Shadow Clan

[Constitution: Mortal Body (Grade B)]

[Talent: Newborn]

Jiang Ye looked at Zhao Qingli's head and thought to himself, "She has a Grade B constitution like me, and she's also in her second year of high school. But her total score across the four subjects has already reached 700 points."

The fact that she had 700 points now didn't mean she'd have the same score on the college entrance examination.

There was still a full year until the college entrance examination.

Next year, Zhao Qingli's score would far exceed this.

"The gap between me now and these talented newborns is still huge."

Jiang Ye sighed, but his mindset was very stable.

There was plenty of time in the future; he would catch up one day!

Of course, he also knew very well that even surpassing the newborn talent level was just the beginning.

In this era, geniuses were as numerous as carp crossing a river.

As the cultural studies teacher said.

Talent was divided into four levels: Primal, Newborn, Dao Bone, and Extraordinary.

Those with excellent Newborn talent could break through the First Break in their third year of high school and become a Starry Sky Martial Artist.

For those with Dao Bone talent, becoming a Starry Sky Martial Artist in their third year was just the baseline; breaking through the Second Break before the college entrance examination was not difficult.

But even so, they were not considered true geniuses.

What constituted a true genius?

Someone who started cultivating at the age of ten, achieved the First Break at twelve, the Second Break at fifteen, and the Third Break by the age of eighteen when they came of age!

This was Extraordinary talent!

And the true chosen ones of this world.

Most people could only start cultivating at fifteen, but these individuals were born with extraordinary abilities. Cultivating five years earlier naturally made them far superior to ordinary people.

However, even such geniuses were not the strongest. He heard there were even stronger talent levels above that, but that level was too far from Ancheng.

Martial arts were endless.

Heavenly prodigies shone like stars!

"Perhaps one day, I too can reach that level."

Having lived two lives, Jiang Ye's passion remained undimmed, a yearning stirring within him.

At this moment, the students of Class Nine had already entered the spherical building.

Before them lay a vast metal hall.

In the center of the hall, rows of metal seats were arranged, each with a silver-white metal helmet placed upon it.

And at the very front of the hall, a massive screen displayed the rankings for the entire grade.

[First Place: Zhao Qingli: 710 points]

[Second Place: Lin Miaomiao: 652 points]

[Third Place: Wang Ziang]

The rankings within the top one hundred were almost entirely composed of students from the Key Class.

The few from the Ordinary Class who managed to break in were generally ranked at the very bottom.

"Strange, the Key Class has no shortage of students with Class A Lower physiques, yet the first place is Zhao Qingli, who has a Class B physique?"

Jiang Ye glanced at the surrounding Key Class students, a sense of bewilderment rising in his heart.

Logically, a Class A physique far surpassed a Class B physique.

But as far as he knew, the name Zhao Qingli had consistently held the top spot in the grade since the beginning of high school.

"Is it due to innate talent? Or other factors?" Jiang Ye mused.

While he was contemplating, it was already Class Nine's turn to undergo the assessment.

"Next, we will begin assigning numbers!"

Zhang Jianwu stood before the Class Nine students and announced loudly.

Everyone immediately grew expectant.

This was not their first time at this place; they occasionally experienced it during regular classes.

The Virtual Starry Sky combat assessment was conducted in groups of five.

The assessment content involved five-person teams entering a virtual world to battle the 'Shadow Clan'.

The scoring for this assessment was determined by the number of 'Shadow Clan' members killed and the casualty rate of the team.

Team formation was not arbitrary; the school system would assign numbers to ensure that each team's strength was roughly equal.

Of course, this numbering was done on a class-by-class basis.

Therefore, students in the Key Class will definitely score high in this assessment, as their overall quality is very high.

"Jiang Ye, Xia Qing, Tao Xiaogang, He Hua, Li Xuan."

Jiang Ye was a little surprised when he heard his group.

Xia Qing, the girl who often brought him water.

As for the other three, they were all students from the lower-middle tier, and he wasn't particularly close to them.

