Mid-term Exam, Part 11

‘A tribute to the Orange King every quarter of an hour?’

‘What was the tribute?’

Su Qing’s eyes narrowed.

She recalled that when she led the Heaven-Shaking Bull and Yang Xiuwen into the cafeteria, everyone present had acted as if granted a great pardon, pointing to the Orange King’s location on the second floor and urging her to go up quickly.

Knowing that Yang Xiuwen hadn’t brought the Heaven-Shaking Bull down yet, it was clear they must have been devoured and eliminated by the Orange King.

‘It seems this cat collects a head tax, and it demands a head every quarter of an hour.’

Although the Orange King was originally fat, it wasn’t large enough to occupy two floors. It was unknown how many people it had consumed since the start of the exam to grow to its current size.

“You fools, what are you standing there for? Didn’t you hear me? I’m hungry, quickly offer tribute to me!”

The arrogant meowing grew louder and louder.

The pressure belonging to a high-level powerhouse instantly poured forth, pressing heavily upon everyone, forcing them unable to even lift their heads.

Cold sweat dripped down Su Qing’s back. She clearly hadn’t looked up, yet she still felt a pair of amber cat eyes observing her menacingly.

From upstairs came heavy thudding sounds, “bang,” “bang,” “bang,” making the floors rattle. Dust and debris clattered down. This commotion was caused by the Orange King impatiently slapping its tail, and the sound grew increasingly unnerving.

Su Qing quickly asked, “How does one offer tribute?”

Chen Minjing whispered, “I don’t know, I just know this cat is very difficult to deal with. Half a quarter of an hour after it speaks, someone must be sent up, so usually, they push a weaker person to it.”

“Originally, it demanded one person every two quarters of an hour, but now its appetite has grown.

It demands one person every quarter of an hour.

It’s probably been nurtured. I’m afraid if we drag it out further, it will become even harder to deal with.”

As for the so-called weak, they were naturally those who were isolated and lacked strength.

It was unknown whether the Orange King had actively devoured them, or if someone had first come up with the idea of offering tribute, but it had certainly nurtured the Orange King to such an enormous size.

However, now that events had progressed to this point, whether or not to offer tribute was no longer their choice; the Orange King decided.

Begging turning into robbery, that was truly lacking in cat ethics.

Su Qing frowned and asked again, “What if we don’t offer tribute?”

Tang Xueshan had witnessed it.

She glanced at Tang Yueling’s expression, her own looking somewhat uneasy. “That fat cat will jump down and demand tribute itself, but by then, it won’t want just one or two people; it can devour ten or eight.”

Su Qing understood.

In that case, offering tribute was indeed the simplest method.

Sacrificing one person could stabilize the Orange King for a quarter of an hour, providing that time for other examinees to fight.

As long as the exam rankings were decided within this limited time, sacrificing one or two people was nothing.

Anyway, these were the exam rules. From the very beginning of this test, it was destined that only one person would stand until the end.

Given this, dying by the sword or dying in a cat’s maw were both paths to elimination, so what difference did it make?

Thinking this way indeed made a lot of sense, but Su Qing hadn’t forgotten that the midterm exam message received on the Lingtong said there would be two hundred second-year students, twenty third-year students, and other Sword School personnel responsible for accompanying the exam.

In that case, the Orange King certainly counted as one of the accompanying examinees.

Since the second and third-year accompanying examinees were qualified to compete for first place, was it possible that the Orange King could also take first place?

Su Qing’s mind worked quickly.

As she thought of it, she voiced the idea.

The first-year students’ expressions varied. Some softened, clearly having taken it in.

Some hesitated, looking at others. Others frowned in doubt, “Impossible, right? Let a cat take first place?”

“Do you think the Sword School couldn’t pull that off?”

“Of course…”

“…it doesn’t seem that impossible.”

Letting a cat take first place would perfectly rub the faces of the first, second, and third-year students in the dirt simultaneously.

Given the Sword School’s nature, they were perfectly capable of doing it.

“Do you think the second and third-year seniors know about this?” Xie Ying speculated. “After all, they have more experience than us. If they knew, would they let things get to this point?”

“What if they know?” Tang Yueling sneered, glancing disdainfully at the crowd still stubbornly besieging Tian Ning. “Do you think they have the spare energy to care about such things?”

A complete mess, truly a complete mess.

In this exam, everyone was an enemy except themselves, yet the reward conditions tied years and sects together, causing everyone to harbor their own intentions, all wanting to maximize their own benefits.

