Under normal circumstances, once a mage had successfully awakened, even the dimmest student would have lit up their stardust and filled it with magic energy.
Unless they were truly so lazy that they couldn't be bothered to spend even a little time meditating.
The school would expel people like that without hesitation. In this era, with Demon Beasts running rampant, the country's resources were already stretched thin. How could they be wasted on parasites like these?
Of course, after going to all the trouble of awakening as a mage, few people would willingly throw their lives away.
The annual assessment officially began!
All thirty classes at the school were taking it at the same time.
The test was simple. Under the watchful eyes of the teachers, students, and examiners, they had to place a hand on the Star Sensing Stone, focus their minds, and enter a state of meditation.
The more focused the student, the more accurately the sensing stone could reveal their true condition. Many students on the athletic field were chewing gum to ease their nerves.
As a specially invited guest, Mu Ningxue gave a demonstration first, casually releasing an Ice Vine.
A mist of icy blue spread outward from Mu Ningxue without restraint, as if it were alive. Just looking at it sent a chill through everyone.
"So strong!"
"Is this the strength of someone specially recruited by Imperial University?"
"If I were that awesome, my dad would buy me two little cars, so I could drive a different one every day!"
The students were stunned by Mu Ningxue's strength. The teachers had to work hard to restore order.
"Now, I'll repeat the assessment rules!
While you're meditating, the Star Sensing Stone will shine according to the strength of your stardust's radiance. We'll judge your cultivation level by the light it gives off.
Each of you gets three attempts. Your score will be based on whichever one shines brightest!" The bald chief examiner stood before the crowd with a register of names in his hand.
"The order is random. First up, He Yu!"
A timid-looking girl stepped onto the stage, tears still clinging to her face.
"You can begin," the chief examiner said.
Her classmates cheered He Yu on. The girl had been crying for days over the assessment, saying she was sure the school would expel her. Her pitiful little face tugged at everyone's heartstrings.
"Xiaoyu, believe in yourself! You can do it!" Zhang Xiaohou called out courageously, then noticed that Xu Fang and Mo Fan beside him hadn't reacted.
Xu Fang grinned. "Monkey, do you like He Yu?"
Zhang Xiaohou fidgeted. "No... We're just friends."
"It's fine if you do. Our school doesn't crack down on young love, and by seventeen you're pretty much fully grown." Xu Fang clicked his tongue. "But if you two really get together, He Yu will have you wrapped around her little finger."
"How could that be?" Zhang Xiaohou stared at him. "She's such a delicate girl..."
"Delicate, my ass. Have you forgotten all the fights you've been in?" Mo Fan pointed at He Yu onstage. "An assessment is just like a brawl. You can tell who'll win before it even starts. That girl's standing in front of the Star Sensing Stone without her hands trembling at all. She's definitely prepared."
"No way..."
Before Zhang Xiaohou could finish, the Star Sensing Stone onstage lit up.
"A!"
"A!"
"A!"
The three examiners gave their scores at the same time. He Yu ran down, overjoyed, but halfway down she realized she was making too much of a scene and started walking slowly again, explaining as she went:
"I really didn't meditate in secret. The best I'd hoped for was a C, but I did better than expected... Oh, it's nothing special, really. Even with three A's, I'd just be at the bottom of the honors class... Why isn't anyone saying anything?"
Zhang Xiaohou was dumbstruck. The examiner had called his name twice before he finally snapped out of it and hurried onto the stage.
After the little grade-grubber's shocking performance, it took Zhang Xiaohou quite a while to gradually enter a meditative state.
The result was pretty good: two A's and one A+.
Zhang Xiaohou wasn't satisfied and asked to take the test again. This time, he steadied his nerves and earned three A+'s.
As for the spell-release assessment, Zhang Xiaohou failed, just as expected.
"Monkey gets distracted too easily. It'll cost him someday," Mo Fan said.
"He just needs to get some blood on him and pick up a few scars," Xu Fang said, folding his arms. In the original story, Zhang Xiaohou had grown into a great military strategist that way.
