Pengcheng No. 3 Martial Arts High School.
Xu Ziming hadn't been here for more than ten days. Ever since he'd been promoted to Sprint Class, he'd had the privilege of not coming to school.
He hadn't expected to run into Dai Fei here again. Compared to two weeks ago, Dai Fei seemed to be in much better shape. He looked excited when he saw Xu Ziming, too.
"A-Ming, where have you been all this time? You were amazing when you defeated those aliens last time. I hope you get a great result on the Second Mock Exam!"
"Thanks. I hope you reach the Martial Arts Undergraduate Cutoff, too... I'll treat you to some time online after the exam!"
Xu Ziming smiled brightly. He didn't want their friendship to suffer because they'd been assigned to different classes.
"Great, let's go online together after the exam."
Dai Fei smiled, and all the worry he'd carried these past few days finally melted away.
When Xu Ziming entered the classroom, he saw that Tang Xing and Shen Xingyue had already arrived. There was an empty seat between them.
Xu Ziming sat right between them. "How have your training sessions been going?"
As soon as Tang Xing saw Xu Ziming, he couldn't keep his excitement bottled up any longer. He'd been holding it in for that brief moment, and it had nearly killed him.
"Of course I'm invincible now. Only you and Shen Xingyue can trade a few blows with me. The rest of those schools' students? Hmph. They wouldn't last a single move."
As he spoke, he shook his golden hair, his face brimming with baffling self-confidence.
So this is the power of the Supreme Freedom Hero realm. He's even managed to deceive himself? Xu Ziming marveled inwardly.
"The Second Mock Exam is about to begin. The practical assessment will take place in a secret realm. Everyone, line up and follow me to the buses. We're heading to the realm's location."
Ma Mingyu checked the time, then addressed the whole class.
At Ma Mingyu's words, most of the students looked surprised. Only Xu Ziming and the others had known about it in advance.
That included Zhao Yong, who had once lost to Xu Ziming.
He'd trained painstakingly for half a month, determined to defeat Xu Ziming fair and square and reclaim his place as the top scholarship recipient.
But now, instead of a one-on-one match, they were all heading into a secret realm together.
Soon, everyone boarded the buses and headed to the secret realm.
Pengcheng had already been testing this realm for half a month, so there was no fear of its existence being exposed.
Xu Ziming sat by the window. He had to admit, the scenery along the way was pretty nice. As a native of Pengcheng, he recognized the road to Cloud Dragon Mountain almost immediately.
"I didn't think that little mound called Cloud Dragon Mountain could generate a secret realm."
"Is everything in place?"
In a small village where the True Martial Sect had gathered, the shadowy figure gazed at the Secret Realm Orb and spoke slowly.
"My lord, everything's ready. We'll do our best to kill as many high school students as possible..."
"Good. We want to stir up chaos. Time flows differently inside the secret realm than it does outside. It seems to be one to twenty-four: three hours outside means three days inside."
"Then when do we make our move?"
"On the final day. That is, during the third hour after it begins in the real world."
At the entrance to the secret realm.
All of Cloud Dragon Mountain had been sealed off. No tourists were allowed in today, and the whole area was on high alert.
Familiar logos and slogans hung along the mountain paths. Nebula Martial Hall, parental certificates, College Entrance Exam prep courses, and all sorts of others were lined up one after another.
Clearly, they were the sponsors of this exam.
As soon as Xu Ziming entered the mountain, he caught a strong mix of sweat and the odors of various testing reagents.
Delegations from different schools had gathered throughout the mountain, proceeding in orderly fashion through the checks.
This was a massive assessment, and they'd be entering the secret realm in person. They had to check whether anyone had taken banned performance-enhancing drugs or rented powerful equipment.
Every martial arts student had to pass through a series of inspections before they could reach the entrance to the secret realm.
The birdsong in the mountains mingled with the din of the crowd, leaving Xu Ziming unable to settle down.
For some reason, as soon as he entered the mountain, he'd felt strangely uneasy.
"What a pain. External possessions are also tools for fighting the aliens. I don't know why they're banned in an exam when they aren't even forbidden in wartime."
Tang Xing picked at his ear and grumbled, but he still obediently submitted to the checks. Nothing about him seemed out of the ordinary.
"Good. All that's left is the final urine and blood tests. After that, you'll be ready for the exam."
Ma Mingyu stood at the front, helping the medical staff test the students in his class.
Sprint Class was, after all, the key class at Pengcheng No. 3 High School. They had to take good care of its students.
Soon, everyone had completed the tests. Technology was advanced these days, so even testing hundreds of people at once didn't take long.
Just five minutes later, the results came back. Not one person had used a banned performance-enhancing drug.
But that only applied to Sprint Class.
"Student, your blood test results indicate that you've used a prohibited substance. You're disqualified from taking this Second Mock Exam practical assessment."
"That's impossible! You must have made a mistake. I didn't cheat!"
The student's face went pale, disbelief in his eyes. But the data didn't lie. His disbelief wasn't really about whether he'd taken the drug; he was wondering why the drug hadn't gone undetected, as the instructions had promised.
"I really don't understand what these people are thinking. You can't cheat on the College Entrance Exam, so why spend all day fooling yourself?" Tang Xing shrugged.
After the farce, several imposing figures in formal attire took their seats in front of the secret realm entrance and looked sternly at the students.
"Hello, everyone. I'm the minister of the Pengcheng City Department of Education. You can call me Minister Zhao. I hereby declare the Second Mock Exam officially underway. Next, Vice Minister Shen will explain the rules."
At the old man's words, the noisy venue gradually fell silent.
After speaking, the middle-aged man beside him, who looked a little younger, stood up and bowed slightly to the students.
"This practical assessment will take place in a secret realm. Time flows differently there than in the real world: one hour outside equals one day inside. So don't worry—you'll have plenty of time to make it to lunch."
Vice Minister Shen was clearly in a mischievous mood. He ended by joking with the students.
"As for the scores, here are the requirements for this assessment:
"1. We've released a large number of demonic beasts into the area, ranging from Life Energy Level 3.0 to 5.0.
"Each beast killed between Life Energy Level 3.0 and 4.0 will be worth one point. Each beast between Life Energy Level 4.0 and 5.0 will be worth five points.
"As for beasts above Level 5.0 that have undergone Life Evolution, each one will be worth one hundred points!
"2. We've also released five aliens who have undergone one Life Evolution. Defeating them will earn you two hundred points!
"3. Before entering, everyone can pick up a small button. If you feel you can't go on, press it and you'll be teleported out. Your score will be based on the points you've earned before teleporting."
As soon as Vice Secretary Shen finished, Secretary Zhao immediately continued:
"Good. I think Vice Secretary Shen explained everything clearly. The top thirty-two students by score will also get to compete in the martial arts tournament. The practical assessment begins now!"