Chapter 434: Chapter 432: The Final Ranking
Lin Xinghai handed out a total of 18 Energy Balls. Then, Sun Tianbo and Xie Shangyong called over another eight members from their respective teams who had also secured admission.
That brought the total to 26 people. Together with Lin Xinghai’s group of four, they formed a team of exactly 30.
A 30-person team would have been considered small before. After all, top geniuses like Qiu Liang and Yuan Zheng had teams of two to three hundred.
But that was before the exam. Now that it was over, only 3,000 of the 30,000-plus candidates would be able to enroll.
It was hard to say how many people from those large teams would be left.
If you went by the proportions, their teams would also be down to twenty or thirty members.
Of course, the teams of people like Qiu Liang were quite strong. They also had certain advantages early on. As a result, their admission rate was probably higher than one-tenth, but their final team size likely wouldn’t be much larger than Lin Xinghai’s.
After confirming the new members, Lin Xinghai found a vacant house near the survivor outpost and went inside to catch up on sleep.
Meanwhile, Sun Tianbo and Xie Shanyong first said their goodbyes to the members of their original teams who hadn’t made it into East Sea Academy, offering some words of encouragement, before quickly following after Lin Xinghai.
The next morning, at the crack of dawn, everyone received the signal to assemble.
Led by a group of military officers, they began to head toward Dong’an City’s Cultural Plaza.
It was the only place in the city center large enough for transport aircraft to land.
As teams began arriving at the Cultural Plaza, Lin Xinghai noticed that far fewer people were returning than had originally arrived.
After all, a staggering 31,200 candidates had come for the exam.
But now, a quick glance and a rough estimate told Lin Xinghai that only about 23,000 remained. That meant over 8,000 people were gone.
And every single one of those missing people had been killed.
Every candidate who came for the exam was considered a genius back in their Shelter. Reaching the Blood Qi Realm was practically a guarantee for them.
Many were even estimated to have the potential to reach the Body Shaping Realm.
For all these candidates to have been lost... it was an absolutely massive blow to the entire nation.
Lin Xinghai’s heart grew heavy. He’d already learned some of the truth from Zuo Wenyao—that the Abyssal Plane was behind this. The knowledge fueled his sense of urgency, making him want to increase his strength even faster.
The feeling was fleeting, however. He quickly composed himself and led his group toward the center of the plaza, to an area set up for registering Energy Balls.
Soon, Liu Miaomiao and the others handed over their Energy Balls.
The Points leaderboard, which had been static for some time, refreshed once more.
First place, of course, was Lin Xinghai, with a total of 285,000 Points.
In second place was Liu Miaomiao, with a staggering 153,000 Points.
She had such a high score not only because of the 10 Energy Balls she turned in, but also because she received an additional 20,000 Points for assisting Lin Xinghai in killing two Mutated Zombies.
3rd Place: Jin Tong, 124,000 Points.
4th Place: Ye Xin, 123,000 Points.
5th Place: Qiu Liang, 96,000 Points.
6th Place: Yan Feijie, 93,000 Points.
7th Place: Yuan Zheng, 81,000 Points.
8th Place: Hong Xiuyuan, 77,000 Points.
9th Place: Jiang Zijin, 71,000 Points.
10th Place: Qian Xingxiu, 68,000 Points.
As for Sun Tianbo, Xie Shanyong, and the other members who had received Energy Balls from Lin Xinghai, they all broke into the top 100 after turning them in.
Looking at the final rankings, some were overjoyed while others were filled with despair.
Regardless, the names of the top 10 would be remembered by all. This was especially true for the first-place finisher, Lin Xinghai. His unbelievable achievement would surely spread like wildfire once everyone returned home.
At this point, people like Qiu Liang, Yuan Zheng, and Yan Feijie began approaching Lin Xinghai one by one. They came to offer congratulations and, at the same time, to mend their strained relationships.
Lin Xinghai responded to each of them in turn. They had simply been competitors before, so he held no grudges.
With no conflict of interest between them now, Lin Xinghai didn’t mind making a few more friends.
The group was making small talk when, before long, the roar of large transport aircraft echoed from the distant sky.
Upon seeing this, Lin Xinghai was about to lead his team to board an aircraft, but just then, he saw Zuo Wenyao approaching in the distance, waving him over.
He also noticed a beautiful woman standing beside Zuo Wenyao. Her expression was cold, however, giving off a strong, distant air.
However, when the woman’s gaze fell upon Liu Miaomiao, her expression softened, and a hint of anticipation flickered in her eyes.
Lin Xinghai’s heart skipped a beat. ’I know who this woman is.’
’She must be the Wood Element Divine Demon Realm expert Zuo Wenyao told me about.’
Lin Xinghai immediately led Liu Miaomiao over to them.
Before he could say anything, however, the woman waved her hand and gestured for Liu Miaomiao to go with her.
Liu Miaomiao looked a little nervous, so Lin Xinghai shot her an encouraging glance.
He then watched the two of them walk away.
"What are you worried about, kid?" Zuo Wenyao said. "It’s just a test at most. With your girlfriend’s abilities, it’s a certainty she’ll be accepted as a personal disciple."
"You, on the other hand, should be thinking about your future Cultivation plan. Here, take this. Mull it over and decide which one you’ll choose," Zuo Wenyao said, tossing a small booklet to Lin Xinghai.
Lin Xinghai caught it and flipped it open. To his surprise, it was filled with descriptions of different types of the Divine Demon Body.
It was only then that he learned the Divine Demon Body came in many types, with the most basic ones being based on elements like metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
Of course, even within the same type, there were further distinctions. For example, among Fire Element Divine Demon Bodies, there were the "Blazing Divine Body" and the "Black Flame Demon Body."
The differences between the two were quite significant. The Blazing Divine Body had immense explosive power and a wide area of effect, making it effective for crowd control, but it consumed a lot of Energy.
The Black Flame Demon Body, on the other hand, could release a black flame that continuously burned its target. If cast repeatedly on the same enemy, the damage would stack, making it better suited for single-target combat.
Lin Xinghai was instantly captivated. He became so engrossed that he didn’t even notice when Zuo Wenyao left. It was only when Liu Miaomiao returned a dozen or so minutes later and called his name that he snapped out of it.
"Ah Xing, what are you looking at?" Liu Miaomiao asked, her curiosity piqued.
Lin Xinghai looked up at Liu Miaomiao. Seeing her beaming smile, he knew she must have successfully become the expert’s disciple.
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