My Soul card is a Reaper

The newly arrived group was made up of candidates from all three regions, yet strangely enough they all seemed to be following the lead of this man called Ma Long. He walked at the front, and even the others who were obviously strong candidates seemed to listen to him without question.

This was very unusual.

Normally, when candidates formed alliances during the entrance examination, leadership was divided by region. The strongest candidate from each district would lead their own people.

For example, in the group led by Miao Yuan, Yu Mu, and Jiang Kangcheng, each district had its own leader. The Eastern District followed Miao Yuan, the Western District followed Yu Mu, and the Southern District followed Jiang Kangcheng.

None of them truly submitted to another.

Yet the group that had just arrived was clearly different.

Candidates from all three regions were gathered together under a single leader.

That leader was Ma Long.

This made Jiang Kangcheng extremely curious.

What kind of ability did this Ma Long possess that could make candidates from three different regions accept his command?

In the entrance examination of Western Mansion, forming alliances was actually very common.

After all, the mission required candidates to hunt ten Rank 4 monsters and obtain their monster crystals.

But a Rank 4 monster possessed strength comparable to a War Spirit expert, sometimes even stronger.

An ordinary candidate simply could not deal with such monsters alone.

Encountering one alone often meant death.

Of course, there were a few exceptional geniuses capable of fighting Rank 4 monsters by themselves and even killing them, but such individuals were extremely rare.

Most candidates could only rely on cooperation.

Therefore alliances became almost necessary.

The safest method was to gather more than ten candidates together.

Only with ten or more candidates whose strength reached at least the Rank of a Great War Division could a group safely challenge a Rank 4 monster. Candidates who were weaker sometimes had to gather even larger groups just to survive the fight.

The entrance exam was never easy.

Killing a Rank 4 monster was no simple matter.

Of course, groups like Miao Yuan's had dared to challenge a Rank 5 monster with more than thirty candidates.

That was because almost everyone in their group had already reached War Division Rank or higher, and several had even reached the War Spirit Rank. With that Rank of strength, combined with greed, they had been confident enough to take the risk.

But the strength of a Rank 5 monster had greatly exceeded their expectations.

The challenge had failed completely.

If they had not abandoned the North District candidates as bait, their entire group might have been wiped out.

This incident alone showed just how terrifying high-Rank monsters could be.

And it also demonstrated how important alliances were.

If thirty people could not kill a monster, then perhaps fifty, sixty, or even one hundred people together might succeed.

The power of unity was enormous.

For the North District, however, the situation had always been different.

Their candidates were often looked down upon by the other regions. Few people were willing to ally with them. Sometimes candidates from the three regions even secretly attacked North District candidates, stealing their monster crystals or setting traps.

Because of this, the results of the North District had ranked at the bottom year after year.

All of this showed just how important alliances were in the Holy Land.

In addition to alliances, choosing a capable leader was also crucial. Good leadership could determine victory or defeat in battle.

But candidates who came to participate in the Western Mansion entrance exam were all geniuses in their own cities.

Each one had pride.

Each one believed in their own ability.

Convincing them to accept a single leader was extremely difficult.

That was exactly why the alliance formed by Miao Yuan, Yu Mu, and Jiang Kangcheng had ended up with three leaders instead of one.

Such a structure was inefficient.

Disagreements happened easily, and strategies often conflicted.

Yet Ma Long's group was different.

More than forty candidates had gathered together, and they all followed Ma Long without objection.

Even some powerful Southern District candidates that Jiang Kangcheng personally knew were standing quietly behind him.

This clearly showed that Ma Long possessed extraordinary methods.

Seeing Jiang Kangcheng's curiosity, Miao Yuan smiled slightly and introduced him.

"Oh, I forgot to mention."

"His name is Ma Long."

"He ranked first in the Pingnan City qualification exam in the Eastern District."

"And among all Eastern District candidates, his strength ranks thirteenth."

"The first place in Pingnan City's qualification exam… and thirteenth in the Eastern District?"

Jiang Kangcheng's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Now it made sense.

A candidate with that Rank of strength would naturally command respect.

No wonder the entire alliance had chosen him as their leader without objection.