But if not for the relentless pressure from the second and third-year students, the first-year students might not be standing together peacefully exchanging information now.

Even so, their minds were unsettled; some stood closer, while others stood cautiously at the edges, ready to break away at the slightest sign of trouble.

Given this, who would be the chosen tribute for this round?

While the first-year students were discussing, the second and third-year students had already made up their minds.

An unfamiliar third-year senior calmly looked at them and said, “The first-year has the most people, so send one person up.”

He gave the first-year students no chance to consider, his gaze falling upon Artifact School’s Xie Changge, indicating, “Her cultivation is the lowest.”

This person’s thought process was easy to understand: the lowest cultivation meant the weakest, the most likely to be eliminated anyway, so sending her to feed the cat was no loss.

Furthermore, among the six major sects of the first year, Artifact School had the fewest remaining members, just Xie Changge and the unremarkable Jiang Xiaocao.

To make an example, they would naturally choose the weakest party.

He had a good plan.

With someone acting as the villain at the forefront, the others were naturally happy to remain silent.

Even the first-year students were sizing up the situation, keeping silent.

Xie Changge’s face was pale, her lips pressed into a thin line. She clutched the sword in her hand, saying nothing.

Jiang Xiaocao had recently gained some understanding of social etiquette.

As a fellow Artifact School member, although he wasn’t familiar with Xie Changge, he still stepped forward and said, “There’s no such logic. Xie Changge isn’t going.”

The third-year senior said expressionlessly, “Whether she goes or not, neither she nor you have a say.”

“Unless you’re willing to go in her stead. What, are you unwilling?”

His words were aggressive, causing widespread dissatisfaction.

Tang Yueling was the first to speak up, raising an eyebrow and looking back at him, scoffing, “If you want to go, then you go. Why all this nonsense?”

Xie Changge still said nothing, but everyone knew she didn’t want to go.

However, the current situation indeed made her the weakest, and the first-year’s strength was the weakest.

If she offended these seniors because of herself, who knew if she wouldn’t be pushed out? Rather than making a spectacle, perhaps going out voluntarily could earn some goodwill… These thoughts flashed through Xie Changge’s mind. She forcibly suppressed them and only looked at Su Qing.

“I’ll listen to Daoist Su.”

Xie Changge ultimately gritted her teeth and insisted, “Whatever Daoist Su tells me to do, I will do.”

Her strength was weak, so she couldn’t speak up, but Su Qing could.

Regardless of Su Qing’s current cultivation, her presence in the Dragon Boat Secret Realm and Yinlan City missions was not insignificant.

If they needed to put forward someone whom the first-year students would obey, besides her, there was probably no other choice.

And Su Qing was a very interesting person. Even though she would never be the one instantly noticed, she was always thought of whenever someone wanted to retreat and find support.

There were many brilliant and talented people, and she wasn’t one of them, but her steady and reliable demeanor was indeed rare among the first-year students.

Moreover, not only was she steady, but she also possessed the unique madness and decisiveness of a Body School disciple.

Xie Changge decided to entrust her life in this exam to Su Qing’s judgment.

This was both trust and pressure. However, since she was willing to give it, Su Qing was also willing to accept it.

“It’s by repeatedly offering tribute that the Orange King developed such a temperament.”

“It’s not hungry at all, nor does it need to eat so much.”

“If we continue to nurture it like this, it’s uncertain who will be the victor in the end. If it wins in the end, what will you all think?”

Regardless, the Orange King couldn’t be allowed to eat like this and grow any larger.

Su Qing stepped to the very front, confronting the third-year students.

Her gaze swept over everyone, landing on Tian Ning. “Xie Changge will not be offered as tribute. No one will be offered as tribute.”

Before she finished speaking, Man Qing Sword moved with her will, standing before Su Qing like the most loyal guardian, instantly intercepting the incoming attack.

“Boom—!”

This person’s strike was a killing move.

Man Qing Sword’s silver-white light flashed, instantly deflecting more than half of the attack, but the remaining power still forced Su Qing back a step before she stabilized.

She stood with her sword before her, the lingering force stirring her hair, yet she was completely unharmed, not even a scratch left on her body.

As expected, fighting at the slightest disagreement was the norm in the Sword School.

The one who launched the attack was indeed that third-year senior.

Someone, she couldn’t tell who, blurted out, “How insidious, Fang Buwei.”

Fang Buwei still wore an impassive, deadpan expression.

After his attack was parried, his brow seemed to furrow slightly, revealing a hint of confusion.

