Secret Realm.
"Exerting the Great Success Stage Blue Flame Strike with all my might directly drained nearly half of my star power." Su Yuan felt the depletion inside him and shook his head slightly. "As expected, using pure star power for green skills is still too strenuous..."
Although Su Yuan was only at the Star Apprentice Eighth Stage, he had C-level star power talent. The total amount of star power in his star power vortex was higher than those of Fang Kun and Lv Xinghen, who were Ninth Stage.
It showed that high-level green skills indeed consumed a lot of energy and weren't something that Star Apprentice Level individuals could use effortlessly.
However, the advantage of the Gray Flame Strike was its lightning speed. Its power wasn't top-tier among green skills. Without using his full strength, Su Yuan really didn't have the confidence to blow off the two heads of the Poison Fire Two-headed Python in one strike.
Su Yuan walked over to the Poison Fire Two-headed Python, took a snapshot with the locator, and then pulled out a long knife to find and extract its star core from its body.
This was a star core with a blend of red and green colors. Because this Poison Fire Two-headed Python was at the Bronze Middle Stage, the star power fluctuation within the star core was quite strong.
"Su Yuan, you're really something..."
Jiang Jun stared in awe at Su Yuan, who had just dealt with the Two-headed Python's corpse, still unable to calm the shock in her heart.
"But I really have to thank you this time. Otherwise, I would have had to call for help. With half a day left until the trial ends, being eliminated now might mean I wouldn't even secure a place in the top twenty."
If unable to stay in the top twenty, Jiang Jun, raised in a humble background, would miss out on a green skill, a significant setback for her.
Su Yuan kept the star core and smiled. "Consider this repaying the favor for your subtle reminder in the Identification class back then."
"Identification class?" Jiang Jun was taken aback, then realized and shook her head involuntarily. "What was that? Just a small matter."
Su Yuan casually responded. "I did it in passing as well."
Jiang Jun wanted to say more, but an exclamation came from the side.
"That's truly impressive!" Lv Xinghen strode over with a longsword, sizing Su Yuan up and down. "So powerful! I'm Lv Xinghen from First High. What's your name?"
Su Yuan replied, "Fourth High, Su Yuan."
Lv Xinghen recognized Su Yuan's Fourth High school uniform, but still found it hard to believe. "To kill this Poison Fire Two-headed Python in one hit, it's surprising that Fourth High had such a hidden genius! And just now, was that instant movement?"
Su Yuan glanced at Lv Xinghen with a smile, saying nothing more.
Asking someone about their embedded star card skills and details wasn't polite, especially for a stranger.
Lv Xinghen realized and coughed a few times. "Ah! Sorry, I was too surprised! My apologies!"
"It's fine." Su Yuan shook his head slightly.
Seeing Jiang Jun's pale face, Su Yuan reminded her, "Don't target Bronze-level Star Beasts anymore. There are less than ten Ninth Stage participants in the trial. Since you're injured now, aim safely for the top ten."
Jiang Jun nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"Alright then, I'll be off."
After speaking, Su Yuan paid no more attention to the two, quickly heading into the distance.
There were so many star beasts in this Rainforest Secret Realm. Even if not for the points, he needed to kill more star beasts for Star Dust.
"Su Yuan, huh..." Lv Xinghen watched Su Yuan disappear, then turned to Jiang Jun. "Fourth High produced someone so powerful, how come we never heard of him before?"
"I don't know."
Jiang Jun secretly pursed her lips. Not even we knew this guy, who had just awakened, could be this strong.
Naturally, Jiang Jun wouldn't reveal that Su Yuan had awakened only last month.
Lv Xinghen didn't ask further, just sighed. "His strength might not be below Kun's. With him here, that third weapon card will probably not be ours."
Jiang Jun casually responded. "I don't mind. I'm already injured. I just want to keep my rank and pick a good skill."
Saying she didn't want the weapon card was a lie. After all, there were only two special enrollment slots but three weapon cards, so there was still a chance.
Initially, all Ninth Stage participants were eligible to compete for the last weapon card. However, Su Yuan had emerged, killing the Poison Fire Two-headed Python in one hit.
With such strength, it wasn't impossible for him to outshine the two special enrollees to win the trial. Let alone secure a weapon card.
...
Time flew by, and it was already afternoon, with just two or three hours until the trial's end.
At the Secret Realm Command Center.
A city defense team member looked at the screen information and reported to Captain Xiao. "Captain Xiao, all Bronze-level Star Beasts have been cleared!"
Before Captain Xiao could speak, Wang Haiping, in high spirits, laughed. "This year's students are indeed extraordinary. To clear all Bronze-level Star Beasts in a joint trial is unprecedented."
Captain Xiao agreed. "It is indeed the first time. However, with two special enrollees from top academies this time, plus that exceptional student..."
Captain Xiao's gaze inevitably fell on Su Yuan again.
This student's performance was becoming more impressive.
Wang Haiping suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Captain Xiao, I recall there's a rule in the joint trial—if all Bronze-level Star Beasts are defeated, then...a Bronze Elite Star Beast will be released."
"Correct." Captain Xiao nodded. "Although this rule has never been implemented, we do have an elite star beast here. And recently, we even received a 'high-quality' one..."
Captain Xiao pressed a button on the console, and a mighty, four-legged star beast's 3D image appeared on the display.
"Oh?" Wang Haiping showed a hint of surprise and then smiled. "Such a rare species; this will likely eliminate quite a few participants."
After a brief thought, Wang Haiping added, "Its strength is formidable. Send more people to ensure the students' safety, especially Su Yuan's."
Captain Xiao casually placed his jacket aside. "Rest assured, Director Wang, I'll go personally."
Wang Haiping laughed. "Good, then I'm relieved."
...
After killing the Poison Fire Two-headed Snake, Su Yuan went to two neighboring red zones.
However, judging by the battle traces and star beast corpses, the Bronze-level Star Beasts in these areas had already been slain.
"In that case, this trial should be wrapping up?"
Su Yuan checked the map. The several central red zones he had visited were densely packed, and farther areas, even if they had Bronze-level Star Beasts, were too far to reach in time.
But just then, his locator emitted a series of "beep beep beep" sounds. Simultaneously, a black mark appeared on the map in the central area of the Secret Realm, just over an hour's journey from his current location!
On a closer look, the black mark was moving.
"What's this?"
Su Yuan showed a hint of surprise, tapping the black mark which only displayed a "BOSS" label.
"The final BOSS? There's even such a thing?" Su Yuan pondered. "Even the Bronze Middle Stage Poison Fire Two-headed Python isn't considered a BOSS. I wonder what star beast this BOSS is. Could it be...an elite star beast?"
Su Yuan's heart surged with excitement.
If it was an elite star beast, it meant a green card for him, something he couldn't miss!
Su Yuan assessed his condition. After killing the Poison Fire Two-headed Snake, he hadn't had any high-intensity battles, so his star power had gradually recovered to about seventy percent.
"At seventy percent, using that move is sufficient."
Su Yuan contemplated briefly. Watching the black mark slowly move south on the map, he immediately got up and gave chase...