The scenery around him suddenly rushed past, leaving only a blurry afterimage. It was as if he were standing in a different dimension of time, leaving everyone and everything far behind.
The cries of " Ji Qing " followed him, the sounds both strange and familiar. He couldn't recall them, and his head throbbed with pain. He closed his eyes and covered his ears, trying to resist the source of the sounds.
Suddenly, several " Xie Ji " were heard mixed in with these voices. Xie Ji opened his eyes abruptly and gasped for breath.
Lu Xunji hugged him, pressed his forehead against his, and called his name.
" Xie Ji." Lu Xunji called again, and saw Xie Ji suddenly open his eyes, his misty blue pupils blank. He gently stroked behind Xie Ji's ear and said slowly, "It's alright, it's alright, don't be afraid, sweetie."
Xie Ji took a few breaths, his throat dry and uncomfortable. He swallowed and sat up from Lu Xunji's arms, rubbing his temples.
Lu Xunji went to pour a glass of water, which Xie Ji took and gulped down quickly.
"Drink slowly." Lu Xunji was afraid he would choke, so he reached out and patted his back. After he finished drinking, he wiped the remaining water from the corner of his mouth and said gently, "Did you have a nightmare?"
"It seems so." Xie Ji nodded, rubbing his temples. "Not really. How did you find me?"
"I finished showering, but you weren't back yet," Lu Xunji said. "When I went out to look for you, I saw you asleep on a park bench not far from the door, so I carried you back."
Xie Ji nodded, then remained silent.
He rarely remained silent like this. Lu Xunji took his hand and repeated, "I'm here."
Xie Ji looked up at Lu Xunji's face, and the detachment he felt from the dream slowly subsided. He nodded. "It's good that you're here."
Lu Xunji held him and coaxed him to sleep.
Xie Ji lay in his arms, closing his heavy eyelids once more.
The next day, the special examination hall of the Imperial Military Academy--
This special exam was more lively than usual, with a large crowd of onlookers standing outside the exam venue.
After all, it's really rare to see a top student in the country give up direct admission and insist on taking a special exam.
Everyone felt that this national number one was either extremely arrogant or mentally unstable.
The Imperial Military Academy's campus website was also simultaneously broadcasting updates on the examination room's status, attracting an unprecedented tens of thousands of viewers.
Generally speaking, the campus network is an encrypted website, and only students of the Imperial Military Academy can log in with their student ID numbers. Tens of thousands of people are considered a huge number for the Imperial Military Academy.
Mu Yao Ji Shi the others weren't initially very interested in this, but when they heard that Lu Xunji had participated in a special exam, they all immediately realized what was going on.
Damn, I still signed up for the Xie Ji!
Several people, without prior arrangement, all logged onto the campus network to watch the live stream.
Outside the examination hall for the written test, students filed in one after another.
There's a reason this written test was able to weed out a large portion of the applicants. Besides the fact that the test was entirely in English, the questions were also quite difficult, and very few students were able to complete them.
In the camera footage, Xie Ji's blond hair was still the most eye-catching. His hair was gently tied into a bun, with a few strands hanging down and swaying beside his snow-white cheeks, making him both cute and charming.
Lu Xunji was behind him and reached out to tidy up the strands of hair that were hanging down his bun.
Skyscrapers immediately appeared under the live stream video.
[Holy crap, is this the Empire's number one student who gave up direct admission and insisted on taking the special exam?]
[You know what, this guy's obviously a know-it-all.]
[This is such a publicity stunt. I don't know what they're trying to achieve. Are they trying to get attention this way? So what if they're the top student in the empire? What do their grades mean before they entered military academy? They'll be quiet after taking Old Chen's mecha class and getting a couple of punches from the instructor.]
