I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

This is not only due to his physical strength, but also because he consistently uses his dragon horns to train himself with weights every day.

Now that his dragon horns have reached level 7, he endures more than thirty times the normal gravity every day. His body has long since adapted to these harsh conditions, and the less than three times gravity in the Steel Tree Sea is almost imperceptible to him.

"Most people are currently in the process of adapting to the environment of the border area. Even if candidates encounter each other, they will most likely avoid each other first."

Xue Jing looked thoughtful.

"But it's a different story with the examiners..."

The actions of the Supreme Martial King back then established a tradition of having exceptionally talented young people serve as examiners in martial arts exams. Therefore, although the examiners in this joint exam are all young, their strength is not on the same level as most of the students.

Even if they had never experienced a supergravity environment before, their own strength was enough to quickly adapt to this level of gravity.

However, the relationship between examiners is not one of peaceful coexistence.

As long as the candidates under his command achieve good overall results, the young examiner will be considered to have successfully emulated the Supreme Martial King, gaining an impressive resume and honor, which will make his future path smoother and allow him to receive preferential treatment in many places.

Therefore, although it was not written down, the martial arts examination was not only a test for the candidates, but also a test for the young examiners.

Other martial arts exam methods might be more relaxed and friendly, but the joint exam, a battle royale, is a completely hostile mode for both candidates and examiners.

Because all joint examinations calculate scores based on the 'final score ranking'.

What do you mean?

This means that ranking is the key, and the score itself is not the most important thing!

Even if you only have a very low score, as long as you can make others have a lower score than you, you can get a good grade!

When leaving the game means zero points, the simplest and most direct method is naturally to knock down or even kill others, reducing the number of people who can survive to the end as much as possible.

One more point on the test can beat a thousand people? Beat everyone else and you don't need to take the test at all!

This involves some strategic maneuvering, for example... examiners can take turns eliminating each other.

In this situation, students who already rely on the examiners will inevitably panic and lose their composure. In times of crisis, no one will protect them, and their safety will be compromised. The death of such a pillar of support in an unfamiliar environment will have a tremendous psychological impact.

With such a significant reduction in overall strength, they could easily become targets for other classes to rack up points.

Therefore, in such joint examinations, a strong examiner is extremely important for the students... The reason why Chen Xingyan and his group initially rejected Xue Jing was because they did not know him and were worried that he, as an outsider, was not capable enough.

Given the already tense relationship between the examiners, it was also clear that a group of people were there specifically to target Xue Jing... This forced Xue Jing to take precautions.

The others were fine; to Xue Jing, they were just a bunch of worthless junk. But Li Suisui, who was known as the "strongest elementary school student in history," was an opponent that Xue Jing had to take seriously.

A character who is on the verge of breaking through to the second limit... or even who may have already broken through to the second limit.

According to Xue Jing's estimation, such a level of skill, in terms of pure physical attributes alone, is estimated to be at least ten times that of his.

"I wonder when he'll come knocking on our door..."

Xue Jing looked around, observing the surroundings, with a hint of anticipation in his heart.

He opened the panel and glanced at the newly activated [Crimson], a smile appearing in his eyes.

……

After half an hour.

Looking at the map on his wristband, Xue Jing realized that his group had already covered nearly half the distance and were very close to Area B2.

"Hmm... in that case, the whole map isn't too big."

He nodded.

Based on the speed at which his group was moving and by comparing the entire map, he had already calculated the size of the testing area.

Even the furthest straight-line distance, from A9 to D1, can be reached in about six hours at this speed.

Of course, this is on the premise that there are no obstacles that cause delays.

"Ah, teacher, look!"

Suddenly, a student pointed towards the sky and exclaimed in surprise.

Looking in the direction of the sound, everyone saw a strange object hovering in the distant, leaden sky.

It was a huge, cone-shaped, light gray metal object.

Its appearance is like an inverted traffic cone, with an extremely thin and sharp tip that emits a cold light that makes people feel a little stinging when they look at it.

Xue Jing had already noticed its existence and, having studied the information about the Sea of ​​Steel, quickly recognized what it was.

"—Heavenly Cone"

The strange native creatures of the Sea of ​​Steel... or rather, a strange natural phenomenon?

Currently, the academic community has not reached a conclusion on it, and it is difficult to determine whether it is a biological entity or a phenomenon.

"Teacher Xue... I... I can't move."

Fu Jiali, who was supporting Ye Jingqiu, exclaimed in alarm.

