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The two entered the rest area.
After handing their Pokémon over to the staff inside, they grabbed some food, found a spot, and chatted while eating.
The main topic of discussion was still Gong Xu.
Song Jie's Lycanroc had been taken down by Destiny Bond, and the Pokémon that took it out was a Dusknoir.
"Strong. Tanky. Hyper-aware of Taunt. I kept trying to use it but never found the right opening."
The white-haired boy sipped his black tea, a hint of regret on his face. "I underestimated him."
There was no such thing as a guaranteed hit in this world. Even moves like Aura Sphere and Magical Leaf, which homed in like guided missiles, had ways to evade them.
Naturally, moves like Taunt weren't foolproof either—they could fail, and that wasn't rare.
Knowing it might fail, Song Jie hadn't wasted his chance.
"Heeh…"
Li Xiang picked up a biscuit, gazing through the floor-to-ceiling window beside him at the dense forest outside. "Tanky, huh?"
He remembered Eviolite Dusclops—a Pokémon so absurdly bulky it was terrifying. If not for HP limitations, its defensive capabilities would probably be the most ridiculous among all support Pokémon.
A Dusknoir that even Song Jie considered tanky? He couldn't help but wonder just how monstrous it was.
He was looking forward to finding out.
Half an hour passed quickly. Having rested enough, the two stood up and checked the time.
Exactly 8:30 PM.
"Three hours per rotation. We can hit the remaining three rest areas just in time."
Song Jie did the math and found the timing worked out perfectly.
Li Xiang shrugged, signaling he didn't mind either way. They retrieved their PokéBalls and wooden tags, adjusted their gear, and stepped outside.
Inside the rest area, some were already making their move.
A good portion of the students who saw them leave had the idea of ambushing them. After all, logically, anyone coming to a rest area meant their Pokémon were low on stamina.
But when they saw the sheer number of wooden tags jingling from their belts, they hesitated.
'Holy hell, how many tags is that? Just how strong are they?'
Some wisely backed off, sensing danger.
But others thought Li Xiang and Song Jie's Pokémon must be on their last legs—low on stamina and energy, barely patched up after half an hour of rest.
So, these hopefuls stood up and followed the duo outside.
A few students from Qingcheng watched their retreating backs with pity.
'Of all people to target, you pick theBig Demon Kingandthe Second Demon King?You're basically asking to get wrecked.'
But they didn't bother warning them. In fact, they silently cheered for their self-destructive bravery.
'Go for it, brothers from the other camp! The more of you that die, the fewer opponents we have!'
Meanwhile…
The pursuing students rushed out of the rest area, scanning the surroundings to figure out where the two had gone.
But just as they passed the 100-meter mark, from behind two thick trees in the forest, Li Xiang and Song Jie stepped out.
One was grinning. The other was expressionless.
"Told you they'd follow. And they're pretty quick too. How do we split these five?"
"Doesn't matter. Either way."
"Alright then."
Their casual, already-victorious tone made the five students burn with rage.
"You're only tough now because you're still fresh!"
"Quit acting all high and mighty!"
The would-be ambushers hurled threats.
And then, what followed was too brutal to describe in detail.
To summarize: They thought they had the advantage. They attacked. They got wrecked.
Well, technically, only four of them got wrecked.
The fifth one, sensing disaster, turned tail and ran. By the time Li Xiang finished his opponent and went looking for the fifth, the guy was long gone.
'No loyalty at all.'
"Lost fifty points."
Li Xiang stared in the direction the coward had fled, a little disappointed.
Song Jie took the wooden tag from his defeated opponent, ignoring the guy's crushed expression. "Chase?"
"Nah. Not worth it."
Li Xiang shook his head, then perked up. "Anyway, where did you run into Gong Xu? I wanna see what he's made of."
He was genuinely curious—just how strong was Gong Xu, to make even Song Jie struggle?
Of course, Li Xiang didn't know that Gong Xu was also searching for someone. The yellow haired boy who'd lost seemed intent on reclaiming his pride by challenging Song Jie again.
So he was scouring the entire exam site.
The two recalled their Pokémon and left along their planned route, leaving the four defeated students behind to question their life choices.
The gap was too vast.
Their confidence had been shattered in an instant. Shattered into tiny, irreparable pieces.
They'd probably need some time to recover mentally.
They'd just wanted to pick off some easy targets. Instead, they got picked off.
Where was the justice in that?
The four slumped in defeat. Not only had they lost their tags, but their Pokémon—freshly healed—were already knocked out again.
Total loss.
.....
On the Road
Using some unfortunate souls they encountered along the way, Li Xiang demonstrated what he called the "Wealth Code" to Song Jie.
"Cool, right? Best ambush tactic in the wild!"
He grinned, flashing a row of perfect teeth. "So far, nobody's been able to counter it—unless they knew it was coming."
Song Jie fell into thought. Putting himself in the opponent's shoes, he realized it would be hard to react in time.
