Chapter 121: Examination Questions and Schemes

In the Wild of Calamity, within the castle of Hill, the Tenth Calamity.

"Master," Batia said humbly, "we have truly lost too many Ultimate-class entities these past few days. First Bobby, then Karen, and one after another, those sent to scout near Bancroft have met a miserable end. Is this really okay?"

"Are you questioning my decisions?" Hill glanced at Batia sideways, his tone filled with slight dissatisfaction.

"I would not dare."

Hill nodded and then asked, "Was it not reported earlier that three Ultimate-class entities were captured alive by Bancroft?"

"Yes. At first, they were only sent out to gather information and attempt to make contact with Lord Qimu. But now, it seems they have all been captured alive; it appears they are of some use to Bancroft."

"That is fine. Since they have entered Bancroft, tell me which three they are. I shall see if I can use their eyes to locate Qimu. It is always good to pass on a message."

"Understood."

"Oh? This fellow is among them? How perfect. His brother held a grudge against me ever since he fled my domain and died. He might as well just perish inside Bancroft."

Batia did not dare to express his anger at these words, which were clearly meant to strike at his heart. In fact, he did not even dare to harbor such anger, for as a Master and one of the Twelve Calamities, Hill could sense his thoughts, making any rebellious impulse forbidden. The last one to rebel was Karen; if it weren't for the fact that Karen was simple-minded and held in contempt by the conceited Hill, his life-bond would have been crushed directly—he never would have had the chance to be killed by humans outside.

Hill, however, paid no mind to this. He located the life-bonds of the three entities Batia named and projected his consciousness into them, thereby gaining the vision of those calamities.

At the same moment, the Ultimate-class entities held in the cages of Arenas A, B, and C suddenly opened their eyes. Those three pairs of eyes shone like pearls in the darkness, filled with an eerie, supernatural light.

"This is..." the voice of the calamity in Arena C was hoarse and low.

"Is that you, Lord Hill?" The entity in Arena A sounded highly agitated.

"Damn you, Hill! How dare you manipulate my body so casually!" Only the entity in Arena B seemed to loathe the intrusion.

***

In the arenas, students who had passed their exams rushed to the audience seats of their choosing. The academy's top three S-class students had their own exclusive tests, and it was expected that these would be three intense battles, each with its own unique highlights, from which much could be learned.

Meanwhile, the academy had erected force fields around the seating areas. Ordinary ability users and calamity arts could not breach these barriers. Even if an accident occurred, S-class instructors were stationed nearby, and the students themselves were elite ability users, ensuring there was no real danger.

"Xiaoyu, Ruri, how are you all doing!?" Upon arriving at Arena B, Alice quickly found the others from Star and naturally greeted the girls first.

Kazama Ruri was holding a parasol and nibbling on a chocolate bar. Seeing Alice, she took the treat out of her mouth and replied, "Of course we're fine. Xiaoyu should have the highest score among us; she killed the most calamities without making a sound."

Alice said matter-of-factly, "Well, of course. Xiaoyu is the type to get rich quietly."

Shangguan Yudie, however, ignored them, staring intently at Huo Ye.

Kazama Ruri added, "Speaking of which, the most eye-catching person in Arena B isn't Xiaoyu or the team leader—it's Jiang Feng."

"Eh? What happened? Can you tell me?" Alice's curiosity was undisguised.

Jiang Feng shyly scratched his head. "Actually, it's nothing much. I just developed a domain-type ability, and it's been attracting some attention."

Alice said in surprise, "Wow! A domain-type ability? Isn't that extremely rare? Even I don't have one. My father's domain is of the Dark element, and I can't learn it at all. I've been thinking about what kind of domain could assist my marksmanship! You're impressive, Jiang Feng!"

"Hehehe, it's all thanks to Boss's teaching." Jiang Feng credited his growth to Huo Ye.

Lei Limi looked toward Huo Ye and suddenly asked, "Is Big Brother sitting in meditation to recover his energy now? Their test questions haven't been announced yet, right?"

"Test questions? What test questions?" A bewildered voice asked. Everyone turned to see Lu Dingyuan and Luo Jiajia walking toward them.

"Seniors, we aren't late, are we?" asked Luo Jiajia, who had just met Lu Dingyuan at the arena entrance.

"No, the academy will give the three S-classes time to recover. It's still early. Besides, it gives those who want to go to other arenas time to travel," Jiang Feng replied.

***

"Oh, oh, oh! Is it the S-class test? I ran into Tan Xiao at Arena C. Man, that guy, the way he swings that hammer is ferocious. I really don't know how his frame can wield a weapon like that." Lu Dingyuan gestured wildly, mimicking Tan Xiao's movements as if he were a huge fan.

Just then, the previously silent Shangguan Yudie suddenly spoke up: "Very strong. The electrical waves in that cage are intense. It is an Ultimate-class entity."

Ultimate-class. When the other six heard these words, their scalps went numb. An Ultimate-class? Was the academy really going to such lengths? How did the academy capture Ultimate-class entities? And if they were providing one for each of the three S-class students, that meant three of them—three captured alive.

It wasn't that Star hadn't killed an Ultimate-class before. Back then, before Luo Jiajia and Lu Dingyuan had joined, the six of them had gone to the New Delhi colony and hunted down the entity known as Karen. They had fallen into a trap, split into three groups, and faced three weakened manifestations of Karen. Although the disaster rating was likely still over 100, they didn't know if each individual manifestation possessed S-class ability levels.

At that time, Huo Ye was still A-class, and in coordination with Shangguan Yudie, he awakened the "Thousand-Thread Calamity" ability, eventually killing the strongest manifestation.

Now, Huo Ye was S-class; he might truly be able to kill an Ultimate-class entity alone.

But Shangguan Yudie's eyes suddenly widened, filled with disbelief. She shouted, "No... the one inside is very strong. It's not an ordinary..."

Before she could finish, a virtual screen reappeared above the arena. Jiang Tong's face appeared, and his deep, booming voice, amplified by the broadcast, instantly drowned out Shangguan Yudie's words, so much so that even the Star members around her could not hear her clearly.

"Students preparing to watch, please take your seats. The academy's individual testing for the S-class students is about to begin. Tan Xiao, Huo Xialan, Huo Ye—you three are the pride of Bancroft. At such a young age, you have already ascended to S-class. Your futures are bound to be limitless. However, the higher you climb at a young age, the easier it is to lose sight of your goals and the direction in which to move forward. Given the academy's current conditions, many educational methods and exams are no longer suitable for you; you must rely more on your own exploration. But today is different. The academy has prepared an extremely special test for you. In broad terms, your objective remains to kill the released calamities, but the calamities we have prepared for you are..."

Before Jiang Tong could finish, the three cage doors in the arenas—which had never been opened—began to tremble violently before slowly rising. The gates of the dark realm were thrown open. A boundless aura was released in an instant. Even through the force fields, the students present could feel the formidable pressure emanating from the calamities, as if fierce beasts that had been tightly locked away had finally found an opportunity to unleash their wild nature, chilling everyone to the bone.

The three who had been sitting quietly on the arena floor to rest suddenly opened their eyes. Even when Jiang Tong had called their names earlier, they had shown no reaction, but now, they felt distinct hostility.

Only then did Jiang Tong continue: "Three Ultimate-class entities. Please use your full strength to kill them. This is your test."