The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

The others were mostly of average strength, so Chen Guan didn't care much about them.

Before long, several airships landed one after another.

"Everyone's here."

The crow's voice rang out without any inflection or cadence, its words heavy and suffocating.

Welcome to the Crucible.

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over every young and unruly face.

"I don't want to waste time with unnecessary words. Your first task, which is also your initial assessment test, will begin now. The ten worst performers will be immediately deported."

He raised his arm and pointed to the giant steel building behind him.

A harsh metallic scraping sound rang out, and the heavy gate slowly rose.

Behind the door was a wide open space.

The floor and walls were covered with scratches of varying depths and dried, dark brown bloodstains.

"rule?"

Black Raven scoffed, "In the Forge, the only rule is that there are no rules."

His voice cut through the cold wind and reached everyone's ears: "Hundreds of low-level monster corpses have been randomly placed in the arena. Touching any one of them for more than five seconds counts as one minute. The time limit is thirty minutes."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the red-haired girl's giant axe and the silver-haired boy's fingertips, before adding a final sentence.

"Ultimately, we will determine your initial rankings based on your points and whether you are standing or lying down."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted into a commotion, shattering the facade of calm.

Hostile gazes began to meet and collide between them.

One second they were classmates who were completely unrelated to each other, and the next second they became enemies who could pounce on each other and tear each other apart at any moment.

Black Crow relished this change, cruelly adding, "Remember, here, your only companions are yourselves."

hum!

Before anyone could ask a question, a deep buzzing sound echoed throughout the hall, announcing the start of this baptism.

The burly young man who was closest to the target was the first to roar and charge out.

His body was quickly covered with a layer of jagged, calloused skin as he roared, "The one in the center is mine!"

He moved with immense force, pointing directly at the largest monster corpse in the center of the arena.

"Is it yours?" a boastful female voice rang out.

A red figure flashed by; it was the red-haired girl holding the giant axe.

She didn't even bother to look at the rock boy, and simply swung the giant battle axe, which was completely disproportionate to her size, with one hand.

call!

"Are you worthy?"

Undisguised contempt; the wind howled, and the air was ripped open with a sharp slit.

The confidence on the rock boy's face was replaced by terror.

He only had time to let out a muffled groan before he and his armor were thrown into the air by a tremendous force, his body slamming against a distant wall before sliding to the ground and falling still.

The red-haired girl hoisted the battle axe onto her shoulder and stepped on the monster's corpse.

She swept her crimson eyes across the entire room, her gaze meeting nothing but unwavering provocation.

"Who's next?"

On the other side, the silver-haired youth chuckled, his figure becoming elusive.

"A herd of bulls."

He made his comments in a low voice, his figure moving gracefully through the gaps in the crowd.

With each gesture, a condensed ice spike or wind blade would fly out.

"what!"

"My legs!"

He never lingers in battle.

The ice spikes and wind blades that fly from her fingertips always hit her opponent's joints at just the right moment.

The moment the opponent lost the ability to move, he had already skillfully bypassed them, clearing a path for himself to the next points.

The entire arena was immediately divided into several high-risk areas by these two people.

Most trainees were forced to the edge, wary of each other for a few points in a corner.

Long Ao was already filled with excitement.

He pounded his chest and yelled at An Changqing, "An Changqing! I'm going to score points, you guys stay close!"

Having said that, he channeled boundless fighting spirit into his fists and charged directly at a small group of four.

An Changqing flashed his sword and stood in front of Su Yuehe and Liu Feiyu.

He lowered his voice and said, "Don't panic, follow me and make sure you don't get eliminated."

They came from the same school and were natural allies.

Amidst the chaos, only one figure stood out from the crowd.

Chen Guan, carrying his black coffin, activated the combination of the Concealing Breath Technique and the Illusionist's Skill the instant the buzzing sounded.

He quietly retreated to the corner of the wall.

His presence was minimized, and the light around his body was slightly distorted, causing him to fade into the illusion.

[Holy crap, they've already started fighting? Didn't they even have an opening sequence?]

That red-haired girl is fierce! She took down a kid with one axe stroke. I love her!

[The silver-haired handsome guy is so strong, elegant, so incredibly elegant.]

Wait, where's my coffin? Is the director going to cut to the next shot?

In the corner, Chen Guan quietly made a fortune.

We've been discovered.

Chen Guan looked at the two rapidly fluctuating top scores in the arena and gently shook his head.

Being too high-profile won't work; he'll be made an example of, and there will be a lot of scrutiny afterward. To maintain team balance, they might even separate him from An Changqing, the chosen one, which would be bad.

His gaze swept over the trainees who were quickly cleared out of the field at the edge. Their initial rankings were too low, which was even worse. It seemed that a last-place elimination system was in place here. He didn't want to accidentally eliminate himself.

"So... for the middle ranks, 20th to 40th place, you need to show your strength, but also let luck take all the credit."

He moved slowly along the edge of the arena, his footsteps silent, avoiding the core areas of all the fighting.

The stalemate on the field was broken.

An Changqing's swordsmanship was superb; he held his own against three opponents.

But a young man who had been lurking nearby seized the opportunity when his attack faltered. A dark glint flashed in his short dagger as he hissed menacingly, "Down you go!"

The dagger pierced his back.

An Changqing also sensed the murderous intent behind him.

But the old forces have been exhausted, and the new forces have not yet emerged; it is too late to change tactics.

Just as the dagger was about to touch his back, Chen Guan, who was passing by, didn't even lift his eyelids before casting an illusion spell.

In the attacker's eyes, a ferocious beast suddenly jumped out from behind An Changqing.

"What?!"

The attacker was completely focused on the assassination, and upon seeing this strange occurrence, a chill ran down his spine.

My steps faltered instantly.

"what!"

He let out a short scream, staggered, and his thrusting motion instantly became distorted.

An Changqing seized the opportunity, used a backhand sword to force his opponent back, and took the lead in gaining the points.

After finishing his business, Chen Guan turned and left. Taking advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was diverted, he flashed to a corner.

Just now, two people were injured in a fight over a monster's corpse, and both were carried out by medical staff.

Chen Guan squatted down and patted the already cold corpse with his palm.

[Points +1]

He did the same thing.

On the chaotic battlefield, Chen Guan used various illusions to always manage to appear at the points where the battle had just ended.

While others are fighting tooth and nail, you can easily pick up the forgotten bargains.