academy has no shortage of geniuses. Everyone who comes to the academy must put away their pride and complacency and face themselves squarely."
"Therefore, this test is not something that freshmen can pass, even if Lin Ze has a fourth-tier pet beast."
Many teachers nodded in agreement, clearly agreeing with this statement.
The teacher who had been questioned earlier didn't think Lin Ze could break the mold either, and smiled without refuting it.
The group stopped discussing and continued to look at the screen.
As time goes by, the scores of each rank on the leaderboard continue to increase.
Among them, Tan Yong, Guo Xinyi, Lü Gang, and Li Pengyun saw their scores increase at a significantly faster rate than the rest of the candidates.
The four players' rankings changed frequently as they overtook each other.
However, no matter how their positions changed, Lin Ze always firmly held the number one spot.
As the end of the assessment approached, the gap between the four and Lin Ze not only failed to narrow but gradually widened.
With only ten minutes left, the point difference had widened to over 300 points.
1st place: Lin Ze, 1638 points
2nd place: Tan Yong, 1321 points
3rd place: Guo Xinyi, 1295 points
4th place: Lü Gang, 1263 points
5th place: Li Pengyun, 1202 points
At this point, the question of who will be the top dog is no longer in doubt.
Even if Lin Ze does nothing afterward, the remaining four will still have no chance of catching up with his score.
Even Lü Gang, who was most unhappy with Lin Ze, had to reluctantly admit it.
And so it was.
The four had to give up competing for the top spot and instead vie for the second place.
And very soon.
The five-hour hunt came to an end.
The candidates who survived all gathered on the plain.