The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

The man stood at the second-floor railing.

He looked down at the students in the hall below.

Seeing their states of shock, bewilderment, and utter confusion, he gave a few soft coughs.

Instantly, he drew all the students’ attention to himself.

The hall quieted down accordingly.

"Let me introduce myself. My surname is Yang, and my name is Yang Xiong. I’m from the New District Martial Arts Alliance!"

"I am also the proctor for the final section of today’s Martial Arts exam!"

"Many of you are probably still confused about what just happened, right?

In fact, the final section has already concluded. It happened during your lunch break!"

After Yang Xiong finished speaking,

everyone became even more dumbfounded.

They began whispering and murmuring amongst themselves.

Lin Yi’s expression shifted slightly as he exchanged a look with Wei Nan and the others.

He thought back to the incidents that occurred during the lunch break.

"Don’t tell me... that was the final exam section?" Zhou Qi’s face paled.

Wei Nan reacted with even greater astonishment.

"Holy shit, that was the exam? That’s so damn devious! But what about back then? All those students were hit by some Heart Spirit Curse, what was that all about? And the ones who jumped off the building, the ones who got beaten up..."

It wasn’t just Wei Nan.

Even Shen Mengyi, Sun Tao, and the others couldn’t understand it either.

As the buzz of discussion grew louder,

Yang Xiong smiled and continued, "I trust many of you don’t know what was happening, right?"

"I’ll reveal the answer for you now!"

"What you saw and experienced was, in fact, a dreamscape.

Or, to be more precise, you entered the Heart Spirit Domain that I created!"

"Everything you went through, everything you saw, was all part of a meticulously arranged scenario within the domain!"

"And that is the core of the final section... the Heart Spirit Trial!"

"During this trial, some of you managed to break free from the Heart Spirit Curse. This shows you have decent talent in Heart Spirit, but that’s not enough!"

"You were all still part of the scenario, you just didn’t realize it!"

"I wonder if any of you noticed that when the Heart Spirit Curse was broken—that is, the moment ’I’ in the scenario was killed—"

"—a bell chimed?"

At his words, everyone strained to recall the situation.

At the time, everyone had been in a state of chaos and confusion.

Many didn’t even know what had happened.

Lin Yi was the same as the others.

It was just that he heard the chime while he was walking down from upstairs.

At the time, he hadn’t thought anything of the bell.

He certainly never imagined it was a meticulously planned Heart Spirit exam.

After a long moment, Yang Xiong smiled and continued, "When that bell chimed, that was when your Heart Spirit Curse was truly broken!"

"Through this Heart Spirit Trial, I discovered that some of you have excellent talent for Heart Spirit!"

"Of course, some students’ talent was comparatively weaker!"

"The reason you weren’t told in advance was also a core part of this section!"

"Heart Spirit is a mandatory course for any Martial Artist in training!"

"The importance of Heart Spirit far outweighs that of the martial techniques and physical conditioning you train so hard for!"

"In fact, Heart Spirit cultivation is a required course at every Martial Arts University!"

"The reason it was included in the Martial Arts exam as a major section is to make you understand Heart Spirit and recognize its importance!"

"Heart Spirit is a form of willpower, a form of faith, and more than that, it’s your sense of self!"

"It can control your thoughts, influence your actions, and even determine your capacity for good and evil!"

"Just like in today’s Heart Spirit Trial exam!"

"A single Heart Spirit Curse can make you do things you would never normally do, things you would never dare to do!"

"It is precisely because your Heart Spirit isn’t strong enough that you were so easily controlled!"

"You’ve all seen the consequences. If today hadn’t been an exam, you would have fallen into the abyss forever!"

Yang Xiong’s speech made every student in the room gasp, a cold chill running down their spines.

Even Lin Yi felt a chill run down his back.

’He had already established his own Heart Spirit Domain, which meant his talent in Heart Spirit was incredibly strong. And yet, he had still been unwittingly drawn into the scenario. Fortunately, he had been able to remain clear-headed after entering it. When the Heart Spirit Curse took effect, he kept his wits about him, quickly identified the root of the problem, and broke the scenario. Perhaps that was why his ranking was the highest.’

