Chapter 81: Spider-Faced Man's Lair, Tens of Thousands of Experience Points [5,000 Words Chapter]
AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Three Schools Joint Exam, third day inside the examination hall, seven hours later in reality.
As three days of examination hall time passed, the number of candidates still in the examination hall had sharply decreased to a mere two hundred or so.
Among these two hundred-plus people, only a very small portion were still deliberately hunting Nine Nether Fiends.
The remaining majority chose to hide, opting to extend their survival time as much as possible to achieve a good score.
After this period of testing, the strength of most students had been thoroughly displayed.
The most eye-catching students were a mere seven individuals, namely…
Luocheng No. 1 High School: Lu Chen, Mu Xiaoye, Bian Shouyi.
Luoyang City No. 2 High School: Chu Gucai, Jin Shanli.
Luocheng No. 3 High School: Liu Zhaodao, Shen Feiyang.
Among these individuals, Lu Chen was not the only one who achieved the feat of slaying a Foundation Establishment Stage fiend.
Two other people also accomplished this feat.
And these two, without exception, were individuals who had awakened Innate Divine Abilities.
They were Mu Xiaoye, who awakened the 'Phoenix Calamity Fire', and Shen Feiyang, who awakened the 'Soul Restraining Order'.
The teachers were not too surprised that Mu Xiaoye could defeat a Foundation Establishment Stage fiend.
After all, her Phoenix Calamity Fire was not only powerful but also had a strong suppressive effect on evil demons and heretics.
Even Foundation Establishment Stage Nine Nether Fiends would find her terrifying Phoenix Calamity Fire difficult to handle.
What's more, Phoenix Calamity Fire could also feed back to the Divine Ability user by burning the enemy's life force.
It was practically a top-tier Talent Divine Power born specifically for combat.
But Shen Feiyang from Third High School was different.
His rise, like Lu Chen's, greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.
Because before the Three Schools Joint Exam, Shen Feiyang was just an ordinary Human Dao Class student at Third High School.
Not only was his talent unremarkable, but his personality was also very reclusive.
He was almost like a transparent figure in Third High School.
What no one expected was that this child had unknowingly awakened his Talent Divine Power—'Soul Restraining Order'.
He could forcibly imprison some ghosts within his body and command them.
Most critically, this child had also somehow acquired a Foundation Establishment Stage vengeful spirit.
This allowed him, who was only at Qi Training Stage Level 7, to possess powerful strength comparable to a typical Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.
This enabled him to easily defeat a Foundation Establishment Stage fiend on the joint exam battlefield.
For a time, his prominence even overshadowed Liu Zhaodao, who also awakened an Talent Divine Power at Luocheng No. 3 High School.
In the conference room outside the examination hall, many Dao Academy investigators who were previously seated.
Quite a few had already stood up and gone outside the conference to make phone calls.
The reason for their actions was simple: to contact their respective Dao Academies and inquire about the price the Dao Academy could offer to recruit these Geniuses.
Especially Lu Chen, Mu Xiaoye, and Shen Feiyang, who currently had a record of slaying Foundation Establishment Stage fiends.
They were the primary targets for recruitment.
Yu Mountain City Ruins, East District.
"This is so annoying, why can't I kill them all no matter how many I kill…?"
"The school is really something, why can't they just give every student a map and let us see everyone's location directly on the map?!"
"To make me search for people in such a large place, isn't this like looking for a needle in a haystack?"
Mu Xiaoye complained about the Three Schools Joint Exam's inhumane design while her peripheral vision caught a Giant Armor Worm fiercely attacking her.
Looking at the Giant Armor Worm's disgusting appearance, a hint of revulsion flashed in Mu Xiaoye's eyes.
"Get lost!"
Mu Xiaoye reprimanded, and the complex crimson patterns on her right arm suddenly glowed, like burning flames.
The next second, she violently punched the attacking Giant Armor Worm, hitting it on the head.
Bang!
This punch was powerful and heavy; it not only caused the Giant Armor Worm's head to cave in with a single punch.
A visible wave of fiery Qi spread from the center of her fist, sending the Giant Armor Worm flying on the spot.
The terrifying force made the ten-meter-long Giant Armor Worm tumble several times on the ground, finally stopping after crashing into a shop.
And because its head was so deeply caved in, the originally ten-meter-long Giant Armor Worm.
