The Assessment Begins

The morning sun spilled across the vast central plaza of Qingshi No.3 High School.

The air was filled with even more restlessness and anticipation than during yesterday's academic assessment.

Today was the main event of the Flying Star Class selection: the Flesh Rank test and the skills assessment.

Not only had all the students who signed up been summoned here, but thousands of students from the entire Grade 12 had gathered as well. An invisible pressure and excitement hung over every corner.

The buzz of discussion hummed like a swarm of bees.

The area where Class 21, Grade 12 had gathered.

"Sixty spots. I wonder who in our class will get in."

"Who else? Xue Jun's definitely got one locked down. He's physically strong, and I heard his spear art's almost at Greater Accomplishment."

"Almost at Greater Accomplishment? Then Xue Jun's got a shot at the top ten."

"Top ten might be a stretch. The top ten at last term's finals were already almost at Greater Accomplishment in their techniques."

"Speaking of which, I heard Zhao Feng from Class 3 broke through to Greater Accomplishment in spear art over winter break. Another monster with a technique at Greater Accomplishment!"

Just as the debate over who would make the top ten grew more heated, a somewhat unexpected voice cut in:

"Hey, what do you guys think? Could Li Wen... make the top ten this time?"

The speaker was a somewhat thin boy. Most of the students around him had calm, measured auras and were clearly more focused on academics.

The night before, he had happened to overhear classmates discussing how Li Wen might have excellent academic scores, and now the thought had suddenly struck him.

As soon as he finished speaking, someone beside him gave a derisive laugh.

"Li Wen? No way!" It was Xue Jun, seated not far away with Deng Yuefei.

Xue Jun looked at the group of "academic types" with disdain.

"He'd only just reached Initiation in Peak Blade Art at the end of last term. One winter break, and he's gone from Initiation to Greater Accomplishment? What do you think he is, a god? At best, he might have gotten a little past Minor Accomplishment in Peak Blade Art!"

Deng Yuefei leaned over to chime in:

"Exactly! Brother Xue's right. Jiang Lingyun from No.1 High School, the one who signed a B-level Contract, took two or three months to go from Initiation in Peak Technique to Greater Accomplishment.

"If Li Wen can go from Initiation to Greater Accomplishment in a month, I'll write my name backward!"

He shook his head as he spoke, as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous thing imaginable.

Xue Jun added with an air of superiority:

"Which of the top ten hasn't reached the late stage or even the peak of Minor Accomplishment in a Peak Technique?

"Take me, for example. I'm more than halfway through Minor Accomplishment in spear art, and I was still more than ten places short of the top ten last term.

"Li Wen wants to make the top ten? His blade art would have to make a huge leap and reach Greater Accomplishment!"

Xue Jun and Deng Yuefei both shook their heads emphatically, their faces practically spelling out "absolutely impossible."

Just then, the loudspeaker blared, drowning out the crowd:

"All students participating in the Flying Star Class selection assessment, please proceed to the first testing area as instructed for your Flesh Rank test!"

The students quickly formed a long line in front of the testing equipment.

The process was highly efficient. Each student's name and corresponding Flesh Rank appeared in real time on the enormous electronic screen, drawing murmurs from the crowd.

"Class 1, Grade 12, Huang Hao, Flesh Rank: 9.4!"

The whole plaza gasped.

"Class 2, Grade 12, Zhao Feng, Flesh Rank: 9.0!"

"Class 21, Grade 12, Xue Jun, Flesh Rank: 8.8!"

"Class 21, Grade 12, Deng Yuefei, Flesh Rank: 8.5!"

When it was Li Wen's turn, he calmly placed his hand on the testing panel.

Bzz—

"Class 21, Grade 12, Li Wen, Flesh Rank: 7.1!"

Among all the scores above 8.0, that number stood out like a sore thumb.

Li Wen himself, however, remained completely unfazed. He calmly withdrew his hand, as if the score were nothing more than an insignificant symbol flashing across the screen.

He was actually quite satisfied with the result.

At this point, his Flesh Rank meant far less to his chances of qualifying for the Flying Star Class than the skills assessment that was about to begin.

He paid no attention to the gazes around him, whether curious, dismissive, or complicated.

After a brief adjustment, the moment that would truly decide their fates arrived.

"All contestants, enter the virtual room immediately. The 'Sharpening Battlefield' is about to open!"

At the announcement, all the contestants hurried to the virtual room.

After finding his assigned spot, Li Wen lay down inside.

He put on the gear and turned on the switch.

The virtual pod's cold touch enveloped him. His consciousness sank, and when Li Wen opened his eyes again, he was suspended above a scorched battlefield filled with smoke and crumbling ruins.

A cold electronic voice rang in the ears of every contestant at the same time:

[Sharpening Battlefield Rules]

A total of 10,000 Virtual Humans will be deployed in the battlefield. Their strength and points are as follows:

Black outfits (Advanced Blade Art Initiation): 1 point

White outfits (Advanced Blade Art Minor Accomplishment): 2 points

Red outfits (Advanced Blade Art Greater Accomplishment): 4 points

Orange outfits (Advanced Blade Art Perfection): 8 points

Yellow outfits (Peak Blade Art Initiation): 16 points

Green outfits (Peak Blade Art Minor Accomplishment): 32 points

Cyan outfits (Peak Blade Art Greater Accomplishment): 64 points

Blue outfits (Peak Blade Art Perfection): 128 points

Purple outfits (Unity Realm): 1,000 points

Points update in real time and are determined by the highest-value target killed.

Assessment duration: 90 minutes.

The instant the rules finished being announced, killing intent surged across the battlefield!

At the center of the enormous plaza, on the giant screen.

The main display immediately locked onto contestant TY001—Huang Hao!

Wielding a pair of huge axes, he charged straight toward the central area where the Virtual Humans were gathered, like a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

His target was crystal clear: the Green-Clad Men who represented Peak Technique - Greater Accomplishment.

The lower-level Virtual Humans along the way couldn't slow him down for even a moment.

His huge axes cut through them like a melon being chopped. Every time they swung, they cleanly split a target's head from its body, and his points soared!

"Look at Huang Hao! He's only going after the high-level ones!"

"No wonder he's the top contender! What guts!"

Next, the camera turned to contestant F002—Zhao Feng.

This newly crowned Peak Spear Art expert at Greater Accomplishment was just as imposing. His route wasn't as aggressive as Huang Hao's, but he was still actively seeking out Green-Clad Men, the ones at Peak Blade Art Minor Accomplishment.

His spearwork was swift and forceful. He couldn't kill the green Virtual Humans at Minor Accomplishment in a single blow, but he handled them with ease and dispatched them at a remarkable pace.

"Zhao Feng's a beast too! Another one at Peak Greater Accomplishment. He's definitely second only to Huang Hao!"

"Second place is locked in!"

The scene shifted, and other seeded contestants like Xue Jun appeared on screen.

Most of them were efficiently clearing out the yellow and green Virtual Humans, at Peak Initiation and Minor Accomplishment, and steadily increasing their points. But compared to the explosive growth of Huang Hao and Zhao Feng, the gap was obvious.

And yet! Nearly twenty minutes into the assessment, as the scoreboard began to spread out, the point-growth curve of W021—Li Wen—who had been ranked outside the top fifty, suddenly shot upward at an almost vertical angle!

The intelligent monitoring system instantly detected it and forced an enlarged view onto the main screen.

On-screen, Li Wen appeared in an area strewn with mixed-in rubble.

It was scattered with large numbers of low-level black, white, and red Virtual Humans. At the heart of the mob, three Virtual Humans emanating powerful auras stood tall, clad in green!