Don't mess with that necromancer; his summoned creatures level up on their own!

Song Xiaohe's speed increased, and she had already run out of the area with the densest sandstorms.

The Yuanling Peak at the edge of the field of vision gradually became clearer from its blurry outline.

She started leaving the people in front of her behind one by one.

Someone was crouching behind a sand dune, fighting with a sand lizard.

He looked up and saw a white shadow sweep past him, bringing a gust of sand that hit his face. He was stunned for two seconds before he realized that it was a living person.

One person is confronting another candidate, and the two are circling each other, looking for an opening.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a small dot getting farther and farther away, rushing towards Yuanling Peak.

The two stopped what they were doing and watched the figure disappear into the distance.

They exchanged a glance and, without prior agreement, stopped fighting. They were already so far ahead; what was the point of wasting time here?

There are fewer and fewer people ahead of us.

Most of the candidates who were ahead were now making their final sprint at the foot of the mountain.

Before setting off, her goal was simply to be in the top ten.

She was even mentally prepared to be stopped by some expert halfway and eliminated, sent back to the teleportation point.

But the current situation is that she actually made it to this position, even though her methods were a bit shameless, tearing off so many people's clothes, but she can't care about that now.

She now has only one thought: even if it's first place, she can still compete for it.

If I really get first place, will my brother praise me?

He would pat my head and say, "Xiao He is so great," then ruffle my hair and ask if I would watch a romance drama with him for a while.

Uncle Lu and Aunt Shen were right to take me in; I didn't hold them back and I could even help my brother, which is the best way to repay them.

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, and her pace quickened.

On the other side, Jiang Yan was running at a steady pace ahead of the first group.

She glanced back and saw the white figure rapidly approaching from behind, the distance shrinking from several hundred meters to less than a hundred meters.

"Is one catching up?"

Her right hand was already on the hilt of the sword at her waist, and she began to slow her pace in preparation for shifting her weight.

Just then, an urgent voice suddenly came through the earphones.

"Don't stop her! Let her pass! Don't lay a hand on her!"

Jiang Yan paused for a moment.

Her fingers loosened their grip on the sword hilt, and her pace returned to a steady rhythm.

She turned her head and watched Song Xiaohe pass by less than two meters away from her.

Jiang Yan slowed her pace, muttering to herself with a puzzled expression.

"Dad's voice? Why didn't he let me stop him?"

The little girl was three levels lower than him, only a level thirteen knight.

As the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, an A-level warrior, and a level 16 expert in actual combat, how could I possibly be no match for her?

If she were to make a move, she could force her to retreat in at most three sword strikes.

But since her father had spoken, she wouldn't insist on disobeying him.

This has always been the Jiang family's way of teaching: one must listen to the elders, no matter how many questions one may have.

In the VIP viewing area of ​​the square, the elders of the Jiang family breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, Miss didn't make a move, otherwise..."

Based on the previous cases where the clothes were ripped off, there is only one outcome.

If a girl's image is exposed on a big screen, her reputation is ruined.

It will be a laughing stock among other powerful families for years to come.

The second-ranked family is the Zhao family of Dachang City.

He was running less than twenty meters ahead of Jiang Yan when he also received instructions from his family elders via communicator—

"Don't touch her, let her go."

He hesitated for a moment, but obeyed the order.

When he saw Song Xiaohe run past him, he simply stepped aside to make way for her, without even lingering his gaze on her.

Song Xiaohe felt somewhat grateful.

She thought the two men were quite nice; they hadn't laid a hand on her.

This way, you won't need to consume mana to activate the Floating Shield.

She clicked her tongue, thinking of Jiang Yan's face that she had just brushed past.

Then I thought of her bright eyes and neat short ponytail, and for some reason I found her rather pretty.

She immediately shook her head, banishing those distracting thoughts from her mind, and refocused her attention on what was ahead.

"There's one more person."

She looked at the figure not far ahead.

The man was wearing a dark blue combat suit, with a tall and sturdy build, and his steps were calm and steady.

He maintained his leading position steadily from the very beginning of the assessment.

He encountered no obstacles along the way that could slow him down, and no one could even get within ten meters of him.

Song Xiaohe's eyes turned fiery.

Now that I have a chance to compete for first place, I naturally want to give it a try.

What if it works out!

What if she really could surpass Liu Tianxing and be the first to reach the summit of Yuanling Peak!

At that moment, the large screen in the square switched the image to the two groups of figures at the very front.

The dark blue figure ran ahead, maintaining a constant speed.