She suddenly floated up, her feet nearly ten centimeters off the ground, her body motionless, her limbs hanging down naturally, and only the expression on her face could move.

The students near her were also suddenly repelled by an invisible force, unable to get close to her.

The enormous metal cone in the sky was directly above her head, its tip pointing towards her head, and it slowly descended.

"what's the situation?"

"That's... the Celestial Cone?"

"Holy crap, what a piece of trash! This is just too unlucky!"

"What should we do? If this thing targets us, we're doomed!"

The students recognized what was above them and immediately panicked.

Xue Jing flashed to Fu Jiali's side and reached out to her shoulder. An invisible repulsive force grew stronger as he approached, until his palm stopped when it was about ten centimeters away from Fu Jiali's body.

It wasn't that he was too exhausted to get any closer... but rather that Xue Jing instinctively sensed that forcibly touching Fu Jiali now might have some bad consequences.

"Teacher... what, what should we do..."

Tears welled up in Fu Jiali's eyes as she looked at Xue Jing, pleading for help in fear.

The Celestial Cone, whether to be called a phenomenon or a biological entity, once it appears, will randomly lock onto a certain target in the field without any pattern.

The target will be bound by an invisible magnetic field and completely unable to move. Then, the celestial cone will continue to descend at a fixed speed and trajectory until the tip of the cone pierces the top of the target's head, slowly penetrating and crushing the target. After contacting the ground, the celestial cone will disappear.

During this period, the descent speed and trajectory of the celestial cone seemed to be fixed by some kind of law, completely unaffected by physics. No matter how much kinetic energy was applied to it, its trajectory and speed could not be changed in the slightest.

Those targeted by the Heavenly Cone will experience the immense fear of death slowly and unstoppably descending, as well as the pain of the Heavenly Cone gradually piercing and crushing their heads.

"do not be afraid."

Xue Jing withdrew his hand and spoke gently to Fu Jiali with an unchanged expression.

"I told you, I won't let any of you die. Don't worry, leave it to me."

Seeing his calm and composed demeanor, Fu Jiali also took a few deep breaths and regained her composure.

"Teacher, what should I do?"

The other students also looked at Xue Jing with trusting eyes.

Xue Jing looked up at the celestial cone in the sky, estimated its height, and said:

"The Heavenly Cone cannot be stopped, but it can be physically destroyed."

"The larger the celestial cone, the higher its strength and the more difficult it is to destroy. This celestial cone is about 2.3 meters long, which is not large, but according to the calculation in the data, its strength is at least twice that of tungsten steel."

Tungsten steel, one of the hardest metals native to Earth, is difficult for even armor-piercing projectiles to penetrate. To break through it, one would need to use an armor-piercing incendiary projectile that is also made of tungsten.

"Based on its current trajectory and speed, it will take another forty minutes or so to get close to Carrie's head."

Xue Jing hesitated for a moment, then spoke:

"Everyone, keep moving towards Sector B2, away from here... I'll catch up with Carrie later."

Upon hearing this, the students immediately nodded.

"I understand, Teacher Xue."

"Teacher Xue, you must save Carrie!"

Soon, under Chen Xingyan's command, the students continued to maintain their formation and headed towards area B2.

Only Xue Jing and Fu Jiali remained in place.

“Teacher…” Fu Jiali murmured.

Xue Jing glanced at her and said softly:

"Carrie, close your eyes."

Upon hearing this, Fu Jiali obediently closed her eyes.

Xue Jing flashed and arrived on a very tall metal tree, looking up at the celestial cone in the sky.

"I never expected that the first thing to taste you would be this kind of stuff."

Shaking his head, Xue Jing closed his eyes.

[Crimson], activate!

In an instant, Xue Jing's heart suddenly made a very loud thud.

On the panel, in the Divine Skills section, are: [Twins], [Shadowflame], [Plant Pact], [Dragon Horns], [Ascension]...

One by one, the divine skills that were emitting a pale golden light all fell into a dim darkness.

Then, a crimson hue slowly emerged, staining all the divine skill names crimson.

The special divine skill [Crimson] located at the bottom begins to glow brightly red.

The intense heat, an unimaginable heat, spread throughout my entire body.

His blood was boiling, even burning, and a pale red aura, visible to the naked eye, began to emanate from Xue Jing's entire body. His hair, which had been as black as ink, was now dyed a bright crimson, dancing in the stillness of the wind.

His dark blue eyes turned crimson, and an indescribable power surged from his flesh and blood.

"Boom boom boom boom——"

The sound of blood flowing rapidly was like the rolling of a river, echoing in the outside world.