Su Qing knew the source of his confusion. His strike was meant to establish dominance, to crush the first-year students’ arrogance and fighting spirit. He had struck with full power, holding nothing back.

After students advanced to their third year, their development became more comprehensive, making it less easy to discern their sect at a glance.

Su Qing couldn’t tell where he was from, but she knew his strength was indeed considerable, likely late Golden Core stage.

Coincidentally, after eliminating Shi Zeyu, her Man Qing Sword’s accumulated Sword Qi just happened to elevate it to Tier 4.

With a Tier 4 spirit weapon in hand, the outcome was still uncertain.

This strike was like a signal.

The first-year students sprang into action.

Xie Ying summoned her Jade Talisman Brush before her, Tang Jiu drew talismans with blood, Chen Minjing summoned her Book Spirit, staring cautiously ahead.

Pei Jingzhi sighed, but ultimately brought out his defensive array disk. Jiang Xiaocao summoned grass threads to gather.

Tang Xueshan held a sword in one hand and a talisman in the other, guarding Tang Yueling, who, holding a long sword, had hundreds of decent-grade magical artifacts appearing behind her.

The cultivation gap between first and third-year students could barely be compensated by sheer stats, but when it came to combat experience, they could not make up for it no matter what.

Moreover, third-year students possessed numerous secret techniques and skills that first-year students had never even heard of. Sword intent alone was difficult enough to contend with.

Just like this moment, Fang Buwei cleared a path with his sword intent, his steps shrinking space to inches.

In the blink of an eye, he ambushed the first-year students.

His movements were incredibly swift; even his shadow seemed unable to react. He struck like lightning, seizing Xie Changge in an instant, intending to abduct her.

This person must have some profound karmic fortune.

Everyone clearly saw it, yet felt an immense heaviness in their bodies, unable to react in that brief moment, watching as Xie Changge was about to be snatched away.

Fortunately, Jiang Xiaocao was not human.

He barely reacted, and grass threads surged up, rushing towards Fang Buwei, hooking his ankle and sleeve, forcibly slowing him down by half a second.

But holding him back didn’t mean they could keep him.

What means could a group of first-year students, mostly in Foundation Establishment, possibly use to hold him back?

Su Qing, of course, couldn’t hold him back on her own, and she knew it.

Fortunately, she had inherited the legacies of several Golden Core seniors, such as a destined sword, a carefully chosen formation disk, and even a destined spirit beast.

From her storage bag, she pulled out the large fox Lihuo.

Before it could get agitated and bite, she aimed its Illusory Fire Eyes, which were unrivaled below the Nascent Soul stage, directly at Fang Buwei.

Lihuo was furious, thrashing and biting wildly at the air.

Angry as it was, it didn’t hold back in its work. Its purple beast eyes flashed, emitting a faint, ethereal glow, instantly dragging Fang Buwei into an illusion filled with unextinguishable flames.

His steps paused, and his figure indeed froze.

But Golden Core cultivators had too many killing moves and trump cards.

Su Qing wasn’t sure how long he could be held, so she loosened her grip, letting the large fox jump to the ground.

Lihuo shook out its fur, which Su Qing had ruffled, and bared its fangs fiercely.

Su Qing, holding her sword, delivered a heavy strike to Fang Buwei’s waist.

As she attacked, the other first-year students also moved.

As classmates of the same year, they all believed in the principle of “strike while the iron’s hot, take their life while they’re weak.” In an instant, several swords simultaneously assailed Fang Buwei.

“Swish,” “swish,” “swish.”

Several distinct whistling sounds pierced the air.

Sword lights flickered like shadows, sword edges were sharp, and sword tips pointed directly at Fang Buwei’s throat, shoulders, waist, chest, and various other spots.

Every sword carried lethal intent. In an instant, the blades pierced him simultaneously.

The sound of flesh tearing, accompanied by the “thwack” of sword edges entering the body, as Fang Buwei’s physical body was swept by sword qi, disintegrated, exploding into hundreds of fragments.

“Dealt with?”

“Dealt with!”

Even though his physical body had exploded into several fragments, Fang Buwei was still not eliminated.

And those so-called fragments, upon closer inspection, were not flesh and bones at all; there wasn’t even a single drop of overflowing blood.

They were clearly parts and joints of varying sizes.

“No, a puppet!” Tang Yueling, having seen more, furrowed her delicate brows and realized, “This isn’t his true body; this person cultivates puppet techniques. No wonder he dared to charge in alone. Indeed, there are no fools in this world.”

