Only half a month remains until the opening of the Saint Academy, and the ordinary admission tests are in full swing.
The test site this time is at Qixia Mountain on the outskirts of Shangmou City.
The demon beasts on the mountain are not of a high level, but they are numerous, making it an ideal location for exams.
However, recently, saber-toothed tigers have been appearing on Qixia Mountain.
The candidates participating in the entrance exam are mostly at the Middle stage Martial Apprentice level, while the saber-toothed tigers have the strength of a Middle stage Martial Realm. If they encounter each other, the candidates would be like lambs to the slaughter.
To prevent any mishaps on the Shangmou Family's territory, Shang Yanting had to go to Qixia Mountain to clear out the saber-toothed tigers.
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A great river separates Qixia Mountain from Shangmou City.
Apart from Martial Artists, ordinary people rarely cross the river. The large boat carrying Shang Yanting slowly came to a stop on the river.
Just at the outskirts of Qixia Mountain, the howls of beasts rose and fell, the smell of blood mixed with earth rushed over, and occasionally, the screams of candidates echoed through the forest.
Hundreds of candidates were capturing Flame Wolves in the forest.
As soon as they entered the depths of the forest, the group discovered the corpses of demon beasts with their hearts removed. Besides beast corpses, many scattered and rotten human organs littered the area, highlighting the current danger of the forest.
The servants of the Shangmou Family surrounded Shang Yanting, cautiously moving through the jungle, tracking the saber-toothed tigers.
Before long, intense battle sounds came from afar, suggesting candidates were fighting Flame Wolves.
"Brother Mo Yun, be careful!"
"It's coming at me!"
"Run, run fast!"
The sounds of a fight came from the jungle, with shadows of people and beasts flickering in the distance, and the smell of blood growing stronger.
"Young Master, be careful!"
Shang Yanting's attendant drew a sword to block in front, cautiously looking ahead without rashly moving to help. But those people were running towards them, followed by two Flame Wolves.
The Flame Wolves looked similar to ordinary wolves, but they were much larger and moved quickly, suddenly pouncing on the candidate at the end.
"Ah!"
The candidate screamed as the skin on his face was torn off by the Flame Wolf.
The surrounding companions threw various attacks at the Flame Wolves, unaware that this not only failed to harm them but also enraged them further. Their fur bristled, their bodies engulfed in roaring flames.
The Flame Wolves' combat strength intensified instantly, tearing apart the pinned candidate and lunging toward the crowd.
These two Flame Wolves were noticeably more ferocious and maddened than ordinary Flame Wolves, the group was roasted by flames, suffocated by thick smoke, and the screams and cries for help grew fainter.
Just as they were about to meet their end, Shang Yanting pulled out a bow and arrow, aiming at one of the Flame Wolves and drawing the bow fully.
Whoosh——
A specially crafted arrow sliced through the air, accurately piercing the Flame Wolf's head.
With a dull roar, the Flame Wolf immediately fell dead, the flames that once surrounded its body extinguished, revealing its corpse. The other seemed to sense danger, glanced up, retracted its flames, and quickly darted into the jungle.
"Brother Yanting!"
It turned out they had saved someone familiar.
Song Yu'er's voice came before she did.
She was protected in the center of the surviving candidates, looking toward the heroically backlit male lead with a pale face, tears nearly falling, "The Flame Wolves just now were terrifying, Yu'er almost couldn't see you again.
Were you here to find me specifically?"
The guards following Shang Yanting each lowered their heads, not daring to tell Miss Song the truth, only hoping she wouldn't overthink it.
In fact, Song Yu'er did more than overthink, her imagination ran wild.
She automatically credited the kill of the Flame Wolf to herself, and even made a request to Shang Yanting,
"Brother Yanting, since Brother Mo Yun and you are both close relatives of the Shang Family, and he didn't get a promotion slot because of you, could you help him out as an apology?"
