Chapter 68: College Entrance Exam Arts Section, I’m Doomed!
At seven in the morning, the sacrificial altar square of White Crane Academy was once again crowded with a sea of people.
“The college entrance exam every year really draws a crowd. Lucky for us, we’re residents of White Crane City, the capital of Jiangnan Province. We get to take the exam at White Crane Academy. Just imagine the smaller cities below us —they don’t have such a big square and have to squeeze together.”
“Right? Students from White Crane City do have quite an advantage.”
“I heard that this year there’s a Second Order freak, and it’s a hidden class, right?”
“Isn’t it that freakishly young top student? Although his class is hidden, I don’t know why he didn’t get an invitation card.”
“I’ve heard it’s because he has a death-related class. After entering the Sea of Realms, it’s really easy to be tempted by the Evil God and fall from grace, so none of the nine major academies want to recruit anyone with a death-related class this year.”
“Isn’t this just picking on us, the ones with ordinary professions? With such a freak around, isn’t the province’s top scholar pretty much predetermined?” “Hmph! So what if he’s strong? I refuse to believe that with so many students —tens of thousands of them—in Jiangnan Continent, there isn’t one who could wrestle the top scholar title from him!”
A teenager was shouting defiantly, only to suddenly discover that his companions were looking at him as if he were an idiot.
“What’s with those looks?”
“Ahem, there’s a difference between super top students. Whether in martial virtue or literary grace, Zi Liyuan is in a class of his own among the super top students. The students of Jiangnan Province really can’t beat him.”
The best high school, the geniuses of the same year—all of them were held in check by him, not even harboring a shred of rebellious spirit. Do you expect the geniuses from the cities below the capital to topple such a being? Dream on!
While students were discussing various topics, Zi Liyuan and Shen Yurou were engaged in some sort of PY trade.
“No way, you only prepared this little stuff for me?”
Hundreds of millions of Dragon Coins were invested in someone, but when it came to the college entrance exam, they could only scrape together a couple hundred bombs and ten thousand Gunpowder Talisman Bullets for him; with such a paltry amount, what big things could be achieved?
“Given the rush for time, it’s already good that I could give you this much. I also have to take the college entrance exam. You wouldn’t want me to miss out on being the runner-up, would you?”
Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Shen Yurou swatted away someone’s hand as it attempted to lift her sleeve to look for more items, speaking irritably.
“I was just hoping to get a bit more to keep myself safe, you know. Just yesterday I was attacked by an evil terrorist organization. It was only by using the bombs you made that I turned defeat into victory.”
Zi Liyuan was blathering while attempting to continue searching someone’s pockets for items.
“The items are all in the Spatial Backpack. What are you doing fishing around in my clothes? Can’t hide your LSP tendencies?”
Once again knocking away a certain scoundrel’s hand, Shen Yurou took out a blue, sci-fi-looking handgun and shoved it into his hand without a pleasant expression.
“Here, this should do. I just developed it; I made three in a rush and I need to keep some for my own protection.”
[Gunpowder Talisman Handgun – Model Three (Silver): Physical Damage +6oo, Firing Rate 6o rounds/minute, Effective Range 150 meters, Magazine Capacity 100 rounds, can only use Gunpowder Talisman Bullets (Physical Damage +25), any class LV40 can equip and use.]
“Damn! You actually developed a silver handgun?!”
Looking at the properties of this handgun, although it didn’t have the high physical damage or the range of that sniper rifle, this gun had a faster firing rate and no side effects and could certainly be dual-wielded.
“Lucky break. I stumbled upon it while researching in the early hours of this morning. Only managed to produce three, so be content with getting one!” “What a treasure. But it requires level LV40 to use, and you’re only LV35 right now, so you shouldn’t be able to use it, so why not let me use the other two as well?”
Which Huaxia man transplanted to Earth doesn’t want to play around with real firearms?
“Scram! Once I rank up to First Order, I’ll have the skill to decrease the required level for my mechanical creations. This weapon happens to be the best conventional weapon I can use; you should consider yourself lucky that I’m giving you one.”
After berating him, Shen Yurou started to inventory her items, paying no more attention to Zi Liyuan.
“Alright, I’ll give this to you.”
A scroll and a set of potions were swiftly handed over to Shen Yurou by Zi Liyuan.
At that moment, the White Crane Academy’s headmaster, He Bai, who wore a white robe and had the appearance of a youthful elder with white hair, suddenly appeared above the altar.
“The annual college entrance examination is upon us again, and I hope that all students can achieve the scores they desire, enter university for further studies, and make a contribution to the Human Race.”
Without further ado, He Bai simply said those words and then casually released a shower of light spots, which fell into the bodies of the students below.
“What just fell upon you is this year’s exam permit, which will allow you to enter the designated college entrance exam instances.”
After offering a brief explanation, He Bai’s gaze fell upon Zi Liyuan in the crowd.
A Second Order professional standing among a group of either non-order or First Order professionals was as conspicuous as a bright lamp; it was hard not to take notice.
“The college entrance examination consists of three parts: the first is the written test, the second is the martial test, and the third is the practical living skills test. All students must participate in the first two parts, while only those with lifestyle professions may take part in the third. Now, the transfer begins!” After casting a lingering look at Zi Liyuan, He Bai waved his hand grandly, infusing energy into the altar beneath him, and immediately a burst of seven-colored dazzling light rose up, enveloping every student on the altar plaza in an instant.
In the next instant, hundreds of thousands of students vanished in the blink of an eye.
“Birds of a feather flock together; who would have thought that hanging around this youngster, there would be another promising seed,” He Bai mused upon noticing a Level 35 First Order Mechanic.
The written portion of Blue Star’s exam included two categories: basic academics and professional subjects.
The Basic Academics, a legacy of the Great Xia Empire’s culture on Blue Star, were akin to Earth’s former subjects like language and mathematics, culminating in five hundred questions.
The Professional Subjects, on the other hand, covered fundamental monster information, instance data, and strategies for defeating bosses, also totaling five hundred questions.
One point for each question, for a perfect score of 1000, and the exam lasted from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.
All of the students were transported to an enormous plaza where they were fixed to their chairs by some force, while a desk in front of them projected a screen that began to display various questions.
Zi Liyuan calmly looked over them, for instance, the first question:
(1) Who was the founding emperor of the Great Qin Empire?
A, Ying Si; B, Ying Dang; C, Ying Ji; D, Ying Zheng;
Was this even supposed to be difficult?
For Zi Liyuan, who could recite the history books of Blue Star backward, wasn’t this kind of question child’s play?
Moreover, the current Zi Liyuan had an even simpler and more effective method to deal with this written test.
He took out a blank piece of paper provided for the examinees, tore it into four pieces, and wrote A, B, C, and D on them respectively. Then he crumpled the pieces into little balls, tossed them in the air, and picked one.
Unfolding the paper ball, a “D” was revealed before his eyes.
“As expected, can’t this written test include something more interesting?”
Others relied on memorization and research to tackle the test, but Zi Liyuan had an edge!
With the Goddess of Luck as his darling wife, how could multiple-choice questions be difficult?