The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

"Alright, I've given you everything I needed to."

Instructor Jing yawned, having no intention of revealing his clever scheme; he was determined to remain a quiet, unassuming good Samaritan for once.

He walked to the top of the stairs: "Go back. I've seen your performance in this mission, and you all got full marks. Pack up and go back to the academy to sleep."

"And what about you?" Yin Chen asked.

"Me? Of course I still have missions to complete," Instructor Jing said casually. "If you want to help me, wait until you reach the ninth rank."

That's true. After dealing with these children, he'll be heading to the heart of the demon realm.

If these children were sent there, they wouldn't even know how they died. Although he is strong, he is not that arrogant.

What he has to do now is wait, wait for these younger generations to fully mature.

Just like him many years ago.

The searchlight in the air-raid shelter flickered a few times before finally going out completely.

Instructor Jing yawned as he packed the three men and their three pets into a military transport plane.

During the two-hour flight, the atmosphere inside the cabin was indescribably eerie.

Yin Chen sat by the window, legs together, back straight, maintaining the dignity of a noble young master.

But at his feet, the Siberian Husky, transformed from an eighth-tier Frostbone Wolf, was panting with its pink tongue lolling out, ice shards dripping from its saliva onto the ground and freezing into a layer of crystalline ice.

Hong Yuan sat cross-legged on the floor, holding the Tongxuan Turtle in her arms.

The tortoise slept soundly, remaining as steady as a mountain no matter how the red kite shook it.

As for Chen Guan, he leaned quietly against the black coffin.

The fifth-tier Lightning Cheetah curled up into a ball, serving as a cushion under his feet, and even his breathing was kept extremely low, for fear of attracting the attention of the "husky" next to him.

After all, in an animal's instinct, the aura of an eighth-tier demon beast is enough to make its bones go weak and its muscles go numb.

The comments disappeared again, as if they had only come to witness the scene of the three of them choosing a pet.

After a period of flight, the plane landed on the helipad of Huaqing College.

Instructor Jing had no interest in even escorting them back to their dormitories. He waved his hand, boarded the plane in his flip-flops, and flew away.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

During those 48 hours, the freshmen who participated in the practical assessment returned to the college one after another.

A large number of students who had just gotten off the bus gathered in the central square of the college.

Most of the men's combat uniforms were tattered and covered with dried blood and mud.

Some of these people helped each other up, while others simply slumped down by the fountain, their eyes glazed over. The cruelty of Battlefield No. 3 far exceeded their imagination. Even in the outer areas, the sudden attacks of monsters were enough to make these proud students from the ivory tower suffer greatly.

In contrast, the styles of Chen Guan and the other two seemed out of place.

Yin Chen changed into a brand new silver-gray custom-made school uniform, with a Windsor knot tied at the collar, and next to him was a spirited husky.

Hong Yuan carried a giant axe, and the Mystic Turtle was hung on the back of her backpack in a net, like a uniquely shaped pendant.

Chen Guan stood beside the two men, his long black overcoat without a single wrinkle. The massive Lightning Leopard followed beside him. The once extremely intimidating fifth-tier demon beast was now as meek as a big cat.

A commotion arose from the other end of the square.

An Changqing jumped off an armored personnel carrier. His uniform was a little dirty, but overall it was still quite clean.

That gentle, sunny face bore an undeniable weariness, yet its eyes remained bright.

Su Yuehe followed closely behind and got out of the car. She looked much better. Long Ao was walking at the back, and he still had a faint air of arrogance about him.

The first thing Long Ao did was to scan the entire room.

An Changqing and Su Yuehe followed his gaze.

Three people and three living creatures stood beside the fountain pool at the edge of the square.

The three of them didn't seem like they had just escaped from a perilous exam hall; they looked more like they had just gone on a shopping spree at a pet market on the outskirts of the city.

The new students who gradually gathered in the square were mostly covered in mud and exhausted. They looked at Chen Guan's group, whispering among themselves, their faces full of doubt.

No, are we really going to the same place?

An Changqing stepped forward: "Yin, judging from your condition, the practical training these past few days has been very easy."

Yin Chen casually straightened his tie knot with one hand. "It went fairly smoothly. I just changed clothes; I can't let the dirt stay there for too long."

He would never mention that he was almost frozen into an ice sculpture by the Frostbone Wolves.

Because the person in front of him was An Changqing, the other kid his father often compared him to.

Su Yuehe stood to the side and behind An Changqing, her gaze sweeping over the tortoise on Hongyuan's leg and finally settling on the cheetah.

Her intuition told her that something was wrong with the leopard, but there was no trace of demonic energy emanating from it, as if it had been completely tamed.

Long Ao bypassed the crowd and walked straight to Chen Guan's side.

As he got closer, Long Ao belatedly realized that the cheetah was unusual.

"Where did this come from?"

He clicked his tongue in amazement and asked bluntly.

Chen Guan remained calm, saying without batting an eye, "It insisted on following."

Long Ao's eye twitched; did he even laugh at himself for saying that?

The cheetah also looked resentful, "Yes, yes, I followed them myself. It's my fault for not loving nature."

Before he could ask any further questions, a piercing microphone sound came from the high platform directly in front of the square.

Instructor Black Crow stood in front of the microphone, holding a thick stack of printed papers.

As the sound of popping wheat filled the air, the noisy square quickly quieted down.

"Let me start by saying that the fact that you're still standing here proves that you're not completely useless trash." Black Crow's opening remarks were straightforward.

Black Crow turned the page in his hand.

"Enough with the nonsense, let's announce the rankings for this practical assessment. You all know the rules, so look at the scores."

"First place." Black Crow cleared his throat, his voice carrying throughout the entire square through the loudspeaker. "Yin Chen, Red Kite, Chen Guan's team."

There was no great gasp from the crowd.

Yin Chen is a top genius in both ice and wind magic, Hong Yuan's giant axe is incredibly powerful, and Chen Guan, though low-key, is quite strong.

Many people were prepared for them to come in first place, since they had always been number one.

An Changqing looked at Yin Chen and said, "Congratulations. It seems you've found some good prey. I wonder how many more points you've surpassed us?"

Based on past patterns, the point difference between the first and second place is usually around several hundred points.

The comparison is mutual; when he first arrived, his grades were a notch below Yin Chen's, and his father had already inquired about the situation.

It's because their fathers also spent their whole lives comparing themselves to each other.

Black Crow sped up his speech, dropping the data directly: "Total points..."

"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine."

"This is the upper limit of the statistics, not their final results."