"This kid... has he really gone crazy? What the hell is he doing?"
"Could he be a Mutant Beast from outside the city in disguise? I remember Mutant Beasts can take human form once they reach the seventh level... I don't think a normal human could pull this off."
"Investigate him thoroughly! I recommend a thorough investigation! Even if he is human, I suspect his urine test would turn up only a little urine and the rest would all be stimulants!"
The exam hall was buzzing with discussion. Even the proctors had been alarmed, and one had hurried off to ask their superiors whether anything unusual had happened in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing. The answer they received was that everything was normal...
The proctor passed this information on to the mayor, Lin Zhao. Lin Zhao nodded, and his deep, resonant voice instantly drowned out the chatter.
"Everyone! The proctors have checked, and there's nothing unusual about the Secret Realm of Star Gazing. Zhu Ping'an's pre-exam urine and blood tests were normal, too. Please stay calm!"
With Lin Zhao speaking up, the discussion finally died down, but countless faces were still written over with confusion.
The energy in the Star Light had long been studied by the top warriors. It was indeed impossible for the human body to absorb.
Once, an Eighth-Rank Warrior had been so full of himself that he claimed to be the reincarnation of Sirius. He forcibly absorbed the energy within the Star Light, but when he reached the 152nd point of Star Light, his body burst like a balloon being pricked, exploding into a cloud of blood on the spot.
How had Zhu Ping'an, a First-Rank Warrior, managed to absorb so much Star Light and stay alive? Had he somehow mastered the secret to absorbing it?
Even Zhu Ping'an's parents wore faintly bewildered expressions.
"Dear, 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 fell silent for a long while before speaking.
"Do you know about whales?"
"I do!" Zhu Jianghua nodded.
"Humans evolved lungs to breathe on land. Fish evolved gills to breathe underwater. Whales... evolved huge lungs, then hold their breath underwater." Xia Yue spoke in a distant, dreamy voice.
"Mm... Huh?!" Zhu Jianghua's eyes widened. "You mean this kid doesn't know any absorption method at all? He's just forcibly swallowing Star Force and toughing it out?"
"If I'm not mistaken... that seems to be exactly what he's doing..." Xia Yue's expression was a little strange.
"Holy crap... No wonder he's my son. How is he still alive after putting himself through all this? My son may be a fool, but he'll outlive a tortoise!" Zhu Jianghua couldn't help praising him.
After swallowing five hundred points of Star Light, Zhu Ping'an's figure disappeared from the projection once more, under the doubtful and startled gazes of the crowd.
Everyone felt as if a cat were scratching at their hearts. They couldn't wait to see Zhu Ping'an again.
And Zhu Ping'an didn't disappoint them. Two and a half hours later, he returned with over five hundred more points of Star Light. Under the crowd's stunned gazes, he swallowed them again, then disappeared once more.
The crowd had been so shocked that they were starting to go numb.
Everyone knew that Star Light became harder and harder to collect the further you went. The Secret Realm of Star Gazing had been divided into dozens of regions so candidates across the country could take the College Entrance Examination together. The number of points of Star Light within Green City's jurisdiction was limited.
And the students with lower Qi and Blood Values weren't fools. After collecting a certain amount of Star Light, they would hand in their papers early and end the exam to avoid being robbed.
More than wondering how Zhu Ping'an could swallow so much Star Light and still be alive, they were curious about how he'd managed to collect over five hundred more points in such a short time.
This time was even faster. Just two hours later, Zhu Ping'an made a triumphant return, appearing on the projection once more.
That meant the number of points of Star Light he'd collected had once again put him among the top ten.
"Is this guy really not cheating? He's collected more than a thousand points of Star Light by now, hasn't he? Since the Secret Realm of Star Gazing was added to the College Entrance Examination, has anyone ever collected this much in a single day?"
"He's going to swallow it again..."
"What a beast..."
The crowd's expressions had shifted from shock to bewilderment. If this guy came out with over a thousand points of Star Light, he'd be a shoo-in for Top Scholar in Green City this year. Yet he was swallowing all the Star Light he collected?
After swallowing the Star Light, Zhu Ping'an's figure disappeared from the projection once more.
By now, the proctors had received all the footage of Zhu Ping'an inside the Secret Realm of Star Gazing. The controversy he'd caused was so great that many people suspected him of cheating, so the exam officials made the footage public.
At last, everyone had the chance to learn how Zhu Ping'an had obtained so much Star Light so quickly. If they could learn his technique, it would be like getting a secret manual for becoming Top Scholar.
But the more they watched, the more something seemed off.
Starting with the first point of Star Light Zhu Ping'an had obtained after entering the secret realm, he killed a Star Devouring Bug and got one point. That was normal enough, but after that, things took a strange turn.
The ways Zhu Ping'an obtained Star Light included, but weren't limited to...
First, he was walking along when he came across two people fighting until both were badly injured. So he took advantage of their weakness and robbed them both.
Second, he ran into a Star Devouring Bug whose strength was close to that of a Second-Rank Warrior. But the bug was near the end of its life, and it died of old age at the entrance to its nest. Zhu Ping'an found over a hundred points of Star Light inside.
Third, one candidate hit it off with him at first sight, found him incredibly amiable, and insisted on giving him half of the Star Light they'd worked so hard to collect.
Fourth,...
Everyone fell silent after watching.
He hadn't cheated, but somehow that seemed even worse than cheating.
It was as if this guy had a halo of good fortune over his head. Wherever he went, Star Light chased after him. How could anyone learn that?
It was like someone getting a perfect score, and you thought they must have studied hard and wanted to learn from them, only to find out they'd guessed every answer and gotten them all right. Who could stomach that?
"Lucky bastards really ought to die." A dark-faced man in the crowd burst into tears.
While everyone outside was still wondering whether Zhu Ping'an had cheated, Zhu Ping'an inside the Secret Realm of Star Gazing had collected over five hundred more points of Star Light.
He'd already realized that whenever he collected more than five hundred points, the pace at which he found more Star Light slowed dramatically.
But that was enough. By exploiting the plot, he could keep getting Star Light without end.
Tilting his head back, Zhu Ping'an swallowed the Star Light he'd collected once more. Even he had lost count of how many points he'd devoured. His body seemed to be getting used to that violent force, and he could even feel a warm, soothing sensation.
He could clearly sense that, as he devoured more and more Star Light, his body was transforming into some strange state.
Deep beneath the Secret Realm of Star Gazing, magma boiled without pause. Several chains as thick as a person's thigh bore strange markings and tightly bound a humanoid creature. The chains glimmered with starlight.
As Zhu Ping'an continued devouring Star Light, the starlight on one of the chains gradually dimmed, then went out completely.
The instant the chain shattered, the humanoid creature opened its eyes. They were a pair of blood-red, vertical pupils!
Before you continue