Even Zhang Qisheng couldn't help but frown when hearing the assessment rules. Others had "Impossible" written all over their faces.
Zhou Qiong said worriedly, "It's over. There's a high probability I'll fail again this time. This difficulty is simply worlds apart from before."
"Silence!" Zhang Sheng shouted in a low voice, instantly suppressing the whole venue.
Seeing everyone stop talking and look at him, he continued, "Those unwilling to take the exam can leave now. I can tell you clearly, starting from now, the difficulty of future assessments will be similar to this time."
He paused. "This is a decision made by the Dragon Country General Research Institute. Whoever has an opinion can go find them yourself."
"There is also good news to tell everyone. While the difficulty increases, the Research Institute has decided to give point rewards to the top three in each type of assessment. The first place can get 100 Institute Points, second place 50, third place 20."
As soon as these words came out, many candidates exclaimed.
Yi Tian nudged Zhou Qiong curiously with his elbow. "Sister Qiong, what are Institute Points? What's the use?"
Zhou Qiong explained, "Institute Points are the unique currency within the institute, used to trade items or hire people for help. Converted to Dragon Country currency, 1 point equals approximately 10,000 Dragon Coins."
"Hiss!!!" Yi Tian sucked in a breath of cold air.
Good guy, ranking first means taking away 1 million directly? Knowing that his entire net worth right now was only 700,000.
Yi Tian's eyes revealed a gleam; he had to fight for this first place. The hope for the Great Sage's Eight-Direction Staff to break through again depended on it!
"Damn, as expected of the Research Institute, so generous, a reward of 100 points!? No, a total of 340 points!"
"Get a first place, instant riches! My Beast lacks a good weapon, if I had 100 points..."
"Brother, stop dreaming, wake up. This is a pie drawn for us by the Research Institute! You can't even pass the assessment, what are you gonna get?"
Everyone: "..."
What he said makes so much sense!
Rules explained, next it was time for the examinees to choose their topics. According to the ranking of the first round, they went up in order to collect them. Yi Tian was the first.
Chief examiners Zhang Sheng and Wang Tingsong stood side by side, each with a box in front of them. Inside the boxes were stacks of books, presumably the cultivation methods used for the assessment.
Yi Tian stood in front of the two, looking conflicted.
Zhang Sheng snorted coldly and interrupted him. "Make your choice quickly, don't delay other candidates' time."
Yi Tian then walked up to Zhang Sheng. "Examiner, I want to ask something."
"Hmm?" Wang Tingsong also looked at Yi Tian curiously, wanting to know what he would ask. Yi Tian left an extremely deep impression on him in the first round.
Yi Tian said, "I want to ask, can I choose two exam topics at the same time?"
"You can, bear the consequences yourself."
Many candidates had the mentality of giving it a try, hoping if one didn't work the other would, choosing two subjects simultaneously. However, according to historical experience, those who could truly pass the assessment were basically those who had clear goals from the start and devoted themselves wholeheartedly.
Yi Tian asked again, "Then if I get first place results in both exam topics, can the points be accumulated and given to me?"
Wang Tingsong: ??? Zhang Sheng: ??? Other candidates: ???
They were really shocked. Good guy, you really dare to think. Others are struggling with whether they can pass the assessment, and you are already thinking about how to get first place. Thinking about taking both together. Can you not be so outrageous?
It wasn't the first time Wang Tingsong and Zhang Sheng proctored an exam, but it was the first time they heard a candidate ask such a question. They didn't know if Yi Tian was confident or brain-dead. Both thought it was likely the latter.
Zhang Sheng felt Yi Tian was wasting his time, so he was a bit angry.
Wang Tingsong answered first, "According to the rules, it is allowed."
Yi Tian then beamed with joy. "That's good!"
Then, under everyone's strange gazes, he took a book from the box in front of each of them. One was called Bide Time (伺机待发), the other Evolution Factor Exploration (Simplified).
He was just too short of money.
Zhang Qisheng stood at his seat, glanced at Yi Tian, and shook his head gently. "Just a clown grandstanding for attention. The first round counts for nothing; now is the time to truly test ability."
The corner of Liu Bo's mouth twitched slightly; he raised his palm and gave a thumbs up to Yi Tian.
Zhou Qiong opened her mouth slightly. She had to say, Yi Tian really had guts.
Others also had various expressions. Some admired, some mocked.
After Yi Tian finished choosing, it was the others' turn. Most people only chose one book; a small number were like Yi Tian. But none of them dared to ask a question as awesome as Yi Tian's.
Actually, Yi Tian didn't want to show off either. His initial goal was to enter the Evolution Department. But plans can't keep up with changes. He didn't expect the Nurturing Department's exam topic to be learning a Silver-tier skill, and ranking in the top three gave money. He really couldn't resist this temptation. Isn't a free skill delicious? Right now, Great Sage didn't have a single Silver-tier skill.
Ring ring ring, with the ringing sound from the broadcast, the second round of assessment officially began.
Yi Tian moved his body a bit, picked up Evolution Factor Exploration (Simplified) first, and started flipping through it. According to what was written, for the complete version of the book, one must enter the Research Institute to learn it. The simplified version could only select 5% of the Beast's body area for exploration. At the same time, this book could at most let the Beast skill improve to "Entry" proficiency, unable to improve further.
"System, simplify it for me!"
After reading the whole book, Yi Tian shouted in his heart.
Sure enough, the familiar prompt sounded.
[Detected "Evolution Factor Exploration (Simplified)", Target: Great Sage] [Do you wish to spend 10,000 Dragon Coins to simplify?]
Only 10,000 Dragon Coins, spend it!
[Simplification Complete!] [Evolution Factor Exploration (Simplified) -> Staring blankly] [Boost: This simplified plan can raise skill proficiency to Entry level at maximum]
As the prompt ended, Great Sage was surprised to find that although he did nothing, knowledge appeared in his monkey brain out of thin air. So he babbled to Yi Tian about this magical feeling.
To this, Yi Tian's response was: "Basic operation, don't be surprised."
Looking at the data panel, Evolution Factor Exploration (Simplified) was slowly rising. Roughly estimating the time, it needed half an hour.
Yi Tian didn't stay idle; he immediately picked up the other Silver-tier skill Bide Time and started flipping through it.
"So that's how it is." While reading, he nodded frequently.