"Looks like this Martial Will test is just like the first layer of the Martial Arts Heavenly Ladder."
"It tests people with illusions?"
Jiang Ye looked at the stunning girl with snow-white feet, his gaze strange.
This was supposed to test him?
What high schooler could resist a test like this?
"Whether it's an illusion or not, I'll have to try it and see."
Jiang Ye immediately stepped forward.
At the same time, the other trial takers also began entering the illusions one after another.
Li Zhichao, for example, found himself sitting in a classroom.
The rankings from the latest monthly exam were displayed on the blackboard at the front.
First place: Jiang Ye
Second place: Xu Sisi
Third place: Li Zhichao
"I actually dropped to third place on this exam!"
Li Zhichao's body trembled as he stared at the blackboard in disbelief.
"Not only did Jiang Ye surpass me, but even Xu Sisi did, too." Li Zhichao gritted his teeth.
At the lectern.
Chen Zilu said coldly, "Li Zhichao's performance has clearly declined this time. He has no chance of getting into the Key Class now. I'll inform your parents of this. You'd better think carefully about what you do next."
At her words, Li Zhichao shuddered violently.
He had fallen to third place.
He no longer had a chance of getting into the Key Class!
Scenes of the future seemed to rise before Li Zhichao's eyes.
The disappointment in his parents' eyes, Lin Xuan's merciless mockery, being branded the disgrace of Tianlong Residential Area—
"No, no..."
Li Zhichao shook his head frantically, his eyes filled with terror.
Lin Xuan sat in a classroom at Ancheng First Middle School.
He stared at the grade rankings in disbelief.
"My score fell out of the top hundred in the grade?"
"If my grades keep dropping, I might even get kicked out of the Key Class and tossed into the Ordinary Class, where all the useless students are?"
Lin Xuan stared at the report card, scenes of the future already appearing before his eyes.
Li Zhichao's merciless mockery, his parents' utter dismay, being nailed to the pillar of shame in Tianlong Residential Area.
"So what if you have Nascent Talent? In the end, you're no better than me, with my Inferior Aptitude," Li Zhichao sneered mercilessly.
"No, I don't want to be stuck with the trash in the Ordinary Class!" Lin Xuan clutched his oversized head and howled in anguish.
Meanwhile, in the hall outside.
All the students had entered the trials.
Most of them wore pained expressions, as if enduring terrible torment.
On the viewing platform, Zhang Jianwu chuckled. "Looks like the students have all gotten into it."
"This Martial Will trial draws out the emotions buried deep in their hearts and presents them in the form of illusions."
As he spoke, he glanced toward Lin Xuan.
"Who would've thought that this kid, one of the top ten students in his grade at Ancheng First Middle School, would have something he feared so much?"
"Now that's intriguing."
The other teachers also turned to look at Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan was drenched in sweat, his face full of terror, as if he were experiencing something horrifying.
Chen Zilu wasn't surprised. "Everyone has their share of emotions and desires. Fear is the easiest thing to make people lose their reason."
"So in the Martial Will trial, everyone has to face their innermost fears."
At this, Zhang Jianwu shook his head with a smile. "Not necessarily. Look over there."
He pointed toward Jiang Ye.
Hearing him, Chen Zilu also looked over at Jiang Ye.
The next second, she froze.
Jiang Ye was seated in a virtual chair, a relaxed smile on his face. Among the crowd of students with twisted expressions, he stood out like a sore thumb.
"That guy's having a sweet dream."
Chen Zilu covered her mouth and giggled.
One teacher exclaimed, "Most people see something frightening in the Martial Will trial. And he's having a sweet dream? That's rare!"
Zhang Jianwu nodded. "It means there's nothing in his heart that frightens him. That really is quite rare."
"Either he's never experienced fear in his life."
"Or his personality is unusual, and no matter how fierce the storm, he can't be made to feel afraid."
Everyone's expressions turned solemn.
The first possibility was practically impossible.
But the second... often meant that someone had an exceptionally strong Martial Will.
Zhang Jianwu shook his head. "A pleasant illusion is often more tempting to lose yourself in than a frightening one. It's even harder to wake up from than the illusions the others are experiencing."
Chen Zilu nodded slightly, her beautiful eyes fixed on Jiang Ye.
She knew Jiang Ye's Martial Will well.
After all, she'd had plenty of time to see his steadfast desire to pursue Martial Arts and his resolute determination to press forward without hesitation.
People like him often had exceptionally strong Martial Will.
"He's actually having a sweet dream? Can he wake up?" Chen Zilu stared at Jiang Ye with limpid eyes.
Just as the thought crossed her mind—
"Ding!"
A notification sounded in the hall.
"Someone has completed the first trial!"
"What? How is that possible? It hasn't even been a minute!"
"Who was it?"
The teachers turned to look at the enormous screen at the front.
The screen displayed the scores of the hundred trial takers.
The first trial was worth 300 points, the second was worth 200, and the third was worth 500, for a total of 1,000 points.
The trials had only just begun.
Almost everyone still had a score of zero.
Chen Zilu quickly scanned the screen, her bright eyes suddenly lighting up.
"It's Jiang Ye," she said in a clear, sweet voice.
Zhang Jianwu also looked closely.
[Jiang Ye: 300 points]
Jiang Ye had earned full marks on the first trial!
He was also the first to break through the illusion and pass the Martial Will trial!
"That kid finished the first trial in less than a minute?"
Zhang Jianwu glanced at the time, unable to hide his surprise.
In fact, anyone who passed the trial within three minutes would get full marks.
To finish it in one minute?
That meant Jiang Ye's Martial Will was so powerful that it exceeded the standard of this trial!
"This student's Martial Will is incredibly strong."
"He woke up from a sweet dream that quickly?"
"With such resolute Martial Will, if he didn't have Inferior Aptitude, he'd be destined to be heaven's favored child."
Quite a few teachers voiced their admiration.
On the distant platform, a glimmer flashed in Wang Ziang's eyes.
"Class Nine really produced someone impressive?" Wang Ziang nodded slightly, his hands clasped behind his back. "He's got a bit of my old flair."
On the viewing platform.
Chen Zilu smiled at Zhang Jianwu. "Director, how likely do you think Jiang Ye is to place in the top three now?"
Zhang Jianwu looked at her somewhat helplessly.
This girl was just waiting for him to eat his words.
But as the grade director, he was composed and had plenty of faith in his own judgment.
Zhang Jianwu shook his head. "The trials have only just begun. It's too early to say."
"Starting with the second trial, they'll have to show their true abilities."
Chen Zilu nodded and said no more, turning her attention back to the hall.
Just as Zhang Jianwu had said.
The second trial would test Martial Arts strength, and Jiang Ye was weaker in that regard than Zeng Xueqing, Xu Lei, and the others.
How would things turn out? Even she couldn't predict.
Inside the virtual space.
Jiang Ye watched the surrounding scenery slowly fade, and knew he had passed the first trial.
"That's it?"
Jiang Ye thought back to the girl with the snow-white feet, then shook his head. "That illusion wasn't even as realistic as the ones on the Martial Arts Heavenly Ladder."
Before you continue