Before dawn, more than half the people in Qingcheng were already awake and busy.
There was only one reason. Today was the first day of the college entrance examination.
Zhu Ping’an arrived early at Qingcheng High School to gather. Countless boys and girls filled with dreams stood on the field, their eyes burning with fighting spirit.
At this moment, the principal of Qingcheng High School was on the stage, repeatedly explaining the rules of this year’s exam.
There were twenty-eight high schools in Qingcheng, and the total number of candidates was close to 100,000.
The exam site was set in a secret realm discovered by human martial artists. One hundred thousand candidates would compete in that secret realm to determine who would become this year’s top scorer of Qingcheng.
“Students! Sixty classmates have struggled together through thick and thin. Twelve years of effort will be decided this year! Adjust your mindset and defeat your opponents! Now everyone, stand up!”
At the principal’s shout, all the students of Qingcheng High School stood upright, heads held high, like soldiers awaiting inspection.
“Our Qingcheng High School bears the name of Qingcheng! That means we represent the face of this city! My request is not high. Among the top fifty, half must be from our Qingcheng High School. Do you have confidence?”
“Yes!”
The roar of the students echoed into the sky, full of confidence.
“The exam hall is like a battlefield! Now! Follow me onto the battlefield!” The principal shouted and led the team of Qingcheng High School forward with great momentum.
The team advanced toward the exam site.
Along the way, crowds cheered and encouraged them, their eyes shining with hope.
After all, these young people would become the pillars of the Nation in the future.
Once the candidates from all twenty-eight schools had gathered, the pre-exam procedures began. The preparation was simple. First, they checked each candidate’s vitality value.
If a candidate’s vitality value did not reach 50, they would not even qualify to participate.
Next came blood and urine tests to prevent students from secretly taking drugs to enhance their strength and cheat.
Zhu Ping’an passed both tests with ease. Now he only needed to wait for the official start. The information about the exam secret realm was strictly confidential, but for Zhu Ping’an, who carried the plot in his mind, so-called secrecy meant nothing.
According to the original plot, the secret realm they would enter this time was called the Star-Gazing Secret Realm. The task was to collect Star Radiance within it. Each point of Star Radiance collected counted as one point. Candidates were allowed to plunder each other’s Star Radiance, but group attacks and team looting were forbidden.
In simple terms, you could rob others by your own strength, but you could not form a team to do so. Team robbery was a violation.
In the original plot, he had only 95 vitality points and was not even a 1st stage Martial Artist. Yet his luck had been astonishing. In just half a day, he had collected more than 600 points of Star Radiance. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
If he had simply found a place to hide until the exam ended, he could at least have secured admission to a key university.
But in order to attend the same university as Yan Shubing, he had given part of his Star Radiance to her and ultimately ended up in a second-tier university.
Zhu Ping’an stroked his chin and looked toward Yan Shubing in the distance. Thinking about it now, his extraordinary luck in collecting so much Star Radiance might also have been influenced by the power of the plot.
Yan Shubing sensed someone watching her. When she turned and saw it was Zhu Ping’an, she lowered her head shyly and cheered him on.
“Brother Ping’an, do your best in the exam!”
“I will try my best. Don’t worry.” Zhu Ping’an smiled gently.
“If effort were enough, what would we need geniuses for?” Ye Qingxian glanced at Zhu Ping’an indifferently. The aura around him was far stronger than during the mock exam.
Ever since being set up by Zhu Ping’an during the mock exam, Ye Qingxian had secretly held a grudge against him.
Zhu Ping’an had to admit that the protagonist’s halo was truly powerful. Like an indestructible cockroach, the more it was struck, the stronger it became.
At exactly eight in the morning, all pre-exam procedures were completed.
Lin Zhao, the mayor of Qingcheng, stepped onto the stage. Behind him stood the principals of the major schools.
“Hello, students!”
The moment his voice fell, thunderous applause erupted below.
“It is the annual college entrance examination once again. At this moment, you must feel extremely excited! I feel the same. This means another batch of talents will graduate from high school and soon shine for our Grand Xia Empire! Are you… ready?”
“We’re ready!” The roar of 100,000 voices shook the clouds.
“Then now… in my capacity as mayor of Qingcheng, I will open this year’s exam secret realm! The name of this secret realm is… Star-Gazing!”
Lin Zhao raised a finger and drew a line in the air. A colossal gate reaching toward the sky appeared before the 100,000 candidates.
“It really is the Star-Gazing Secret Realm! Our homeroom teacher guessed it right!”
“Good thing I reviewed the knowledge about the Star-Gazing Secret Realm several times these past few days. I’m getting at least 500 points this time!”
“Why is it the Star-Gazing Secret Realm? Damn it! I thought it would be the Black Dragon Secret Realm!” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Some were joyful, others distressed. Each school had made predictions before the exam about which secret realm might appear. Those who guessed correctly beamed with delight, while those who guessed wrong frowned.
After all, not everyone was talented enough to ignore the exam content entirely. For ordinary candidates, guessing the secret realm correctly was like taking a shortcut.
“I declare! The exam… begins!”
As soon as the words fell, countless candidates surged forward toward the gate. The moment they touched it, their figures vanished.
Of course, compared to those rushing eagerly, some stood leisurely at the back. These were the strong ones. They were not in a hurry to collect Star Radiance. Once others had gathered enough, they could simply seize it.
Zhu Ping’an was among them. He did not want to squeeze into the first wave. Only after most of the crowd had entered did he lazily step forward.
Once all candidates had entered, the towering gate transformed into a massive projection divided into ten areas.
The ten candidates with the highest Star Radiance would appear on this projection.
After stepping through the gate, the scenery changed instantly. Before him lay a pitch-black night sky filled with countless stars.
“Just like in the original plot. Random teleportation.”
Zhu Ping’an muttered softly, surveying his surroundings. There was no one else nearby.
By the starlight, he saw the path beneath his feet and began walking forward.
Star Radiance was the lingering glow left behind when stars died. In Zhu Ping’an’s understanding, so-called Star Radiance was essentially fragments of stars.
Before long, a crystal stone the size of a fingernail appeared in his hand. It emitted dazzling starlight and flickered continuously.
Nearby lay the corpse of a Star-Devouring Worm.
The Star-Devouring Worm fed on Star Radiance. It was a native creature of the Star-Gazing Secret Realm and grew stronger by devouring Star Radiance.
Wild Star Radiance was almost nonexistent. It usually had to be seized from the mouths of Star-Devouring Worms. The one Zhu Ping’an encountered was not yet mature, so he had slain it with a single sword strike.
“The first point of Star Radiance, obtained.”
Looking at the faint glow in his hand, Zhu Ping’an could sense the immense energy contained within it. Otherwise, the Star-Devouring Worms would not be able to enhance themselves through it.
He could not help but wonder. With such enormous energy within Star Radiance, had no martial artist ever tried to absorb its energy for cultivation?