Shadow Clan

[Physique: Mortal Body (Class B)]

[Innate Talent: Nascent]

Jiang Ye looked at the top of Zhao Qingli's head and thought to himself, *She has a Class B physique like me, and she's also in her second year of high school, but her total score across all four subjects has already reached 700.*

Her current score was 700, but that didn't mean she'd get the same score on the college entrance exam.

There was still a full year until the exam.

By next year, Zhao Qingli would be far beyond this score.

"I'm still a long way behind these geniuses with Nascent Talent."

Jiang Ye sighed, but his mood remained steady.

There was plenty of time. One day, he'd catch up!

Of course, he knew that even surpassing Nascent Talent would only be the beginning.

In this era, geniuses were as plentiful as fish crossing a river.

As the Culture Class Teacher had said,

innate talents were divided into four levels: Primitive, Nascent, Dao Bone, and Transcendent.

The best among those with Nascent Talent could break through the First Break in their third year of high school and become Starry Sky Martial Artists.

For those with Dao Bone Talent, becoming a Starry Sky Martial Artist in their third year was only the bare minimum. Breaking through the Second Break before the college entrance exam was no difficult feat.

Yet even then, they still couldn't be considered true geniuses.

What was a true genius?

One who began cultivating at ten, reached the First Break at twelve, the Second Break at fifteen, and had already reached the Third Break by the time they turned eighteen!

That was Transcendent Talent!

Such people were the true favored children of heaven in this world.

Most people could only start cultivating at fifteen, but those born with transcendent abilities could begin five years earlier. Naturally, they were far beyond ordinary people.

Yet even geniuses like them weren't the strongest. Jiang Ye had heard there were even more powerful talents above them, but that level was far beyond Ancheng.

Martial Arts had no end.

The favored children of heaven shone like stars!

*Maybe one day, I'll reach that level too.*

Having lived two lives, Jiang Ye's blood still ran hot, and longing welled up in his heart.

By then, everyone from Class Nine had entered the spherical building.

Before them stretched a vast metal hall.

Rows of metal seats stood in the center of the hall, each with a silver-white metal helmet resting on it.

At the very front of the hall, the rankings for the entire grade scrolled across a massive screen.

[First place: Zhao Qingli: 710 points]

[Second place: Lin Miaomiao: 652 points]

[Third place: Wang Ziang]

Almost all of the top hundred were students from the Key Classes.

A few students from Ordinary Classes occasionally made the list, but they were usually near the bottom.

"That's strange. There are plenty of students with Class A Lower physiques in the Key Classes, so why is Zhao Qingli, with her Class B physique, in first place?"

Jiang Ye glanced at the Key Class students around him, puzzled.

By rights, a Class A physique far surpassed a Class B one.

But as far as he knew, Zhao Qingli had held first place in the grade ever since her first year of high school.

"Is it because of her innate talent, or some other factor?" Jiang Ye wondered.

As he mulled it over, it was already time for Class Nine's assessment.

"Now, let's assign the numbers!"

Zhang Jianwu stood at the front of Class Nine's line and called out.

Everyone immediately grew eager.

This wasn't their first time here. They came for occasional practice during class.

The Virtual Starry Sky Combat Assessment was done in groups of five.

The test involved entering a virtual world as a team of five and fighting the Shadow Clan.

Scores were based on the number of Shadow Clan members killed and the team's casualties.

Teams weren't formed at random. The school system assigned them numbers so that each team would be roughly equal in strength.

Of course, the assignments were made within each class.

That meant students in the Key Classes were bound to score well in this assessment, since their average ability was so high.

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

Jiang Ye was a little surprised to hear his group called.

Xia Qing—the girl who often brought him water.

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

But now, all three quickly gathered around Jiang Ye.

"Brother Jiang, let us ride your coattails!"

"Yeah, Brother Jiang, you're the strongest among us. We'll be counting on you to carry us!"

Jiang Ye smiled faintly. "This is a team effort. Everyone matters. Let's give it our all together."

"Right, let's give it our all."

The others chimed in. Since they'd been grouped with Jiang Ye, the second-ranked student in the class, they were naturally happy to follow his lead.

Jiang Ye glanced at Xia Qing, who was secretly looking at him, and suddenly said, "Xia Qing, be careful later. Don't let the monsters kill you in one hit."

"Huh?" Xia Qing froze for a moment. A faint blush spread across her face, and she hurriedly nodded. "I'll be careful."

Seeing this, Tao Xiaogang immediately stepped forward. "Don't worry, Brother Jiang. Xia Qing's the only girl on our team. We'll make sure to protect her!"

Jiang Ye nodded without saying anything more.

Of course he had to keep Xia Qing safe. With a girl on his team, he could get a 35% attack-speed bonus, and there was even a chance of triggering a 50% damage bonus!

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

Jiang Ye quietly glanced toward Li Zhichao in the distance.

First place came with a 30,000-yuan grant for students in financial need. He wanted it badly.

The teams had been assigned.

Li Zhichao remained calm, still confident he could hold on to first place.

On the other side, Xu Sisi clenched her fist, determination flashing in her almond-shaped eyes.

*I have a speed advantage in this assessment. Whether I can reclaim second place depends on this.*

At that moment, Zhang Jianwu announced, "Each group, take your assigned seats in order. The Virtual Starry Sky assessment is about to begin!"

Everyone sprang into action.

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

The Virtual Helmet was also known as a "brain-nerve connector." It used neutrinos to communicate with brain waves, allowing people to fall asleep in an instant.

The moment he put on the helmet,

Jiang Ye's consciousness sank.

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

Xia Qing, Tao Xiaogang, and the other three were there with him.

The moon was hidden, and the wind howled.

The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow.

"It's so realistic."

Jiang Ye looked at the surroundings. Though this wasn't his first time here, he couldn't help but marvel.

The Virtual Starry Sky could recreate reality on a one-to-one scale, even reproducing pain perfectly.

That meant any injuries sustained here would immediately affect one's ability to fight.

"Whoosh!"

Just then, in a patch of shadow ahead of them,

a pitch-black figure slowly took shape, flowing out of the darkness like liquid.

As the shadow solidified, a bone-chilling, eerie wind suddenly swept through.

"Shadow Clan—Infant Body!"

Jiang Ye's eyes narrowed. "Prepare for battle!"

The other four tensed up.

The Shadow Clan were incredibly powerful.

Even an Infant Body stood between one and a half and two meters tall. A Juvenile Body could reach more than three meters.

Only a Martial Artist who had reached at least the First Break could deal with a Juvenile Body.

The Infant Body before them was clearly only one and a half meters tall, the weakest kind of Infant Body, but it still took all five of them working together to handle one.

"Hiss!"

The pitch-black shadow let out a shriek and lunged toward them.

But just as Jiang Ye and the others braced themselves for battle, the shadow suddenly vanished in a bizarre flash.

Tao Xiaogang and the others froze.

Jiang Ye, however, roared, "Watch your backs!"

The Shadow Clan liked to possess shadows.

Jiang Ye remembered Chen Zilu had repeatedly stressed that during battle, they had to keep a constant eye on where their shadows were.

They had to make sure their own shadows stayed within their field of vision!

As soon as the fight began, Jiang Ye had noticed that his shadow was behind him.

He spun around.

A gaping maw came straight at him.

Without a second thought, Jiang Ye threw a punch.

35% attack-speed bonus!

Farmer's Three Punches!

**Bam! Bam! Bam!**