Li Xiang's shiny Greninja had insane burst damage. By the time you even started thinking of a counter, it was already over.
The reason this strategy worked every time was precisely because of Greninja's overwhelming offense.
If its damage were even slightly lower, giving opponents time to react, Camouflage would just be a waste of energy.
Hard to replicate successfully.
As Song Jie suspected, the student Li Xiang had faced earlier—the one with the Volcarona—had tried to set up with Quiver Dance precisely because he knew his Pokémon's damage was lacking.
Too bad that just gave Incineroar the perfect opening to blast him out with Burning Jealousy.
The two pressed onward.
Before long, they arrived at the edge of a vast plain.
The scenery before them was dotted with sporadic evergreen pines and sparse shrubs. Further ahead, a shallow stream wound its way through a pebble-strewn bank, its source and destination unknown.
On slightly higher ground stood bizarre rock formations, frost-tipped and jutting from the earth like silent statues.
A biting wind howled past, making the two instinctively pull their collars tighter.
It was cold, yes—but this was a great place for battles.
And clearly, other students thought so too. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many fights and people scattered across the plain.
At a glance, Li Xiang could spot at least five separate battles happening in different spots.
And that was just within visible range.
Further away, the sounds of explosions still echoed. Along the edges, in slightly more hidden spots, many spectators stood at a distance.
They kept meters apart, avoiding eye contact, with no intention of challenging each other.
Just… watching.
Who knew? Maybe they were waiting for the ongoing battles to finish so they could swoop in for easy pickings.
After all, the ten-minute cooldown was long.
But if someone really gave chase—and there were no rest areas nearby—they'd catch up for sure.
Fifty points was nothing to scoff at.
For many students, that was half a month—or even a full month—of savings. Worth suffering through ten minutes for.
Unfortunately for them… The Grim Reaper of Points had arrived.
These would-be opportunists were about to get steamrolled.
"Which side first? They'll probably bolt after a few fights."
Li Xiang stuffed his hands in his pockets. February was cold—especially in Yuzhou's damp climate, where the chill seeped into your bones.
"Either. Doesn't matter."
Song Jie scanned the area but didn't spot any of the notable students from their intel.
'Just how big is this exam site?'
"You take left, I take right?"
"Sure."
They split up, each heading for their targets.
To Li Xiang, students from other camps were nothing but walking point bags—aside from those from Qingcheng, of course.
In the distance, the spectators began to stir as they noticed the two moving.
The ones closest to Li Xiang paled.
"Hey, man, no need for this. Once the fights down there wrap up, you can challenge the exhausted ones, right? Why waste time on tough targets like us?"
One of them spoke up.
Li Xiang couldn't help but laugh. "Wow. First time I've heard someone call themselves a tough target."
He smirked. "But lucky for you, I've got strong teeth. I love chewing on hard stuff. So don't run, alright? I don't mind a gauntlet match."
'Gauntlet match!'
The group's eyes lit up. They weren't scared of Li Xiang—they just didn't want to waste their Pokémon's stamina.
But if he was offering…
"How many tags do you have?" someone asked.
Li Xiang reached into his pocket, pretended to think, then pulled out five. "Just these."
Seeing the five tags, their eyes gleamed even brighter.
"Deal! You're the one who suggested a gauntlet! Don't blame us later! Whoever runs is a coward!"
One of them grinned triumphantly.
A camera-equipped Magnemite floated over lazily from a distance.
Li Xiang nodded, smiling. "Yeah, yeah. My idea. Whoever runs is a coward!"
With the terms set, they found a suitable open area.
The gauntlet was on.
Li Xiang looked at the group before him, the corner of his mouth quirking up. Ever since he'd gotten his Pokémon, he'd trained them specifically for endurance—fighting until they collapsed from exhaustion.
So when it came to gauntlet matches?
Li Xiang was these guys' granddaddy.
Right now, all he hoped was that they'd keep their word and not chicken out.
If they could last till the end, great. If not… at least leave five or six tags behind, yeah?
With that hopeful thought, Li Xiang and his opponent simultaneously revealed their Poké Balls and released their Pokémon.
"GRRROOAARR!"
The team's most enduring fighter—Incineroar—made its grand entrance!
On the opposite side, a muscular, blue Pokémon with a swirl pattern on its belly and what looked like white boxing gloves landed with a thud.
—Poliwrath! Water/Fighting-type!
"HAHAHA! Double advantage! Luck's on my side!"
The opponent laughed maniacally.
Until his Poliwrath got slapped by Incineroar, flinched, and then ate a Thunder Punch straight to the face.
CRACK—BOOM!
Lightning flashed!
Poliwrath went flying like a cannonball, only stopping after smashing through a pine tree.
It slumped, eyes swirled.
A one-hit KO!
Less than a minute—no, half a minute!
The spectators stared in shock, gulping. When they looked back at Li Xiang and Incineroar, their grins suddenly seemed terrifying.
"Remember—whoever runs is a coward~"
The handsome black-haired boy smiled devilishly.
"Let's continue."