Now, it was like a thousand-layer cake, with more than half of its body twisted and folded together.
It had turned into a small worm only five meters long.
Killing a Giant Armor Worm comparable to a Qi Training Stage Level 8 Body Cultivator with one punch, Mu Xiaoye's strength was evident.
On the street, Mu Xiaoye retracted her fist and stood upright, dusting off her hands.
Then, with a hair tie in her mouth, she grabbed her hair with both hands and quickly re-tied the hair that had come loose during the recent battle, taking a deep breath.
The next second, the crimson flames still on the fiend corpses all returned to her body.
Following that, the special crimson patterns covering her entire body slowly dimmed and completely disappeared.
She then surveyed the more than ten charred corpses of Giant Armor Worms around her, and after confirming no more fiends emerged, she curled her lips in disdain.
"So what if I accidentally killed your boss? Do you have to keep clinging to me?"
Perhaps to facilitate combat and prevent her clothes from being burned by the Phoenix Calamity Fire.
Mu Xiaoye was currently wearing a black shorts and vest, similar to an athlete's attire, revealing her well-proportioned, firm long legs and distinctly defined abs.
Coupled with the corpses of Giant Armor Worms scattered around her, the visual impact was extremely strong.
Mu Xiaoye, with her ponytail tied, turned her head to look at the eight candidates from various schools standing more than ten meters away.
She said indifferently, "Don't follow me if you don't want to die."
Hearing these words, the eight candidates subconsciously straightened their bodies and nodded obediently.
They had no choice but to be obedient, as they feared that if they said something wrong and offended Mu Xiaoye.
With their scrawny arms and legs, they truly wouldn't be enough for one of Mu Xiaoye's punches.
It was hard to imagine that Mu Xiaoye, who usually appeared demure and couldn't even twist open a mineral water bottle in front of Lu Chen, was so wild in private.
Cold, sharp, disdainful…
Those words typically used to describe a man's dominance were perfectly fitting for Mu Xiaoye at this moment.
Even… extremely apt.
Actually, Lu Chen never quite understood why the students of Luocheng No. 1 High School were so afraid of Mu Xiaoye.
After all, in his eyes, Mu Xiaoye had always been that crying little girl who followed him around at the age of eight, completely lacking in deterrent power.
But how could he know that Mu Xiaoye had always maintained that false 'soft girl' persona only in front of Lu Chen?
Otherwise, how could a Body Cultivator who awakened a top-tier Talent Divine Power not even have the strength to twist open a bottle cap?
In fact, let alone a bottle cap, if Mu Xiaoye wanted to, she could even easily break open the skulls of evil demons and heretics without even panting.
Her so-called gentleness was only for Lu Chen, her childhood friend.
For other students, especially when Lu Chen was not present.
She had always been the undisputed dominant Body Cultivator of Luocheng No. 1 High School, her word was law.
Mu Xiaoye becoming the undisputed top student in Luocheng No. 1 High School was the result of her punching her way to the top!
[Talent Divine Power: Phoenix Calamity Fire]
[Effect: A special flame containing the power of the ancient Phoenix, capable of incinerating all things and absorbing the refined energy after incineration]
Top-tier Talent Divine Power, wild personality, dominant fighting style…
This was the Mu Xiaoye in the eyes of teachers and other classmates.
As for the Mu Xiaoye in Lu Chen's eyes…
One can only say that the prettier a girl is, the more she can deceive.
On the street, Mu Xiaoye looked up towards the west of the Yu Mountain City ruins.
After a moment of contemplation, she walked in that direction.
Although she didn't know where Lu Chen was currently.
But she knew that Lu Chen was never a peaceful person.
After all, how could a peaceful person dare to take a knife and fight powerful evil demons and heretics at the age of eight?
So, her intuition told her that if she walked west, towards the main camp of the Nine Nether Fiends.
Then she would most likely encounter Lu Chen.
And after Mu Xiaoye left, the eight candidates finally couldn't help but step forward and approach a charred, massive corpse.
It was a 'giant snake' over twenty meters long.
Although it was already dead, they could still feel its immense power when it was alive.
And it was the leader of the Giant Armor Worms, a Foundation Establishment Stage fiend—the Black Armor Worm.
Yet, such a powerful monster.
Not long ago, it was held down by Mu Xiaoye, who repeatedly punched its head until it was beaten to death.
