"12th in the grade, 982nd in the whole school!"
Chen Che gazed at the ranking board, a slight arch to his brow.
Although his school-wide rank seemed a bit low, that wasn't actually the case.
First Middle School had about two thousand students in each grade, including the seniors. His current rank meant his combat score was already good enough to place him in the middle tier of the senior class.
At that moment, the other students were all scrambling to find their own rankings.
Lin Yi quickly found his name and announced loudly, "I'm 709th in our grade and 2,471st in the whole school!"
"A little higher than me."
Qi Fengzhu found his name as well. "My grade rank is 723, and my school rank is 2,533!"
The two exchanged a look, their faces filled with glee.
Their combat scores weren't bad; they were upper-middle tier. After all, the seniors had an extra year of Cultivation under their belts. With their higher Cultivation levels and greater strength, it was normal for them to have lower combat scores than the seniors.
Lin Yi asked a few other friends and found they were all in a similar boat. Only then did he turn to ask Chen Che:
"Old Chen, how'd you do?"
Chen Che didn't say a word, simply pointing with his hand.
Lin Yi's gaze followed Chen Che's finger, and the smile instantly vanished from his face.
"Fuck!"
"Damn..."
The other students, upon seeing Chen Che's rank, let out a chorus of curses.
Chen Che just smiled, paying them no mind. He stared at the rankings.
'I wonder how many spots I can climb this time...'
During the freshman year final exams.
With his Qi Refining Third Layer Cultivation, he had narrowly defeated a Qi Refining Fourth Layer opponent, luckily passing the fourth stage. But when he reached the fifth stage, he was killed instantly by his opponent in a single blow.
However, because he had survived a few minutes longer than Huang Zhongfei, his combat score was higher.
"Dad, how about a father-son match today?"
Having seen the rankings, Huang Zhongfei walked over. He was 14th in their grade and around 1,000th in the school. "Same old rules. If you win, you move up a generation. If you lose, you move down one!"
Chen Che wasn't very interested. "We're all classmates, why bother..."
"I'll raise the stakes. If you win, you can borrow the Demon-Slaying Sword for another week!"
"Deal!"
To hesitate for even a second would be a disrespect to the Demon-Slaying Sword.
DING-A-LING~ DING-A-LING!
"The exam is starting! Enter the Illusion Rooms!"
At Li Xiaoshuang's reminder, the students quickly filed through the main door.
Chen Che took a deep breath and stepped into his Illusion Room. As the door closed, it felt as if he were completely cut off from the outside world.
It was a spacious, empty room, its walls covered in runes. In a corner of the room stood a rack holding various weapons like sabers, spears, and swords. A translucent number pulsed in the air with a BEEP... BEEP... sound, and at the same time, a flat, robotic female voice announced:
"Countdown: sixty seconds. Examinees, please prepare!"
Chen Che quickly walked to the weapon rack and selected a longsword.
These were standard-issue exam weapons.
The Immortal Sect's college entrance exam worked the same way. To prevent a student's family background from creating discrepancies in scores, all weapons were provided by the Immortal Sect.
"DING!"
When the floating number in the air turned to 'zero,' Chen Che's vision blurred. The world spun, and he found himself in a desolate wilderness.
A gentle breeze rustled through the waist-high wild grass, carrying with it the earthy scent of soil.
All five senses felt so real.
It was as if he had truly been transported to a boundless wilderness.
But Chen Che knew this was just terrain simulated by an illusion, and his opponent was hiding somewhere within it. The so-called combat test wasn't just simple fighting; it included, but was not limited to, ambushes, reconnaissance, and survival...
Unlike the written exam, he would only encounter the next opponent after defeating the current one.
"HISSS!"
Just as Chen Che was cautiously scanning his surroundings, the grass beside him exploded upward. Amidst a shower of flying grass seeds, a green snake lunged out.
This green snake was a full two zhang long, its body as thick as a bucket. Its gaping mouth was filled with crisscrossing fangs.
"A Yin Ruins Snake!"
'A Qi Refining First Layer Demon Beast.'
'It excels at stealth and constriction, and possesses high intelligence.'
