Cold!
Empty!
This was the first impression most students had upon entering the Fallen Jiao Icefield. The biting wind, carrying flurries of snow and freezing rain, slapped against their faces. They couldn’t help but immediately pull their clothes tighter. Some, who were less resistant to the cold, even had their teeth chattering.
Li Heng also felt a bit cold at first, but it was still within a tolerable range. He subconsciously began to survey his surroundings.
White was the sole color of this world. The first location after entering the secret realm wasn’t a frozen tundra, but a gathering point with blazing bonfires.
However, this gathering point had very few bonfires, and the only shelter was a single, enormous tent in the very center.
Based on the city’s school rankings, Li Heng and Bai Shasha were in the thirteenth group to enter the secret realm. Usually, the gathering point would have already been divided into sections, with each school assigned a specific area.
But what Li Heng saw was a deserted gathering point and a crowd of people packed in front of it!
"Why do we have to pay to use the gathering point?! The preliminary exams never had any costs before!"
"Exactly! Why do we have to pay for the mock college entrance exam? I already spent 200 points just to get in here!"
"Aren’t you a teacher from one of the high schools? I think I’ve seen you on TV!"
...
Before Li Heng even had a chance to wonder why so many people were crowded there, he heard the sound of arguing from the front. And by the looks of it, the argument had been going on for a long time.
"Let’s see what’s happening at the front of the gathering point before we make a move," Li Heng said to Bai Shasha.
The situation in the gathering point was a major point of concern. As the safest place in the secret realm, it was worth finding out what was going on.
And what’s more, it was an argument between the students and a teacher from the gathering point!
The students who entered after them were just as curious about the matter and all moved closer to the crowd.
The temperature was slightly higher near the gathering point. A faint, cold wind still brushed against their faces, but it no longer carried flurries of snow and freezing rain.
The teacher, surrounded by students, hadn’t said a single word, letting them complain and vent as they pleased. But once he saw that almost all the students had arrived in the secret realm, a sound wave suddenly exploded from his body!
PFFT—BANG—
The students closest to the teacher, who had also been the loudest complainers, were all thrown back and fell to the ground. One of them even seemed to be injured, their head starting to wobble uncontrollably.
"I am Lin Jiangang! A staff member of the City Combat Hall, and a Great Soul Warrior. I am the one who has set the rules for using this secret realm’s gathering point. So... who agrees? Who objects?"
Great Soul Warrior!
After the Soul Pupil Realm comes the Soul Warrior, and after Soul Warrior comes the Great Soul Warrior! He was at least two entire major realms above most of the students in the secret realm.
As for his final question—’who agrees, who objects’—it was clearly just for show. No one would be stupid enough to challenge him head-on.
Anyone who was still foolish enough to object after hearing the words "Great Soul Warrior" probably wouldn’t be considered an outstanding student qualified to be here for the mock college entrance exam in the first place.
"The mock college entrance exam will last for one week. If you wish to rest in the gathering point, each person must hand over at least one Soul Energy Item or a piece of Soul Energy Equipment per day. Of course, if you turn in a soul energy pet, you can rest here until the exam is over! One more thing—if you don’t have any Soul Energy Items or Equipment, the corpse of a soul beast is also acceptable."
After Lin Jiangang finished speaking, he stepped to his left, clearing a large space, and then casually pointed forward with his right hand.
His meaning was crystal clear!
Because the direction Lin Jiangang’s finger was pointing was toward a vast, sprawling Icefield!
’If you want to rest in the gathering point, with its warm bonfires and protective shelter, then go out and brave the Icefield! Go and get something from those Secret Realm Creatures!’
Before, when Lin Jiangang had pointed to the Icefield, someone would have surely stepped up to say something. After all, the first impression left by that endless expanse of ice was nothing but despair.
But after he revealed his "identity," no one had any objections. Most of the students averted their gazes.
"Eighth High is never afraid!"
A moment later, someone finally responded to Lin Jiangang. It wasn’t a rebuttal, but a shout of self-encouragement. He, along with two other boys and a girl by his side, equipped their gear and walked into the Icefield.
"As if we at Sixth High are cowards! It’s just exploring a secret realm! Let’s go!"
It seemed to trigger a chain reaction. More and more people responded, each shouting louder than the last, all making sure to mention their own school.
Once someone had started, the rest became much easier. At the very least, everyone understood that Lin Jiangang’s display of dominance wasn’t just for show.
If they continued to just stand there, Lin Jiangang wouldn’t let them into the gathering point to rest for free.
And so, in twos and threes, they began to slowly walk into the Icefield. By now, the cold wind, still carrying flurries of snow and freezing rain, had grown even more bone-chilling with the passing time.
Fewer and fewer people remained in front of the gathering point. Watching the other students leave, Li Heng and Bai Shasha shared a look of mutual understanding, then drew their weapons and entered the Icefield together.
Of course, Li Heng was currently wielding the test Longsword he had exchanged ten points for. His Cyan Blade Longsword was inside his Space Stone. He planned to wait for the right moment to use the Cyan Blade Longsword.
「Ten minutes later.」 The area before the gathering point was now empty of students. Two staff members in uniform walked up to Lin Jiangang’s side.
"Manager Lin! According to the city’s regulations, only a portion of soul beasts have accidentally escaped from the Wind Snow Area into the Icefield Area. No other anomalies have been detected in the other regions. The secret realm is relatively stable."
"As long as no anomalies have been found, we’re good! Those students were about to deafen me with all their noise! I just wonder how many of them will make it back safely on this first day... encountering soul beasts in the Icefield right from the start. What an interesting exam!"
Hearing the staff member’s report, Lin Jiangang just smiled. Everything else was of no concern to him at the moment. All he had to do was wait.
As for the students’ safety, Lin Jiangang had no intention of intervening too much. After all, from his perspective, the secret realms used for exams were all equipped with Teleportation Talismans. If a student couldn’t even guarantee their own safety when they had a Teleportation Talisman, they were a fool not worth wasting breath on.
The reason Lin Jiangang demanded Soul Energy Items for entry into the gathering point was due to various factors, but the ultimate goal was to foster better growth for the students participating in the mock college entrance exam.
After watching all the students enter the Icefield, Lin Jiangang went into the central tent. The two staff members took up positions in front of the gathering point, slowly waiting for the first group of students to return and pay their way in.