The young man in the white robe let out a piercing scream.
His panicked and terrified voice echoed throughout the banquet hall.
Madam An’s expression shifted slightly. She instinctively raised her hand but then hesitated midair.
What if he died?
The three major academies would certainly unite to punish such a malicious act of killing an examinee.
Even the World Government would issue a statement of condemnation.
—Because this was the world’s most prestigious joint entrance examination, the oldest and greatest talent selection system in all of human civilization.
No one was allowed to defy it!
Madam An’s fingers twitched slightly as she made a subtle gesture before lowering her hand again.
…Kill him.
As long as you kill him here, in front of everyone, nothing that happened before will matter anymore.
People will only care about one thing—
You are the murderer.
That boy who tried to seize the moment for his own gain—since you lost to him, then the only value you have left to offer is right now.
Hurry.
Hurry up and die.
The moment you die at his hands—
Whether it’s Song Qingyun’s reputation, the young heirs who hired assassins, the tens of thousands of lives at stake, or tonight’s entire farce—
As long as you are killed by him—
Everything will vanish like smoke.
The banquet hall fell silent.
It was as if someone had pressed pause on a film.
No one moved. They stood frozen like statues, their expressions stiff, waiting for that moment to arrive.
All the calculations and strategies were in place.
That reckless, overeager young man was about to contribute his final value.
And with that, everything could be erased.
The orchestra had long since stopped playing.
As ordinary people, they could only watch in terror, unable to utter a single word.
Some musicians even clamped their hands over their mouths, pressing down on their instruments, heads bowed.
—If they made a wrong move and disrupted something they didn’t understand, tonight might be their last.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
The second hand of the clock moved forward, one tick at a time.
Shen Ye held the young man in white with one hand, watching the changes in his expression.
In the first second, he was terrified.
In the second second, he was hopeful.
By the third second—
The young man in white seemed to realize something. His face turned white, and the vibrant energy in his eyes drained away.
Of course.
Growing up in an aristocratic family, exposed to countless schemes since childhood, he only needed a moment to grasp the situation.
The fourth second.
“Do you understand now?” Shen Ye still didn’t strike. His eyes were full of mockery. “This is how the world ends—not with a bang, but with a slow, suffocating death.”
“And the reason for all of this is simple—you lost your value.”
“This is your life.”
“Disgusting.”
The young man in white didn’t respond. His head hung low, as if his body had become an empty shell.
Holding him up, Shen Ye suddenly burst into laughter.
“Look, we were just sparring, but your own people all want you dead! Hahaha!”
The crowd stirred uneasily.
Yes.
This detestable brat always said things so openly.
It was unsettling.
Suddenly, Shen Ye swung his fist at the young man in white—
Boom.
A powerful force struck.
Shen Ye was sent flying.
A man in a black uniform, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, now stood in the hall. He wore a silver gauntlet on one hand, which he had used to catch the young man in white with ease.
“All right, sparring is fine, but no need to get too heated.”
The man with glasses smiled.
“Who are you, stepping in at this moment?” Shen Ye asked, still smiling.
“I am an supervisor from Jialan Academy. You all fought well today—I believe the artifact will give you a favourable evaluation.”
“Well then, good luck with your exam.”
With those words, no one stopped the venomous snake anymore—it swiftly slithered back onto the young man in white.
Now that his life was no longer in danger, Madam An immediately stepped forward and embraced him.
“Although you lost, you fought well. Come to our house after the exam—I have something for you.”
Madam An spoke softly.
The young man in white abruptly raised his head, like a fish diving back into water.
He didn’t spare Shen Ye another glance. Instead, he immediately turned to look at the rankings.
—The rankings hadn’t changed!
Because the match had been interrupted by an invigilator, he hadn’t officially lost!
But he was furious!
He had made such a humiliating spectacle of himself in front of everyone.
His expression turned venomous as he pointed at Shen Ye from a distance, shouting:
“You think you’ve won?”
“No! From the moment you were born, we were never in the same league. Our lives are completely different—the resources and power we can command are worlds apart.”
“We were born at the peaks of mountains. We have the right to look down on everything, while you’re just an ant crawling at the base. What do you amount to?”
“One day, you’ll collapse under the weight of your own helplessness.”
“You’ll meet a miserable, pitiful end.”
“You’ll disappear from this world without a trace.”
“Everyone close to you will meet a terrible fate.”
