Chapter 83 - 76: Special Exam, Brutal Battlefield

Chapter 83: Chapter 76: Special Exam, Brutal Battlefield

After an explanation from the principal of Second High School, the candidates present quickly understood the general format of this three-school joint examination.

Unlike the previous mock exam at First High School, this joint exam was not only highly formal but also utilized a special item typically reserved exclusively for the College Entrance Examination—the "Holographic Helmet."

This Holographic Helmet could scan the candidates’ physical data and transmit their consciousness into a specially constructed Server. This allowed the candidates to engage in practical combat within a nearly authentic holographic space, practically indistinguishable from reality.

However, just like the mock exam at First High School—where a candidate’s final grade wasn’t solely based on their test score—the results for this joint exam were similarly divided into two parts: a "Practical Combat Score" and a "Talent Score."

The Practical Combat Score evaluated the candidates’ actual performance during the exam. The Talent Score assessed the Quality of their Spiritual Root, their Comprehension, and other innate traits. The former represented a candidate’s current proficiency among their peers, while the latter indicated their future potential.

Combining the two undoubtedly provided the most accurate measure of a candidate’s overall potential. Therefore, in a sense, candidates with Top Grade Spiritual Roots like Mu Xiaoye and Lu Chen had already secured a significant lead over the others before the exam even started.

While this might seem somewhat cruel to those with average Talent, this was exactly how the Immortal Alliance Daoist School selected its candidates. After all, the best resources naturally had to be given to those with the most potential. Only then could they maximize the utilization of those resources.

On the sports field of Second High School, once all eight hundred-plus candidates had received their Holographic Helmets, the principal began explaining the specific content and rules of the exam.

"Students, the holographic space you are about to enter is based on a tragic battle between the Immortal Alliance and the Alien Race from many years ago.

"In this battle, there are three ways for you to earn points.

"The first is to slay as many members of the Alien Race as possible to accumulate a sufficient number of points. However, for those who choose this method, please note that the Alien Race operates as organized armies. If you linger in one place for too long, you risk being surrounded by their forces. Do not get too caught up in the fighting.

"The second method is to save as many survivors on the battlefield as you can and escort them to safe zones, protecting them from the vicious hands of the Alien Race.

"As for the third method... which is personally my most recommended approach, it is simply to survive as long as possible. The longer you stay alive, the higher your score will be. Acting on impulse isn’t necessarily a good thing.

"Alright, I’ve said all that needs to be said. Please put on your helmets; the exam will begin shortly."

Hearing the principal’s words, everyone immediately donned their special Holographic Helmets.

Before putting his on, Lu Chen discreetly activated his Cyan Lotus Pupil to inspect the helmet’s structure. He discovered that the helmet didn’t just incorporate high technology; its Core Area also contained Array patterns.

Undoubtedly, this helmet was a product of both high technology and Cultivation methods—a relatively novel invention.

After understanding the Holographic Helmet’s function, a thought immediately surfaced in Lu Chen’s mind. Why was the helmet’s so-called "immersion mode" so similar to the immersion mode in True Cultivation’s Dungeons?

Perhaps the only difference between the two was that True Cultivation could reflect the Cultivation gained in the Dungeon back into reality.

Never mind, he should just focus on the exam for now.

Lu Chen put on the Holographic Helmet and soon experienced a sensation akin to entering a True Cultivation Dungeon. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself amidst the ruins of a massive city, with smoke filling the air everywhere.

A paragraph of text immediately appeared before his eyes.

[Exam Content: Due to the invasion of the Nine Nether Race, the prosperous Jade Mountain City has been reduced to a Purgatory on Earth. The Golden Core Cultivators defending the city have suffered heavy casualties, and the Golden Core Stage experts of the Nine Nether Race are currently hunting down the fleeing Golden Core Cultivators of the Immortal Alliance. Only a portion of Foundation Establishment Stage and Qi Cultivation Stage Nine Nether Evil Objects have been left behind to purge the survivors in the ruins...]

[Identity Introduction: You are a graduating student from a Cultivation high school in Jade Mountain City. Right now, you must either fight your way out of the Nine Nether Race’s encirclement or hold out long enough to wait for the Immortal Alliance’s reinforcements...]

[Hint: Suppress your anger and maintain your rationality, for only then... can you make the right decisions.]

[Current Number of Candidates: 875]

[Countdown: 02:59]

...

"A former battlefield against the Alien Race?"

Appearing in the ruins of a shopping mall, Lu Chen looked at the broken walls and debris around him, as well as the Foundation Establishment Stage Nine Nether Evil Objects occasionally flying across the distant sky. He now roughly understood the core of this exam.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the key to this exam didn’t lie in the candidates’ Power, but rather in testing their crisis management abilities.

Placing over eight hundred Qi Cultivation Stage candidates into the ruins of Jade Mountain City—a city that originally had a population of a million—it would be a miracle if they could even survive, let alone change the tide of the battle.

Whether to slay as many Nine Nether Evil Objects as possible before dying, or to take a cautious route and hide to hold out for enough time, entirely depended on each candidate’s own decision.

Looking at the timer indicating that the exam would start in about a minute, Lu Chen began to weigh his strategy.

If his guess was correct, the greatest difficulty of this exam lay with those Foundation Establishment Stage Nine Nether Evil Objects actively roaming the city ruins. Although the exam hint stated there weren’t many Foundation Establishment Stage Nine Nether Evil Objects currently in the ruins, as long as one was careful and avoided them, there wouldn’t be too much of a problem.

But once some unlucky soul ran into one, they would essentially be on the verge of elimination.

With this in mind, Lu Chen roughly figured out his exam strategy moving forward. He would avoid the Foundation Establishment Stage Nine Nether Evil Objects as much as possible, then find a way to break out of the encirclement.

Lu Chen had reason to believe that as time passed, those Nine Nether Evil Objects that had gone out to pursue the Immortal Alliance’s Cultivators would likely return. After all, according to the Immortal Alliance’s history he had learned at school, these Alien Races from outside the Nine Provinces mostly came from worlds with relatively harsh environments.

Their purpose in coming to the Nine Provinces was to secure a piece of land here so their race could survive and continue. That was why they were so ruthless in purging the remaining citizens of the Nine Provinces in Jade Mountain City. Ultimately, they only wanted this land, not the people living on it.

Therefore, if the candidates couldn’t escape Jade Mountain City within a certain time frame, the only outcome waiting for them... was a dead end.

[Exam Countdown: 00:01]

[Exam... begins!]

As a voice echoed in his mind, the special barrier enveloping Lu Chen... vanished.

...