Alternate Space Exam Hall

One day until the College Entrance Exam:

Wang Zhong stopped nagging Jiang Yan and did not disturb him, giving him plenty of space to rest.

In Linjiang City, news of Jiang Yan testing as having an SS-rank talent spread throughout the city.

For a time, every prominent big shot in Linjiang wanted to get acquainted with Jiang Yan, this top-tier prodigy.

But when they realized there was only one day left until the College Entrance Exam, every one of those shrewd old hands wisely stayed away. They knew that trying to curry favor with him now was not a good time; handled poorly, it might even turn this future super tycoon against them.

The local television station began round-the-clock coverage of Jiang Yan's glorious deeds. The name "Jiang Yan" became known to everyone in a short time, along with titles such as:

"SS-rank super genius."

"Without precedent."

"Linjiang City's rising star."

A lavishly decorated villa.

Liu Hair-Ren listened to the television report about Jiang Yan with a face full of worry. The more he listened, the more terrified he became.

The regret on his face was so obvious that it was practically begging to be written down in ink.

"Damn it, how could he have an SS-rank talent? Why would someone who had only barely opened his apertures possess an SS-rank talent?"

A few days earlier, he had been forced to submit to an investigation by the Linjiang City Investigation Bureau. His position had been temporarily stripped, and he was still under observation.

He had thought that as long as he kept a low profile for a while and greased the right palms above and below, he could weather this crisis safely. But the moment he heard that Jiang Yan had tested as having an SS-rank talent, he could no longer sit still.

"What if those old foxes try to please Jiang Yan..."

Ring, ring, ring...

The shrill ringtone jolted Liu Hair-Ren awake from his panic.

Liu Hair-Ren's face turned pale. As if he had long expected this day to come, he answered the phone with trembling hands.

"Hello, we are from the Provincial Investigation Bureau. We have received reports from local citizens of Linjiang City..."

Smack—

The phone fell to the floor, and Liu Hair-Ren sank completely into despair.

Chu Family Building.

"Quick! Tell that assassin to stop the mission! Do not touch Jiang Yan under any circumstances!"

Bang!

A group of plainclothes officers burst into the chairman's office and, without another word, handcuffed Chu Tianqin—Chu Ming's father.

"Chu Tianqin, you privately hired an assassin and deliberately attempted to murder a national strategic talent. Come with us."

"I—I didn't!"

"The assassin has already been captured and has confessed your identity. Do not make pointless struggles."

Hearing this, Chu Tianqin was struck as if by a bolt from the blue and fainted on the spot.

A hidden giant hand was dismantling Jiang Yan's potential threats with an inconceivable grip.

Strength and talent—possessing either one alone was enough to enjoy unparalleled privilege on Blue Star, yet most of the time, the two came hand in hand.

This was a cruel world, but it was also a splendid one.

Jiang Yan checked his registration information on the official website.

The College Entrance Exam was not held in the real world, but within spaces opened up by great powers.

On Blue Star, supreme Space Martial Saints had wielded their immense power to carve out Alternate Spaces vast enough to contain mountains and rivers.

Every year, all examinees took their exams within those Alternate Spaces.

Blue Star might be vast, even larger than the planet Jiang Yan had lived on in his previous life, but when Talent Users and Aperture Awakened were counted, there were not actually that many people.

Adding those examinees who had not awakened talents but still wished to gamble on a chance through luck, there were roughly ten million candidates each year.

The Space Martial Saints had once established an anchor point in every city. Once activated, those anchors would start up, allowing examinees to enter the Alternate Space Exam Hall.

No cameras had been installed within the Alternate Space, yet images could still be projected with perfect accuracy. Cheating was nearly impossible.

The contents of the exam differed every year. No one knew what exactly went on in the minds of those who set the questions.

Every year people predicted the questions, and every year they got them wrong.

But one thing never changed—strength was the absolute deciding factor that crushed everything else.

The closer the College Entrance Exam drew, the more restless Jiang Yan became—not from anxiety, but anticipation.

He had no idea that his information had already been turned into stacks of files and placed on other examinees' desks.

In Divine Capital, within an ancient and elegant courtyard, a handsome man stood with a fan in hand. His noble, refined bearing could not conceal the dangerous aura around him.

Not far away, a seductively dressed office lady held those files and read out their information one by one.

"Modu Xiao Family, Xiao Ziming, SS-rank talent. Current known cultivation: mid-third-tier Xiantian. Talent ability: ... Martial techniques previously used: ..."

"Modu Li Family, Li Qingle, S-rank Talent. Current cultivation: second-tier peak. Rumor has it that this person possesses an extraordinarily exaggerated ability to fight above her level and once defeated a late-third-tier Fierce Beast by herself."

"Lin Li of xx Province's xx High School awakened an S-rank Talent at twelve. At seventeen, his talent underwent an abnormal second breakthrough, transforming into an SS-rank talent..."

"And yesterday, in a small city called Linjiang City—"

"There is no need to mention warriors from a place like that. I do not have time to listen to such insignificant people."

Fan Man gave a disdainful smile and did not take it seriously at all. Even upon hearing of geniuses with S-rank talents at every turn, his eyelids did not so much as twitch.

The uniformed secretary said nothing more and stopped reading Jiang Yan's file. Her expression remained unchanged; clearly, she did not consider him worth attention either.

People from small places were not worth watching, especially when Jiang Yan's file read:

"Opened apertures at eighteen." Those glaring words dropped his level of attention by several notches.

The later one awakened, the smaller their advantage became—let alone candidates from such small cities.

"Oh, right. I heard that people from those Hidden Families and sects are showing signs of entering the world. Go gather some information on them for me. As for everyone else? Heh, do not waste time."

"Yes."

The secretary withdrew respectfully.

Fan Man stretched lazily, his handsome face filled with indolence.

"I hope they can give me a little surprise."

"But first place is mine for the taking!"

Gathering information on examinees before the exam had already become routine, and Linjiang City was no exception.

Reports on examinees from various regions appeared frequently across major social media platforms.

"Shocking! A Divine Capital prodigy, xxx, fought a fourth-tier Fierce Beast while only at third-tier Xiantian and remained undefeated! Follow me—the group has the battle footage."

"My God, who still does not know? An eighteen-year-old examinee awakened an SS-rank talent, and the reason was actually..."

"Heavens, how could someone cause such a huge disaster? An S-rank Talent examinee from xx City, because of..."

People scrolled through these half-true, half-false news stories and discussed them with great relish.

Jiang Yan was immersed in battle and could not pull himself free.