Chapter 20 - 16: Mock College Entrance Exam, Scheming and Intrigue

Chapter 20: Chapter 16: Mock College Entrance Exam, Scheming and Intrigue

The next day, at the mock exam site of Luocheng First High School.

The mock exam was held on the mountain behind the school. This location was chosen because it housed a special Secret Realm entirely controlled by Luocheng First High School—Five Springs Mountain. A so-called Secret Realm was essentially a special spatial dimension, akin to a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land. Naturally, the venue for this mock exam was inside the Five Springs Mountain Secret Realm.

The mock exam was divided into two phases. The first phase required students to safely reach the central area of Five Springs Mountain within a designated time. During this phase, they were forbidden from attacking one another. One shouldn’t assume this was a simple hike; Five Springs Mountain was teeming with captive Demon Fiends. Though these Demon Fiends were not overly powerful—the strongest among them wouldn’t exceed the Qi Cultivation Fifth Level—their robust physiques and innate bloodline talents made them formidable opponents. A Demon Fiend’s true power often far surpassed that of a Cultivator at the same Realm.

Not to mention, the vast majority of Luocheng First High School students were greenhorns with zero real combat experience. In a one-on-one fight, let alone defeating a Demon Fiend of the same level, even if their Cultivation was higher, their chances of winning were slim.

To ensure the students’ potential was stimulated to the maximum, they had to gather enough points before reaching the central area. Defeating a Qi Cultivation First Level Demon Fiend awarded one point, a Second Level yielded four points, a Third Level gave six points, and so on. The minimum score required to enter the central area of Five Springs Mountain was thirty points. In other words, a student needed to defeat at least five Qi Cultivation Third Level Demon Fiends just to qualify for entry. For the high school seniors at Luocheng First High School, whose Cultivation generally hovered around the Qi Cultivation Fifth Level, this task wasn’t overly difficult, but it was by no means simple either.

Once the first phase ended, any student who hadn’t gathered enough points or failed to reach the central area on time would be deemed to have failed the assessment. They would be automatically teleported out of the Secret Realm, ending their exam.

The second phase of the mock exam consisted of a battle royale. The students would fight each other in the central area until only one person remained. For every opponent defeated, a student would seize all of that person’s points. However, while points could be plundered, the defeated student’s accumulated score wouldn’t be erased from their final record. For example, if you eliminated a classmate who had thirty points, you would gain those thirty points, while their final exam score would lock at thirty.

The final grade for the mock exam would be determined by the total number of points held at the end, combined with the comprehensive evaluations from the teachers watching outside the Secret Realm.

Naturally, this testing method wasn’t perfectly fair and left room for random chance. For instance, several highly skilled students might clash early on, resulting in mutually assured destruction. However, as the saying goes, Luck is also a part of Power. The school intended to use this to teach the students a harsh truth: the real world would never offer absolute fairness. Before making any decision, one had to consider the worst possible consequences.

Ultimately, the essence of the mock exam was to maximize a student’s potential and test their decisiveness when faced with complex situations. Whether to actively seek battles to rack up a high score, or to avoid conflict and conserve strength—that choice was entirely up to the students.

Before the entrance to the Five Springs Mountain Secret Realm.

The presiding teacher of Luocheng First High School looked out at the more than three hundred students gathered before him and offered his final instructions. "I trust everyone is already crystal clear on the contents of this mock exam.

"We will be watching your every move inside the Secret Realm. A portion of your final score will be derived from our evaluations, so there is no need to worry about a string of bad Luck ruining your chances of achieving an ideal grade.

"As a side note, the wristbands you wear not only record your points but also serve as special Protective Treasures. They will continuously absorb the Spiritual Power within your bodies as fuel to maintain a Protective Barrier. If your Protective Barrier sustains too much damage in a short period, you will be automatically teleported out.

"This might seem slightly unfair to those who have chosen the path of Body Refining, but I hope you can understand. After all, your safety is our top priority.

"I’ve said all that needs to be said. I hope you all achieve excellent results. Now... let the exam begin!"

