Dark Moon Era

Tang Ling never thought himself as a schemer since he relied only on his intelligence.

The giant Leicester silverback bear was a lot more cunning and suspicious, so it would not be that greedy and stupid like other beasts that would devour the meat that Tang Ling fed it.

The only way for him to make it consume the meat would be a show to hint to the bear that the meat was not for it but for him.

Life was like a movie in which one relied on acting, was it not?

A faint smile hung over Tang Ling’s lips as he pocketed both his hands. He would sometimes walk and stop as he watched the bear growl frenziedly in the cage. It tumbled around and rammed itself at the cage.

The huge bear caused a huge commotion as it shook the entire iron cage, but a threat dissolved was a threat dissolved. All Tang Ling had to do was simply dodge the bear sometimes as if he was taking a stroll so that the crazy creature would not run him over.

His eyes never left Instructor Lionel, not even for a second. There was no anger or begging, but Tang Ling’s calm gaze almost made Lionel crush his cigarette to bits. Did this kid have a death wish?

The crowd was astonished as they watched what transpired in the cage.

The scholars with rich knowledge related the scene to a legendary occupation of the old civilization—a warlock.

Did Tang Ling cast a spell on the bear?

“Five. Four.”

Tang Ling did not care about what the others thought. He was still instinctively counting, but when he counted to one, the giant Leicester silverback bear did not fall. After three seconds of delay, the bear unwillingly snarled for the last time and fell down heavily, whipping up clouds of dust on impact.

Tang Ling frowned slightly. He was unhappy. Even though he had calculated based on several absolute numbers, he was still unable to calculate precisely when the bear would fall in the end.

He had to do better.

Tang Ling did not want to waste another second anymore, so he inhaled deeply, swung his bandaged right hand, and strode to the bear.

There were basically three stages after eating the vicious beast meat: comfort, pain, and exhaustion.

Regardless of which stage, it would rob one’s ability to fight.

When Tang Ling ate the vicious beast meat, he seemed like he was fine, but only he himself knew what happened. The moment he swallowed it, the energy suffused and spread warmth throughout his body. It felt intoxicating.

Unfortunately, the comfort stage was just too short.

However, regardless of how different the giant Leicester silverback bear was from him, Tang Ling had completely turned the tide around at the last stage, at which exhaustion had sunk in.

He soon stood beside the bear and sized it up from above.

Maybe because the bear sensed danger, it struggled to stand but it could not even execute the simple action.

There was no such thing as sympathy or so-called hesitation. Covered in blood, Tang Ling smirked at Lionel and asked, “Are you looking forward to this?” He then pulled the badge from his chest, clipped it in between his fingers, and stabbed it vehemently into the bear’s eye.

He had no choice but to do it this way. The tough and tenacious giant Leicester silverback bear was not something Tang Ling could easily kill even in its exhausted state.

He could only resolve it in the most straightforward way, that was, to destroy the brain!

******

The huge bear body lay still in the iron cage. If it was not for the blood that gushed out from its eye socket, it looked like it was hibernating.

The young blood-stained man stood confidently in the cage with his crimson fingers and the dripping blood from the badge as proof of his glory.

The scene left a heavy impression on everyone’s minds. It would be just as vivid if one remembered this very scene ten years from now.

However, there were no cheers or surprised shouts in the square.

If it was a glorious victory, it would be coupled with applause, but what if it was a miraculous victory?

Amidst the continuous breathing and strange silence…

Orston leaned against the wall with his arms crossed as he smiled. Yu lowered his head, weighed by heavy thoughts. Fei Long was surprised and Lionel’s gloomy look was frozen at this very moment.

The results were out.

There were some people that were able to see how Tang Ling won like Fei Long, but the result was final. Even if Lionel continued to lock Tang Ling inside, it would be meaningless.

Tang Ling did not sound arrogant as he looked at Lionel and said softly, “Open the gate.” It was a reasonable request.

After the last puff of his cigarette, Lionel stood up slowly. Everyone thought he had to admit defeat and lower his head since it had come to this point.

However, Lionel did not have the slightest intention to. He tossed the cigarette on the ground and stomped it before declaring loudly, “Candidate No. 45’s result is revoked.”

The moment his words subsided, the whole square fell into protest.

The smarter people could easily tell that Lionel was targeting Tang Ling from the start to the end, but was doing it so publicly alright?

“The exam isn’t a game.” Fei Long’s voice sounded unhappy.

Lionel was not nervous though. He glanced over at Fei Long then at the crowd before he said loudly, “I, Lionel Agnes, as one of the Agnes family members, am filled with a heart of justice. I’d never treat the holy exam of Safety Sector No. 17 as a game. Please give me some time and allow me to explain why candidate No. 45’s results are revoked. Grant me the opportunity to defend my decision.”

His gaze was steady while a smile of mockery was still hanging at the corner of his mouth.

Since he said that, the people’s aroused emotions calmed down a little. No matter how much the people wanted a show, treating the holy exam like this went beyond the bottom line of the people of Safety Sector No. 17.

Fei Long did not say anything even though his expression was twisted ugly. He had a guess about Lionel’s goal. Since the man mentioned the Agnes family and forcefully stopped him from intervening, not even giving him the chance to explain, he might be…

Compared to the threats outside the wall, the riot within the walls was the most terrifying thing.

Fei Long hesitated and eventually decided to allow it silently. Slightly delighted, Lionel stroll over to the gate of the iron cage.

Everyone watched how things would unfold with a complicated feeling. Tang Ling stood in front of the gate and watched Lionel calmly.

It seemed like he already knew what Lionel would do to him. Not all things were flawlessly executed. Since he chose to expose the level 3 vicious beast meat, he had to bear the consequences.

However, there were a lot of ways to bear consequences, and meekly accepting it was not the only option.

Despite his calm demeanor, Tang Ling’s heart raced fiercely.

Dong, dong, dong.

Every beat was as loud as a drum, devouring all his emotions quickly—anxiety, helplessness, and sorrow, but not fear.

He had no fear from the very beginning.

Accompanying his violent heartbeats, every action that Lionel took seemed meaningless in Tang Ling’s eyes.