Recalling the scene where Mu Xiaoye was stepping on its head and continuously punching, the eight students present couldn't help but shiver.
Subsequently, a Third High School examinee couldn't help but look at the only Luocheng No. 1 High School examinee among the eight, and asked with a complicated expression, "Is your Luocheng No. 1 High School's Student Mu always…this wild?"
As soon as these words came out, the Luocheng No. 1 High School examinee who was asked seemed to recall some unpleasant memory and shivered subconsciously.
Then he watched Mu Xiaoye leave and said with a bit of fear, "If we're just talking about her conduct…then she has always been like this."
"After all, in our grade, besides a certain person, most of the remaining people have been beaten by her, and it was a very severe beating."
"Hiss…"
Hearing this, the seven people all gasped, then looked at him with sympathetic eyes.
After all, they could imagine what it would be like if they had to fight an existence like Mu Xiaoye.
Being bruised and swollen would be considered good; it's likely that with one punch, they'd be hospitalized for a period of time.
However, when they heard that someone had actually managed to escape Mu Xiaoye's iron fist education, they couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is the person who hasn't been beaten by Mu Xiaoye very strong? How could even an existence like Mu Xiaoye not take him down?"
The Luocheng No. 1 High School examinee gave him a strange look, then said with a complicated tone, "No, he's not strong, at least I don't think he's stronger than Mu Xiaoye…"
"Then why couldn't he be beaten?"
"Because he…is very handsome."
"And he and Mu Xiaoye are childhood sweethearts, understand?"
"…Understood, bro, no need to say more."
Pain, too much pain!
In the ruins of a vegetable market in Yu Mountain City's City South District.
A pale-faced teenager with heavy dark circles under his eyes sat bored amidst a pile of Nine Nether Fiends corpses, constantly yawning as if he hadn't fully woken up.
Not far from him, a five-meter-tall, green-faced, fanged Knife Ghoul wearing ancient armor was holding a large knife, constantly chopping at the fiend's corpses, seemingly enjoying the process.
This teenager was none other than one of the only three people in the current exam who had defeated Foundation Establishment Stage fiends.
The Third High School student…Shen Feiyang.
Shen Feiyang looked at the Knife Ghoul, who was still playing with the corpses, and sighed helplessly.
Then he scratched his chicken-nest-like hair and looked at the ancient evil ghost with lifeless, fish-like eyes, saying weakly, "Alright, Knife Ghoul, stop killing. These are all fake."
Although the teenager said so, the ancient evil ghost continued to chop at the corpse at its feet.
Upon closer inspection, what it was chopping was indeed the corpse of a Foundation Establishment Stage fiend.
And the teenager, seeing that the ancient evil ghost completely ignored him, sighed helplessly.
Then he raised his hand, and a red lip suddenly grew out of the palm of his right hand.
When the red lip opened, a terrifying suction force was released from it, directly sucking in the ancient evil ghost that was still 'playing'.
After doing all this, the teenager raised his head and looked towards the west side of Yu Mountain City.
He secretly thought to himself, 'Letting me enter the Four Great Dao Institutes, I don't know what the Deputy Sect Leader is thinking.'
'The Four Great Dao Institutes are a major Immortal Alliance stronghold, full of old monsters who haven't left their mountains for ages. Isn't the Deputy Sect Leader sending me into a tiger's den?'
'If I make a mistake, death would be considered good; I'm afraid of a fate worse than death…'
Although the teenager's heart was full of complaints about the 'Deputy Sect Leader'.
He knew, however, that he had no right to refuse.
Entering the Four Great Dao Institutes only meant he might suffer a fate worse than death.
But if he refused the Deputy Sect Leader's order, he would absolutely suffer a fate worse than death.
How to choose, no need to say more.
Actually, if he had known earlier that joining the Black Lotus Sect would assign him such a dangerous mission, he would have risked death and never joined the Black Lotus Sect.
Right now, it was easy for him to go up the mountain, but difficult to come down…
'Sigh… I'll just perform well again. After all, if I can be directly recommended to the Four Great Dao Institutes, then my mission will be mostly complete, and I'll have more time to do my own things.'
With this thought, the teenager walked towards the west side of Yu Mountain City.
To be recommended by a Dao Academy, Shen Feiyang had to demonstrate his worth for recommendation in this exam.