"Well, just as Miao Yuan said," the young man spoke calmly, folding his hands behind his back with a composed posture. "My name is Ma Long. I ranked first in the Pingnan City Qualification Examination. As for the Eastern District ranking… people say I'm thirteenth. Of course, that ranking was made by others. I've never actually fought those people one by one, so whether I'm really thirteenth or not is still uncertain."

His tone sounded modest, yet the calm confidence in his voice made it clear that he was not truly concerned about the number.

After finishing his brief introduction, Ma Long turned his attention to Jiang Kangcheng and asked casually, "And you are…?"

Jiang Kangcheng straightened slightly when he was asked, but compared with Ma Long's calm presence, his own introduction felt somewhat embarrassing.

"My name is Jiang Kangcheng," he said awkwardly. "Seventh place in the Yanghuang City Qualification Examination in the Southern District… and in the overall Southern District ranking… probably around the hundredth place."

"Oh."

Ma Long merely nodded.

There was no praise, no surprise, not even much interest in his expression. It was simply a brief acknowledgement.

Then he lifted his hand and pointed toward a candidate standing in his own group.

"In that case," Ma Long said casually, "your strength is probably similar to Shanhua's."

The candidate named Shanhua immediately turned his head and looked over when he heard his name mentioned.

Jiang Kangcheng glanced at Shanhua as well, and the moment their eyes met, he felt even more embarrassed than before.

Ma Long's meaning was obvious.

In Ma Long's team, someone with Jiang Kangcheng's Rank of strength would only qualify as an ordinary member of the group. If he wanted to act like a leader or speak as a captain, he simply didn't have the qualifications.

Such strength was not even worth Ma Long paying attention to.

Standing nearby, Yu Mu naturally understood Ma Long's meaning as well. After witnessing Jiang Kangcheng's awkward situation, he wisely chose to remain silent instead of introducing himself and risking similar humiliation.

Ma Long, meanwhile, didn't even bother to glance at Yu Mu.

Although both sides technically had leaders, the difference in status was obvious. With Ma Long's strength and reputation, the others simply couldn't compare.

After a brief moment of silence, Ma Long turned back toward Miao Yuan.

"Miao Yuan," he asked calmly, "earlier you said the situation here was very troublesome. What exactly did you mean?"

Miao Yuan lifted his hand slightly and pointed toward Ryan and the North District candidates standing not far away.

"The trouble… is them."

"Hm?"

Ma Long followed the direction of Miao Yuan's finger. When he realized that the so-called "trouble" was nothing more than a small group of North District candidates, his brows immediately knitted together in dissatisfaction.

"Miao Yuan," he said coldly, "I think you've truly grown worse with time."

"A few North District candidates and you can't deal with them?"

He glanced at the two groups again.

"You have more than a dozen people here, while they only have a handful. And you're telling me this is a difficult situation?"

"This…"

Miao Yuan looked slightly helpless.

"Brother Ma Long, I'm not lying to you. Those North District candidates are indeed troublesome. We've encountered a very difficult opponent."

"Oh?" Ma Long asked with faint interest. "How difficult?"

Miao Yuan looked toward Ryan again, then pointed at the ten bodies lying nearby.

"Do you see those people?"

Ma Long glanced over and nodded.

"The ten candidates there were all killed by that North District candidate."

"He?"

Ma Long's gaze shifted toward Ryan.

"You mean… he killed them alone?"

His tone carried obvious doubt.

No matter how he observed Ryan, he couldn't find anything extraordinary about him. Ryan didn't emit any powerful aura. His appearance was calm and ordinary, almost like a regular person who had wandered into the wrong place.

Ma Long frowned again.

"Just him?" he said dismissively. "Killing ten of you?"

"I don't see him as impressive."

"If anything, it just makes you look like trash."

"Brother Ma Long, you misunderstand us," Miao Yuan said quickly. "It's not that we're weak. It's that this candidate is too strong."

"Among the ten who died, two had already reached War Spirit Rank."

"And yet all of them died instantly in his hands."

"That alone shows how terrifying his strength is."

"Is that so?" Ma Long said, still unconvinced.

"It's absolutely true."

Miao Yuan nodded firmly. Then he hesitated for a moment, as if struggling with something.

"And… there's something else."

"What is it?" Ma Long asked impatiently. "Stop hesitating and say it."