Data Collection

After lunch, Zhao Han and Wu Shanshan went to clean the villa together.

Wenren De did not continue drinking. Instead, he went to take a nap, while the other two men went to attend to their own business.

Zhao Han had already noticed that Wenren Sheng only allowed Wenren De to drink the weakest beer.

Drinking beer every day was certainly still harmful, but it had one advantage: before Wenren Sheng came home, Wenren De would not get too drunk. After all, beer filled the stomach.

And once Wenren Sheng came home, Wenren De could forget about getting another drop of alcohol.

As Zhao Han wiped the floor-to-ceiling windows, she spoke with Wu Shanshan beside her, trying to ease the tension between them.

"Uncle seems rather afraid of Teacher?"

"Oh, that's because Uncle's drinking money has to go through Wenren's credit card." Wu Shanshan seemed to have become much friendlier toward her.

Zhao Han understood and continued probing. "Senior, you've taken that Otherworldly Species Host Qualification Examination before, right?"

Wu Shanshan washed the window ledge and nodded. "Mm. I activated at seventeen. This is my second time."

"What was your last examination like?" Zhao Han asked excitedly. Although Uncle had explained it to her in detail, hearing it from someone her own age was more reassuring.

"Want to know?" Wu Shanshan blinked.

"Yes." Zhao Han nodded vigorously.

"If you want to know, you'll be handling all the work today." Wu Shanshan showed no mercy.

"Fine." Zhao Han agreed at once, since she had been doing all the work by herself anyway.

"Actually, it's very simple for you. For the first examination, temporary Otherworldly Users are not eliminated by default. No matter how poor your progress is, you'll only be reprimanded at most—unless your body develops health problems and you lose the ability to keep cultivating." After saying that, Wu Shanshan turned and left.

"Uh..." Zhao Han was instantly speechless. It was exactly the same as what Uncle had told her before; Wu Shanshan had not provided a single additional detail.

She watched Wu Shanshan's retreating back, feeling thoroughly frustrated.

Just as Wu Shanshan turned into the corner of the corridor, Zhao Han was about to turn back when she saw a cloud of pitch-black dust mist flare up and vanish within the other woman's shadow, cast by the slanting sunset.

Her heart tightened, and she immediately recalled how Wu Shanshan had seemed to use this power to intimidate her before.

But at that moment, another piece of narration flashed through her mind.

"Zhao Han looked fearfully at Wu Shanshan's back. That fleeting, strange Otherworldly Species aura seemed to conceal an inexplicable danger. But she never imagined that it was precisely this aura that had saved her life in the previous car accident."

"She would have a hard time figuring this out alone. After all, she was merely an idiot who could not even make it into the top fifty of the entire school, yet still dreamed of getting into Aomori through ordinary means."

Hehe, did this idiot eat your family's food?

Wait, it really was feeding off it...

That bastard had made a good point, though. There was definitely someone who could figure this out.

In the study, Wenren Sheng reclined in a lounge chair.

He had already finished browsing the book Li Shi'an had given him—"Classification and Required Knowledge for Otherworldly Qualification Exam Judges"—and was, as usual, mulling it over.

The contents were indeed useful, especially for a first-time candidate like him with obvious shortcomings.

The Martial Exam was indeed easy for him. With his two mystery-type skills, Extraordinary Physique and Mystery Resistance, whose actual effects were at Master Level, he only needed to reveal a portion of them to pass.

Before obtaining this book, he had assumed he would have to personally enter combat, as he had previously understood it.

Like the various fighting competitions in the Ordinary Person world. But that information was already outdated.

The blank sections in the book clearly stated that, for this round of judges' Martial Exams, the experts would no longer be required to fight personally. Instead, instruments would gather various data, including physical aptitude and Mystery Resistance.

The data would then be used to determine rankings and scores. The higher the ranking, the higher the score, naturally, because everyone's competitors were other people, not themselves.

Most importantly, the Martial Exam's weighting in the overall judge selection had, for the first time, reversed from sixty-forty to forty-sixty.

Simply put, whoever could fight better had previously found it easier to rise to a High-rank position. That was no longer the case.

Just like the duel between He Shiqiang and Wang Chenggui that morning, the trend had long been quietly changing as Otherworldly Users retreated into supporting roles.

Experts in the Mysterious Realm were increasingly unwilling to personally enter battle. Instead, they took on support and research roles that appeared more elegant, carried higher status, and were more comfortable and safe...

The ones who entered battle and served as the main force in charges and assaults had become the professional soldiers trained by the Patrol Division—the Black Shirts.

Most of them were former Otherworldly Species holders. After undergoing rigorous training and education, they had a complete and strict system of promotion standards and ranks. Once they reached a certain rank, they could obtain Otherworldly Species again, until they retired.

Perhaps it was because they knew these inside details that the old-fashioned Elder He and Li had become increasingly dissatisfied and were targeted by others.

As for the Written Exam, it was not much different from Wenren Sheng's usual understanding.

The judges he needed to qualify as belonged to the combat branch.

Previously, the Written Exam in this field mainly tested one's ability to assess the cultivation progress of newcomers. It required sufficient knowledge reserves, much like appraising antiques: one had to be both specialized and broadly knowledgeable.

One needed a comprehensive understanding of the types of Otherworldly Species, deeper research into the mystery skills of their corresponding fields, and knowledge of the various methods and techniques for assessing progress. Only then could one make accurate judgments about newcomers.

This time, however, some new content had been added. Experts in the combat branch also needed knowledge of all kinds of mystery-type weapons and had to understand the various new methods for assessing a newcomer's weapon affinity.

For Wenren Sheng, his Seed of Mystery could accurately gauge a newcomer's cultivation progress and combat strength, so he was never worried about misleading others.

Others would not know that, of course. The purpose of the Written Exam was to select more suitable experts through testing these knowledge points. At the very least, it ensured that experts who passed the Written Exam possessed proficient appraisal abilities and were not mediocrities lacking even basic competence.

After studying the outline thoroughly, Wenren Sheng began searching for the corresponding books. From time to time, he made calls to gather materials from people.

He did not need the originals. He would be satisfied with electronic scans.

At times like this, the importance of connections became apparent.

Society and school were completely different. School was a zoo, while society was wilderness survival.

A student's information, goals, and processes were relatively fixed. The factors involved in competition were limited, and personal effort accounted for more than half of it. Put in the effort, and one could basically be sure of gaining something.

Society was completely different. It was a chaotic system, and every factor you possessed had to compete.

Take that outline just now. If Wenren Sheng had not actively attended the gathering, he would have known nothing at all.

The Judge Selection Committee's official website only offered some outdated examination materials for download. It would not send him the latest outline for exam preparation.

It was like applying for a job at a company. The recruitment notice only gave broad requirements—five years of work experience, a graduate degree. For more detailed job requirements, you had to actively gather them yourself.

Because the selection itself included a hidden test of attitude, to see whether you had sufficient enthusiasm for the position...

And aside from the few people who genuinely cared about him, such as Ouyang Ling and Wu Shanshan, no one else would voluntarily tell him what he should do.

Everything he needed had to be exchanged for using the resources he already possessed.

This was wilderness survival.

"Alright, Brother Liu. Mm, thanks for the trouble. I'll leave that copy of Weapon Affinity Appraisal Method to you."

"President Zhao, please send over the e-book Five-Year Compilation of Combat Skill Papers."

"Don't worry, Zhao Han is fine over here. After all, it's only her first time. I'll keep an eye on her."