The Frostwind Path winds through the continuous ice crystal mountain ranges.
The farther one goes toward the outer edges of the mountains, the thinner the magic in the air becomes.
Usually, more than a hundred meters away from the mountain slopes, Contractors and contracted creatures below the Rebirth Realm will fall into weakness due to magic exhaustion.
Taking a shortcut by flying over the mountains with flying-type contracted creatures is simply unrealistic.
And the endpoint of this trial is precisely set at the peak of the mountain range's main peak.
As long as one reaches the end point, they can directly obtain 100 points.
Adding the points from killing beasts along the way, they can almost steadily secure a spot in the elimination round.
As soon as they stepped into the Frostwind Path, a violent gust of wind carrying ice shards suddenly swept over.
The heavy snowfall instantly blocked all vision.
Elara's expression changed slightly, and she immediately warned, "It's Frostwind Turbulence.
This kind of turbulence will randomly teleport people to other locations."
Kylen frowned slightly. Imperial Contract Academy had clearly prepared in advance, not even leaving them a chance to fight as a team.
"Everyone handle it on your own. It seems the organizers don't want us to cooperate," Kylen said decisively.
The other Saint Laurent contestants nodded solemnly. The teleportation location of the turbulence was purely a matter of luck.
From now on, they could only rely on their own abilities.
In the commentary booth at the Stellar Plaza of Imperial Contract Academy, Dean Urien looked at the scene on the light screen and commented in a deep voice, "The Frostwind Turbulence in the Shadow Abyss has no pattern at all.
Everyone who steps into the Frostwind Path will be randomly teleported.
In the abyss, Contractors may encounter sudden crises or even desperate situations at any time. How to respond to changes and whether one can seize luck is itself part of strength."
He paused, and his gaze fell on a certain light screen. "However, it seems someone has bad luck..."
Kylen and Avelia, who were caught in the Frostwind Turbulence, happened to land in an ice crystal pine forest at the foot of the mountains.
Along with them, five other contestants from two other academies were also teleported here.
Kylen quickly recognized two of them: Joren from Desert Domain Contract Academy, ranked seventh on the empire's potential list, and Vierra from Icefield Contract Academy, ranked ninth.
Judging from their school uniforms, the other three also belonged to these two academies respectively.
After opening their eyes, Joren and Vierra first saw each other, then their gazes locked onto Kylen, and their faces darkened.
"Vierra, team up?" Joren made a quick decision.
He knew very well that facing Kylen alone, he had no chance of winning.
Even with another contestant from Desert Domain Academy, he might not be able to compete against Kylen.
Vierra glanced at her three Icefield Academy companions beside her, then at Kylen, and nodded grittily. "Alright!"
She turned to Kylen, her tone helpless. "If we met alone, I would never dare to be your enemy. Unfortunately, luck is on our side this time."
The five quickly formed a defensive formation and summoned their contracted creatures at the same time.
Joren and his companion summoned two Sequence No.53 Desert Scorpions, their bodies glowing with a dark red luster.
As soon as they landed, they burrowed under the snow, clearly intending to launch a surprise attack from underground.
Vierra summoned Sequence No.48 Snow Spirit Fox, its snow-white fur blending perfectly with the wind and snow, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye.
The other two Icefield contestants summoned two five-meter-tall Sequence No.61 Frost Giants.
They grabbed the ice crystal tree trunks beside them, used them as weapons, and assumed a sweeping posture.
Seeing this, the audience at the Stellar Plaza began to discuss:
"Oh no, five against one. Kylen's luck is really bad!"
"In other areas, at least there are fellow academy contestants to help. He's directly being besieged. Could he be eliminated right at the start?"
"I thought he could compete for the championship, but I didn't expect him to fall into a desperate situation so soon..."
Joren and Vierra did not dare to be careless at all.
The strength Kylen showed when defeating Lysander was too powerful, and neither of them had Abyssal Armaments that could resist mental interference.
