Simulation pod assessment (The novel gets its trial promotion tomorrow, so please don't save up chapters!)

"But you never asked."

Ye Zhiqiu looked utterly innocent, tilting his head slightly as though he were stating something perfectly natural.

Watching that expression, Dong Qianqiu felt the corner of her mouth twitch. A breath caught in her throat, refusing to go up or down.

How had she not thought of that? With what a bastard he was, would he really be kind enough to come clean? If only she had asked sooner.

"I..." Dong Qianqiu opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Finally, she squeezed out, "From now on, I'll beat you up every time I see you, until you confess all your secrets."

"Then how long will you have to keep that up? I've got quite a few secrets," Ye Zhiqiu said with a sincere smile.

Dong Qianqiu's cheeks puffed up with anger, then deflated. She turned and walked away.

Xu Rang stood at the lectern and clapped his hands. "All right, all right, everyone sit down. Take a break and get ready for the next class. The Simulation Pod exam is the day after tomorrow, so be prepared."

He paused, then added, "Your assessment results will count toward your overall annual evaluation. Take this seriously."

A rustle of replies came from the students below.

Ye Zhiqiu returned to his seat, picked up his pen again, and spun it once.

He could feel several gazes still drifting his way, especially those of a few girls. Their eyes held an eagerness that had no business belonging to children their age, making the corner of his mouth twitch.

What was all this supposed to be?

He simply propped up his book to hide his face and pretended to diligently preview the lesson.

During practical class that afternoon, Dong Qianqiu came looking for him again, just as expected.

"Fight me." She was even more curt than usual, as though someone owed her money.

Ye Zhiqiu had just finished warming up. At her words, he dusted nonexistent dirt from his hands and said, "Sure. What rules?"

"The usual. No first Soul Skill."

"Sure."

The two walked to the center of the training ground and stopped facing each other, five meters apart, each summoning their Martial Soul.

Dong Qianqiu's Shark phantom had grown considerably more solid since she first enrolled, and its color had deepened. She held the Ice Spear in her hand, its tip gleaming coldly.

Ye Zhiqiu summoned Absolute Blade, and the long white blade hovered silently.

They exchanged a glance and moved at the same time.

This bout was fierce. Dong Qianqiu's attacks were a notch faster than usual, her Ice Spear thrusting and sweeping in such a tight rhythm that there was almost no opening.

Every strike carried a sharp whistle through the air, and shards of ice scored white streaks across the ground.

Ye Zhiqiu was hardly idle either. He turned sideways, dodged, and parried, Absolute Blade weaving between the shadows of her spear.

Of course he could win. Even without Concept Severance, he could win.

His reactions were several notches faster than hers, and his judgment was far more accurate. After nearly a year of sparring, he could recite her moves with his eyes closed.

Five minutes later, Dong Qianqiu withdrew her spear. Her chest rose and fell slightly, and the loose strands of hair at her forehead were damp with sweat, clinging to her temples.

"That's enough." The young girl said nothing more. She simply withdrew her Martial Soul and turned to leave the training ground.

After two steps, she looked back at him and said, "The day after tomorrow, once we're in the Simulation Pods, I'll win it back."

Ye Zhiqiu recalled Absolute Blade into his body and smiled. "Sure. I'll be waiting."

Dong Qianqiu did not look back again. Her ponytail swayed behind her shoulders as she walked away.

Standing in the center of the training ground, Ye Zhiqiu watched her retreating figure and silently considered something.

What expression would she make if she ever found out I was hiding another Martial Soul?

Would she really chop me into eight pieces?

Hmm. That was a pretty amusing picture to imagine.

Two days later, in the simulation pod room of the multipurpose building.

When Ye Zhiqiu followed the group into the classroom, thirty-three silver-gray Simulation Pods stood in neat rows across the spacious room. Each occupied roughly four square meters, its streamlined casing gleaming coldly beneath the lights, like something that belonged in a science fiction movie.

He glanced around. Several people stood at the front of the classroom. Besides their homeroom teacher, Xu Rang, and assistant homeroom teacher, Liu You, there were the dean of the junior division, the director of studies, Qian Zilai, and a technical instructor specifically responsible for managing the Simulation Pods.

Five people in total.

That lineup seemed rather excessive for a final exam at a Junior Academy.

But Ye Zhiqiu noticed that the teachers' gazes occasionally drifted his way. They were not deliberately staring, but he could feel it.

The junior division's dean personally attending to observe the assessment was unusual by any measure.

He sighed inwardly. That figure of 321 points of spiritual power really was too eye-catching.

His father was right. Any one of those things alone would give him enough to brag about for a lifetime, but with all four stacked together, the trouble would only keep growing.

Qian Zilai walked over to the Simulation Pods, patted the top of one, and cleared his throat. "Listen carefully, everyone. In a moment, each of you will enter a Simulation Pod. Once inside, follow the instructions and sit down. A metal mask will cover your face. Don't panic; that's part of the normal procedure."

"After the Simulation Pods activate, your spiritual power will be projected into a virtual world."

He paused, then continued, "The objective of this assessment is very simple: survive in that world. Once you die in the simulated world, your assessment will automatically end. You can gain survival time by defeating opponents you encounter, but we don't recommend making that your priority."

"Understood?"

"Understood!" the thirty-one children shouted in unison.

"Good. Enter in order."

Ye Zhiqiu was fifth in line. He walked a few steps forward and stopped in front of a Simulation Pod.

The pod's door was translucent. Inside, it was filled with a thick, transparent gel that looked like jelly, yet also like some kind of liquid metal, gleaming faintly beneath the lights.

"Go on in. Don't be afraid," the dean said, personally coming over to speak to him.

Then Ye Zhiqiu stepped inside.

The moment his foot went in, the sensation was truly strange, as though he had stepped into a pool of half-congealed mud. His foot sank a little before being held firmly in place.

He took a deep breath and sat down.

The transparent gel slowly enveloped his legs, waist, and chest, rising until it was about to cover his head.

Just then, a silvery-white metal mask slowly descended from above, fitting precisely over his face.

Soft sensor pads lined the inside of the mask, pressing against his temples and chin. A faint sensation of electric current came from the points of contact and spread beneath his scalp.

Then his entire body was submerged in the transparent gel.

Ye Zhiqiu discovered that he had no difficulty breathing. The transparent gel enveloped his whole body without blocking his mouth or nose—or rather, he no longer needed to breathe. He was in a peculiar state somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

The two Soul Spirits in his Sea of Consciousness stirred slightly.

"Students, don't panic. Everything you are experiencing now is normal. Next, you will enter another world. Your task is to survive in that world. Once you are killed there, your assessment will end. During the assessment, you will be on a battlefield of life and death, and you may use any means at your disposal. If you encounter classmates, you may compete or cooperate. Comprehensive assessment, begin."

Buzzz—