He roared, “I swear! This will happen soon!”
All eyes turned to Shen Ye.
Even the supervisor showed interest, waiting to see how he would respond.
But unexpectedly, Shen Ye showed no anger.
He listened intently to the young man’s oath, and slowly, a sorrowful expression surfaced on his face.
Yet no one understood why he was sad.
Some even thought he was afraid.
Only Xiao Mengyu felt a twinge of pity and silently reached out to tug on his sleeve.
“Don’t take it to heart.”
She whispered, “Song Qingyun is a year above us. The truly powerful aristocratic seniors around her aren’t even here, so—”
“Don’t bother with this kind of trash.”
Shen Ye gave a slight grunt in acknowledgment, not even sparing the white-robed youth another glance.
Suddenly, a loud chime rang across the sky.
“It’s here! The artifact’s final evaluation of us.”
Xiao Mengyu spoke softly.
Colorful, auspicious illusions filled the banquet hall.
It was as if a meteor shower had descended upon the pitch-black night sky—countless specks of light shot down from the unfathomable heights above, swirling through the hall before embedding themselves into each examinee’s card.
At this moment, everything else came to a halt.
The white-robed youth was undergoing emergency treatment while someone handed him a medicine box.
“Hurry and take it! Once the card evaluations are complete, the teleportation will begin. Try to recover as soon as possible to prepare for the next exam.”
The person beside him urged.
The white-robed youth grabbed a handful of pills and shoved them into his mouth.
At the same time—
The examinees all lifted their cards.
Xiao Mengyu glanced at hers.
A cluster of light flew into her card, transforming into lines of glowing text:
“As a five-star newcomer, you have received your final evaluation—”
‘Sword Saint’s Grace.’
“Before acquiring the artifact, you were ranked as the fifth seed among newcomers. After obtaining the divine sword, your combat ability has further increased, making you nearly fearless in single combat. Thus, you have been granted the ability of ‘Team Leader,’ with the hope that you will improve in teamwork and cooperation.”
‘Team Leader.’
“Description:”
“Effect 1: When you call upon an ally and they agree to join your team, they will be instantly teleported to your side. Through this team formation, you can exert double your usual strength.”
“Effect 2: If no one joins your team, all of your abilities will be weakened by seventy percent.”
“Effect 3: If you relinquish the leader role to another teammate, your strength will return to normal, while the new leader will gain Effect 1.”
“All three effects have been activated and will last until the end of the exam.”
“In addition—”
“As an examinee, you have received an essential survival item for the test—”
‘Candle Flame.’
“Description: It is inextinguishable. With it, you will be able to see your surroundings at the start of the exam.”
“——Congratulations, you have been approved to participate in this year’s Three-School Joint Examination.”
“Rest for three minutes, then teleportation will begin.”
Shen Ye lowered his gaze to his own card.
Lines of glowing text had already appeared:
“As a five-star newcomer, you have received your final evaluation—”
‘The Unyielding.’
“In every sense, you are both prey and meat laid upon the chopping board. The banquet’s diners will have no pity for you. Poor thing, you brought this upon yourself, falling into such dire straits—yet, despite it all, you refused to yield. You even managed to win a battle. This is truly admirable. Therefore, you have been granted the title of ‘Meat.’”
“Description:”
“No matter who it is, no matter what it is, at least three direct hits are required to completely incapacitate you, leading to either your death or your qualification as suitable meat for consumption.”
“As an examinee, you have received an essential survival item for the test—”
‘Candle Flame.’
“Description: It is inextinguishable. With it, you will be able to see your surroundings in the examination grounds.”
“——Congratulations, you have been approved to participate in this year’s Three-School Joint Examination.”
“Rest for three minutes, then teleportation will begin.”
Shen Ye glanced at the card and was about to put it away.
Suddenly—
The card trembled slightly, emitting a glow.
Shen Ye looked down and saw new lines of text appearing:
“Your ‘Candle Flame’ has been stolen.”
“The thief is also an examinee, possessing the evaluation of ‘Exploiter.’ With this ability, they have taken away your light.”
“You will be unable to see anything in the examination grounds.”
Shen Ye lifted his head and looked around.
The noble scions, Lady An, the distant seated elites, even the chief examiner—
All of them looked at him with expressions of quiet understanding.
Oh.
So they knew.
They all knew what was about to happen to him.
Just as the evaluation had stated—
He was now nothing more than meat on the chopping block.
