Within the Gaokao secret realm.
To deal with the nearly thirty zombies appearing in the fourth area, Lin Ran had already taken out his second Tang dao.
Skillfully weaving through the zombie horde, he wielded his twin blades like flying leaves, constantly harvesting the zombies' lives.
No matter how the zombies bit, scratched, or even used long-range magic attacks, none could hit Lin Ran even by a sliver.
At many points, it made one forget that Lin Ran was actually an awakened individual with a tank talent.
However, because the previous room had consumed a bit too much magic, Lin Ran's strategy was slightly more conservative.
He leisurely and steadily slaughtered all the zombies, then used the Ring of Souls to restore his magic to full before proceeding to the next area.
This Gaokao trial instance had only six areas in total.
In just over ten minutes since the start, he had already reached the fifth area?
And Lin Ran didn't show any signs of fatigue; on the contrary, he seemed to grow more vigorous with each battle.
"Is Senior Lin Ran on steroids? How does he not get tired?"
"I saw the awakened individual with the large shield in the other team; they were already exhausted after blocking just over ten zombie attacks with their shield."
"Are you kidding! An SS-class talent like Natural Spirit Body, you think that's a joke?"
"Such rapid vitality and recovery speed are what allow Senior Lin Ran to remain so energetic!"
"But even so, it still takes time to recover; he can't possibly not get tired forever."
"And under such high-intensity combat, won't his magic be depleted?"
"Natural Spirit Body doesn't provide magic recovery, does it?"
"Logically, constantly adding attack special effects to his weapons must also consume a significant amount of magic."
"Who knows! Stop asking, stop asking!"
"Why ask so many questions that no one knows the answer to? Just watch honestly!"
"Fine, fine... Combat with such artistic flair is probably something we won't see much of in the future."
"..."
Before the onlookers could finish their commentary, Lin Ran had already dealt with the zombies in the fourth area and resolutely stepped into the fifth.
Upon entering the fifth area, many who were following Lin Ran's progress were stunned.
"Holy crap! Did I see that right?"
"There are nearly a hundred zombies in this fifth area?"
"Is the highest difficulty this insane? Can Senior Lin Ran still handle it?"
"It's tough... The attack density is far greater than before. Senior Lin Ran is alone; one man can't fight ten thousand."
"Yes, at the very least, he can't steamroll his way through like before."
"However, Senior Lin Ran already has a massive lead. Even Senior Luo Qingyan, with her SSS-class talent, has only reached the third area."
"If he plays it steady and progresses step by step, his score will definitely still be top-tier!"
"Huh? Senior Lin Ran is charging forward again!"
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Lin Ran once again began to advance at full speed.
In the previous area, to utilize the Ring of Souls for magic recovery, Lin Ran had slowed down his pace a bit.
Now, after four or five life sacrifices, his magic had been restored to abundance.
If not now, then when?
The two Tang daos, imbued with divine might, sliced through zombies like cutting vegetables, cleaving apart any who dared to block their sharpness.
In an instant, flesh and blood flew, and limbs were shattered.
Lin Ran, amidst the chaotic zombie horde, was like a cold, peerless god of slaughter, his eyes focused only on the efficiency of dispatching the horde, unconcerned with anything else.
Under his full effort, the number of zombies was rapidly decreasing.
And Lin Ran, at the center of this bloody storm, remained as if unmoved.
The spectators had grown somewhat numb to Lin Ran's exaggerated performance.
"He's too strong! How is he so invincible?"
"I never expected that Senior Lin Ran, with his special methods, had been lying low for so many years. He has such strong perseverance!"
"And he kills these zombies too fast; my eyes can barely keep up."
"Hey! Has anyone forgotten that this is a Gaokao trial?"
"Why are others here to take a test, while Senior Lin Ran is here like he's in a race..."
As the students spoke, Lin Ran had already, like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves, nearly finished off the zombies.
One could only say that this group of zombies was truly low-intelligence creatures.
Even though they knew the dual blades imbued with divine might were unstoppable, they still insisted on testing their mettle, making no attempt to dodge.
Perhaps this was the final mercy of the Gaokao examiners.
During the final moments of slaughtering these zombies, Lin Ran even deliberately slowed down his pace slightly to allow the Ring of Souls to provide him with mana regeneration.
According to incomplete statistics, within this instance alone, Lin Ran had used the Ring of Souls no less than twenty times.
This was roughly equivalent to having five extra bars of mana compared to others.
Although his eye techniques did consume a lot of mana.
The Gaokao had strict restrictions on restorative items, so everyone was using the uniformly provided slow mana potions.
While the recovery effect was decent, the time consumed was not short.
The mainstream teams currently making faster progress had almost just cleared the second area and were in the process of resupplying and recovering.
Even Luo Qingyan had just killed the giant zombie in the third area and was drinking mana potions while waiting for recovery, preparing to enter the fourth area.
And Lin Ran was already standing before the final boss.
"Senior Lin Ran is truly fast..."
"Too fast, indeed too fast! Keep in mind that the further back the area, the greater the difficulty and the more time required."
"Even under these circumstances, Senior Lin Ran is still two to three areas ahead of others. The value of this is undeniable!"
"Let me say something terrifying... Have you noticed that up to now, Senior Lin Ran's SS-class talent, Natural Spirit Body, has not even been triggered once?"
"That's right! Senior Lin Ran, a tank talent, hasn't taken a hit so far..."
"This is too unbelievable. Sometimes I really doubt if they made a mistake with Senior Lin Ran's talent."
"Impossible! The Awakening Stone Stele has never made a mistake. So many people saw Senior Lin Ran's Natural Spirit Body talent during the awakening ceremony, how could it be wrong?"
"Then why is his damage so exaggerated? Isn't Natural Spirit Body a purely defensive talent?"
"Uh... Perhaps Senior Lin Ran has a special passive ability that converts health into attack power?"
"Huh? Where did such a passive come from?"
"Who knows..."
"..."