The moment Zhu Ping’an obtained his first point of Star Radiance, his figure was projected onto the gigantic gate outside in the exam arena.
“The first candidate to obtain Star Radiance has appeared! Is it Leng Tianjiao? Or Ye Qingxian from Qingcheng High School? Or Cai Kun from Experimental High School?”
Faced with such a grand occasion as the college entrance examination, the audience in the stands grew excited and stretched their necks to look at the gate.
But when they clearly saw the figure inside the gate, they were stunned.
“Who is this? I’ve never seen him before!”
“Is this the dark horse? Sure enough, every year someone makes a stunning debut in the exam!”
“He seems to be wearing Qingcheng High School’s uniform. Is this young man a student there?”
“Don’t recognize him!”
The crowd buzzed with discussion, all curious about Zhu Ping’an’s identity.
At that moment, a piercing scream suddenly erupted from the stands.
“Ah!!! That’s Zhu Ping’an! That’s my son Zhu Ping’an! Ah!!!”
“Wife, keep it down. Wife, lower your voice, lower your voice.”
Zhu Jianghua looked at the wildly excited Xia Yue and wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it. Unfortunately, there were people everywhere. There were only deep trenches, not holes to hide in.
“Dad… Mom’s gone crazy…” Zhu Kaixin pointed at Xia Yue, who was celebrating wildly.
“Don’t talk nonsense, child.” Zhu Jianghua patted Zhu Kaixin’s head. “Haven’t you always grown up in a single-parent household? Where did you get a mother from?”
The father and daughter tacitly distanced themselves from Xia Yue.
At that moment, the crowd’s attention was drawn back to Zhu Ping’an, because the Zhu Ping’an in the projection was doing something shocking.
“What is that kid doing? Why is he stuffing Star Radiance into his mouth?”
In the crowd, a retired old teacher with graying hair and round reading glasses shook his head.
“The school teachers must have emphasized more than once that although the Star Radiance in the Star-Gazing Secret Realm contains enormous energy, that energy comes from the destruction of stars. It is far too violent and cannot be absorbed by the human body. If someone forcibly absorbs it, it will cause severe damage, and may even lead to death!”
The retired teacher adjusted his glasses.
“But no matter how often it is emphasized, whenever the exam secret realm turns out to be Star-Gazing, there are always students who try to absorb Star Radiance and end up injured. It’s nothing new.”
After hearing the explanation, the crowd finally understood. The way they looked at Zhu Ping’an now carried a hint of disdain.
It seemed that being the first to collect Star Radiance was just luck, nothing worth mentioning. Some people who had intended to approach Xia Yue and build a relationship stopped in their tracks, deciding to wait and see.
Inside the Star-Gazing Secret Realm, Zhu Ping’an swallowed the Star Radiance in one gulp.
Just as the retired teacher had said, the moment it entered his body, it transformed into a violent mass of starlight, rampaging wildly through his limbs and organs.
Zhu Ping’an could not help letting out a low roar, trying to ease the pain.
After quite a while, that single point of Star Radiance finally vanished completely within his body.
Zhu Ping’an clenched his fists and sensed his condition. His vitality value had not increased. It remained the same as before. Yet he could clearly feel that his body itself had grown slightly stronger.
The energy of Star Radiance did not seem to affect a martial artist’s vitality value, but rather directly strengthened the physical body.
“The exam has just begun and he’s already injured. It seems this child’s chances in this exam are slim.” The retired teacher looked at Zhu Ping’an with a trace of regret.
Because Zhu Ping’an had refined the Star Radiance, his name fell out of the top ten and disappeared from the projection.
At this time, Leng Tianjiao, Ye Qingxian, and the others who had already become 1st stage Martial Artists had also found their first points of Star Radiance and appeared on the projection. The crowd shifted their attention to these geniuses and stopped caring about Zhu Ping’an’s small episode.
“Leng Tianjiao has already collected 188 points of Star Radiance. At this rate, she might exceed 700 points by the end!”
“That Ye Qingxian from Qingcheng High School is also fast. He has 175 points, just behind Leng Tianjiao!”
“It’s normal for those two to be first and second, but who is this third-place Yao Xu? I’ve never seen him before. He’s even ahead of Cai Kun from Experimental High School. Is that reasonable?”
“You clearly weren’t paying attention. That Yao Xu got lucky and ran into an unlucky guy. He robbed him of his Star Radiance and shot up the rankings!”
The crowd discussed animatedly, watching the situation inside the secret realm with full concentration. As time passed, candidates began encountering each other and fighting fiercely.
Compared to slowly collecting Star Radiance on their own, plundering others was the fastest method.
Just as the exam was reaching its most intense stage, one name began rising quietly. Tenth place, ninth place, eighth place, seventh place…
When Zhu Ping’an squeezed past Cai Kun and reached fourth place, someone finally noticed him.
“Look! It’s that Zhu Ping’an from earlier! Didn’t he get injured by forcibly absorbing Star Radiance? How is he catching up?”
“This is unbelievable… He’s still that fierce even while injured?”
“What’s the use of collecting Star Radiance quickly? It’ll just become someone else’s wedding dress. He’s already injured. If he runs into someone, he’ll just be giving it away!”
The principal of Experimental High School snorted coldly, his displeasure written all over his face.
Cai Kun was the top student of their school. Being suppressed by Leng Tianjiao and Ye Qingxian was tolerable. But first an unknown Yao Xu, and now some reckless nobody named Zhu Ping’an, had both surpassed Cai Kun. It left him extremely uncomfortable.
“Something… isn’t right. Look! What is Zhu Ping’an doing?”
Someone suddenly stood up in alarm, staring at the massive projection with fear on his face.
In the projection, Zhu Ping’an, ranked fourth and holding more than 150 points of Star Radiance, tilted his head back and swallowed all 150-plus points in one gulp.
This terrifying scene left everyone stunned.
The retired teacher from earlier was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground. He removed his reading glasses and muttered to himself, “This Zhu Ping’an isn’t here to take the exam. He’s here to commit suicide…”