All-City First Place

Song Chen flipped open the first page and glanced over the questions.

[Psionic Theory]

What was the essence of psionic energy? Briefly describe the process of its discovery and its impact on the martial era. (10 points)

What was the relationship between Vitality Force and psionic energy? Explain separately from the perspectives of martial artists and ability users. (15 points)

What was the formation mechanism of a Life Core? What were the differences between First Rank, Second Rank, and Third Rank Life Cores? (10 points)

He smiled.

These questions were far too simple for him.

During those days outside the city, he had dealt with psionic energy, Vitality Force, and mutated beasts every day.

Everything in the System Shop involved the application of psionic energy. He had long since thoroughly mastered this theoretical knowledge.

Not to mention, he was now a Second Rank ability user. His mental power was formidable, and his memory and comprehension far surpassed those of ordinary people.

He began answering the questions.

The tip of his pen flew across the paper, neat lines of handwriting flowing forth.

The essence of psionic energy was a fundamental form of energy in the universe. It had descended upon Blue Star alongside a meteorite a hundred years ago.

It could resonate with the cells inside living organisms, awaken their potential, and drive their evolution...

Vitality Force was a special energy formed when psionic energy entered the human body and combined with the blood and meridians.

It was the source of a martial artist's strength. Abilities, meanwhile, were the fusion of psionic energy and mental power, manifested as control over various elements...

A Life Core was the mark of a rank-classed organism, formed by the condensation of Vitality Force and mental power at the heart...

He wrote rapidly, barely needing to think.

The examinees around him were either chewing on their penholders in a daze, sweating anxiously, or scribbling and revising on scratch paper.

Meanwhile, Song Chen had already turned to the second page.

[Beast Compendium]

Draw the physical form of a Mutated Iron-Armored Rhino and mark its weak points. (15 points)

What were the habits of a Mutated Lynx? How should it be tracked and hunted? (15 points)

What attack methods did a Second-Order Mutated Giant Eagle possess? How should one defend against them? (10 points)

He smiled again.

Not only had he studied these mutated beasts—he had killed them too.

The Iron-Armored Rhino's weak point was beneath its neck, where its armor was thinnest.

He drew quickly, even depicting the rhino's muscle texture with crystal clarity.

The lynx excelled at concealment and ambushes, and preferred moving about at night.

When tracking it, one had to examine the claw prints on the ground, the scratch marks on trees, and the freshness of its droppings. When hunting it, one should do everything possible to cripple its speed...

As for the giant eagle, it had chased him down just yesterday. The impression it had left was far too deep.

Its primary attack methods came in three forms: diving claw strikes, aerial pounces, and wing sweeps.

The best defense was to hide in dense woods, preventing it from exploiting its speed advantage.

If one had no choice but to fight in the air, one had to disrupt its balance...

The more he wrote, the smoother it became, and the faster his pen moved.

Two hours later, he put down his pen.

He had finished every question.

He checked through everything once, confirmed that nothing had been missed, then raised his hand.

"Teacher, I'm handing in my paper."

The proctor froze for a moment.

"Handing it in? There are still three hours left. Aren't you going to check it again?"

"I'm done."

The proctor walked over, picked up his paper, and gave it a glance.

Then he froze.

The exam paper was densely packed with writing.

Every question had been answered in full. The handwriting was neat, the reasoning clear, and the Beast Compendium illustrations in particular were lifelike, with every detail marked distinctly.

He flipped back through the earlier Psionic Theory section. It was the same there.

The proctor raised his head and looked at Song Chen, his expression complicated.

"You are... Song Chen?"

"Yes."

The proctor drew a deep breath.

"You can go. Prepare well for the practical test the day after tomorrow."

"I hope you can bring honor to our Anning City."

Song Chen nodded and rose to leave.

"I will."

As he walked out of the classroom, he heard low exclamations behind him.

"That's Song Chen?"

"Sky Thunder Blade?"

"He handed in his paper that fast..."

"A monster..."

He shook his head and continued walking outside.

