A terrifying tongue of fire swept toward the candidates from the North District.
Although Fan Wei and the others had warned them, many of the North District candidates couldn’t react in time. They were engulfed by the flames and instantly annihilated.
Even some of the candidates who did react and fled backward were still overtaken by the flames, leaving not even bones behind.
In just a few breaths, more than half of the twenty-plus North District candidates were dead. It was nearly a total wipeout. Only a handful of candidates were left, frantically running for their lives.
However, the tongue of fire was already right behind them. Even though they were running for their lives, death was only a matter of time. Their desperate escape was merely prolonging the inevitable, buying them just a few more seconds of life.
Among these surviving North District candidates were Tang Piaomiao, Tang Baijie, and Fan Wei.
Right now, the three of them were in an extremely perilous situation.
Because Tang Piaomiao had received an Earth Tier Cultivation Method from Tang Yi, his power had skyrocketed. In a short amount of time, he had broken through the Battle Master bottleneck and reached the Level of a Battle Grandmaster.
Not only that, but he had reached the rank of a Three-star Battle Grandmaster. He had jumped four Levels in one go, not only crossing a major Level but also advancing three minor ones in a row. His progress surpassed even Fan Wei’s!
Advancing four Levels in a single month was an almost unbelievable feat.
Among the few fleeing North District candidates, Tang Piaomiao’s considerable strength allowed him to run at the front of the group, and for the moment, he could hold on.
Tang Baijie, however, was not doing so well.
Tang Baijie’s natural Talent was poor to begin with. Although she also had an Earth Tier Cultivation Method from Tang Yi, she hadn’t been cultivating it for long. As a result, she was only a Nine-star Martial Master. Her strength was much lower, and she was more than a little slower than the others.
If Fan Wei hadn’t run back to grab her and pull her along, Tang Baijie would have likely already been turned to ash, swallowed by the tongue of fire.
Fortunately, with Fan Wei pulling her along, she had avoided danger for now.
But this made Tang Baijie a burden to Fan Wei, putting them both in an extremely dangerous situation.
With his own strength, Fan Wei would have had no problem running at the front of the pack. He might have even been able to escape the fire’s range entirely.
But now, dragging a dead weight along, his Speed was much slower. He had become the straggler of the fleeing group. Forget escaping the flames’ range; it was a miracle they hadn’t been caught and burned to death already.
Tang Baijie knew she had become a burden and was dragging someone else down with her. To avoid getting him killed, she said, "Fan Wei, let me go! Otherwise, we’ll both die. If you let me go now, you might still be able to escape!"
But upon hearing her words, Fan Wei immediately snapped, "What nonsense are you talking about? If I let you go, you’ll die instantly!"
"That’s still better than both of us dying together! Let me go and save yourself. There’s no need to die for my sake," Tang Baijie said in anguish.
"No! I won’t let go!"
Fan Wei gripped Tang Baijie’s hand tightly and said resolutely, "If we die, we die together. I’m not leaving you behind!"
"I..."
Fan Wei’s resolute words moved Tang Baijie deeply. A lump formed in her throat, and tears welled up in her eyes involuntarily.
For a moment, Tang Baijie truly didn’t know what to say. Before, when Fan Wei had opposed Tang Yi, Tang Baijie had found him completely detestable. He was not only arrogant and condescending, but he also used his handsome looks to flirt shamelessly, attracting a whole crowd of women.
But now, at such a critical moment, this very same detestable person was risking his life to save her. Even though she was slowing him down, he refused to abandon her to save himself. ’A man like that... maybe he isn’t so detestable after all...’
And... Tang Baijie looked at Fan Wei’s stubborn, handsome face. In her eyes, the already impossibly good-looking Fan Wei seemed to have become even more handsome.
"You two, hurry up! Run! The fire is about to hit! Sister Bai, you have to hold on! When we left the Tang Family, we promised we’d master our skills together and bring honor to the family! We can’t die here!"
Tang Piaomiao shouted, turning his head back toward them.
Just then, the tongue of fire reached Fan Wei and Tang Baijie’s backs. As they fled, they could already feel the searing heat. The clothes on their backs grew drier from the extreme temperature, and the strong smell of something burning was easy to detect without even trying.
Seeing they were about to be engulfed, Fan Wei gritted his teeth and surged forward, his Speed spiking again. In an instant, he shot past several other North District candidates, ending up right behind Tang Piaomiao.
However, because of that forced burst of energy, Fan Wei’s face turned deathly pale, and his Spirit faltered. If not for sheer willpower holding him up, he might have passed out right then and there.
Just as Fan Wei sped up and pulled Tang Baijie ahead, the tongue of fire swept in. All the North District candidates running behind them were swallowed by the flames. After a few bloodcurdling screams, there was only silence...
At this point, only Tang Piaomiao, Tang Baijie, and Fan Wei remained from the North District. Everyone else had died in the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog’s attack.
From beginning to end, as the candidates from the other Three Major Zones watched the North District candidates get attacked and die one by one, not a single person stepped forward to help. Everyone was focused on attacking the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog, desperate to kill it as quickly as possible. It was as if the lives of the North District members meant nothing to them.
Every single one of them... was utterly indifferent. Even if all the North District candidates had died, not just the last three, they wouldn’t have felt the slightest bit of pity.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, the candidates of the Three Major Zones knew full well that the North District candidates had just been forced to act as cannon fodder. Death was their only end.
And now, as the flames drew closer, in the eyes of the candidates from the Three Major Zones, those three remaining North District candidates also had only one path left: death.
Tang Baijie glanced at the approaching flames behind her, then looked at Fan Wei. He was exhausted, his face pale, yet he was still holding his breath and desperately pushing on. She gritted her teeth, having apparently made a decision.
"Piaomiao, I’m afraid your big sister won’t be able to enter the West Mansion with you to train, nor will I be able to return to the Tang Family to bring it honor. When you see Tang Yi, please tell him for me... that I, Baijie, was blessed for three lifetimes to have a younger brother like him!"
Tang Baijie shouted this to Tang Piaomiao ahead of her. Then, she turned her head to the handsome figure holding her hand and said softly, "And you, Fan Wei... thank you. I’m glad I got to know you."
"Huh?..."
Hearing this, Fan Wei’s heart leaped in alarm. He had a bad feeling about what her words meant, but before he could even react, Tang Baijie pulled her hand free. Then, she deliberately ran toward the tongue of fire spewing from the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog!!

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