After these shattered parts were scattered, a certain crystal core at the center surprisingly condensed a blue light. This blue light grew increasingly intense, drawing the other parts to slowly reassemble, forming a humanoid figure.

Chen Minjing, holding her sword, formed characters in the air.

After the last stroke fell, a glittering “Break” character appeared across the sky. “Whoever can hold him, I will shatter his core!”

As she spoke, verdant grass threads suddenly climbed onto the puppet, winding up along its many joints, clamping down tightly, preventing it from smoothly reassembling.

The puppet body refined by Fang Buwei possessed the strength of a Golden Core cultivator. Logically, it should not have been deciphered by a rookie artifact refiner.

But Jiang Xiaocao had researched so many puppets.

All the contribution points he earned from the beast tide mission were exchanged for puppets.

Although he hadn’t yet successfully reassembled them to their original state, he truly knew how to disassemble them.

“Go—!” Seeing this, Xie Changge scattered a handful of entirely black Soul-Suppressing Needles, aiming them at the puppet’s various joints.

In the brief moment that she and Jiang Xiaocao held it back, Chen Minjing swung her sword.

The “Break” character, held aloft on her sword tip, flew out, passing through several intricate mechanical parts, and with a “bang,” struck the blue crystal core, forcibly shattering it.

Seeing an opportunity, the other first-year students followed suit. “I’ll go!” “Take this!”

Su Qing’s eyes lit up. The moment she realized Fang Buwei was a puppet, a flash of inspiration struck her mind.

‘Since it was a puppet controlled by divine sense, and Fang Buwei’s divine sense could control it, why couldn’t hers?’

Su Qing’s footsteps moved, and she flew over. She now further realized the marvel of “shrinking the ground to an inch,” but unfortunately, that was a technique only high-ranking students could learn, and she didn’t know it. However, Old Lady Liu’s illusory footwork was still sufficient.

Su Qing’s speed was very fast, but the attacks of others were not slow either; once the bow was drawn, there was no turning back. Quite a few still landed on her, but fortunately, she had high health and was very tenacious.

Amidst everyone’s astonished gazes, Su Qing crashed headfirst into the puppet, which was tightly bound by grass threads.

She knew this looked stupid, confirming the stereotype of their Body School, but her development of divine sense was very limited.

Currently, it was restricted to launching a headbutt whenever she wanted to activate it.

‘When the exam was over, she would definitely turn over a new leaf and study hard.’

Her divine sense poured out, seeping along the puppet’s crystal core.

Her vision blurred, or perhaps her Sea of Consciousness suddenly lit up, and thousands of pale blue spirit veins, like the flourishing roots of trees, unfolded before her.

Su Qing’s divine sense unceremoniously squeezed in, instantly occupying the puppet’s large and small spirit veins.

She detected Fang Buwei’s divine sense, a very small but bright cluster, which she spotted immediately.

Fang Buwei sensed something was wrong and retreated very quickly, even attempting to self-detonate to sever the connection.

Su Qing’s divine sense was far more powerful than his. Seeing Fang Buwei about to escape, her divine sense immediately covered him, overwhelming and completely devouring him.

Although she didn’t know where his true body was, with his divine sense severely damaged to this extent by her, he was no longer a threat.

‘As for this puppet body, she would take it over.’

Fang Buwei’s perpetually calm face remained blank for a moment.

A dull sound squeezed from his throat, as if a machine had stalled and then restarted.

When he slowly opened his eyes again, or rather, when Su Qing awoke in another body, she first saw her own face.

‘Hmm, my forehead is a bit swollen, but not too noticeable.’

Su Qing said contentedly, “Now, he’s one of us.”

Fang Buwei raised a hand with an expressionless face, indicating agreement.

The third-year students never imagined Fang Buwei would be taken down so quickly.

But praising an enemy was not something they did, so they all accused, “Useless Fang Buwei!” “If you’re so weak, train more! Why are you dragging us down like this?!”

Only Ling Yunxiao’s lips curled upwards. “My junior sister.”

Cui Huai’s brows relaxed, and she said calmly, “My junior sister.”

Zhang Mingliang showed a friendly smile, scratching his head a little sheepishly. “My junior sister!”

“Get lost!” The third-year students were both angry and speechless, roaring, “Is this the time to show off your junior sisters?!”

Ling Yunxiao raised an eyebrow carelessly. “After all, she’s not your junior sister.”

“Who cares who she is? What about next? Are we still going to offer tribute to that orange cat? If we don’t, it’ll jump down and eat people, and everyone will be unlucky!”

