Survival of the Fittest

A yellowish card surface gradually took on a shimmering white glow. The intricate, swirling vortex-like lines on the card seemed to come alive, as if slowly rotating, with wind flowing and swirling around them.

White quality one-star—Cyclone Card.

The card lay quietly on the table in front of Tang Jian, who swiftly poured out another batch of heated ink from the heating furnace, preparing to craft the next card.

He seemed a little flustered, but overall, his performance was excellent despite minor flaws.

The successful crafting of the Cyclone Card caused many teachers in the external conference room, including Jiang Zhendong, to feel a slight astonishment. Jiang Zhendong's expression, in particular, became somewhat rigid.

He had just praised Wu Chun's exceptional performance, and now Tang Jian had crafted the Cyclone Card at a speed that was barely any slower.

The Cyclone Card was considerably more difficult to make than the Pet Card (Antelope Card).

Although Tang Jian's Card Crafting speed was slightly slower, the increased difficulty not only compensated for the speed difference but even surpassed it.

"Excellent, excellent. Wu Chun performed very well, and Tang Jian's performance was even more outstanding. Teacher Jiang and Teacher Sun are both excellent educators. Teachers from other classes should look to you two as role models."

Vice Principal Zhou Dongbo was in a cheerful mood, praising them with a smile.

To him, it didn't matter which class the outstanding students came from; they were all students from his school, and he treated them all equally. The more excellent students there were, the more credit and happiness he felt.

Jiang Zhendong could only echo his smile, feeling annoyed inside, but on the surface, he lavished compliments and praise on Sun Yiying, as if he hadn't been the one to belittle Tang Jian earlier.

His emotions were complex at that moment; he wanted to see Tang Jian make mistakes and embarrass himself to humble Sun Yiying, but he also didn't want to completely fall out with Sun Yiying. His mixed feelings were hard to decipher.

As the teacher of Rocket Class 1, Jiang Zhendong felt immense pressure.

If, in this assessment, his students were outperformed by students from regular classes, it would not only damage his reputation but also disappoint the school leadership and might even lead to a reduction in resources for Class 1. This was something he could not tolerate.

Therefore, even if Jiang Zhendong harbored some thoughts towards Sun Yiying, he was unwilling to compromise when it came to his personal interests.

Moreover, by this point, Jiang Zhendong was increasingly sensing that things were not going well.

Through the display on the large screen, it was clear that Tang Jian seemed to be getting more and more into the zone. From his initial slight nervousness and fumbling, he had completely calmed down while crafting the second card.

Even though the gravity environment within the energy-simulated assessment venue was gradually intensifying, and at times, it was accompanied by strange loud noises that caused interference.

Yet, Tang Jian's expression became even more focused. He seemed to have completely concentrated all his attention on a single point, oblivious to everything else around him.

Such a performance immediately caught the attention of some teachers. The astonishment in Sun Yiying's heart, at this moment, transformed into a silent sigh, echoing in her mind for a long time, leaving her speechless.

This is her student?

How does he seem even more exceptional than she was at his age?

"He's truly a remarkable talent. His potential is very strong. He might have seemed a bit green at first, but he's the type of talent who thrives under pressure. The greater the pressure, the faster he improves; he grows stronger with every setback!"

Vice Principal Zhou Dongbo praised, offering a summary.

Immediately, a school director and some teachers followed suit, nodding in agreement and expressing their affirmation.

Indeed.

Every year, as the college entrance examination approached, some dark horses would emerge. These were individuals who, under the intense pressure of the examination, suddenly surged forward, uncovering their latent potential, becoming true underdogs.

Although Tang Jian, this particular dark horse, was indeed exceptionally strong, it was undeniable that he was improving. From his initially slightly flawed performance to his increasingly perfect execution, his adaptability and self-regulation abilities were both very strong.

In contrast.

Wu Chun, who should have been dazzling, seemed somewhat overshadowed at this point.

As the gravity environment grew stronger, accompanied by sounds that were either terrifying or alluring, abruptly interrupting the silence, Wu Chun's pressure also mounted. When crafting his second card, he had already completed more than half of it, but for the remaining half, his concentration became increasingly difficult to maintain. He was repeatedly startled by sudden noises, almost failing to craft the card.

At this moment, observing Wu Chun's body lying in the virtual bio-seat would reveal his forehead covered in sweat. His nervous expression had even begun to affect his body in the real world.

Aside from Wu Chun, other students still crafting Cards had successively failed due to disturbances. Some even lost their composure, cursing aloud within the assessment space.

Only a handful of students, including Wu Chun, Yang Mao, and Liu Fei, were still persisting in Card Crafting.

But among them, only Tang Jian was truly becoming more focused and undisturbed, which made him stand out immensely, like a crane among chickens.

Aside from the Card Crafting assessment environment starting to deteriorate, the survival assessment environment had become even more severe.

Many had already endured loneliness and monotony in the dark to the point of near collapse.

At this time, their minds were extremely fragile, yet amidst the loneliness and monotony, new signs of life emerged.

But those were not signs of life; they were hail smashing down, scorching sun exposure, or even falling into the boundless ocean, or being trapped in a high-rise building engulfed in flames—even more terrifying and unbearable.

Some had almost gone mad.

Without personally experiencing such an environment, it was hard to understand that kind of suffering.

This test of willpower, this scourging of vitality, was far more cruel than the Card Crafting assessment. Many had already succumbed, tragically eliminated.

"It takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to cultivate a person. We hope that the students Xicheng cultivates for the Federation are all strong-willed and resolute individuals, not hothouse flowers. These children are all good."

Vice Principal Zhou Dongbo looked at the scenes within the assessment, sighing softly with a touch of relief.

Even for the eliminated students, he saw perseverance in them.

Perhaps this was why humanity could still survive tenaciously amidst the crisis of being surrounded by giant beasts—because, at their core, humans possessed an unyielding, resilient will.

"He succeeded, Wu Chun succeeded." Just then, Jiang Zhendong excitedly clenched his fist.

Wu Chun had persevered and crafted a second card, a white-grade, one-star pet card, the Brute Ox Card.

So far, no one else had crafted a second card except for Wu Chun.

Jiang Zhendong's excitement was justified.

But when Jiang Zhendong looked at Tang Jian, who was still crafting his second card on the screen, his excitement was somewhat dampened.

Tang Jian was incredibly focused, seemingly unaffected by his surroundings. His second card was also nearing completion, almost finished.

As long as Tang Jian successfully crafted his second card, then even if Wu Chun had taken less time to complete his Card Crafting, he would still undoubtedly lose.

This was because the difficulty of the card Wu Chun crafted was much lower than Tang Jian's.