"Be careful! Don't be affected by that vampiric slime's ability!" Joren warned.
"According to intelligence, her ability can directly control low-tier contracted creatures, and at most only interfere with those of the same rank."
"Fortunately, we're in the ice crystal mountains!" Vierra added.
Her Snow Spirit Fox's combat power could be greatly enhanced in icy and snowy environments, and it might be able to counter Avelia's ability.
Looking at the five standing in a vigilant stance, Kylen curled his lips into a faint smile.
There was no need for more words.
It was time to show Avelia's true strength.
He had deliberately hidden his strength before to deal with such sudden sieges.
"Ready, Avelia."
"Understood, Master~"
Crimson goo suddenly gushed out around Avelia.
Dozens of prismatic goo cores condensed behind her, connected by thin goo threads, forming an assimilation network covering a hundred meters around.
Unlike before, this Primordial Assimilation was no longer mere interference, but direct Domination.
The crimson goo waves spread like a tangible force, piercing through the howling wind and snow, covering all five of their contracted creatures.
The ice and snow seemed to be bounced away layer by layer by the goo waves, revealing the contracted creatures wrapped in goo below.
"How is this possible?!" Vierra's face changed drastically.
Her spiritual connection with the Snow Spirit Fox was suddenly severed. No matter how she called, the Snow Spirit Fox no longer responded to her commands.
Joren was even more shocked and took a step back. "This isn't interference! It's complete domination! The intelligence said nothing about this!"
The Desert Scorpions emerged from the snow, but turned their stingers toward Joren.
The Frost Giants put down their ice crystal tree trunks and instead locked their targets on Vierra and the others.
The Snow Spirit Fox appeared from the wind and snow, its amber pupils covered by crimson goo, exuding cold killing intent.
Kylen stepped forward slowly, his tone flat yet oppressive. "Sorry, luck is actually on my side. And your biggest misfortune is standing in front of me without any preparation."
"Now, you can be eliminated."
Hundreds of goo spears condensed behind Avelia, their tips glinting with cold light, aimed at the five.
"Scum, I'll borrow these contracted creatures first. If you don't want to die, crush your teleportation crystals yourselves."
Joren and Vierra looked at each other, their eyes filled with unwillingness, but they also knew the situation was hopeless.
Without the protection of their contracted creatures, they were no match for Kylen and Avelia at all.
"We give up!"
As the five crushed the rhomboid crystals in their hands, a system announcement sounded in the sky:
"Contestant Kylen from Saint Laurent Academy eliminates Joren. Points +10!"
"Contestant Kylen from Saint Laurent Academy eliminates Vierra. Points +10!"
"Contestant Kylen from Saint Laurent Academy eliminates contestant from Desert Domain Contract Academy. Points +10!"
"Contestant Kylen from Saint Laurent Academy eliminates contestant from Icefield Contract Academy. Points +10!"
"Contestant Kylen from Saint Laurent Academy eliminates contestant from Icefield Contract Academy. Points +10!"
In just a few minutes, Kylen turned the tables against the five attackers and claimed 50 points in one fell swoop.
At the Stellar Plaza, commentator Urien exclaimed in disbelief, "Unbelievable! According to previous intelligence, this vampiric slime's ability can only dominate low-tier contracted creatures, but now she can completely dominate those of the same rank!"
Whether in last year's public competitions or this year's qualifying round, Avelia had always hidden part of her strength, only showing the ability to "interfere with peers and dominate low-tiers."
And this time, to deal with the possible Origin Sequence opponents, Kylen and Avelia chose to go all out from the very beginning.
The audience erupted instantly:
"She hid her strength so well! She didn't show her true power in previous competitions at all!"
"Sure enough, Contractors who are good at strategy always have tricks up their sleeves. This opening reversal is amazing!"
"Now it seems that Kylen's hope of winning the championship is not only not gone, but even greater!"