Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the school's first mock exam arrived.
Teacher Du, their homeroom teacher, had already sent out a notice. The exam would take place on his Natal Star, where he would set aside a specific area to test the vassals of the Star Lord students.
The method of assessment was the same as in previous years. Each Star Lord student would send a thousand First-Order vassals into the examination area on their homeroom teacher's Natal Star.
There was no need to worry that a student might not be able to field a thousand First-Order vassals. Even if they had maintained their Natal Star and vassal development at the lowest, most basic level all along, after months of development, tens of thousands of years would already have passed on their Natal Star. They could grind out one or two thousand First-Order vassals if nothing else.
If a student still couldn't field a thousand First-Order vassals by now, that could only mean something had definitely gone wrong with their Natal Star or vassals. They should report it to the teacher right away, get everything checked thoroughly, and see if anything could be done.
Then, Teacher Du would send a hundred vassals of the same rank to fight and clash with the students' vassal forces.
The students' scores would be based on how long their vassals held out. Lasting thirty minutes counted as a pass; holding out for an hour earned full marks.
If students lasted the same amount of time and earned the same score, their rankings would be decided by how many vassals they had left, how many of the teacher's vassals they had killed, and other such figures.
As for a student's vassals turning the tables completely and wiping out the teacher's vassals within the allotted time, not even the ten high schools in Xiūshé City had ever seen such a thing.
After all, anyone qualified to be homeroom teacher of a Star Lord Class at a high school was at least a Fourth-Tier Star Lord with a Sixth-Rank Golden Core. Their Natal Stars had advanced to the Fourth Order, and their vassals had reached the Fourth Order at their highest.
Even though they used First-Order vassals for the test, had only a tenth as many as the students, and imposed numerous restrictions on them, the gap was still immense.
For example, they weren't allowed to use ranged attacks. Otherwise, the teachers feared that a few volleys would wipe out the students' vassals participating in the first mock exam, dealing far too heavy a blow to their confidence.
They also couldn't use formation diagrams or fight in battle formations, since that could likewise mean instantly annihilating the students' vassals.
And so on.
But even so, First-Order vassals on a First-Order Star were fundamentally far weaker than First-Order vassals on a Fourth-Order Star.
Vassals belonging to students who had become Star Lords less than a year ago had practically no chance of turning the tables and wiping out their teachers' test forces.
That day, in the center of the Half-Dragonfolk village on Dragon Soul Star, which had been expanded several times over, stood the Heavenly Emperor Temple.
The Half-Dragonfolk Retainer, led by their priest, Chi the Eighth, was holding a grand sacrificial ceremony.
The number of Half-Dragonfolk vassals had now exceeded twenty thousand, nearing the current limit of thirty thousand for their Natal Star. Among them, more than seven thousand had awakened their bloodlines and intelligence and advanced to the First Order.
From these seven thousand-plus First-Order vassals, the strongest thousand had been chosen to form the expeditionary force. Led by their warrior chief, Chi the Eighth, they stood in formation in the village square, receiving the blessings and purification of their tribe's sacrificial rite.
"Warriors of the Dragon Soul Tribe, go! Go and face the Heavenly Emperor's trial!"
The priest, Chi the Eighth, pointed toward the Starlight Portal opened beyond the village and shouted.
As the vassal tribe grew ever stronger, Liang Ji had bestowed upon them the name "Dragon Soul Tribe."
"Victory!"
Chi the Eighth raised his battle axe and cried out.
Compared to the axes from two or three generations ago, the one in his hands had grown much larger and thicker, looking almost like a warhammer.
The Half-Dragonfolk Tribe still hadn't managed to raise a Rune Master, so they couldn't make Rune Artifacts. Their original weapons had failed to keep pace with the Half-Dragonfolk's growth, leaving them no choice but to resort to this compromise.
They forged their battle axes bigger and bigger, until they resembled warhammers, allowing them to add more iron and steel. Their shields, too, grew larger and thicker, like huge slabs of iron.
Of course, their Flying Snake Spear skill had changed as well. The flying spears they used had become bigger and thicker, like iron pillars.
In any case, these First-Order Half-Dragonfolk had all cultivated the Hegemonic Body, possessing overwhelming strength. They had no trouble wielding these warhammer-like axes, ingot-like shields, and pillar-like spears.
"Victory! Victory! Victory!"
Behind Chi the Eighth, the warriors joining this expedition also raised their warhammer-like axes and shouted.
They stood around two meters tall. Two or three generations ago, each of them could have competed for the position of warrior chief, Chi.
But as Dragon Soul Star and the Half-Dragonfolk Retainer continued to grow and develop, Half-Dragonfolk around two meters tall now counted only as elite warriors within the tribe.
"Victory!" "Victory!" "Victory!"
The more than six thousand other First-Order Half-Dragonfolk gathered for the ceremony also cheered loudly.
"March!"
At Chi the Eighth's command, he immediately led the way toward the Starlight Portal.
Every warrior in the expedition carried a massive battle axe, shield, and flying spear on his back—and not just one set. Each looked as though he had a small mountain strapped to him as he entered the Starlight Portal.
Every Star Lord student had made thorough preparations for this first mock exam.
Beyond the Starlight Portal lay a plain. There was no sign of Teacher Du's vassals or the other students' vassals.
This first mock exam tested the true strength of each student's vassals, so forming teams was not allowed.
Chi the Eighth led his warriors onto the plain, and they immediately felt how different it was from Dragon Soul Star. The sky was higher, the ground firmer, and the vitality and spiritual energy between heaven and earth far richer.
Here, their bodies seemed more at ease, and they could unleash even greater strength.
This was Teacher Du's Natal Star—a Fourth-Order Star containing a Fourth-Order Spirit Vein. In every respect, it was naturally many times stronger than Liang Ji's Natal Star, Dragon Soul Star.
However, the Half-Dragonfolk had no time to enjoy the differences around them.
Liang Ji had already received a message from Teacher Du: his vassals' test force would attack in thirty minutes.
So his Half-Dragonfolk warriors had only thirty minutes to prepare.
This was also the school's final opportunity for students to weaken the teacher's vassal force before the assessment. After all, thirty minutes was enough time for many students' vassals to make thorough preparations.
Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk force, for instance, was already following Chi the Eighth's orders. They took the ingot-like shields from their backs, chose a suitable spot nearby, and stacked them into iron walls, building an iron-walled fortress for defense.
At the same time, they sent out warriors to quickly dig around the area, altering the terrain by making pits and trenches and piling up mounds of earth. They did everything they could to create obstacles, slow the enemy's advance, and shape an environment favorable to themselves.
A new trial was about to begin. Keep going, everyone!
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