Zhu Ping'an's Stubbornness

"This kid... has he really lost his mind? What the hell is he doing?"

"Could he be a mutant beast from outside the city in disguise? I remember that after reaching the seventh rank, mutant beasts can take human form... I don't think a normal human would do this."

"Investigate! I suggest a thorough investigation! Even if he is human, I suspect his urine test would only contain a trace of urine, with the rest being stimulants!"

The examination hall erupted in discussion, so loud that even the invigilators were alarmed. They specifically went to consult their superiors to check if the Secret Realm of Star Gazing had any anomalies, only to receive a reply that everything was normal...

The invigilator relayed the information to Mayor Lin Zhao. Lin Zhao nodded, and his deep, resonant voice instantly suppressed the murmurs.

"Everyone! After inspection by the invigilators, the Secret Realm of Star Gazing shows no abnormalities, and Zhu Ping'an's pre-exam urine and blood tests are also normal. Please remain calm!"

With Lin Zhao's intervention, the noise in the hall finally died down, but countless faces still bore expressions of confusion.

The energy within Star Light had long been studied by top-tier martial artists and was confirmed to be unabsorbable by the human body.

There was once an Eighth-Rank martial artist who thought himself exceptional, claiming to be the Sirius Reincarnation. He forcibly absorbed the energy within Star Light, but when he reached the 152nd point of Star Light, his body burst like a punctured balloon, exploding into a cloud of blood mist on the spot.

So how could Zhu Ping'an, a mere First-Rank Warrior, absorb so much Star Light and still survive? Had he mastered some secret technique for absorbing Star Light?

Even Zhu Ping'an's parents wore expressions of bewilderment.

"Honey, when did this kid learn to absorb Star Force? Neither of us knows how to do that—who taught him?" Zhu Jianghua asked quietly.

Xia Yue was silent for a long time before speaking.

"Do you know what a whale is?"

"I do!" Zhu Jianghua nodded.

"Humans evolved lungs to breathe on land; fish evolved gills to breathe in water. Whales... evolved a big lung and just hold their breath underwater," Xia Yue said faintly.

"Huh... huh?!" Zhu Jianghua's eyes widened. "You mean this kid doesn't know any absorption technique at all—he's just forcibly devouring Star Force and toughing it out?"

"If I'm not mistaken... that's exactly what he's doing..." Xia Yue's expression was odd.

"Damn... no wonder he's my son. Surviving such reckless behavior? My son may be foolish, but his lifespan rivals a turtle's!" Zhu Jianghua couldn't help but praise.

As the five hundred points of Star Light were swallowed into his belly, Zhu Ping'an's figure vanished from the projection once again, under the crowd's uncertain gazes.

Everyone's hearts itched like cats scratching, desperate to see Zhu Ping'an again.

And Zhu Ping'an did not disappoint them. Two and a half hours later, he returned with over five hundred points of Star Light. Under the crowd's stunned stares, he swallowed them again, then disappeared once more.

The crowd had grown numb from shock.

After all, Star Light became harder to collect the further one went. The Secret Realm of Star Gazing was divided into dozens of zones for the national college entrance exam, and within Green City's designated area, the number of Star Light points was limited.

Moreover, the students with lower Qi and Blood Values weren't stupid. After collecting a certain amount of Star Light, they would submit their exams early to avoid being robbed.

More than the question of how Zhu Ping'an could swallow so much Star Light and survive, they were curious how he managed to collect another five hundred points in such a short time.

This time, it was even faster. In just two hours, Zhu Ping'an returned like a conquering king, appearing on the projection again.

This meant his collected Star Light count had once again entered the top ten.

"Is this guy really not cheating? He's gathered over a thousand points of Star Light by now, hasn't he? Since the Secret Realm of Star Gazing was added to the exam, has anyone ever tried collecting this much in a single day?"

"He's going to swallow it again..."

"What a beast..."

The crowd's expressions shifted from shock to bewilderment. If this guy walked out with over a thousand points of Star Light, he'd be a shoo-in for this year's Top Scholar in Green City. But instead, he was swallowing all the Star Light he collected?

After swallowing the Star Light, Zhu Ping'an's figure vanished from the projection once more.

Meanwhile, the exam invigilators obtained all the footage of Zhu Ping'an's time in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing. Due to the controversy he sparked, many suspected him of cheating, so the exam hall released the footage publicly.

Now everyone finally had a chance to see how Zhu Ping'an was collecting Star Light so quickly. If they could learn his technique, it would be like a Top Scholar's secret manual.

But as they watched, the more they felt something was off.

Starting from his first point of Star Light in the secret realm, he killed a Star Devouring Bug and got one point—that was normal. But the scene quickly went off the rails.

Zhu Ping'an's methods of obtaining Star Light included, but were not limited to...

One: Walking down the road, he came across two people fighting and both were injured, so he took advantage of the chaos and robbed them both.

Two: He encountered a Star Devouring Bug close to Second-Rank Warrior strength, but the bug was at the end of its lifespan and died of old age at the entrance of its nest. Zhu Ping'an found over a hundred points of Star Light inside.

Three: A test-taker felt an instant kinship with him, found him incredibly likable, and insisted on giving him half of the Star Light they had painstakingly collected.

Four: ...

The crowd fell silent after watching.

There was indeed no cheating, but it seemed even more outrageous than cheating.

This guy seemed to have a luck halo over his head—wherever he went, Star Light chased after him. How could anyone learn that?

It was like someone scoring full marks on a test, and you thought they studied hard, so you wanted to learn from them, only to find they guessed every answer correctly. Who could handle that?

"Lucky Dogs really deserve to die," a dark-faced man in the crowd said, tears streaming down his face.

While the outside world was focused on whether Zhu Ping'an was cheating, inside the Secret Realm of Star Gazing, Zhu Ping'an had already collected another five hundred points of Star Light.

He had noticed that every time he reached around five hundred points, the rate of collection dropped significantly.

But that was enough. By exploiting the plot's bugs, he could continuously obtain Star Light.

Looking up, Zhu Ping'an swallowed the collected Star Light once more. Even he himself couldn't remember how much Star Light he had devoured by now. His body seemed to have begun adapting to that violent power, even gaining an additional sensation of warmth.

He could clearly feel that as he devoured more and more Star Light, his body was transforming toward a peculiar state.

Deep within the Secret Realm of Star Gazing, magma churned unceasingly. Several iron chains as thick as a thigh, inscribed with strange patterns, tightly bound a humanoid creature. Starlight radiated from the chains.

Just as Zhu Ping'an was relentlessly devouring the Star Light, the starlight on one of the iron chains gradually dimmed and then completely shattered.

The moment the chain shattered, the humanoid creature opened its eyes—a pair of blood-red vertical pupils!