Beside her, Mo Yun's face was pallid, looking at the two with no gratitude, only an expression of insulted humiliation.
In the Sea of Consciousness, Jia Xitong immediately recognized the man—
Wasn't he the one who ambushed the male lead last time, who was thrown off the field along with his underlings by the male lead?
The male lead saved him, and yet he still harbors such hostility, what's there to apologize for?
One is spoiled and thoughtless,
While the other is incompetent yet ambitious,
The grindmaster on the sidelines in the male lead's Sea of Consciousness gave the pair an apt evaluation.
Shang Yanting ignored Song Yu'er, furrowing his brows tightly and gripping the longsword in his hand.
The other Flame Wolf didn't flee because of him.
Because of Shang Yanting's attitude, the rest instinctively fell silent.
A gentle breeze passed through, carrying a noxious dampness and barely perceptible screams, and a mysterious pressure descended upon them.
A strong wind rose, and a howl resounded.
A saber-toothed tiger, large as a buffalo and long-fanged, lunged at Shang Yanting from behind.
It was the very target he had been tracking!
Seeing this gigantic demon beast, everyone tensed and stepped back.
They couldn't handle the Flame Wolves, not to mention the Middle stage Martial Realm saber-toothed tigers.
On the scene, only Shang Yanting could match it, his drawn sword reflecting his calm eyes.
Here it came!
Man and tiger clashed.
Both were of Martial Realm strength.
The saber-toothed tiger was huge, incredibly strong, each step sent dirt flying, its might unmatched.
Shang Yanting moved gracefully, infusing True Qi into his longsword, leaving deep sword marks on the ground with each swing.
As a half step Martial Master cultivator, Shang Yanting should theoretically have the upper hand. He aimed at the saber-toothed tiger's head with his longsword, but with a clank, the sword's hilt shocked his palm until numbing.
Something was wrong!
The expected tiger head did not fall; instead, he was knocked to the ground.
"Roar!"
With a majestic tiger's roar, the saber-toothed tiger was enraged!
The oppressive aura of a realm higher accompanied the roar, turning the faces of the cultivators at Middle and Late stages Martial Apprentice level behind Shang Yanting pale.
A Martial Master!
The previous information was incorrect; this saber-toothed tiger had reached the level of a Martial Master!
Don't be fooled by Shang Yanting approaching the Martial Master level; nearing it and being it are two different concepts.
Earlier they were evenly matched, but now Shang Yanting was at a disadvantage. His longsword pressed against the saber-toothed tiger's fangs, the sword was being deformed and small cracks appeared on the blade.
Servants and candidates rushing to help were immediately knocked flying by the saber-toothed tiger and trampled, the timid had already begun to flee for their lives.
"Brother Yanting!"
Song Yu'er cried out worriedly to him, but didn't take a step forward.
The young man called Mo Yun was retreating in fear, but his face showed a hint of venom, imagining if Shang Yanting were to die now…
While everyone was trapped in their own thoughts, Shang Yanting's aura underwent a transformation.
He had actually reached the Martial Master Realm?!
Shang Moyun was shocked, but soon regained his composure.
The saber-toothed tiger seemed to have reached the Middle stage Martial Master, whereas Shang Yanting seemed to have just reached the early stage Martial Master realm. So what if he advanced, he was still no match for the saber-toothed tiger. To kill it, he'd need a magic artifact above Radiant Gold level, but his longsword was merely Fine Steel Grade.
And with his nearly broken longsword, there's no way he'd kill the saber-toothed tiger.
The surrounding candidates were fleeing in panic, while the servants brought by Shang Yanting prepared to sacrifice their lives to hold off the saber-toothed tiger, buying time for the Young Master to escape.
Then suddenly, the situation changed dramatically.
The longsword in Shang Yanting's hand was suddenly enveloped in a glow, transforming the Fine Steel Grade weapon as if into Radiant Gold, allowing him to smoothly infuse it with True Qi, and he swung it towards the saber-toothed tiger.