Star Calendar 2666, November 11. Clear skies.
After a full night's rest, Chen Mochuan had brought both body and mind to peak condition by early the next morning. He arrived at school right on time.
After doing some low-intensity warm-ups at the Martial Arts Arena, he went to his assigned Exam Hall Three and waited for the exam to begin.
High school Martial Arts Department exams traditionally started with academic subjects, followed by martial arts subjects.
Although Chen Mochuan had ranked sixth in his grade in academic subjects on the last monthly exam, students were assigned to exam halls according to their overall scores.
As a result, in Exam Hall Three, where overall scores were on the low side, he was the only student from the advanced class.
Quite a few students had already arrived. The moment Chen Mochuan walked in, he drew many different looks.
Some were curious, some surprised, and some carried a hint of barely perceptible rejection.
But the exam was about to begin, and tension filled the air. Most students only glanced at him before quickly lowering their heads again, flipping through their books or notes in a frantic attempt to cram at the last minute.
Unlike most of his classmates, who were nervously preparing, Chen Mochuan went to his seat and didn't flip through his books like the others. Instead, he simply closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair to conserve his energy, looking completely at ease.
As the exam drew near, the two invigilators entered the hall, each carrying a stack of sealed exam papers.
One of the older invigilators stepped up to the lectern and swept the hall with a sharp gaze. After confirming that no one was absent, he spoke in a clear, stern voice:
"Your homeroom teachers should have repeatedly emphasized exam hall rules before the exam, but I'm going to reiterate them here!"
"This midterm exam is a joint examination for every high school in Antu City. The schools and the city's Education Bureau take it extremely seriously."
"I expect every student to conduct themselves properly. If anyone is caught cheating in any way, there will be no leniency. Your score for this subject will be canceled immediately, and you'll receive a major demerit that goes on your record!"
"Now, please confirm once again that your Personal Terminal is completely powered off. If any Personal Terminal is activated abnormally during the exam, it will be treated as a serious suspected cheating offense."
The students below sat in total silence, and no one raised any objections. Only then did the two teachers open the sealed bags in tacit agreement and begin distributing the exam papers and answer sheets, quickly and methodically.
Although Blue Star's technology surpassed that of Earth in Chen Mochuan's previous life, high school academic exams still used the most traditional and reliable pen-and-paper format. This was to prevent electronic interference, ensure fairness, and account for various other factors.
Once the exam paper and answer sheet were in his hands, Chen Mochuan quickly scanned the pages and formed a rough plan.
When the clock struck seven, the clear exam bell rang, and he immediately picked up his pen and began answering the questions.
The first academic subject was Martial Arts General Knowledge.
The questions on the exam posed little difficulty for Chen Mochuan, who had thoroughly mastered the relevant material. He quickly finished the single-choice, multiple-choice, and true-or-false questions, then moved on to the short-answer section.
Perhaps because of the recent incident in which Ferocious Rats had infiltrated Antu City, the exam included a noticeably higher proportion of questions about common Ferocious Beasts than usual.
The first short-answer question was directly related to his own experience half a month earlier.
[Briefly describe the main biological characteristics, common habits, estimated strength, and potential threat to humans of an adult Ferocious Rat.]
Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Mochuan began writing. His ideas were clear and well organized.
1. Physical characteristics: Males stand 34–39 centimeters at the shoulder, measure 60–66 centimeters in body length, and have tails 92–101 centimeters long. They typically weigh between 12 and 15 kilograms; females...
2. Habits: A typical nocturnal animal, it prefers to hide in dark, damp environments and often travels in groups. Under normal circumstances, it only dares to attack weak, isolated targets. It is cunning and cautious by nature.
3. Strength assessment: Its overall strength is roughly equivalent to that of a human Martial Warrior at the seventh stage. Its advantage lies in its high speed, but its raw strength is relatively low.
Special note: Because it mainly feeds on carrion, its teeth and claws often carry a variety of bacteria or toxins. If bitten or scratched, the wound must be cleaned immediately and medical attention sought promptly.
4. Attack methods: It mainly bites with its sharp teeth and supplements this with tearing attacks from its foreclaws. Its long, flexible tail is useful for distracting and entangling opponents at close quarters. It often uses its speed to launch surprise attacks and seize the advantage in a fight.
5. Weaknesses: Its eyes, nose, neck, and abdomen are relatively poorly protected and should be considered vital targets.
After finishing these standard answers, Chen Mochuan pictured the giant Ferocious Rat Liang Wenbin had killed. His pen paused, then he added one more section at the end:
6. Special mutation: There is a very small chance that an individual Ferocious Rat will mutate and evolve into a "Ferocious Rat King." After mutating, it grows enormous, its strength rises to the second tier—comparable to a Martial Artist in the Innate Realm—and it acquires some special method of concealing its aura, making it vastly more dangerous.
Then he continued with the remaining questions.
It took Chen Mochuan only about an hour to finish the entire paper. The questions had indeed posed little challenge, and he had completed them with ease.
After carefully checking his answers once more and confirming that everything was correct, he stood up and chose to hand in his paper early.
The other examinees, bent over their desks in thought, heard the movement and looked up one after another, their faces full of astonishment. The exam was barely halfway over, yet someone had already finished?
The invigilator clearly recognized Chen Mochuan and knew how strong he was in Martial Arts General Knowledge. He said nothing, calmly collected the exam paper and answer sheet, and gestured for him to leave.
Without wasting a moment, Chen Mochuan went straight to the advanced class's designated Martial Arts Arena and began practicing the Root-Solidifying Stance.
The Martial Arts General Knowledge exam lasted a full two hours. He wanted to use the remaining time to train to the fullest and had no intention of wasting even a moment.
Unlike Liberal Arts students, who had to spend two full days taking academic exams, students in the Martial Arts Department completed all their academic exams in a single day.
Apart from Martial Arts General Knowledge, which was taught and tested the same way in both departments, the other academic subjects required of Martial Arts Department students were far less demanding than those for Liberal Arts students.
Naturally, academic subjects also accounted for just 10 percent of the Martial Arts Department's final overall score.
The exams that followed were Language Arts, mathematics, and General Studies, which covered basic subjects such as physics, history, and geography.
Chen Mochuan had no great advantage in these subjects. To ensure steady scores, he didn't choose to hand in his papers early again, using the full allotted time instead.
At three in the afternoon, the bell rang to mark the end of the final exam, General Studies. At last, all the Martial Arts Department's academic exams were over.
After several consecutive hours of intensive test-taking, even Chen Mochuan, with his abundant energy, felt somewhat mentally drained. He needed to loosen his taut nerves a little before taking on the martial arts exams that lay ahead.
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