Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf, leading the three deeper into the island.

The air was humid and sticky, carrying the scent of decaying vegetation.

“Swish!”

A silver flash, and Yuan Kai, in his armored warrior form, punched a charging wild boar with tusks, sending it flying.

Ye Xi lightly touched her fingertip, and a soft Holy Light landed on Yuan Kai, instantly repairing a shallow scratch on his armor.

“These monsters are too weak, aren’t they?” Yuan Kai’s muffled voice came from his helmet, carrying a hint of boredom.

“It’s been over half an hour, and we haven’t even encountered an elite monster.”

Ye Xi also furrowed her beautiful brows.

“And, it seems we haven’t met any teams from other provinces.”

“This island is much larger than we imagined.”

Shen Fuhai wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting.

“It’s not just a matter of size.”

He pointed to a crooked tree ahead.

“Do you recognize that tree?”

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

On the tree trunk, a fresh, charred mark was clearly visible.

Zhou Huai’s footsteps stopped.

He looked at the mark, his pupils slightly contracting.

That was a mark he had made ten minutes ago, controlling Gandalf, casually using a Split Fireball.

Exactly the same.

“It seems we’ve been... going in circles.”

His low voice instantly froze the surrounding atmosphere.

Shen Fuhai’s expression was solemn as he nodded.

“I knew something was off.”

“The National Examination’s trials are multifaceted; the outer area of this Triple Island is very likely a massive trapping formation.”

Yuan Kai somewhat irritably slammed his metal fist against the tree trunk.

“A trapping formation? Then how do we get out?”

“This place is so big, and the vegetation is so dense, how do we find the formation’s core?”

Ye Xi softly said, “From now on, we can only walk slower, observe our surroundings carefully, and see if there’s anything out of the ordinary.”

“That might be the key to leaving here.”

Zhou Huai, however, shook his head.

“Why bother with all that trouble?”

He raised the core of pyroblast in his hand.

“Just clear it out, won’t that work?”

“Forbidden Spell - Meteor Shower!”

Again, five massive meteorites descended from the sky, flattening a large section of the jungle ahead, turning the ground into scorched earth.

However, a bizarre scene unfolded.

In less than ten seconds.

On that scorched land, countless vibrant green sprouts emerged at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The sprouts grew wildly, transforming into bushes and towering trees in the blink of an eye.

In just a moment, the destroyed jungle had returned to its original state.

As if the world-destroying scene from earlier had never happened.

“This...”

Yuan Kai and Shen Fuhai watched, dumbfounded.

Zhou Huai was also momentarily stunned.

Ye Xi also covered her small mouth in surprise, then couldn’t help but laugh.

“It seems the National Examination designers already anticipated that someone would try to break the formation with brute force.”

Shen Fuhai sighed.

“Then we can only use the slow method and search carefully.”

Zhou Huai was also somewhat speechless.

His always-effective brute force approach had actually failed today.

Just as Ye Xi and the other two began to inspect the surrounding trees and flowers inch by inch like detectives.

A thought flashed through Zhou Huai’s mind.

He... seemed to have been too honest.

How could he not have thought of such a convenient way to cheat before?

He quickly withdrew his consciousness from Gandalf and returned to his main body.

...

Inside the bedroom.

Zhou Huai suddenly opened his eyes.

“Butler Fu!”

“Young Master, this old servant is here.” Butler Fu immediately pushed the door open and entered.

“Turn on the TV in the room.”

Although Butler Fu didn’t understand why, he immediately complied.

Soon, the huge LCD screen on the wall lit up.

Clear images and sounds emerged from it.

“Hello everyone! Welcome to the annual National Examination, exclusively hosted by the Great Xia Country Ministry ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) of Education!”

A middle-aged male host with a loud voice and a square face was speaking eloquently to the camera.

“I am your host, Wei Zheng!”

Beside him, a young female host with a sweet appearance, dressed in a professional skirt suit, also smiled and spoke.

“Hello everyone, I am your host, Lin Xi.”

“Brother Wei, now all the excellent candidates from our forty-eight provinces have entered this year’s National Examination dungeon—Triple Island, and the challenge has officially begun!”

Wei Zheng nodded, a confident smile on his face.

“That’s right, I believe many viewers in front of their televisions are very curious as to why this year’s dungeon is called Triple Island.”

Lin Xi immediately cooperatively asked, “Yes, Brother Wei, I’m also very curious, is there any special meaning behind it?”

Wei Zheng cleared his throat, building suspense.

“This so-called Triple Island, as the name suggests, besides the regular challenges against exotic beasts and competition between teams, the island has also prepared three special trials for our candidates!”

As his words fell, a large map of an island appeared on the screen behind him.

On the map, dozens of small green dots were slowly moving.

“Please look, everyone, this is a rough map of Triple Island, and these small green dots are the participating teams from our various provinces.”

“As you can see, many teams are currently crowded in the outer area of the island, moving very little, almost going in circles.”

Lin Xi asked at just the right moment, “Why is that?”

Wei Zheng smiled, “That, of course, is the first trial of our Triple Island—the trapping formation.”

“This stage doesn’t test strength, only the candidates’ judgment and observation skills.”

“If you can’t even Break through this first trial, then no matter how strong you are, you’re destined to miss out on a good ranking.”

Lin Xi’s face showed a worried expression.

“Then how should this trapping formation be broken? It looks very difficult.”

Wei Zheng waved his hand, appearing confident.

“The method is actually very simple.”

“I believe that when many teams realize they are trapped in a formation, their first reaction is to look for clues on the surrounding trees.”

“But in fact, the key point of this trapping formation is not on the trees, but underfoot.”

As he spoke, the screen’s image changed.

A close-up of a gray stone appeared.

The stone was unremarkable, its only special feature being a simple triangular pattern drawn on it with red paint.

“Did everyone see it? It’s this kind of stone.”

“As long as you find a marker stone with this triangular pattern, you can easily leave the outer trapping formation and enter the central area of the island.”

“To be honest, the difficulty of this first trial is not high. These marker stones are widely distributed, and as long as the candidates can calm down, change their way of thinking, and carefully observe the ground, they will definitely find them.”

“But if they get stuck in a rut from the beginning, only staring at the surrounding trees or leaves, then it will probably take a very long time.”

Seeing this, Zhou Huai grinned, laughing silently.

The official guide, most deadly.

This was probably the ultimate cheating method that only he could achieve.

After all, who could participate in the National Examination while comfortably lying at home watching the National Examination live broadcast?

He quickly transferred his consciousness back to Gandalf.

...

Triple Island, in the jungle.

Ye Xi was currently lying on a giant mushroom, carefully studying the patterns on it.

Yuan Kai was vigorously pulling apart a thicket of bushes.

Shen Fuhai was the most exaggerated; he was hanging upside down from a tree, trying to discover something different from another angle.

Zhou Huai looked at the three of them and felt like laughing.

He cleared his throat.

“You don’t need to search anymore.”

The three of them paused in unison, looking at him in confusion.

Zhou Huai met their questioning gazes and spoke calmly.

“I know where the key point of this trapping formation is.”