Following the teacher’s command, motes of teleportation light immediately flared around the gathered students. Lu Chen sensed the unique Spiritual Power emanating from his wristband and felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

He thought, "Why does this feel just like turning on the immersion mode when I play True Cultivation?"

Once all the students had entered the Secret Realm, several teachers immediately stepped before the nearby Profound Celestial Mirror to observe their performance.

Lu Chen’s homeroom teacher, Chen Fugui, strolled over to Li Youquan, the homeroom teacher of the Heavenly Dao Class, and said with a smile, "Teacher Li, you really have great Luck. To think a talent like Mu Xiaoye didn’t choose to be exceptionally admitted into a Daoist School, but instead stayed behind to obediently study in high school.

"If the other students run into her early on, they’re in for a world of pain.

"I just wonder how Teacher Li usually guides her. From what I can see, her Cultivation has become increasingly refined."

Hearing this, Li Youquan waved his hand in feigned modesty. "Teacher Chen, you flatter me too much. To be completely honest, I’m rather ashamed. That girl Yezi is highly independent; her daily Cultivation never requires anyone else to fret over it.

"If my old man wasn’t the City Lord of Luocheng and frequently sent me relatively precious Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, I really wouldn’t have anything to help her with.

"After all, she is a genius who has awakened her Talent Divine Techniques. How could an ordinary person possibly teach her?"

"..."

Chen Fugui thought, "Fine, fine, fine. If this is how you want to converse, then we can no longer be colleagues!"

Looking at Li Youquan’s smug, self-satisfied expression, Chen Fugui maintained a beaming smile on the surface, but internally, he was cursing up a storm. The entire senior grade possessed only one Heavenly Dao Class, four Earth Dao Classes, and eight Human Dao Classes. Generally speaking, in previous years, the Heavenly Dao Class was always handed over to the teacher with the highest Cultivation. However, among the teachers of this cohort, Li Youquan’s Cultivation was not only far from the highest—it was actually the lowest of them all! He was merely at the Foundation Establishment Fifth Level.

But Cultivation wasn’t just about fighting and killing; it was also about worldly wisdom and social connections. Considering Li Youquan’s City Lord father, the principal of the First High School went through a ’difficult’ selection process before ultimately pushing aside all dissenting opinions and directly choosing Li Youquan to take charge of this year’s Heavenly Dao Class. Don’t ask questions. If you asked, the answer was simply that the principal had an eye for talent and could instantly spot the massive teaching potential hidden within Li Youquan’s body!

With things as they were, how could Chen Fugui not feel envious? With Mu Xiaoye’s aptitude, getting into the Four Top Daoist Schools posed absolutely no challenge for her. Her true goal was to become the Champion Scholar of this year’s college entrance examination.

The mere thought that a guy like Li Youquan might earn the prestigious title of "Champion Scholar’s Teacher" made Chen Fugui’s teeth itch with jealousy. They both taught at the First High School, so why was this bastard’s Luck so damn good? It was utterly baffling that he had managed to stumble upon a Divine Ability User with a once-in-a-century Talent Divine Techniques.

He thought, "Still, even if I can’t be the Champion Scholar’s Teacher, striving to be the Teacher of the Champion Scholar’s Husband works just as well!"

Staring at the footage of Lu Chen in the Profound Celestial Mirror, Chen Fugui secretly cheered him on in his heart.

He thought, "Lu Tongxue, you absolutely must do me proud! Let’s forget about excelling in Cultivation; just focus on locking down that girl Mu Xiaoye. It would be best if you two got your marriage certificates the moment you graduate.

"That way, when your teacher goes to attend the wedding banquet, I can sit at the exact same table as that guy Li Youquan, right?"

In a sense, the teacher of the Champion Scholar and the teacher of the Champion Scholar’s husband were basically on the same level! Li Youquan couldn’t be allowed to hog all this overwhelming wealth and glory for himself; he had to leave a slice of the pie for Chen Fugui.

The Cultivation Realm wasn’t just about fighting and killing; it was also about worldly wisdom and social connections.