Someone's Cheating

The violent energy contained within a single point of Star Light was enough to severely injure a First-Rank Warrior.

And that was over one hundred fifty points of Star Light! The energy within was enough to reduce a First-Rank Warrior to ashes—and this guy just swallowed it whole?

Sure enough, the moment Zhu Ping'an swallowed that handful of Star Light, strands of starlight began bursting out from inside his body, piercing through his flesh and making him look like a sea urchin covered in glowing spines.

After swallowing the Star Light, Zhu Ping'an's Star Light count reset to zero, and his figure vanished from the projection once again.

"It's over. He's done for." The Retired Old Teacher couldn't bear to watch anymore. "Whose student is this? How is he so reckless? What was his teacher thinking? Actually swallowing Star Light—isn't that just throwing his life away?"

"Exactly! Too reckless! Doing something so dangerous!"

"He's wearing a Qingcheng High School uniform—he must be a student from Qingcheng High!"

At those words, everyone's gaze instantly locked onto Qingcheng High's principal.

Cold sweat beaded on the principal's forehead as he turned to look at Zhu Ping'an's Homeroom Teacher.

"Old Yang! What's the meaning of this! How did you teach your student!"

"I... I don't know..." Zhu Ping'an's Homeroom Teacher looked completely innocent. He wasn't really familiar with Zhu Ping'an; before this, Zhu Ping'an had been an ordinary student in the class, with nothing outstanding about him.

After Zhu Ping'an became a warrior, he'd basically rush off to the Martial Artist Association as soon as class ended, without any communication with his homeroom teacher.

He also had no idea what Zhu Ping'an was trying to achieve with this near-suicidal move.

The principal and Old Yang felt like they were sitting on pins and needles, countless gazes stabbing into them as if accusing them of leading students astray.

The principal's face darkened. Without a doubt, the number of applicants to Qingcheng High next year would take a massive hit.

Even Mayor Lin Zhao couldn't help but show a flicker of confusion on his face.

"How strange... Someone those two elders took a liking to—how could he be so reckless? Star Light has been thoroughly studied; it can't be absorbed. Absorbing a large amount would definitely cause one's body to explode. What exactly is he trying to do?" Lin Zhao was utterly baffled.

Secret Realm of Star Gazing.

"Ah!"

Zhu Ping'an let out a scream like a dying beast. The energy from over a hundred points of Star Light rampaged through his body like a Primeval Beast, smashing everything apart.

Under the onslaught of this violent power, his meridians, his Dantian, even his internal organs were all destroyed.

Logically, this energy should have obliterated his body as well, but it was as if some unknown force was protecting him, barely keeping his shattered body from completely falling apart.

The violent energy of the Star Light within him slammed against his body again and again, like countless flying swords trying to rip him open from the inside.

Zhu Ping'an's body was like a porcelain vase on the verge of shattering, covered in dense, spiderweb-like cracks.

"I want to live... I don't want to die! In this world... I have a family, I have teachers, I can cultivate and grow stronger—I absolutely refuse... to die so pathetically!"

Zhu Ping'an growled lowly. He refused to die in a Mutant Beast's mouth like in the original plot, so he wouldn't let any chance to grow stronger slip by.

Before reaching that plot point, he was unkillable—that was his greatest Golden Finger!

As the power of the Star Light ceaselessly destroyed him, strands of starlight energy also merged into his body.

This process was like forging a sword, relentlessly tempering Zhu Ping'an's flesh. The excruciating pain had long since numbed his pain receptors.

After who knows how long, the energy finally burned out completely.

Zhu Ping'an slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear.

He looked down at his broken, tattered body and forced a bitter smile.

If a normal person had suffered such injuries, they'd be dead for sure, yet he was barely hanging on by a thread.

"But the power contained in this Star Light... is really strong..."

A glint of light flashed in Zhu Ping'an's eyes. He lifted his foot and lightly stamped the ground, and instantly, countless spiderweb-like cracks split across the surface.

He could clearly feel that the power of the Star Light had completely shattered and reshaped his body.

He also understood why no warrior would absorb the energy contained in Star Light—because a normal warrior would be dead as dead could be the moment their body was completely shattered.

"Not enough... I still need... more Star Light!" Zhu Ping'an licked his lips, his face full of excitement.

He was nothing like those flashy, ordinary warriors. Since he couldn't die from it, he'd push it to the limit!

Following the original plot's development, Zhu Ping'an would collect over six hundred points of Star Light and share some with Yan Shubing. As a result, his speed at gathering Star Light was terrifyingly fast.

Zhu Ping'an even had a feeling that the Star Light was practically delivering itself to him.

Along the way, he even ran into two examinees fighting each other, both ending up collapsed and injured right in front of him.

Zhu Ping'an naturally wouldn't leave them to die. He thoughtfully found a place for them to recover and kindly offered to keep their Star Light safe for them.

After two hours of collecting, Zhu Ping'an's Star Light count had reached five hundred.

At that moment, his figure appeared again on the projection outside...

The Retired Old Teacher's eyes went wide. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. He took off his reading glasses, wiped them vigorously, and put them back on.

"Well, I'll be damned? This kid's still alive?"

The Retired Old Teacher's exclamation drew the attention of others, who also turned to look.

"Huh? Did something weird sneak into the top ten projections?"

"Isn't that the lunatic who swallowed Star Light to kill himself earlier? How does he have five hundred points of Star Light now?"

"Is there any justice in this? Leng Tianjiao, the first-place holder, only has just over six hundred points of Star Light right now. He swallowed over a hundred and still managed to collect five hundred? If he hadn't swallowed them, wouldn't his ranking be ahead of Leng Tianjiao's? Is he cheating or what?"

"No way! Look at his body! There's a huge hole in his stomach! And it's still bleeding!"

"Wait, that's not all! His body looks like it's pieced together from Lego Blocks, and he's still alive like this?"

Countless onlookers stared in stunned disbelief. The shock Zhu Ping'an brought them was simply too overwhelming.

In all the history of the College Entrance Examination, they had never seen anything so outrageous.

Just as the crowd was still reeling from the shock, Zhu Ping'an did something earth-shattering once again.

He tilted his head back, and as if swallowing a little piglet, he gulped down the collected five hundred points of Star Light in three mouthfuls.