However, at this moment, all three quickly gathered around Jiang Ye.

"Brother Jiang, please let us cling to your thigh!"

"Yeah, Brother Jiang, you're the strongest among us. We'll rely on you to carry us through."

Jiang Ye smiled slightly and said, "This is teamwork. Everyone is important. Let's work hard together."

"Okay, let's work hard together."

The few of them said in unison. They naturally obeyed Jiang Ye, who was ranked second in the class.

Jiang Ye glanced at Xia Qing, who was secretly looking at him, and suddenly said, "Xia Qing, be careful later. Don't get instantly killed by a monster."

"Huh?" Xia Qing was stunned for a moment, then her face turned slightly red, and she quickly nodded, "I'll be careful."

Tao Xiaogang, standing nearby, immediately stepped forward and said, "Brother Jiang, don't worry. Xia Qing is the only girl in our team. We will definitely protect her!"

Jiang Ye nodded and didn't say anything more.

Of course, he had to protect Xia Qing. After all, with a girl in the team, he could get a 35% attack speed bonus, and even a chance to trigger a 50% damage bonus!

"I wonder if I can use this ability to break into first place."

Jiang Ye silently glanced at Li Zhichao in the distance.

The first place prize was a 30,000 yuan poverty scholarship, which he was very eager for.

The team assignments were complete.

Li Zhichao's expression was calm, still possessing the confidence and certainty of holding first place.

On the other hand, Xu Sisi clenched her fists, a hint of determination flashing in her apricot-like eyes.

"In this assessment, my speed has an advantage. Whether I can regain second place depends on this." Xu Sisi thought to herself.

At this moment, Zhang Jianwu spoke, "Each group will enter their seats according to the sequence and begin the Virtual Starry Sky assessment!"

Everyone started to move.

Jiang Ye walked to his seat and put on the silver-white Virtual Helmet.

The Virtual Helmet, also known as a "Brain-Neural Connector," could communicate with brainwaves via neutrinos, instantly inducing a state of slumber.

The moment he put on the helmet.

Jiang Ye's consciousness sank.

The next moment, he had arrived at a corner of a virtual city.

Along with Jiang Ye were Xia Qing, Tao Xiaogang, and four others.

The moon was dark, and the wind was high.

The streetlights were dim.

"So real."

Jiang Ye looked at his surroundings. Although it wasn't his first time here, he couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

The Virtual Starry Sky could restore reality one-to-one, even fully replicating the sensation of pain.

This meant that injuries sustained here would immediately affect combat ability.

"Hoo!"

Just then, in front of them, within a shadow.

A pitch-black figure, like liquid, slowly solidified from the shadow.

As the phantasm solidified, a bone-chilling, cold wind suddenly blew.

"Shadow Clan--Infant Body!"

Jiang Ye's eyes narrowed, and he shouted, "Prepare to fight!"

The other four all tensed up.

The Shadow Clan was very powerful.

An Infant Body was between 1.5 to 2 meters tall, while a Juvenile Body could reach over 3 meters.

Encountering a Juvenile Body required a martial artist of at least First Break to deal with.

This Infant Body before them was clearly only 1.5 meters tall, the weakest type of Infant Body, but it still required the combined effort of five people to handle.

"Hiss!"

The pitch-black phantasm let out a roar and lunged at them.

But just as Jiang Ye and the others went all out, the phantasm suddenly and strangely disappeared.

Tao Xiaogang and the others were stunned.

Jiang Ye roared, "Watch your backs!"

The Shadow Clan liked to possess shadows.

Jiang Ye remembered Chen Zilu had repeatedly emphasized that during combat, one must always pay attention to the direction of their shadows.

Ensure your own shadow is within your line of sight!

When the fight began, Jiang Ye noticed his shadow was behind him.

He spun around abruptly.

He saw a maw rushing towards him.

Without a word, Jiang Ye immediately threw a punch.

35% Attack Speed Bonus!

Farmer's Three Punches!

Peng peng peng--