Head Teacher Xue Mu Sheng didn't care about distractions or anything like that. His face was practically splitting with joy.
His first two students had already done so well, and the class still had top students like Zhou Min and Mu Bai, who could compete for first place in the whole school. He could practically see the bonus beckoning to him.
Tang Yue, meanwhile, was comforting the dejected Zhang Xiaohou like a caring older sister, making all the boys' fists clench.
Damn it!
We'd only gotten B's and C's, and our scores were nowhere near as good as that punk's. Why wasn't a sexy, mature older sister comforting us?
Class 8's assessment was in full swing, and the other classes were just as lively.
At that moment, the school leaders had just finished inspecting Class 7 and admiring that student Zhao Ting's Thunder Seal.
As the only publicly known student in the whole school with the Lightning Element, Xu Zhao Ting had prepared thoroughly for the day. He was determined to impress the school leaders and the genius Mu Ningxue.
To show off just how awesome he was, he even added a rather chuunibyou line.
"First among the elements, supreme Lightning Element, heed my command!"
"Thunder Seal, release!"
Purple arcs of electricity surged upward, blasting the wooden training dummy in the distance beyond recognition. Even the athletic field, with its maxed-out defense, was left with a black scorch mark.
Nice!
Xu Zhao Ting was very pleased with his performance. He immediately looked toward Mu Ningxue, hoping to win the goddess's favor.
Mo Fan was a little annoyed. His own lightning was thicker, but if he wanted to mock Mu He to his face someday, he had to keep a low profile for now and watch Xu Zhao Ting preen like a little peacock.
"Ningxue, what do you think of this student, Xu Zhao Ting?" Mu He asked with a smile.
"Average."
Mu Ningxue didn't even look at Xu Zhao Ting. She simply continued walking.
The school leaders exchanged glances. Xu Zhao Ting was Tianlan Magic High School's pride and joy, and she still wasn't impressed? Just how high were Mu Ningxue's standards?
"Haha, Ningxue has seen plenty of geniuses at Imperial Capital Academy. Primary Magic is just their basic training," Mu He said. "Let's go take a look at Class 8. Mu Bai is just as talented as Xu Zhao Ting!"
The group headed toward the Class 8 exam site in a grand procession.
"Holy crap, they're actually here!"
"Mu Ningxue's with them too. Perfect. Today's the day I show off."
"Show off what? You just got three C's!"
"I'm so nervous. What if I can't get into a meditative state later?"
"Then you're screwed."
The leaders had a powerful presence, and the group even included the goddess Mu Ningxue. A single glance from any of them could change the fate of a poor student.
The atmosphere turned tense at once.
Mu He walked at the front. He exchanged a glance with the bald chief examiner, who hurriedly stopped Xu Fang as he stepped onto the stage. "Hey, hey, you. Get down first. It's not your turn yet."
Xu Fang looked him up and down. "Is there another Xu Fang in Class 8?"
"I called the wrong name. By the order, there are still two students before you."
"The order? Didn't you say the names were called randomly?"
The bald chief examiner was stumped. He snapped impatiently, "I said get down, so just get down. Don't disrupt the normal order of the examination!"
An ordinary student would have tucked his tail between his legs and hurried off the stage after that glare.
But this damn smart-mouth blond didn't just refuse to get down—he stood there brazenly, looking like he was saying, I'm awesome, so what are you going to do about it?
The leaders were getting closer and closer, and sweat began to bead on the bald chief examiner's head.
Just then, a voice as sweet as a melody rang out. "Xu Fang, come down!"
It was Tang Yue.
She wasn't in cahoots with the chief examiner and hadn't noticed anything unusual. At most, she found it odd that he'd made such a basic mistake at such an important event.
The leaders were about to arrive, and Xu Fang had a history of attempting suicide by jumping off a building. If the two sides started arguing and he got worked up, it might affect his performance.
Xu Fang stepped down.
The chief examiner let out a huge sigh of relief. Sweat covered his shiny bald head, but he had no time to wipe it off. He hurriedly announced, "Next, Mu Bai!"
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