Urban God-level Youth

Qin Hao smiled faintly, "No need, we've only slain two monsters so far."

The group began searching for more monsters. They would find them, Qin Hao would help kill them, and Ye Lingyi and others' points skyrocketed.

By four in the afternoon, Qin Hao had slain his sixth mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm monster of the day.

At this point, his score had exceeded 400,000, ranking him in the 90,000s.

Ye Lingyi and the others mostly had around 200,000 points, ranking in the 300,000s.

Qin Hao had already consumed most of his Spiritual Energy. Holding a monster core in his hand, he was absorbing it while saying, "Let's kill two more; by then, it should be dark, so we find a place to rest for the night."

Ye Lingyi and the others hadn't expended much energy because they hadn't engaged much in battle.

Now, the surroundings within a hundred miles showed no signs of monsters, all slain by Qin Hao, so they continued searching further in.

Soon, Qin Hao and the group discovered two mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm monsters, a pair of four-legged ice beasts.

Ye Lingyi and the others' expressions slightly changed, two mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm monsters??

Xian Yin spoke, "Let's take on one, and the Master takes on the other."

Dong Mengqi and Wu Yutong nodded; they felt deeply indebted to Qin Hao after receiving so much from him.

"Kill."

Xian Yin uttered a soft shout, performing the Seven Apertures Exquisite Steps, her hands forming Red Luan Silk Tying Hand.

Ye Lingyi, Dong Mengqi, Wu Yutong, and Gao Linglong also unleashed their strongest Divine Skills, while Qin Hao charged at the other monster with his hands forming a seal.

In an instant, brilliance burst forth, the dazzling light radiated, and energy fluctuations spread outward.

The towering ancient trees around were broken, while the two four-legged ice beasts went berserk, spewing freezing air that turned everything it touched into popsicles, shattering upon contact.

The strength of these four-legged ice beasts was considered top-notch among beasts of the same realm.

Qin Hao battled with one of the four-legged ice beasts for nearly a hundred rounds before finally killing it.

"Slain a mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm ice beast, rewarded with 30,000 points."

These 30,000 points instantly shot Qin Hao's ranking to 10,367.

The contestants ranked around Qin Hao had similar scores, with only a few points or hundreds of points difference; just by killing one more monster could he overtake them, indicating a highly competitive points battle.

On the other side, Xian Yin and the others were also in a fierce battle, and the four-legged ice beast on their side was nearly defeated. Instead of attacking, he sat in meditation to recover.

Even though Xian Yin was only at the Peak of Middle Stage Master Realm, her combat power outshone Ye Lingyi and the others.

As they were about to slay the four-legged ice beast, Ye Lingyi and the others stopped: "Xian Yin, you finish it; if there are any others, we'll kill them."

Xian Yin nodded slightly, and with one move of the Red Luan Silk Tying Hand, she killed the beast.

Qin Hao noticed they were quite exhausted and said, "Let's find a place to rest for the night."

...

Meanwhile, in the outside world at the Heaven and Earth Academy, many people gathered.

In the void, there was a large image displaying the situation inside the secret realm, mostly lingering on those ranked within the top thousand.

Beside it was a points leaderboard, clearly visible to everyone.

Currently, the first rank belonged to Green Cloud Sect: Mao Yunlong, with more than 120,000 points.

The second rank was Master Hui Zhen from Jialan Temple, with a score slightly over 120,000.

The third rank was Chu Feiyun from the Beichu Dynasty, with nearly 120,000 points.

The fourth rank was Lan Manshuang from the Yunv Sect, also with nearly 120,000 points.

...

The top ten ranks were all occupied by direct heirs of top sects or dynasties, with no sign of other participants.

At the Heaven and Earth Academy, Ye Jingtian, Ling'er, and others were also watching the leaderboard and the situation within the secret realm displayed in the void.

The onlookers during the day almost all witnessed the top ten rankings' dominance, slaying mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm monsters as if slicing through vegetables, truly demonstrating terrifying combat power.

"If it weren't for helping Lingyi and the others, Mr. Qin would probably be in the top ten by now," said Ye Jingtian, his expression complicated.

Inside the secret realm, Qin Hao and the group rested in a cave for the night, and most others did the same.

Because at night, many monsters come out to hunt, and if one gets into a battle with a monster and gets ambushed by another, it would be disastrous.

Early the next morning, Qin Hao opened his eyes from meditation, his eyes gleaming with intelligence.

He checked the points leaderboard; his ranking had slipped to over 20,000, Xian Yin also in the 20,000s, while Ye Lingyi and others had slid past the 100,000s.

Qin Hao rose, looked at Ye Lingyi and the others, and said, "Let's go, let's all aim to get into the top 10,000 today."

Wu Yutong spoke, "Mr. Qin, you should focus on getting your ranking into the top ten; otherwise, the gap will only get bigger, and you won't be able to catch up. The top ten have a superior blessed land."

Dong Mengqi agreed, "Yes, Mr. Qin. Together, we can slay several Heavenly Human Realm monsters in just one day."

Xian Yin also advised him, "Master, you should improve your ranking first, otherwise, we all feel very apologetic."

Ye Lingyi and Gao Linglong nodded as well, worried that if this continues, Qin Hao might miss the top ten, which would make them feel guilty and awkward.

Qin Hao smiled faintly, "It's alright, I know what I'm doing, let's go."

The group exited the cave and began hunting monsters once again. That day, Qin Hao alone slew eight mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm monsters.

Xian Yin, Ye Lingyi, and Dong Mengqi gave it their all as well, slaying three Heavenly Human Realm monsters in total.

Ye Lingyi and the others each took credit for one monster, while Qin Hao took credit for six, bringing his total points to 160,000, catapulting him into the 600s on the leaderboard.

Xian Yin ranked over 9,000, while Ye Lingyi and the others ranked over 30,000.

Ten days later, of the millions of contestants, less than a million remained, showing the brutal nature of the selection.

Some were slain by monsters, while others were eliminated due to sneak attacks by others.

At this point, Qin Hao ranked 66th on the leaderboard, while Xian Yin, Ye Lingyi, and the others were within the 5,000s.

They hunted monsters by day and meditated to recover by night, wasting almost no time and engaging in high-intensity battles daily.

Xian Yin broke through to the Late Stage Grandmaster Realm on this day, and Qin Hao also felt a loosening in his own realm, hinting at a breakthrough to the Half-step Heavenly Realm.

Qin Hao led them out of the cave, and by this point, mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm monsters were hard to find.

They flew for half an hour without encountering any mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm monsters.

"Where have all the monsters gone?" Wu Yutong said with some exasperation.

Just then, in the distance, a beam of blood light shot skyward, illuminating half the sky, along with colorful clouds and a surge of rich, vast spiritual energy rippling out.

"What... what's that?" Ye Lingyi asked, her face slightly stunned.