The National College Entrance Examination Begins
The bell rang, and the candidates entered the examination hall. The tense National College Entrance Examination had finally begun.
Sitting in the classroom, looking at the rows of unfamiliar examinees in front and behind her, Bai Xiaowen felt a pang of melancholy as she recalled taking the National College Entrance Examination in another time and space.
The National College Entrance Examination in the Psychic Energy Era is different from the National College Entrance Examination in another time and space, especially for the students in the combat class.
The first test was on general knowledge. This was the Yi-Yi subject that wasn't significantly related to Battle Specialty or abilities.
The General Knowledge Course covers a wide range of topics, from the history of the Psychic Energy Era and the situations of various countries to the habits of plants and animals and the classification of herbs. It can be understood as a comprehensive cultural course.
After Bai Xiaowen put on the Virtual Examination Helmet and entered his personal information, the scene before his eyes changed, and a stack of virtual exam papers appeared. No one else could see the contents of the exam papers except for him.
Ding-ling. "Welcome to the 1996 National College Entrance Examination of Spirit Origin Era University. This exam subject is: General Knowledge."
The notification tone then sounded, "The exam rules are as follows. Violators will be punished according to the severity of the offense, with the most serious penalty being disqualification from the exam."
Bai Xiaowen listened to the instructions briefly. The two main rules were that no talking was allowed during the exam, and no cell phones or cheat sheets were permitted...
In the nationally standardized General Knowledge Course, all students in the advanced classes use the same test paper. Speaking and revealing the answers, which could be overheard by others, is definitely a violation. Using a mobile phone to search for answers online, like using cheat sheets, is also cheating and a violation.
Aside from that, there aren't many restrictions. Since all test takers are in Virtual Space, they can't see other people's exam papers, so there's no possibility of peeping.
After patiently waiting for the rules to be announced, Bai Xiaowen began to review the exam papers.
The exam is divided into two parts: a basic exam worth 150 points and an additional exam worth 150 points. The additional exam is much more difficult than the basic exam.
Bai Xiaowen started with the basic test paper.
Question 1: What are the six major races of the Psychic Energy Era?
Bai Xiaowen typed on the virtual keyboard and wrote down the answer, "Human Species, Beast Species, Dragon, Elemental Species, Undead Species, Fiend Species."
Question 2: Please circle the Silverleaf Herb among the following plants.
Lifelike virtual herbs appeared before Bai Xiaowen.
Bai Xiaowen's Insight Talent didn't exist in the Virtual Examination System; he could only answer the questions based on his memory. Of course, these kinds of questions were no challenge for him; he quickly circled three types and finished!
The general General Knowledge Course section consists of 30 questions, each worth 5 points. These questions do not include fill-in-the-blank or multiple-choice questions; they are essentially short-answer or essay questions that require candidates to demonstrate their knowledge and skills rather than guessing.
It only took Bai Xiaowen a little over forty minutes to finish the basic practice test, and then she started working on the supplementary practice test.
Question 1: From the following plants, please select the one with the highest medicinal value and state your reasons.
There are 10 kinds of plants in total, all of which are psionic herbs. At most two or three of them have appeared in the textbook, while most of the others are obscure herbs!
This single question alone could stump 90% of the test takers.
Of course, Bai Xiaowen is not included in this category.
"Since you're asked to state your reasons, try to be as comprehensive as possible."
Bai Xiaowen typed on the virtual keyboard, entering a long string of text, listing the scientific names, habits, and applicable medicinal agents of all 10 plants. After various detailed analyses, he finally concluded that the most valuable medicinal material was the fourth one, Cang-Kairella prickly flower.
The reason for this strange name is due to the naming rules for new species in the Psychic Energy Era. The botanist who first discovers and classifies a new species will have the right to name it.
China botanists often named plants based on their shape, color, and other characteristics, resulting in names like Silverleaf Herb and kumquat flower.
Foreigners are different; they like to name things after themselves, hence names like "Kairila Vine".
What happens when a new species is discovered and classified simultaneously by China and foreign botanists?
The two people each named half of the product, and then added the product name at the end.
This fourth medicinal herb was discovered simultaneously by Professor Cang from China and Professor Carell from the America. Hence, the name "Cang-Carell Prickly Flower" came about, a name that countless test takers deeply resent.
After doing a few questions, Bai Xiaowen also sensed the difficulty of the bonus paper. Normal students would be doing very well to get 30 or 40 points out of 150 on this kind of paper.
Later on, material analysis questions appeared.
The question provides a background of Spirit Realm Plane, sets up a scenario and dialogue between characters in the Spirit Realm, and asks candidates how they should speak and explain their reasoning.
These types of questions test a candidate's ability to adapt to changing circumstances, uncover plot events and side quests once they enter the Spirit Realm. Simply put, they test intelligence.
This is Bai Xiaowen's forte.
Bai Xiaowen was a little worried that the examiners' thought processes were too simple and they wouldn't understand the deeper meaning behind some of Bai Xiaowen's choices, so she painstakingly wrote an extra explanatory paragraph.
Finally, Bai Xiaowen finished the last question. She breathed a sigh of relief, checked both exam papers, and then clicked submit.
Ding-ling. "Your general knowledge test has been submitted. Please leave quietly."
Of the five courses, only the General Knowledge Course requires manual grading because the supplementary exam contains a large number of subjective questions such as essays and material analysis, and computer grading is bound to produce errors.
The other four courses are graded by computer, and the results are obtained quickly.
This is why the General Knowledge Course is the first subject tested. After the General Knowledge Course exam, the authorities will simultaneously organize staff to grade the papers. Two days later, after the other four subjects are completed, the scores for the General Knowledge Course will be released, and candidates will know their total scores without having to wait.
The second exam this afternoon is combat sports.
Once you put on the Virtual Examination Helmet, a prompt will sound, indicating that you need to scan your basic personal attributes.
Bai Xiaowen set her personal attributes to "exhibition status," entered the data, and then entered the Virtual Examination System.
Your base attributes are: Strength 7, Agility 8, Constitution 14, Spirit 15.
"The combat exam (basic part) will generate 30 virtual examiners, whose attributes are equal to your basic attributes."
"The Combat Specialty from Basic Level 1 to Basic Level 5, with six examiners for each level, each with a different fighting style."
"The battle is scored out; the battle ends when either side achieves 5 valid hits. The final score is determined by the number of valid hits you land on the virtual examiner."
"The rules have been explained. Shall we begin the exam?"
Bai Xiaowen chose yes.
In the Virtual Space, a point of light condensed opposite Bai Xiaowen, and soon a male examiner with an expressionless face and wearing a white training uniform appeared.