Another National College Entrance Examination Season

Chihuo No. 1 High School, Class 17 of the senior year, homeroom period.

Their homeroom teacher, Xiao Jinsheng, was slightly balding and overweight, with layers of fat stacked beneath his chin. At that moment, he tapped the blackboard with a piece of chalk and tirelessly emphasized:

"Today is February 4th. There are only 123 days left until the National College Entrance Examination! The exam is like thousands of troops crossing a single-log bridge. Whether you become a dragon or a worm depends on this one shot. I shouldn't have to tell you to make the most of your time!"

"All of you, pull yourselves together and see where you can still improve your scores! Fighting, weapons, Meditation, practical combat, and general knowledge—each subject is worth 150 points, and you can't afford to fall behind in any of them! On the exam, one point puts you ahead of thousands. There's no such thing as being too careful..."

Xiao Jinsheng was spraying saliva from the podium, but the students below were busy with their own things. The disciplined ones used the homeroom period to work on general knowledge practice papers, while most of the students whispered among themselves, passing around celebrity posters, entertainment magazines, and trashy novels.

"Did you watch last night's match broadcast? The Sky Team versus the Rolling Stones Team."

"Of course. I watch every Super Cup broadcast. The Rolling Stones Team's damage output was insane—their post-match stats were twice as high as the Sky Team's! No wonder the Sky Team lost."

"The key was the Rolling Stones Team's MT, Boulder! His large-area gravity spell gave the Sky Team's DPS no room to deal damage, and his rock armor absorbed massive amounts of damage. The Sky Team's five players were split up and surrounded, then massacred like chicks."

"Boulder is way too strong. The Earth Guardian truly deserves to be called a Hero Class. Someday, I'm going to switch to a Hero Class too and become a huge star like Boulder!"

"You? Keep dreaming..."

Several boys snickered under their breath.

The Super Cup was a competition between the world's most elite Awakened squads. Any Awakened squad capable of entering the Super Cup had an undeniably luxurious lineup, with every member being a household-name celebrity.

Below the Super Cup were the domestic Professional League (A-Tier) and the Development League (B-League). The A-League had slightly less influence than the Super Cup, but it still received heavy media attention within the country. As for the B-League, while it was also a professional competition, its influence was far weaker. Usually, only local media gave it any coverage.

By this point, the league system had developed into a complete industrial chain. It was even more popular than football, basketball, and other sporting events in another world, driving a global market measured in trillions.

"Quiet!"

Several pieces of chalk flew out, accurately striking the heads of the boys who had just been talking. Homeroom teacher Xiao Jinsheng swept a stern gaze across the class, and the room instantly fell silent.

"You are the worst class I've ever taught!"

Xiao Jinsheng said bitterly, "Last year, the undergraduate cutoff was 435 points, while the key university cutoff was 520. Based on our class's scores in the last mock exam, fewer than ten of you reached the undergraduate cutoff, and only two passed the key university cutoff! The National College Entrance Examination is much stricter than the mock exams, so your expected scores need to be lowered another notch!"

"Students, the National College Entrance Examination is a dividing line. Getting into college means you have a great chance of becoming Awakened and entering the privileged class! If you fail, you can only become bodyguards, sparring partners, or security guards, earning less than one percent—or even one-thousandth—of what the former earn! With such a huge gap, isn't that enough to make you take this seriously and work hard?"

The atmosphere in the classroom began to sink. Their homeroom teacher was speaking the truth. The National College Entrance Examination in this era was even more important than it had been in another world. For ordinary students without connections, it was a crossroads that determined the course of their lives.

The bell rang, breaking the silence.

Xiao Jinsheng cleared his throat. "I've already applied to the school to enter the Buffer Zone and organize a field combat training session! This training carries a certain degree of danger. Students who don't wish to participate may submit a withdrawal report in advance. However, anyone who chooses to withdraw will be forcibly transferred out of the combat class! Class dismissed!"

The moment Xiao Jinsheng left, the classroom erupted.