After a long while, Yang Xiong smiled as he looked out at every student in the hall.

"Alright, that concludes today’s Martial Arts exam.

And congratulations to all of you for passing!"

"The comprehensive scores for the Martial Arts exam will be released in three days!"

"Once you receive your scores, you can choose which Martial Arts University you wish to attend!"

"I wish every candidate here the best of luck in achieving their goals!"

Lin Yi wasn’t sure if it was his imagination,

but after Yang Xiong finished speaking, his gaze seemed to drift, intentionally or not, over to Lin Yi for a moment.

Then, he turned and disappeared from the second floor.

"Holy shit? That’s it? It’s over?"

"My score on this ’Heart Spirit’ thing must be ridiculously low."

"I was completely unprepared! What a disaster!"

"What was that even about? They gave us no time to prepare, and it was over before we knew it?"

"I’m screwed. Who knew this section would be like this? It’s going to tank my average!"

"This year’s Martial Arts exam is insane! What the hell?"

The surrounding candidates all started to complain.

Even though before this, their school’s teachers, coaches, and homeroom advisors

had told them more than once.

The final section was especially critical.

No one knew what it would test, nor did anyone know what form it would take.

Once they entered the exam hall, they had to be on high alert.

Because that major section could appear at any moment.

Now, this was the result: not even one in ten students had truly passed.

Lin Yi and Wei Nan didn’t linger.

After exchanging a glance, the group headed out of the hall.

The moment they stepped out of the exam hall,

and took their first breath of outside air,

Wei Nan closed his eyes, a look of pure bliss on his face.

"Haaaah..."

"Eighteen whole years of preparation for this one exam!"

"And now it’s finally over. What a relief!"

Wei Nan tilted his head back, letting the afternoon sun wash over his face.

For eighteen years, it seemed every one of them had been preparing for this single goal.

From the moment they were born, their purpose was to take the Martial Arts exam eighteen years later and change their lives.

This path was not an easy one.

It was filled with thorns.

The slightest misstep could cause you to fall behind, or even be kicked out entirely.

On this road to the Martial Arts exam,

persistence, perseverance, talent, money...

hurdle after hurdle.

obstacle after obstacle.

All of them were thorns blocking their path forward.

It was like playing a video game, where a boss defended every level.

Only by defeating the boss could you proceed to the next stage.

And the Martial Arts exam was the final boss at the end of this road.

But very, very few could actually pass this final stage.

In this moment, as the weight on their shoulders was finally lifted,

everyone felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

"It’s finally over. The future is in the hands of fate now!"

Lin Yi suddenly said with a sigh.

The moment he finished speaking, Wei Nan, Zhou Qi, Shen Mengyi, and the others

all shot him a look of utter contempt.

"That applies to us. You? You don’t get to say that!"

"You got first place in every single subject. You’re going to be the record-holder for years, even decades to come!"

"Someone as monstrous as you needs to worry about scores? Just pick a school already. Xingwu University or the Martial Alliance?"

Wei Nan finished, his face full of envy.

Zhou Qi, Sun Tao, and Shen Mengyi all nodded vigorously, like chickens pecking at grain.

Lin Yi gave them a look of mock profundity.

"You guys don’t actually think that just because the Martial Arts exam is over, it’s really over, do you?

The end of the Martial Arts exam is a new beginning!"

"I’m heading off first, bros! Xingwu University is waiting for you!"

With that, Lin Yi took off running.

By the time Wei Nan, Zhou Qi, and the others reacted,

Lin Yi was already more than ten meters ahead.

"Xingwu University? You’ve decided?"

"Yep, decided! It’s Xingwu—"

"Wait up! Come back, I’ve got a treasure to show you!"

"To hell with your treasure! Keep that ’treasure’ of yours to yourself!"

The group laughed and joked as they chased one another.

In that moment, all the burdens on their shoulders had been lifted.

Their relief was palpable.

Meanwhile, in an office, an old man stood by the window, watching their figures run farther and farther into the distance.

Until they disappeared from sight...

"Chief, what should we do with the impostors?"

Yang Xiong, Guo Wu, and Lei Sheng asked in low voices.

The old man turned around slowly, his face devoid of any expression.

"Kill them."