These students had clearly been consulted before forming the alliance.
So, after their illegal team-up was discovered, these individuals weren't particularly surprised.
After all, alliances formed by non-elite school students were practically a tacit, unwritten rule in the survival competitions every year.
The only thing they hadn't anticipated was the terrifying scale of this illegal team-up.
The so-called commander, Tang Jiu, truly had some capabilities.
At first, they were all quite excited, thinking they could use this opportunity to significantly improve their school's ranking.
The thought of returning to school to claim credit was incredibly satisfying.
Especially if, after eliminating all elite school students, their own students might, through luck in resource collection, manage to secure top hundred, top ten, or even first place!
To bring back a survival competition champion... it would be an instant ascent.
Now, it seemed their sweet dreams were about to shatter…
Lin Ran was so formidable, single-handedly confronting nearly two thousand students!
What was even more outrageous was that, judging by Lin Ran's state, he seemed to have barely been attacked, let alone injured, which was preposterous!
"He just demolished the entire building…"
Han Zixi remarked.
"Leveraging the collapse of the floors and the attacks from the dimensional gate's weapons, he crushed this entire student army."
"Is this the ultimate single core? He's an army unto himself!"
Just then, Wang Yuanqing suddenly chimed in from the side:
"Don't be in a hurry, Teacher Han, Lin Ran hasn't won yet!"
"The non-elite alliance has broken through forty thousand members. What's the use of defeating two thousand people now? It's just a drop in the ocean."
"Moreover, because Lin Ran eliminated so many competitors, his current score is exceptionally high – you can see it on the rankings!"
"This means that whoever can defeat Lin Ran and seize half his points will very likely become the first-place winner of the survival competition."
"Guess how many people will come hunting him? Will that Tang Jiu mobilize his entire army to围剿?"
"In my opinion, Lin Ran will eventually be wiped out by Tang Jiu! Individual heroism can only take you so far."
"Not to mention, Lin Ran only defeated two thousand people this time by using the building's collapse."
"Without the building's aid, he'd probably be exhausted to death."
"In my view, compared to Lin Ran, who excels in one-on-one combat, Tang Jiu, the commander, has a brighter future."
"After all, in wars against ferocious beasts and alien races, no matter how strong you are individually, you're just a soldier."
"It's the excellent commander who can rally people that is the key to victory!"
After delivering this lengthy speech, Wang Yuanqing smiled smugly at Han Zixi.
Han Zixi immediately showed an expression of disgust.
He had no fondness for this scoundrel Wang Yuanqing and couldn't be bothered to engage.
But Wang Yuanqing was like a persistent barnacle, always clinging to him, spewing nauseating words – utterly shameless.
At this moment, Lü Qiufeng quietly approached Wang Yuanqing and chuckled,
"So, Teacher Wang, do you still remember who saved your dog life when you were surrounded by aliens and crying for mercy – was it an army, or a single person?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yuanqing's face immediately turned ugly.
He shot Lü Qiufeng a resentful glare, knowing that saying more here would only be self-inflicted embarrassment. He then grudgingly departed.
Han Zixi smiled at Lü Qiufeng:
"Director Lü, your Yan University has truly cultivated a perfect gem!"
"With more time, Lin Ran will undoubtedly become someone like Principal Ma, capable of repelling ten thousand troops single-handedly and standing his ground in various fields!"
"Truly the good fortune of our Dragon Kingdom!"
Lü Qiufeng smiled bashfully:
"Cultivation is an overstatement."
"What we provided was merely icing on the cake."
"With Lin Ran's unparalleled talent and bloodline, he will undoubtedly be a dragon among men wherever he is."
"We dare not claim credit for this."
Han Zixi laughed heartily and, after exchanging a few more pleasantries with Lü Qiufeng, asked,
"What do you think of this Tang Jiu, Director Lü?"
Lü Qiufeng stroked his chin:
"Regardless, this person is indeed a talent…"
"He maximizes the loopholes in the survival competition rules while also possessing such strong charisma to rally these non-elite students; it's extremely rare."
"However, we've only seen his persuasive ability so far."
"Whether he has talent in command and troop deployment remains to be seen."
"And now, with Lin Ran present, it will allow for the greatest possible testing of his command capabilities."
"Otherwise, Tang Jiu would likely have dominated the entire competition!"
Han Zixi nodded repeatedly:
"As expected of Director Lü, your words are so insightful!"
"And there's another point: if Tang Jiu hadn't organized this non-elite alliance, it would have been difficult for us to test Lin Ran's limits."
"Now, under the immense pressure of numbers, if Lin Ran wants to continue to win and fulfill his promise, he truly has to bring out his genuine skills."
Lü Qiufeng also smiled:
"Director Han, your insight is remarkable!"
"In that case, it seems they have achieved something for each other!"
…
City of Ruins.
After a barrage of shots, Lin Ran had essentially eliminated all the students within the current floor.
However, the earth-shattering roar caused by the recent building collapse had alerted the giant turtle and the countless pythons surrounding it.
Under the command of the giant turtle, these pythons coiled their bodies and slithered noisily towards Lin Ran atop the stone pillar.
The stone pillar Lin Ran was standing on was not very sturdy and could not withstand such an onslaught, shattering into several pieces.
Excellent!
He was already planning to seize territory and secure airdrops. If these turtles and snakes didn't come to him, he would have sought them out.
Gate of Babylon!
As Lin Ran controlled the Gate of Babylon in the air to continue firing, he descended from the sky using Geppo, wielding his Golden Dragon Spear.
To maximize the Golden Dragon Spear's absorption of life force, Lin Ran's Gate of Babylon volley was intended to impale and immobilize the pythons, not to kill them.
The final finishing touches still had to be done by the Dragon Spear.
Although these pythons were all Rank Four ferocious beasts and moved with considerable speed,
they appeared somewhat clumsy before Lin Ran, who flexibly employed the Six Powers of the Navy.