The Buffer Zone referred to the area between human base cities and the Wilderness Zone. It was not as dangerous as the Wilderness Zone, and the monsters wandering there were generally relatively weak. But "weak" was only relative to Awakened.

For the students of Class 17, the monsters in the Buffer Zone were difficult to handle. Even with teachers leading them, there was still considerable danger. Besides, who knew whether powerful monsters from the Wilderness Zone might cross the blockade and enter the Buffer Zone? It wasn't as though such things had never happened before.

The crippling and death incidents among the combat classes of Chihuo No. 1 High School had basically all occurred in the Buffer Zone. However, practical training there also significantly improved combat-class students' scores, which was why this kind of field combat training had always been highly valued. The death quotas allocated by the state were basically all used in the Buffer Zone.

Bai Xiaowen remained seated, his mind wandering, his eyes completely unfocused.

In truth, within Bai Xiaowen's mind, four lines of different colors were rapidly moving along fixed paths. Their trajectories formed one intricate, complex pattern after another.

Finally, after completing the fifth pattern, Bai Xiaowen's mental strength could no longer keep up, forcing him to stop.

A series of notifications entered his mind:

"Meditation complete. Time used: 132 seconds. Breadth of thought: Level 4. Concentration: Level 5. Evaluation: Excellent."

"Basic Meditation proficiency has increased."

"Basic Meditation has risen to Level 4!"

Like his personal attribute panel, these notifications were products of Earth's datafication and were related to the mysterious Psionic Particles. Bai Xiaowen understood them as system prompts in an enormous game. As for who controlled this system, it was not something Bai Xiaowen cared to consider.

"Phew..." Bai Xiaowen let out a long breath and rose to his feet.

My Basic Meditation has finally reached Level 4. I can score above 120 out of 150 in Meditation, and I can even get full marks in General Knowledge Course. I've improved a lot. My Spirit has shot up to 4.9, and I also have a Super Brain. This kind of progress is only natural.

It's just that my scores in fighting, weapons, and practical combat have always been difficult to improve, limited as they are by my physical fitness.

The harm of being lopsided is enormous. I have to improve my physical fitness and raise my scores in the other three core subjects if I want to get into a key university! Bai Xiaowen clenched his fist.

As he walked out of the teaching building, Bai Xiaowen saw someone he did not want to see.

Zhou Yi was still dressed head to toe in designer brands, straddling a flashy motorcycle. Wu Xiaoyan sat behind him.

"Hello, Bai Xiaowen." Zhou Yi grinned, deliberately clenching his fists until they crackled.

"What is it?" Bai Xiaowen frowned. This brat in the middle of puberty kept picking fights with him. It was truly annoying.

"You heard what the homeroom teacher said in class today, right? There'll be a field combat training session soon!" Zhou Yi wore an unreadable smile. "That's a dangerous Buffer Zone. A sickly weakling like you could very well die there."

"Are you threatening me?" Bai Xiaowen narrowed his eyes.

"Pah, taking kindness for ill will. I'm advising you, for the sake of keeping your life, to submit an application early and withdraw from the training!" Zhou Yi crossed his arms and glanced at Bai Xiaowen sideways. "Someone like you has no right to remain in the combat class."

"Is that so?"

Bai Xiaowen revealed a very handsome-looking ugly smile.

"Zhou Yi, you should focus on your studies."

Bai Xiaowen strode away on his long legs without giving Zhou Yi or Wu Xiaoyan another glance.

Watching Bai Xiaowen's straight-backed figure depart, Zhou Yi's face darkened. He slammed a fist into the motorcycle's dashboard and cursed hatefully, "You ungrateful bastard. I give you face, and this is how you act?"

Wu Xiaoyan said, "Zhou Yi, why bother arguing with Bai Xiaowen when you have your status and position? He isn't even qualified to compare himself with you. Don't let him provoke you... Think about our goal."

Zhou Yi shook his head, his expression still dark. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I wasn't planning to do anything. I just wanted to scare that idiot, make him back off, and leave the combat class. But now I've changed my mind! If he really dares to join the field combat training, I'll make him pay."