Chapter 48: Teen From The Settlement Part 1

The exam carried on under high pressure.

Ten minutes felt like a time only a legend could achieve. Up until the 17th round, no one was able to cross that line.

There was someone who performed outstandingly though. He managed to hold up to seven minutes after suffering many injuries on his body, but even 9 minutes 59 seconds was still not 10 minutes, let alone 7, which was 3 minutes away.

The requirement to enter the First Reserved Camp was this stringent. It was no wonder people claimed that those who got into the First would certainly become a Purple Moon Warrior.

It also explained why there were 10 million people in Safety Sector No. 17 and the settlement combined, yet there were less than 200 Purple Moon Warriors. The chances were lesser than 1/10,000.

Tang Ling waited patiently while carefully feeling his abdomen.

He was not a hundred percent confident in passing the exam yet because it would depend on what kind of wild beast he had to fight. Still, he had to minimize the accidents that befell all the injured.

Up until this point, all the teenagers who were waiting for their turn felt a little numb.

After 17 rounds, three men were dead and everyone was heavily injured while no one passed. Only numbing their minds to form a mental barrier could protect them from the cruel and bloody stimulation.

“What a disappointment. These are all wild beasts. They haven’t even mutated yet. Did all of you cheat your way through the qualifications of the exam after living for 15 years? Of course, you can find excuses to blame this exam for being bleak, but don’t you f*cking forget, the First Reserved Camp isn’t that lame to call all of you here just to wrestle some wild beasts! If we are able to put up such an exam, there must be a way for you to pass!”

“I guess I’m just unlucky, running into a bunch of garbage.”

The instructor, who had been quiet for many rounds, finally exploded.

When his eyes glanced over Yu and Orston, he felt slightly at ease as if with the two of them around, this exam would not end as a complete failure.

Tang Ling understood why the instructor was yelling this time.

After observing 17 rounds consecutively, he clearly understood the true goal of this exam, which was to test the candidates’ courage, battle knowledge, and the ability to apply all of that in a practical situation.

At least, based on what he observed, not a single one of the 17 rounds were a sure-lose. Otherwise, the hunters of the settlement would not be able to survive in the wild anymore.

All the participating teenagers were stronger than most of the hunters in the settlement.

Deep in Tang Ling’s heart, the seedlings of the Purple Moon Warrior should go through all these cruel fights.

“No. 41,” the instructor called out the next candidate in an upset tone.

A green black-ringed python was released into the cage. While it was not exactly a powerful one among all the wild beasts that appeared in the examination, it was also definitely not the weakest.

At almost ten meters long, its size allowed it to easily strangle many of its prey. Its green scales increased its defense, and more importantly, its fangs were poisonous, albeit not lethal. Getting bitten would surely affect the outcome of the exam.

“The python of the old civilization was poisonless. What caused the living being to go through such a huge evolution?” Tang Ling looked at the python slithering in the cage, and the question that troubled him from the past few days popped up in his mind.

He also sighed emotionally to himself. If he encountered the green black-ringed python, a mental advantage would probably surge.

Back in the sewer, he had killed many black-horned purple-striped snakes which were more powerful than the python although he did have the advantage of the terrain and had been equipped with a weapon.

No. 41, who was called, walked out of the line without a second thought.

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Compared to the 17 teenagers from the previous rounds, No. 41’s pace was firmer and steadier. He did not show the slightest bit of hesitation and somewhat even showed a glimmer of anticipation.

The strange scene made Tang Ling take another glance at No. 41.

He saw a rough and dark yellowish face with a body as scrawny as his but extremely fit. No. 41 was not tall and maintained an arched back as he walked.

Tang Ling’s breaths quickened. He was familiar with the stance. The hunters who hunted and survived in the thick tropical forest would unconsciously maintain such a stance since it was more convenient for defending and charging an attack. It also helped when hiding.

Judging from all the signs, No. 41 was from the settlement!

After that rainy night, the settlement should have been destroyed. It was difficult to guess how many of them had survived.

Tang Ling never thought that there would be other teenagers from the settlement in this exam.

A natural sense of familiarity rose in his heart uncontrollably. He felt nervous for the first time while watching the fight. At least, he hoped that No. 41 could survive it.

The cage was opened and No. 41 went in.

The teen remained quiet ever since his number was called. His lowered head kept the others from having a closer look at his expression either.

Maybe starving a python for five days did not evoke its hunger enough, hence a cold-blooded animal was not as offensive as the others.

Although the exam would never make such a poor mistake, the green black-ringed python looked utterly famished. The moment No. 41 entered the cage, it raised its body, which was a warning, before it lunged forward to attack.

As the sign before the attack was a ferocious hiss, the fight started quickly.

The crowd habitually expected the failure of No. 41 who did not seem eye-catching at all, but the outcome defied their expectations.

No. 41 was not nervous at all in the cage. Instead, he displayed the steadiness and experience of a veteran hunter. He seemed to be very familiar with the reptile’s uniqueness, using it to his advantage and buying himself time.

His decisive and sharp movements allowed him to calculate and exchange movements in the fight. No one expected it, but the seemingly boring young man made it past five minutes.

The crowd in Glory Square was gasping in surprise.

If No. 41 presented himself as a veteran hunter, it would not be enough to invoke such a response from the crowd, but the unassuming young man performed an astonishing feat before everyone’s eyes.

Extreme dodging! His dodging abilities surpassed the limit of a human!

It was a breathtaking scene to watch the green black-ringed python launch its fastest and sharpest attack at the most peculiar angle. When the young man from the settlement was forced into a corner, he had very limited space to dodge the attack.

Even with Tang Ling’s Precise Instinct, the chances of dodging the attack was zero, but the young man managed to elude it!

A split second before the python dug its fangs into him, he slightly moved less than 0.2 meters to the left. He then used his head to bash the python’s head, pushing it away vehemently.

The whole process happened in less than a second!

What’s this? He certainly surpasses the speed and reflexes of the human limit!

Astonishment replaced Tang Ling’s nervousness. He clearly knew that such reflexes were not possible even if a person relied on his muscle memory.

This isn’t just extreme dodging anymore. No, it should be limit-exceeding dodging!   How could a person who’s never trained before be able to display such an ability? Is it a coincidence?

No one was able to provide an answer.

The exam still went on as more and more people in the square held hopes for No. 41. Cheers and shocking cries burst out relentlessly. Even the Purple Moon Warrior, who paid no attention, started to watch the fight with an interested gaze.

No. 41 dodged the python’s attack again, similar to the previous display of extreme dodging, but this time, he did it twice in a row!

It fully proved that all this was not a coincidence, and the young man inside the cage really possessed an outstanding gift that surpassed the commoners.

Nevertheless, what was this gift that he possessed?!