Although he had already slain a Foundation Establishment Stage fiend, it was by means of ghost manipulation.
Therefore, he worried that the Four Great Dao Institutes might consider it a trick and deny him the recommendation qualification.
Thus, if he wanted to secure the recommendation qualification with absolute certainty, he had to demonstrate more talent.
For example… his Talisman talent, in addition to his Talent Divine Power, Soul Restraining Order.
Only in this way could he ensure that he would be noticed by the investigators and obtain the qualification to be recommended to the Four Great Dao Institutes.
Yu Mountain City Ruins, City West District.
Because three Foundation Establishment Stage fiends died unexpectedly within three days, the remaining few Foundation Establishment Stage fiends all returned to the mysterious black tree.
However, seeing that only five Foundation Establishment Stage fiends had returned, the ant-like Foundation Establishment Stage fiend on the treetop discontentedly asked, "Where is the White-Faced Spider? Why hasn't she returned?"
"Didn't I say that a few new powerhouses have emerged among the Human Race recently, and that everyone should be careful and not act alone?"
[Name: Golden Devouring Ant-Man (Royal)]
[Race: Nine Nether]
[Strength: Foundation Establishment Stage Fifth Layer]
[Features: A special humanoid creature evolved from black-patterned ants, containing a portion of Nine Nether Royal Bloodline, with outstanding boxing talent, extremely dangerous]
Hearing this, the General Strength Horned Insect, who had been with the White-Faced Spider earlier, scratched the back of his head and asked confusedly, "The White-Faced Spider returned with me, but she suddenly said that her children seemed to have found a handsome young man, so she went out alone again."
"You know, she has always had no resistance to handsome creatures. I imagine she should be almost done playing and will be back soon, right?"
Upon hearing this, the Golden Devouring Ant-Man's face instantly darkened.
But just as he was about to say something, he suddenly paused.
Then he stood up and looked in a certain direction of the Yu Mountain City ruins with a grim expression.
"You all felt it, right?"
The other fiends around them all nodded, also looking solemnly in the direction of the Golden Devouring Ant-Man's gaze.
Because just now, they sensed the aura that belonged to the White-Faced Spider… had disappeared.
This meant that the other party either left the 'Black Rock Tribe' and chose to join other Nine Nether tribes.
Or it died.
But right now, they were in a brand new great world, and there were no other Nine Nether tribes that had descended here yet.
So the disappearance of the White-Faced Spider's aura only meant one thing… that she had just died.
Thinking of this, the Golden Devouring Ant-Man couldn't help but curse this fellow for being an idiot.
He had told it to come back and stay put, and then let its subordinates go out to explore. If they found a strong enemy, the few of them would swarm in.
Now, it had to go out alone.
As a result, this trip… was a one-way trip.
Ten minutes ago, a subway station in the City West District.
[You killed a Nine Nether · Parasitic Spider (Unranked) and gained 0.5 experience points… ]
[You killed a Nine Nether · Spider-faced Human (Qi Training Stage Fourth Layer) and gained 40 experience points… ]
Lu Chen looked at the dense spider cocoons in front of him, feeling quite good.
Because he felt he had discovered an excellent monster-grinding Holy Land.
If he was not mistaken, this should be the lair of the Spider-faced Human fiend he encountered the first time he entered the examination hall.
And it was after coming here that he understood the origin of the Spider-faced Human fiend.
It turned out that the so-called Spider-faced Human was actually a new species born after the Parasitic Spider parasitized a human body.
And in this nest, he saw at least tens of thousands of Parasitic Spiders, as well as a large number of Spider-faced Humans.
If he could kill all these guys, he would gain a very large amount of experience points.
How large exactly could this experience be?
Lu Chen conservatively estimated… at least in the tens of thousands.
Therefore, facing such a huge temptation, how could Lu Chen miss it?
Looking at the Parasitic Spiders and a large number of Spider-faced Humans that were startled by him and then surged towards him like a tide, Lu Chen rarely smiled.
The last time he smiled this happily was when the Jade-Faced Mantis tirelessly delivered itself to his doorstep.
After dealing with these guys, he might be able to advance his Dragon Roar Sword Art to the 'Dao-Grade'.
Thinking of this, Lu Chen smiled even more happily.
PS: There's one more update, but it will be after midnight…