Chapter 95: Encountering Li Zong Once Again

As time passed, the competition gradually reached a fever pitch.

On the leaderboard, Li Zong and Song Qi had firmly secured the first and second places. Both of their scores had already broken past the 9,000-point mark! There was a chasm-like gap between them and the third place, who had only 3,000 points. As for Lien, he had slipped to fourth.

Li Zong’s position was understandable; his name was already widely known. But Song Qi? Hardly anyone had heard of him. Some even mistook Lien, who was diligently slaying low-level monsters on the outskirts, for Song Qi. They were left wondering how one could accumulate points so quickly from killing monsters at the perimeter. Only after asking around did they realize they had confused the two.

While many were speculating about the identity of this dark horse and debating who was superior between Li Zong and Song Qi, the two had already met at the final monster stronghold.

They had set off from the same location—one heading left, the other right—each carving a bloody path through the monster encampments until they met face-to-face on the far side of the ring.

When the youth named Li Zong saw Song Qi, his eyes lit up and he greeted him with a bright, cheerful smile. “Brother Song, we meet again.”

Song Qi’s mouth twitched. Only now did he realize that the odd fellow who had tried to befriend him at the start was, in fact, Li Zong.

“If I’d known, I would have agreed to be friends with him,” he grumbled inwardly. “Maybe I could have cleared out a couple more monster camps with his help.”

To be honest, if he could run through the survival contest solo once more, he wouldn’t mind giving up first place altogether. He’d climbed from 3,000 to 9,000 points—equivalent to slaying 1,200 monsters of level 40 and above—which had rewarded him with more than sixty million experience points! In this single round, his level had shot up from 34 to 36! He was now only four levels away from being able to summon a third companion spirit.

He remembered that when he’d first entered this territory, he’d only just reached level 30. In less than half a day, he’d jumped six levels! If he could solo the final monster area and defeat a thousand level-50 monsters, plus the level-80 Abyssal Flame Demon, he might even jump straight to level 40. Gaining ten levels in a day?

Even on the first day he’d changed classes, he’d never leveled up so quickly. The pace was so exhilarating it had become almost addictive.

“Ahem...so, you fought your way here from that direction?” Song Qi asked, hope flickering in his eyes. If the other hadn’t cleared out all the monsters, maybe he could pick up some stragglers.

“Of course,” Li Zong replied with a smile. “I was just thinking—Brother Song’s score has been rising so quickly since he left, perhaps he was challenging me from afar to a race in monster kills? And here we are, just as I expected! Luckily, I didn’t let you down. It was tough, but I managed to keep up.”

He wore a look of satisfied exhilaration. “Truly, whether in competition or in life, having a worthy rival brings out the true joy of it.”

Song Qi rolled his eyes. So he really did clear them all out. No need to go searching. And who’s challenging you from a distance? I was just addicted to grinding monsters. Do you know how hard it is to find a monster pack in the wild? Sometimes you can search from morning till evening in the frozen wilderness and not find a single one!

Besides, we’ve only met twice, haven’t we? What’s with all the ‘Brother Song’ this and ‘Brother Song’ that? He couldn’t tell if the guy was just naturally friendly or genuinely wanted to be close to him. But since it’s unwise to offend someone who’s all smiles, Song Qi saw no reason to pick a fight.

After a moment’s thought, he said, “This is the last monster stronghold. There’s still an Abyssal Flame Demon inside—level 80. Can you handle it?”

Li Zong shook his head. “At my current strength—level 25—the strongest I can take on is about level 70. Any higher, and I’m powerless. But I can manage a few rounds.”

Hearing this, Song Qi grinned. “What a coincidence. I can’t take on a level-80 monster alone either. How about we team up?”

Li Zong’s interest was piqued. “Team up? How would we do that?”

Song Qi pointed inside. “Here’s the plan: we both go in together. When we spot the monster camp, I’ll send in my companion spirit first. I’ll stir up the nest, and you cover me. When the level-80 Flame Demon appears, you join the fight. Whoever lands the final blow gets the credit.”

At this, Li Zong laughed again. “Brother Song, I may not be well-versed in worldly affairs, but I’m certainly not a fool. We can join forces against the Flame Demon, but as for the other monsters, let’s each rely on our own skill. Besides...”

He hesitated, then added, “Trust me... Surpassing me in the Genius Tournament isn’t necessarily a good thing for you.”

With that, an illusory sun rose behind him. He slowly lifted into the air and flew inward.

“Not a good thing to surpass you? What does that mean?” Song Qi scratched his head, puzzled. But he didn’t dwell on it. He leapt onto his sand steed and dashed off in the other direction. If he hesitated any longer, the other would sweep up all the level-50 monsters!

“So much experience—no way to enjoy it all alone... Honestly, if I could capture a few thousand more level-50 monsters, I’d gladly hand you first place.”

...

Above the forest, the city lords were utterly astounded.

If there had been doubts earlier when Song Qi defeated a level-70 advanced monster, now, after watching Song Qi and Li Zong cut through monsters like reapers all afternoon, they were thoroughly convinced. The survival contest had been planned for ten days, but now, not even night had fallen and the central monster camps had already been cleared out.

What should have been a marathon had been turned into a speedrun by these two.

“At this rate, I doubt the central area will last much longer,” one city lord said, recovering from his shock with a wry smile. “Maybe we can all leave work before midnight tonight.”

But another city lord was less optimistic. “I wouldn’t be so sure. The level-80 Abyssal Flame Demon possesses intelligence on par with humans, unlike those mindless beasts. Even if the two join forces, it’ll likely be a drawn-out battle.”

The others nodded in agreement. “That’s true. Judging from their current strength, defeating the Flame Demon will be difficult. Unless Li Zong is willing to increase his power from level 25 to level 35, I just don’t see any hope of victory.”