Starting from the pharmacy, he grew into a martial saint among men.

In the Canglang Mountains.

Using the glowing light, Chu Hong quietly counted the identity tokens that had been confiscated.

The harvest was considerable.

He actually obtained a total of twenty identity tokens from these thirteen people.

Clearly, these people did not come away empty-handed during the day; they had managed to accumulate some wealth.

Chu Hong calculated that, including these identity tokens, he now possessed thirty-seven identity tokens.

In other words, he alone controlled 30% of the identity tokens in the southwest direction.

Chu Hong stroked the identity tokens, his gaze deep and thoughtful as he began to make plans.

On the first day of the martial arts examination, most candidates were new to the mountains and forests and lacked respect for danger and human nature, which is why he was able to plot against them.

Once tonight is over, those remaining will undoubtedly be carefully selected, shrewd, and vigilant candidates.

Trying to use the same methods again would probably be ineffective.

If you want to obtain another identity card, there is only one way to go.

That is to compete and seize based on hard power.

However, after the screening process, the remaining candidates will undoubtedly possess valuable identity tokens. Taking down even one person or a small team can yield substantial rewards.

Standing by the cliff in the distance, Zhou Mingrui stood for a long time, watching the movements of the battlefield from before.

Although he didn't know who had instigated the three-eyed cat demon's sneak attack, he saw the person behind it all reap the benefits and gain a huge advantage.

Under the cover of night, he had also entertained the idea of ​​being a behind-the-scenes manipulator.

But then I thought, since that person could easily summon demonic beasts, if I showed myself, I would be tricked by the other party, wouldn't that be like walking into a trap?

After much deliberation, Zhou Mingrui suppressed his restless thoughts and decided to hold back and wait for dawn.

At that time, the identity cards will be used to rank the perpetrators and reveal who the killer is.

He could then use this to devise a plan to obtain an identity card.

-----------------

The next day, dawn broke.

After a night of hustle and bustle, Canglang Mountain fell silent after dawn.

The fearless and ignorant cries of the mountain birds in the forest are full of vitality.

Outside the mountain training ground, all the factions woke up early, and the martial artists ate their dry rations while gazing intently at the suspended light screen.

Soon, everyone's attention was drawn to a scene in the corner.

The reflection there shows the location of the cave where Chu Hong barbecued meat yesterday.

Outside the cave, a group of soldiers stood wearily guarding the surroundings, with some occasionally cleaning up the blood-soaked items.

Beside them, more than a dozen candidates were covered in blood and looked utterly disheveled.

Beside them lay dozens of corpses of three-eyed cat demons, a truly gruesome sight.

Inside the cave, Wang Ping slowly opened his eyes.

Suddenly, an angry shout came from the cave: "Chu Hong, you tricked me!"

Immediately afterwards, Wang Ping, with a ferocious expression, rushed out of the cave.

He then stopped in his tracks, stunned, staring at the scene outside the cave that was completely different from what he had imagined.

He subconsciously rubbed his eyes, finding it hard to imagine what had happened last night.

From the crowd, one of the candidates spoke up calmly: "Wang Ping, you've already been eliminated. What's the point of your name now?"

"I've been eliminated?" Wang Ping was shocked and hurriedly reached for the place where he hid his identity card, but it was empty.

His face immediately darkened, feeling utterly humiliated.

Seeing everyone's disheveled appearance, I couldn't help but ask, "You guys... you were eliminated too?"

"That's right, we were also eliminated by Chu Hong."

Someone spoke up, unwilling to accept defeat: "If Chu Hong hadn't attracted the monsters to attack, how could we have been eliminated?"

Not only him, but several people were also unwilling to accept this and started arguing about what happened last night.

But no amount of sophistry will change anything now.

Wang Ping paid no attention to everyone's explanations. His gaze swept over the inside and outside of the cave, and he was surprised.

On the first day of the martial arts competition, Chu Hong eliminated more than twenty people single-handedly.

Although these methods were not exactly honorable, they truly terrified him.

He didn't blame Chu Hong at all; on the contrary, he felt fortunate and grateful.

According to those people, when the monsters attacked last night, if Chu Hong hadn't placed him in the cave and hadn't been guarding the entrance, he would probably have been injured by now.

