Chapter 53: The Final Round of the Provincial Exam! Unbearable Difficulty!
Boom!
Li Zerui stared at the name displayed on the leaderboard.
He missed another shot.
But it no longer mattered.
Amidst the billowing smoke and haze, he ceased fire.
His heavy, ragged breathing and the beads of sweat continuously trickling down his face signaled that he had pushed himself right to the edge of his limits.
This high-intensity, continuous combat lasting half an hour.
He was truly beginning to reach his breaking point.
Yet, what truly crushed him was that very name.
Lin Yi...
This name would likely haunt him as a psychological demon for a very long time to come...!
[Time is up!]
[The third round of testing has concluded!]
The half-hour test had officially ended.
The third round came to its final curtain.
The scores in this round were twice as high as those in the previous two rounds.
This was because, in the majority of dungeon domains, ultra-long endurance combat was the ultimate reflection of a superior offensive-class professional's skill.
The leaderboard refreshed once more.
The total cumulative scores from all three rounds combined.
Once again caused a massive reshuffle across every single ranking on the leaderboard.
This signified that the vast majority of professionals invariably possessed both strengths and weaknesses.
When it came to burst damage versus sustained endurance, compromises were inevitable.
And this precisely highlighted the heaven-defying nature of legendary-class professions.
Li Zerui and Qi Xiaying, alongside Lin Yi, were the ones who firmly secured the top three positions.
Inside the Examination Administration Center, at the main seat.
Li Yuanjing involuntarily straightened his lower back.
His peripheral vision kept darting toward the surveillance cameras scattered throughout the great hall.
Because at this moment, the surveillance footage from their end was already being shared in real-time with the imperial capital via telecommunication spirit crystals.
Right now, who knew how many high and mighty eyes were watching them.
Of course, Li Yuanjing knew that the protagonist this time would only be Lin Yi, and he himself was merely a foil.
Yet, deeply aware of the sheer difficulty of the fourth round, he still silently rooted for Lin Yi in his heart.
Keep going, kid!
Push through this round, and you will be the absolute top scorer of the entire province, earning the qualification to participate in the fifth round!
The examination notices Lin Yi had received earlier only stated that passing the first four rounds with outstanding performance would grant eligibility for the fifth round, without providing detailed explanations.
In reality, clearing the first four rounds meant that the provincial contention had drawn to a close.
The provincial rankings would be finalized.
And those who secured qualification for the fifth round would enter the national contention!
Following the fifth round, combined with the total scores of the previous four rounds, would determine the national rankings for the Great Xia National College Entrance Examination!
[Attention, all examinees!]
[The fourth round of testing will commence in 30 seconds!]
[The examination rules for this round are now being announced!]
A prompt echoed directly in the minds of all examinees who had chosen the Purgatory difficulty!
Li Zerui, Qi Xiaying, and the others all changed expression in an instant!
One had to bear in mind that the third round had only just ended!
All of them were in a state close to complete exhaustion!
The consumption of both mental focus and physical stamina was immense!
For professionals like Lan Ruoyi and Qi Xiaying, who relied heavily on mana points to cast skills, this was nothing short of devastating news!
Because right now, their mana bars were virtually empty!
Without the aid of alchemical mixtures and restorative potions, trying to recover back to full mana would take at least ten minutes or so!
Yet, unexpectedly, there was zero rest interval between the third and fourth rounds!!
"Too brutal..."
"Even as someone who has been through this, I find this difficulty to be most sadistic right here!"
"Examinees in non-Purgatory difficulties all get a 10-minute rest and adjustment period, which is meant to give them a breather, but in Purgatory difficulty, there is none!"
"Between the third and fourth rounds, it's virtually a seamless transition!"
Inside the Examination Administration Center, unlike Vice-Director Li Yuanjing, who knew that the higher-ups of the Great Xia Ministry of Education were currently watching the broadcast, the others were not particularly nervous.
Instead, they broke out into animated discussions.
Clearly, a minority among them had also suffered the merciless beating of this Purgatory difficulty in the past!
Within the dungeon domain.
The rules for the fourth round were slowly narrated by the system.
[This round of testing will examine your comprehensive capabilities!]
[In 20 seconds, 1 Goblin King will spawn before you. The monster's attribute settings are as follows: Health Points 50,000, Armor and Magic Resistance are both 1,000.]
[This monster will not attack, but it will continuously summon its Honor Guard to attack you.]
[The Goblin Honor Guard consists of four types of monsters with different classes: Warrior, Mage, Archer, and Assassin.]
[Goblin Honor Guard members of different classes possess different skills. These honor guard monsters will cast a large number of high-damage skills that you must evade through movement skills and skillful positioning.]
[This round of examination has a 10-minute time limit, and your health points will not drop to zero during this period. While dodging skills as much as possible amidst the siege of all Goblin Honor Guard monsters, please inflict damage on the Goblin King.]
[After you slay the Goblin King, the score for this round will be awarded based on the percentage of your remaining health points.]
Upon hearing the rules.
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow.
This round of examination was finally drawing closer to actual combat scenarios.
It not only tested all professionals' burst output and sustained endurance, but also their mobility and adaptability.
Quite interesting.
The 20-second duration vanished in the blink of an eye.
[The fourth round of examination begins!]
Following the system's command.
Before every examinee who had chosen the Purgatory difficulty, a goblin monster wearing a crown, with a fat, bloated physique and hideous features, materialized.
The very instant the monster appeared, it let out a piercing shriek.
It spoke entirely in a language incomprehensible to humans.
The next moment, three or four elite goblin honor guards clad in battle armor with thick limbs spawned into existence.
Alongside them, goblin elites wielding magic staffs and holding longbows also materialized simultaneously.
In an instant, more than a dozen elite monsters of various shapes and forms appeared around the Goblin King!
Lan Ruoyi clenched her teeth.
Forcing herself to break into a run.
Because had she not run, the spot where she had been standing would have instantly been pierced by seven or eight sharp arrows!
The attack frequency of these Goblin Honor Guard members was terrifyingly fast!
And the skills they unleashed were hurled fiercely as if they cost nothing!
The greatest threat, by far, came from the Honor Guard Mages.
Ice-type Frost Arrows, Fire-type Flame Bursts, Wind-type Nine-fold Wind Blades, and finally Earth-type Quicksand Spells.
These four elemental magic spells, combined together, directly transformed the area surrounding the Goblin King into an absolute restricted zone!
Dense barrages of skills slammed down.
The ground beneath her feet suddenly morphed into quicksand, entangling her ankles.
The slowing effect would eventually escalate into complete binding!
Under such conditions, she was still required to deal damage to the Goblin King.
Deep despair began to well up inside Lan Ruoyi's heart!
Swish!
Even more unexpected to her was the exact moment after she dodged the arrow rain and various spells.
A completely pitch-black, short, and lean goblin suddenly emerged from the shadows.
And drove a dagger straight into her back.-
314! (Critical Hit!)
Lan Ruoyi immediately felt a piercing, heart-wrenching pain!
Having not seen the Goblin King summon assassin-type honor guards previously, she had subconsciously forgotten about this possibility.
In reality, the very moment the Goblin King summoned them, these assassin-class goblin honor guards entered a stealth state.
Vanishing completely from Lan Ruoyi's field of vision.