Chapter 1 In the Shadows

In the shadows.

A dark figure watched with interest as Qiao Yu, covered in blood, fought Gu Su on the arena.

The figure raised a hand to his ear, as if talking to himself.

"Remember to take both of these candidates! Is everyone ready to move?"

Hearing the feedback from his earpiece, the dark figure's eyes gleamed.

Qiao Yu on the arena had no idea he was being watched. He grabbed the edge of the crater and stood up.

Thick blood streamed down his body.

Seeing Qiao Yu stand again, Fang Biao on the platform looked troubled.

No matter who they declared the winner, it would be difficult to be fair.

"Student Qiao Yu, you're too injured to continue the match!" the proctor advised.

"Don't worry, just a minor fatal wound, it's nothing!"

Proctor: "…Are you sure you want to continue the match?".oγg

"Sure."

The proctor turned to look at Jin Tong, and only after Jin Tong nodded did he say, "The mage division arena match will continue!"

"Drip."

"Drip."

"Drip."

With each step Qiao Yu took, a bloody footprint was left on the arena. The dripping sound echoed in Gu Su's ears like a death knell.

Gu Su's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Why! Why can't you just fall? Why do you have to be like an unkillable cockroach?"

Qiao Yu pondered for a moment and smiled.

With his face covered in blood, his smile was like that of a vengeful ghost.

"Is it possible that your fists are just too weak?"

"I don't believe I can't beat you to death today!"

Gu Su was completely enraged. He punched Qiao Yu like a madman, blood splattering across the arena.

Qiao Yu traded blows with him, Gu Su's body contorting from the impacts.

"Crack!"

The Dark Shadow Devour was nearing its time limit. One of Gu Su's left arm lost its fusion effect, and after exchanging a punch with Qiao Yu, it drooped down.

But his eyes were bloodshot, and he ignored the pain in his left arm like he was possessed, continuing to swing his right fist.

"Crack!"

A sound of bone cracking rang out, and his right arm, having lost its fusion effect, also hung limply.

"Bang!"

Having completely lost the Dark Shadow Devour effect, Gu Su was punched in the stomach by Qiao Yu, and he opened his mouth wide to spew out a large mouthful of blood.

His health bar instantly emptied, but the rules protected him, preserving the last bit of his life.

Gu Su seemed to have all his strength drained, and he slid softly along Qiao Yu's fist to the ground.

"Fourth High School, Qiao Yu, successfully defended the arena! Number of successful defenses—9!"

The proctor's expression was very complicated. He had overseen so many college entrance exams, but this was the first time he had seen such a bloody battle.

If this wasn't the Otherworld, Gu Su would probably be dead.

The atmosphere on the platform was very silent. After an unknown amount of time, the first applause rang out.

Then came the second, the third, and a thunderous applause joined together and echoed throughout the exam hall.

This applause was both a congratulation to Qiao Yu and a send-off to Gu Su.

This battle had shown them the fighting spirit of the younger generation.

They had never seen a college entrance exam fought to this extent.

Although they wouldn't die under the protection of the rules, all the pain was exactly the same as in the real world.

Qiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief. His originally tense nerves finally relaxed.

Successfully defending the arena nine times meant that he was the top mage student in this year's Su City college entrance exam.

And the top students in the four classes would be escorted by the authorities to Kyoto after resting, to participate in the competition for the top college entrance exam scorer.

Now he finally didn't have to worry about Bai Ze secretly stabbing him in the back.

"Awesome, Brother Yu! Awesome!" Yang Xiangdi rushed onto the arena and hugged Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu felt like he was being wrapped in a big ball of lard.

In order to gain more mental energy when burning fat, Yang Xiangdi had been eating a lot of food recently.

"Let go! Let go! You're hugging me so hard I'm losing health!" Qiao Yu said, patting Yang Xiangdi's hand.

Yang Xiangdi let go and saw that a "-1" was indeed floating above Qiao Yu's head.

And it was a continuous "-1".

"Huh?"

Yang Xiangdi looked down and saw Gu Su holding a piece of gravel, repeatedly hitting Qiao Yu's calf.

"Brother Yu… it's not my fault, look down."

Qiao Yu: "..."

He couldn't help but marvel at how impressive a simp's willpower really was.

"Who are you people? Looking for death!"

Jin Tong's stern shout suddenly rang out, the high decibels echoing throughout the entire college entrance exam hall.

The serious old man held a longbow in his hand, and then a terrifying aura spread out.

Qiao Yu was just about to turn around when he felt a darkness before his eyes, and then he knew nothing.

"Click."

"Thump!"

"Da-da-da!"

A bumpy ride awakened Qiao Yu.

When he woke up again, he found himself in a dark carriage.

His hands were in shackles, and his feet were in chains.

Judging by the situation, if nothing unexpected happened… he had been kidnapped.

Qiao Yu struggled, but found that he couldn't break free of the shackles.

"Is this the real world?" Qiao Yu muttered to himself.

But what was the point of kidnapping him in the real world? He was an orphan, and no one would pay a ransom.

If they were going to kidnap someone, they should kidnap a rich young master like Ma Fei.

Qiao Yu raised his head and looked around, and found that Ma Fei was also unconscious and tied up.

"…Then never mind."

Not only Ma Fei, but Qiao Yu found that Gu Su, Yang Xiangdi, Shi Shaorong, Zuo You, and four other people he didn't recognize were all in this carriage.

If he remembered correctly, when he finished, Ma Fei and Zuo You on the other two arenas were still continuing to defend their arenas.

"Is this a kidnapping specifically targeting talented candidates?"

Realizing this, Qiao Yu felt a chill run down his spine.

What kind of organization would dare to plan such an operation?

Kidnapping college entrance exam candidates was no different from rebelling, was it?

"Cough cough!"

The petite Zuo You coughed and slowly opened her eyes.

"You're awake?"

"Qiao Yu? Where am I?"

Zuo You recognized who it was as soon as she heard the voice.

She struggled, and found that she was actually handcuffed.

Zuo You was shocked, did Qiao Yu like this kind of thing?

But she didn't seem to be ready yet…

"If nothing unexpected happens, we should have been kidnapped."

Qiao Yu showed his handcuffed hands.

"Ah, so that's how it is!" Zuo You's face instantly turned red.

Damn it, what was she thinking about!

"Do you remember what happened before you came here?" Qiao Yu asked, unaware of Zuo You's abnormality.

Zuo You also calmed down, and she quickly recalled what had happened before.

"I was fighting my opponent when suddenly a dark figure jumped onto the arena, and then I fainted. When I woke up, I was here."

Qiao Yu frowned. It seemed that Zuo You had fainted earlier than him. He at least heard Jin Tong's stern shout.

"Qiao Yu, do you have any clues?" Zuo You asked.

Qiao Yu shook his head when he heard this.

"Now that things have come to this, we can only take things one step at a time. Outside of the Otherworld, I'm just an ordinary innocent male high school student."

Zuo You: "..."

"Let's wake the others up first," Qiao Yu said.

As the people in the carriage woke up, the originally quiet carriage suddenly became lively.

"Rongrong, don't be afraid! I will definitely protect you!"

"Brother Yu, where is this place? What's going on?"

"Damn, I was about to get first place in the assassin division, who suddenly grabbed me and brought me here? I curse him to have a son without a butthole!"

"Wuuu, Mom!"

Click!

A mechanical sound rang out, and the people in the carriage suddenly held their breath.

Swish!

The carriage door was pulled open, and a burst of bright light shone into the car.

"Looks like you're all awake, you geniuses."