"Your score is too low. You should’ve made the top five!"
Just as Li Heng was about to take another look at the "report card" to check the rankings of his other classmates, a familiar voice suddenly sounded by his ear.
’The flat-chested loli!’
Li Heng followed the voice and looked over. At some point, Bai Shasha had appeared at his side.
She barely reached below Li Heng’s shoulder, yet she insisted on using a cold tone, trying her best to sound worldly and mature.
Li Heng subconsciously wanted to comment on the cute contrast, but remembering how ferocious Bai Shasha could be, he chose to remain silent.
"Not at all! I think tenth is pretty good!" Li Heng replied.
Bai Shasha ignored him, continuing to put on her mature act with her young voice. "To be surrounded by a pack of wolves and still escape safely... That’s incredible! I couldn’t do that!"
’She must have heard that from our homeroom teacher,’ Li Heng thought. ’After all, I only told him the "edited" version of what happened after she teleported out of the Mystic Realm.’
Li Heng had no intention of correcting Bai Shasha’s misunderstanding. This had been his plan all along.
"I was just lucky! Your skills are better than mine, and you’re much more decisive. You’re the one with real strength! You’re stronger than me!" The best way to change the subject after being praised was to praise them right back.
Hearing Li Heng’s praise, Bai Shasha’s face suddenly flushed red. She whispered back, "Mm! Actually, I was just lucky too!"
Li Heng had noticed last time that Bai Shasha was the type of girl who blushed whenever she was complimented, so he didn’t dwell on it. The two of them went back to looking at the scores and rankings.
"All first and second-years, head back to class! Get back to whatever you were doing!"
About half an hour later, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline appeared beneath the electronic display screen and roared into a microphone.
It was Wu Yunjiang, the Dean of Discipline at Thirteenth Middle School.
After Wu Yunjiang spoke, the third-year assembly area quickly cleared out, leaving only the third-year students and their teachers.
Once the area was clear, Wu Yunjiang spoke again, his voice now tinged with apology. "I am deeply sorry, and my heart aches to announce that during this Mystic Realm mock exam, three of our students have become unable to graduate... forever."
"Unable to graduate forever" was a rather gentle euphemism. Paired with the fact that the report card only listed 297 names, everyone knew what had really happened.
After all, everyone knew the Mystic Realm exams came with an expected mortality rate.
As Wu Yunjiang’s words settled, a heavy silence fell over the crowd. The faint sound of sobbing could be heard. Perhaps those three were someone’s best friend, or a childhood sweetheart.
"However, in this Mystic Realm mock exam, many of you have made us proud! One student even broke through to the rank of Soul Apprentice!" Wu Yunjiang’s voice boomed once more.
A ROAR~
As soon as Wu Yunjiang’s words came through the microphone, the third-year students went wild.
A cacophony of voices instantly intertwined, the buzz of heated discussion drowning out the faint sobs from before.
Li Heng knew the dean wasn’t talking about him. He had only just advanced to Soul Apprentice yesterday, and he’d been very low-key about it.
The new Soul Apprentice had to be Wang Zhipeng, the top-ranked student. Only someone at the Soul Apprentice level could possibly get such a high score bonus.
Li Heng didn’t feel much about the concept of being a Soul Apprentice, or this so-called "honor." After all, he was a Soul Apprentice now himself. Aside from being a little stronger, a little faster, having a better mental state, being more focused, and having slightly better hearing, it seemed nothing much had changed.
If anyone else could sense Li Heng’s thoughts, they would’ve undoubtedly jumped up and shouted, "Are you even human?!!!"
The standards set by the Soul Energy Alliance!
1. All basic skills must be at their maximum level.
2. Physical fitness must reach a certain standard!
Although there were only two simple criteria, they were incredibly difficult for the average high school student to meet, requiring a combination of talent, hard work, resources, and diligence.
Although Li Heng’s basic Body Technique wasn’t maxed out, he had the Wolf Walk Technique at Lv. 2, which could be considered superior to the basic version.
"I was so close, I could have done it too!"
The flat-chested loli beside him spoke very softly, but Li Heng still heard her. He couldn’t help but tilt his head to glance at Bai Shasha. She was gritting her teeth, her face a mask of frustration.
At this, Li Heng wasn’t sure if he should offer some words of comfort, so he pretended not to have noticed and went back to waiting for the dean to speak.
The excited chatter continued for about five minutes before slowly dying down. Wu Yunjiang didn’t interrupt the students, waiting until the noise subsided before he continued.
"For this Mystic Realm mock exam, the bottom 97 students will only be eligible for the regular college entrance exam. If you have special circumstances, you may submit an application. Only after the school has reviewed and approved it will you be permitted to take the Mystic Realm college entrance exam! Now, would all students ranked 201st to 297th please leave the central plaza and proceed to the Fifth Academic Building."
It was practically an unwritten rule that those who ranked poorly in the Mystic Realm mock exam couldn’t take the Mystic Realm college entrance exam. For various reasons, some people were simply better suited for the regular one.
"Students ranked 101st to 200th, you have a choice. You can either take the Mystic Realm college entrance exam or the regular one. I trust you’ve all given this much thought over the past three days. I’ll give you ten minutes to decide. After ten minutes, any student who has chosen the regular college entrance exam should proceed to the Fifth Academic Building."
The skill and luck among students ranked 101st to 200th were undoubtedly varied. The leadership of Thirteenth Middle School respected this, giving a chance to those students who wanted to take the Soul Energy college entrance exam and were still working hard, even if their strength was slightly lacking.
Ten minutes later, about thirty people left and headed for the Fifth Academic Building.
Seeing that the students had made their choices, Wu Yunjiang continued, "For the students in the top 100, my personal recommendation is that you all choose the Soul Energy college entrance exam. This path could lead to a richer life and greater future accomplishments, but of course, it is also fraught with risk! You also have ten minutes to make your decision."
During those ten minutes, no one in the central plaza moved. Not a single one of the top one hundred students had any intention of leaving. Some even urged Wu Yunjiang to hurry up and move on to the next item on the agenda.
Seeing who remained in the central plaza, Wu Yunjiang nodded. "I am very pleased! More than half of this year’s class has chosen the Soul Energy college entrance exam! You are all the pride of Thirteenth Middle School, youths of extraordinary courage and strength. I wish you all a brilliant future! Now... would all students with a score below 200 please proceed immediately to the First Academic Building. You will be reassigned to new classes there and begin your pre-exam training!"
Wu Yunjiang paused, waiting until the students with scores below 200 had left the central plaza. Then, he suddenly raised his voice. "Now, only those of you with scores of 200 or higher remain. Do you know... what the scores from this Mystic Realm exam are actually used for?"