Ling Yunxiao retorted, “Then, at that time, which side do you think will be more unlucky?”

The person choked. After a careful thought, it was certainly the first-year students, who were the most numerous and weakest, who would be more unlucky. Offering tribute or not would do them no harm.

Pei Jingzhi blinked in shock. He resisted the urge to touch his forehead and cautiously asked, “How did you do that?”

Su Qing said casually, “He’s not the only one who cultivates puppet techniques.”

Pei Jingzhi opened his mouth, wanting to say: ‘Puppet techniques? Do you Body School disciples even have the brains for that?’

Puppet techniques were very difficult to learn, no less challenging than array formations or talismans.

This art not only demanded powerful divine sense but also required the controller to be meticulous, possess a subtle and intricate mind, and be able to multitask.

But the most crucial point was the desire for control. Those who lacked a desire for control over all things could not cultivate puppet techniques well.

Su Qing genuinely didn’t know if she possessed such talent.

The large fox Lihuo sat to the side, turning its head away and saying nothing.

Restricted by the exam rules, it was now Su Qing’s spirit beast.

Essentially, if Su Qing told it to chase a dog, it couldn’t go after a chicken.

Even when told to work, though it didn’t hesitate, it was still angry, constantly turning its head, trying hard not to look at Su Qing, and presenting its fluffy red tail to her.

Su Qing stroked its head, praising, “Good fox.”

It wasn’t just her moving; Fang Buwei’s puppet body was also drawn along to stroke the fox, both hands together caressing the beautiful fur on its body.

Lihuo became even more enraged, biting Fang Buwei’s arm. “Don’t you dare touch me!”

The Golden Core stage puppet was exceptionally hard. Compared to Su Qing, it had not an ounce of flexibility. Its mouth hurt, and in its bewildered gaze, its last baby tooth “clattered” to the ground.

The banter lasted only a brief moment. Soon, everyone had to face a real problem: half a quarter of an hour had passed, and they had refused to offer tribute.

From upstairs came a series of loud bangs, as if something enormous was moving.

A powerful meow rang out, each louder than the last, echoing for three days, its lingering sound unending. “Vile humans don’t offer tribute to me? Do you want to taste my paw?!”

With a loud “thud,” the roof beam collapsed, and dust billowed up.

Amidst the swirling dust, a robust beastly shadow appeared before everyone’s eyes.

It had a round head, an oval body like a winter melon, thick limbs, and a long tail.

To move more easily, it had slightly reduced its size, no longer as massive as when it occupied the second and third floors, but had become tiger-sized.

A tiger was originally very agile, but due to its excessive obesity, even after transforming into a tiger, it was still round and plump, its flesh practically bursting out.

“What a massive beast! So fat, so fat!”

The Orange King’s amber cat eyes flared with light. It loudly meowed, “I’ll make you all fail!”

In the viewing area.

Shi Zeyu was heartbroken to the point of breathless. Clutching the fabric over her chest, she cried out tearfully, “Wuwuwu, my fox’s baby tooth fell out!”

She had carefully collected all of Lihuo’s shed baby teeth, yet this one had fallen when she wasn’t by her fox’s side. She truly wasn’t a good enough master.

The others from different sects showed expressions of disbelief. Yang Xiuwen heavily patted her shoulder. “I understand.”

“But seeing Fang Buwei suffer, he again couldn’t help but laugh heartily. “This guy always backstabs people with that deadpan face. One cannot walk by the river often without getting wet shoes. It’s truly satisfying to see him end up like this today. When he gets eliminated and comes here, I’ll definitely mock him relentlessly!””

The situation changed in an instant. When the Orange King made its appearance, both Beast Cultivators froze for a moment.

Having raised beasts for a hundred years, they naturally noticed something was wrong with the Orange King.

Shi Zeyu measured its size with her hand. “It’s overweight. I knew it was fat, but I didn’t know it was this fat.”

All this time, the Orange King had restrained its size, appearing in cat form.

While it looked fat and actually was fat, it wasn’t this obvious.

But now, revealing its full form, it was so fat that it was no longer just a super fat cat.

Yang Xiuwen affirmed, “Severely overweight. It needs to manage its figure.”

“I remember it should be a spatial attribute spirit beast,” Shi Zeyu mused. “A spirit beast’s abilities and appearance are closely related. It being this fat must be because it used abilities far beyond its physical capacity. Although I don’t know how it did it, it certainly wouldn’t have been a pleasant experience.”