The corridor was empty. Sunlight streamed through the windows, dazzlingly bright.

He stopped by the window and looked out at the field.

Parents were already waiting there, gathered in twos and threes as they nervously discussed something.

He suddenly remembered his past-life self.

Back then, he had gone through the college entrance exam too. He had drilled practice questions until late at night and memorized vocabulary until he wanted to throw up, all for the sake of scoring a few more points and getting into a good university.

And now? His battlefield was no longer an examination hall.

It was beyond the city, in the Wilderness, amid ruins overrun by mutated beasts.

He smiled and continued outside.

At five in the afternoon, the cultural exam results were released.

The technology of this era was far more advanced than that of his previous life.

Paper scanning, automated grading, and score compilation were all completed within a few hours.

Song Chen was eating dinner at home when his communicator suddenly rang.

He picked it up and looked.

[Martial Arts College Entrance Exam Cultural Score: 198 points]

[Psionic Theory: 48 points]

[Beast Compendium: 50 points]

[Combat Strategy: 60 points]

[Basic Culture: 40 points]

[Total Score: 198/200]

[Citywide Rank: 1st]

Li Xiuying leaned over for a look, then froze.

"198 points?"

She rubbed her eyes and looked again.

It was still 198 points.

"Son, you scored 198 points in the cultural exam?"

Song Chen nodded. "Not bad."

Li Xiuying threw her arms around him, laughing and crying at the same time.

"198 points, and you call that not bad? You child..."

Song Zhengye held his wineglass and slowly took a sip. The corners of his mouth were raised high, but he did not say a word.

The communicator rang again.

It was a push notification.

[Explanation of This Year's Martial Arts College Entrance Exam Scoring System]

[Total score: 1,000 points, consisting of three sections]

[1. Vitality Value: Full score 200 points. A Vitality Value of 10 receives full marks. One point is deducted for every 0.1 below 10. No additional points are awarded for exceeding 10. If total Vitality Value is below 0.8, this section receives 0 points.]

[2. Cultural exam: Full score 200 points, calculated according to the actual score earned.]

[3. Practical assessment: Full score 600 points. Mutated beasts are hunted at the test site, and scores are determined comprehensively based on the number and rank of kills.]

[The three sections are added together to determine the final total score. Admissions are ranked according to total score.]

Song Chen looked at the message thoughtfully.

His Vitality Value was 15.0, enough for full marks. Unfortunately, scores above the limit did not count, or he could have gained several dozen more points.

His cultural score was 198. Together, that made 398 points—a very good starting point.

The practical assessment was worth 600 points.

He wondered how many points he could earn.

He raised his head and looked toward the night sky beyond the window.

There, the stars glittered brilliantly.

The practical assessment was the day after tomorrow. The true main event had not even begun.

Just then, his phone vibrated again.

Song Chen picked it up and saw that it was actually a voice message from Lin Qingxue.

"Song Chen, are you free tomorrow? I want to treat you to a meal, just to... celebrate you taking first place in the city!"

"The practical test is the day after tomorrow, and tomorrow happens to be a rest day. We can relax together?"

Song Chen stared at the message and froze for a moment.

A meal? That was a little sudden.

Just as he was considering how to reply, another message arrived.

"Um... um, you... if you don't have time, then just... just pretend I never said anything..."

Her shyness and embarrassment were obvious in the voice message.

"This girl... she's pretty cute."

Song Chen thought for a moment, then replied with two words.

"Sure."

Li Xiuying leaned over, saw the name on the phone, and her eyes instantly lit up.

"Lin Qingxue? The girl who gave you that knife?"

He felt somewhat helpless.

"Mom..."

Li Xiuying grinned from ear to ear. "Go on, go on. Have a nice meal, and don't spend all your time thinking about cultivation!"

Song Zhengye slowly took another sip of wine beside them. "A female classmate is treating you to dinner. Dress a little better."

"Not every girl has as poor an eye for taste as your mother."

Those words instantly ignited Li Xiuying's fury.