The pale white figure was quickly chasing after them, the distance between them closing inch by inch.

The audience was instantly ignited.

"Isn't that Liu Tianxing, the son of the principal of Dachang City No. 1 Middle School? An S-class assassin, the fastest! I've been watching him since the start of the assessment; he's always been at the top, no one can catch him!"

"Who's that little girl over there? How did she manage to get to second place? Wasn't she just in the middle? How did she suddenly get to the front?"

"She's only level 13, right? How can she run so fast? Is a knight chasing an S-rank assassin?"

Who do you think will come in first place?

Someone turned their head and asked the person next to them loudly.

"It's definitely Liu Tianxing! Is there even a question? An S-rank assassin, his speed is unmatched. How could she, a knight, possibly defeat him?"

"But she just stripped that berserker from the second high school, class 17, of his clothes!"

"That's because they underestimated her! Lin Tianhao didn't take her seriously; he only activated his defensive skills after his shield was ready."

"Now that Liu Tianxing is an S-rank assassin, his reaction speed is much faster than a berserker's. How could he possibly give her a chance to activate her shield?"

"I think it's going to be interesting. Her equipment is too weird. Liu Tianxing might not be able to react in time."

"Think about it, he's been running for forty minutes without encountering any opponents. His vigilance must have relaxed, so he might not be able to dodge."

In the back row of the audience, the students whose clothes had been stripped off were also sitting in the crowd.

The seven students from No. 3 Middle School had borrowed spare school uniforms from somewhere and were wearing them.

As they watched the scene on the screen, seeing Song Xiaohe chasing Liu Tianxing, a complex mix of emotions welled up within them.

If Liu Tianxing is also exposed, then they won't be the most shameful people today.

Liu Tianxing sensed a presence chasing after him.

His running steps paused slightly.

I had been consistently in first place since the start of the assessment, leading the second-place candidate by at least several hundred meters, and had a smooth journey.

By this point, they should have already left the main force far behind. How could someone have caught up with them?

He glanced back instinctively.

She's just a level 13 little girl, but she runs quite fast.

An incredulous expression crossed his face. What were the others doing? Why didn't anyone lay a hand on her?

How did a girl with a level 13 grade manage to get to second place?

What about those people ahead of her in line? Were they all turned away?

His father's voice came through the earphones, unusually serious and urgent.

"Watch out! That little girl's equipment is a bit strange, don't underestimate her!"

Liu Tianxing stared intently, then looked more closely at the shield floating behind Song Xiaohe.

The shield was dark and black, without even a single gold pattern.

He slowly drew a dagger from his waist, a short blade that gleamed with golden light.

A low gasp of surprise rippled through the audience.

"Six golden patterns! High-grade, top-quality! Absolutely the best equipment among all the examinees! Using this to cut through anyone is like cutting tofu!"

Liu Tianxing, gripping the dagger, stopped a few dozen meters away from Song Xiaohe.

"Hmph, this mere Floating Light Shield doesn't even have a single golden pattern. It's probably only low-grade bronze quality. What danger could it possibly pose?"

"I'm curious how you got to second place?"

Besides Su Youran, he was the most recognized student in Dachang City, and his speed was unmatched among the examinees.

The knight in front of him was several levels lower than him, and his equipment was also vastly different.

She was just a poor girl carrying a broken shield. She was lucky enough to avoid any tough opponents along the way and managed to get to this position. She wasn't even a lowly soldier.

The next second he vanished from the spot, without warning, without gathering strength, without any kicking motion, he simply disappeared into thin air.

When he reappeared, he was already blocking Song Xiaohe's path, no more than three meters away, right in the middle of her path.

Many people in the audience looked shocked.

"Wow, that's fast! Is this the speed of an S-class assassin? I didn't even see how he got there!"

"Or did she use a speed-up skill? That's too fast! That little girl's doomed; she won't even have time to raise her shield after that strike!"

"Oh no, she's been cornered! Liu Tianxing's face is practically touching hers, why isn't she reacting yet?"

The audience had mixed feelings.

With superior speed, equipment, and level, Song Xiaohe had virtually no chance of winning.

But after the first two rounds of operations, they secretly hoped that she could create another surprise.

Liu Tianxing thrust his dagger forward, aiming straight for Song Xiaohe's chest.

Song Xiaohe's pupils contracted sharply, and all that remained in her vision was the rapidly magnifying golden blade tip.

She tried to dodge to the side, but the opponent was too fast. She instinctively activated the Floating Light Shield, but it was too late.

"I won't give you a chance!"