Before long, more examinees inside the cave began to wake up. Each of them let out a loud shout, and then came out of the cave, dumbfounded, with complicated expressions.

The people on the training ground outside the mountain saw this scene clearly, and when they heard about Chu Hong's achievements, they all gaped in astonishment.

Someone remarked with relief, "Luckily, Chu Hong and I weren't in the same year, otherwise we would have been incredibly embarrassed."

Some people also felt that Chu Hong's methods were worth learning.

"I want to learn Chu Hong's methods and see who can be my opponent when I participate in the martial arts exam in the future."

"Chu Hong has made a great achievement on his first day; his success is practically guaranteed."

"That's not necessarily true. Don't forget he still has a match with Zhou Mingrui. What if he loses?"

"Have you all forgotten Zheng Yuan? If Chu Hong had encountered him, he wouldn't have even had a chance to fight Zhou Mingrui."

"Zheng Yuan is undoubtedly number one. Whether it's Chu Hong or Zhou Mingrui, they would definitely lose if they faced him."

The crowd was abuzz with discussion, speculating about the strength of the various geniuses.

At this moment, on the high platform, Xiong Zhen slowly rose, his majestic voice resounding throughout the entire Canglang Mountain, reaching the ears of every examinee.

"After half a day and a night of competition, there are 235 candidates remaining in Canglang Mountain. I hope you will continue to persevere."

"The list of ID card counts will be released next. We hope everyone will keep up the good work."

"First, Zheng Yuan, forty-three pieces."

"Second, Chu Hong, thirty-seven pieces."

"third......"

"Fifth, Zhou Mingrui, twenty-six pieces."

"..."

The release of the list immediately caused a huge uproar both inside and outside Canglang Mountain.

All the candidates knew that Zheng Yuan was the martial arts genius of the previous year and could have obtained official rank, but he was demoted to the thirteenth rank for some reason.

Now, after lying low for three years, they are making their move again, their strength is unfathomable.

The identity tokens he obtained yesterday were all from direct combat, won through genuine skill, and everyone was convinced of his abilities.

Chu Hong's leap to second place on the list truly astonished countless people.

Most of the candidates did not expect that Chu Hong would have such ability and achieve such results on the first day.

Could it be that Chu Hong's strength is already comparable to Zheng Yuan's?

Of course, this was also because they were unaware of Chu Hong's methods and were simply making wild guesses.

Even Zheng Yuan, who was far to the east, couldn't help but turn his gaze to the southwest after hearing Chu Hong's ranking.

He sensed that Chu Hong might be a threat to his chances of taking first place in the martial arts exam.

He returned after three years of seclusion, seeking only one thing: to be number one in the martial arts examination.

If we win first place, we can use our connections in Xiong Town to develop our careers in Qinglong Prefecture.

He thought that with his abilities, he would surely surpass all other candidates in the same year, leaving them far behind and unstoppable.

Unexpectedly, Chu Hong appeared out of nowhere and relentlessly pursued him.

A slight misstep could cost you your number one spot.

Although he recognized Chu Hong as a threat, he did not take immediate action to eliminate Chu Hong.

Instead, they plan to first clear out all the candidates in their own region, gather more identity cards, solidify their advantages, and then decide whether to make a move based on the situation.

On the other side, Xiang Rufei listened to Chu Hong's ranking, her heart burning with excitement.

"The two brothers are right. We should go for the big ones. It's just that Zheng Yuan is too strong to be a good target. But if it's Chu Hong, we can easily take him down."

"If we can also rob Zhou Mingrui, our achievements will be secure."

"That's right." A burly man nodded. "Let's go find them!"

At the same time, Zhou Mingrui was also surprised when he heard about the rankings.

He suddenly realized that the person who had lured the demonic beasts and orchestrated the harvest last night was none other than Chu Hong.

Knowing that Chu Hong possessed both the ability to use drugs and to summon demonic beasts, he was impossible to guard against.

Even with his confidence, Zhou Mingrui couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive at this moment.

"Brother Chu has many tricks up his sleeve; we must not be careless then."

After a moment, his gaze returned to its resolute expression.

"What is there to fear? I possess a power that can break all laws!"