[These are usually bookworms who never learned anything from military academy. They've clearly never experienced the harsh realities of military school. Don't even bother with the written exam; they probably passed it with their eyes closed. I'm actually looking forward to the second practical assessment. They're truly fearless. Are there really any idiots who would give up their direct admission to challenge this special exam? I bet they'll be crying for their parents and screaming with regret in a bit!]
[ The Hall of Heroic Souls is running a betting pool, betting on how many seconds this show-off can last in the combat assessment, haha!]
[Didn't anyone notice the blond guy next to him? Wow, they look really good together. What's wrong with such good-looking guys? I'd be heartbroken if they died in the exam hall.]
[Please, examiners, be lenient. During the practical assessment, at least don't embarrass them...]
Xie Ji stood at the door, holding a book, waiting for the scan. The infrared beam of the smart scanner swept across his body, emitting a soft beep as it passed.
A teacher nearby approached curiously and asked, "Student, what book is that in your arms?"
In principle, books are not allowed inside the examination room.
Xie Ji, with a serious expression, handed the book to the examiner.
The examiner took a closer look and exclaimed, "Wow!"
The Book of Changes ( I Ching )
In this era of astrology, such paper books are extremely rare. This book seemed to have nothing to do with the exam, but the examiner hesitated for a moment and still took Xie Ji's book away.
They also found a die on Xie Ji's person.
Evaluator: "..."
He didn't seem to be there to take the exam; he seemed to be there to cause trouble.
"You can't bring this either?" Xie Ji leaned closer and asked.
The examiner coughed and said, "Anything unrelated to the exam is prohibited from being brought into the exam room, student."
Xie Ji nodded. "Alright then."
He then pulled out eight dice, two decks of divination cards, a complete book of astrological calculations, and even a peach wood sword.
Evaluator: "..."
Where did he put these things???
After Xie Ji finished emptying the tampering, he opened his innocent, wide eyes and asked, "Can I go in now?"
Evaluator: "... That's enough."
Xie Ji nodded and walked into the examination room.
He and Lu Xunji were not in the same exam room. When they parted, Lu Xunji squeezed his hand and whispered, "Wait for me after the exam."
Xie Ji nodded. "Understood."
After saying that, he went into the examination room by himself.
[Not this guy? Taking a different approach, huh? He's really good at getting work done.]
[Over the years, countless people have tried to cheat in special exams, and they've all been beaten up and thrown out. What's the point of all these tricks?]
[This is hilarious! He brought a peach wood sword, is he planning to exorcise evil spirits in the exam hall?]
[I also felt that the exam hall was eerily quiet! For example, as soon as I went in and saw the exam paper, I felt sleepy! There must have been some strange thing controlling my brain!]
[Don't make excuses, you're a complete academic failure.]
I hate you.
An assessment paper, longer than Xie Ji himself, was delivered to him by an intelligent robot. Each paper contained different questions, ensuring no one could cheat in this assessment.
Besides the Xie Ji.
He ate ten Divine Sense Fruit, and his divination skills matured considerably. Calculating fate was no longer a problem for him, and calculating the options in a question was naturally a piece of cake for him.
So everyone who was waiting to see what would happen saw Xie Ji receive the exam paper, extend his left hand, pinch it up and down, mutter some incantations, and fill in an answer in just a few seconds.
The speed and accuracy were astonishing.
[No way, buddy, who taught you to take exams like this?]
[Are you just going to calculate it literally??]
[This is so weird, I can't even solve problems as fast as he calculates.]
[And all his answers were correct! Holy crap, that's terrifying when you think about it!]
[I suggest a thorough investigation. I suspect he used high-tech methods to cheat; did he write the cheat sheet in his fingernail?!]
[Wow, master! I'm starting to have a good chance he'll pass the special exam.]
[Seeking a fortune teller regarding marriage, Master--]
--
My head hurts so much, I'll stop here for today.
I'll definitely make it up tomorrow.
Clang, clang, clang.
(I kowtow to all the viewers.)
Clang clang clang
(Let's enjoy this together, including the dog.)