During the first combat exam of freshman year, more than half the class had been terrified by the Yin Ruins Snake. Thirty percent of the students had scored zero on their combat test because of it. But for the current Chen Che, it was basically a freebie.
Before the Yin Ruins Snake could even open its mouth, Chen Che swung his sword.
"HISSS~"
The blade sliced through, cutting it in two on the spot.
"Shatter!"
Chen Che didn't hold back. With a wave of his hand, he sent a blast of furious flame at the snake's remains, incinerating them into ash.
The Yin Ruins Snake had a tenacious Life Force. Even with its vital point severed, it could still injure someone.
If he were to get injured by its attack, it would undoubtedly affect the following battles.
Of course, quickly finishing off an opponent was a small trick for the combat exam; it ensured you wouldn't run out of time, even against difficult foes.
"DING!"
A pleasant chime sounded from the void—the notification that Chen Che had passed the stage.
'30 points in the bag!' Chen Che thought to himself.
As the thought crossed his mind, the grassland before him expanded, instantly doubling in size.
RUSTLE RUSTLE~
The waist-high grass began to stir violently, like waves rolling across a green sea. It surged toward Chen Che at a frantic pace, several times faster than the previous Yin Ruins Snake.
In the blink of an eye, it was already behind him.
...
...
Outside the Illusion Rooms, Li Xiaoshuang and Wei He had pulled up stools and were watching the students take their exams.
As teachers, they needed to know which areas their students were weak in so they could devise corresponding strategies to help them.
"WHOOSH!"
However, just ten minutes into the exam, a student was ejected from an Illusion Room. Immediately after, a score appeared on the Crystal Stone screen above the room:
16 points.
"You can't even beat a Qi Refining First Layer, Zong Yudao! You did great!"
Li Xiaoshuang ground his teeth in frustration.
'It's over!'
The student named Zong Yudao instantly turned pale, looking as if he'd just lost his parents.
Afterward, more students were intermittently ejected from their Illusion Rooms.
However, all of them had failed to pass the second stage. This group of students was at the bottom of the class. After their entire freshman year and the summer break, they had barely managed to reach the Qi Refining Second Layer.
"Hmph!"
Li Xiaoshuang was too angry to even speak.
These students had initially been anxious, but seeing Zong Yudao, who had been kicked out even earlier, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
'No matter how bad I am, at least someone else is at the very bottom!'
They even started to feel a sense of, 'I'm actually not that bad.'
"Sigh, I don't know what to say to these students!"
Watching the students standing outside the exam area, still winking and making faces, Li Xiaoshuang's expression was one of complete exasperation.
Xianmen High School had always selected students with 'Cultivation Talent.'
However, this talent wasn't just about one's Spiritual Root; it also included willpower and self-discipline.
Among these students who couldn't even pass the second stage was one with a High Grade Spirit Root, but he was too lazy and negligent. Forget getting into an Undergraduate Daoist School, he probably couldn't even get into a College Daoist School.
"If I'd had a High Grade Spirit Root back in the day, why would I have ever walked the path of a Body Cultivator?"
Wei He, sitting to the side with a brawny frame like a bear, sighed. "For this exam, Teacher Li, which students are you optimistic about?"
"Chen Che, Huang Zhongfei, and Ye Youwei!"
Li Xiaoshuang took a sip of tea and said thoughtfully,
"However, among the three of them, Huang Zhongfei has the highest probability of taking first place."
"True!"
Wei He nodded in agreement. After all, Huang Zhongfei's Cultivation was higher.
"What a pity!"
Li Xiaoshuang gazed at the closed doors of the Void Illusion Realm and sighed deeply.
"Huang Zhongfei has a wealthy family, but his Spiritual Root is mediocre. Ye Youwei has an Earth Spirit Root, but she lacks the ruthlessness and perseverance needed for Cultivation. And while Chen Che has that ruthless streak, both his family background and Spiritual Root are lacking. If the strengths of these three could be combined, we'd surely have another candidate for the Four Great Daoist Schools!"
Hearing this, Wei He couldn't help but show a look of yearning on his face.
"The Four Great Daoist Schools..."