At dawn, the red sun leaps out from the horizon, the sunlight is bright and clear, and spring is in full bloom.
The Bolake City was unusually lively today, with virtual projections everywhere. On the Starlight Tower, the tallest landmark in the city center, a huge row of electronic numbers was slowly pulsating.
This is the countdown to the start of the Joint Entrance Examination examination.
There is one hour and eight minutes left.
At this moment, the largest stadium in the Kahn Province was already packed with people, with enthusiastic spectators jostling shoulder to shoulder and a continuous stream of people pouring in.
In the center of the spacious area, rows of metal arenas were neatly arranged, each the same size as the arenas in the special training camp.
Above the arena is a huge projection screen, each side measuring tens of meters in length and width, with hundreds of high-definition cameras distributed in every corner of the venue, ready to go.
The Supernatural Joint Entrance Examination is a major event in the Alliance. No other competition can surpass the Joint Entrance Examination in terms of popularity and buzz. Every Joint Entrance Examination brings in huge profits for the government from broadcasting fees and advertising revenue alone.
In the rest area, the participants in the Joint Entrance Examination examination exhibited a variety of behaviors: nervous, calm, and uneasy...
"The qualifying rounds are about to begin, and I wonder what kind of bio-beast I'll encounter." Burke was no longer as carefree as before, and his expression became somewhat tense. No matter how thick-skinned one is, it's inevitable to hesitate and waver when facing a crossroads that will determine one's Fate.
"Don't worry, as long as a normal C-level potential candidate doesn't awaken too late, the probability of passing the qualifying round is over 98%. You've been in the special training camp for more than half a year, so you'll definitely be fine. Believe in yourself!" Cole put his right arm around his good brother's shoulder and lightly punched the latter's chest with his left fist.
"If you don't even make it into the top 20,000, I'll suspect you did something unhealthy last night, your hands and feet are weak?" Rui glanced at Burke and adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Huh... no way, you actually could." Cole took a few steps back and said with disdain.
"You bastards..." Burke said with a dark expression, but quickly laughed again, his anxiety and tension dissipating considerably under the joking banter of his friends.
"Sigh, Brother Lan is so much better. He only has to worry about the final exam. Unlike us, we're so nervous about even the preliminary exam!" Burke nudged Lancelot, who was stretching, and his tone was like that of a woman lamenting her fate. Combined with his rough, large face, the scene was somewhat unbearable to look at.
Lancelot, however, was already used to it and continued stretching on his own.
The Joint Entrance Examination examination consists of three stages.
The qualifying rounds used bio-engineered beasts to quickly select the top 20,000 participants.
The competition, using a points system, will determine the top 3,000 candidates for the second round of interviews.
The reason why academic subjects are placed last is twofold: firstly, to prevent poor grades from affecting one's mood, and secondly, because they are the least important.
Time ticked by, and when the countdown reached zero, eighteen large anti-gravity aircraft flew over the stadium, adorned not only with banners but also with a shower of flower petals, while cannon salutes resounded through the sky.
The contestants, with solemn expressions, lined up in a long queue and entered the qualifying arena one by one.
Suddenly, the area split open from the middle, dividing into eight fan-shaped sections that slowly converged towards the edges, revealing rows of octagonal cages beneath the ground.
Regardless of their type, all bio-beasts in the qualifying rounds are at the same level in terms of overall strength. They are ranked according to the time it takes to defeat a bio-beast, with the shorter the time, the higher the ranking.
The top 20,000 players will advance to the ring competition stage.
Walmart! Walmart!
"Kant, keep it up! You're the fattest!!"
"Iron Fist! Crush them! Show them what a Legendary of the Sade Arena is all about!"
The deafening cheers from the audience rose in waves. Lancelot keenly heard the voices of his fans. He was not surprised. Since achieving three consecutive victories in the Battle of Transcendence, his fame had spread beyond the five southwestern cities and reached a certain level throughout the entire Kahn Province.
Especially after the Leite City and the Sade Arena joined forces to promote him extensively, Lancelot's number of followers on social media has exceeded one million, making him a veritable internet celebrity.
It is foreseeable that if he can make a name for himself in the Joint Entrance Examination examination, his number of fans will surge again.
Lancelot was quite pleased with this. In his view, these were all bright red banknotes; cultivation required funds, and where would the money come from?
Of course you have to earn it yourself! Are you going to rob us?
Becoming a major internet celebrity, landing endorsements, doing commercials, occasionally making cameo appearances in movies, and if possible, starting a company and using all the money to improve one's skills... well, that sounds like a promising career path.
There aren't many players whose names are known to the audience; they are mostly powerful characters.
Among them, the name "Walmart" is the most prominent.
Lancelot had heard this name before, more than once.
She is the only S-level potential candidate in the Kahn Province in this year's Joint Entrance Examination. She comes from an ordinary family in Bolake City. She is a 17-year-old female, a natural awakener, and has a very high-profile style. She is beautiful and good at fighting. In just one year, she has accumulated millions of fans and is a major internet celebrity.
"If I beat up Walmart, my fame will definitely increase!" Lancelot thought to himself. He had already tasted the benefits of fame these days. Putting aside everything else, the money came really fast. In the internet age, fame is, to a certain extent, equivalent to profit.
Walmart is clearly a master at this, and Lancelot decided to use her name to climb the ladder.
Of course, this is extremely difficult. Among the contestants from the Kahn Province, Walmart is the only one with Tier Four combat power, and he has almost secured the first place in the preliminary round.
However, Lancelot was aiming for first place anyway; without some challenges, how could he be motivated?
"I Daoism has placed the bets for me yet?" Lancelot muttered to himself. This morning, he had given all the money in his account to Instructor Jace, asking him to place the bets for him to win first place in the preliminary round!
Everyone thought Walmart had already secured the top spot, and the casinos were no exception, so her odds of winning were very low.
Correspondingly, the odds for other players are much higher, including Lancelot.
The odds are 1:4.3. Although they are not as high as the odds at the Sade Arena, the maximum bet limit is also high this time, a full 30 million.
Lancelot chose to go all in, not only putting up all his savings but also borrowing a considerable amount, with the rich second-generation Dekai contributing the lion's share.
Although the two are competitors, it doesn't prevent them from being friends. Their relationship isn't particularly close, but lending each other a few million or a few thousand is no problem. After all, for a big spender like Dekai, this amount of money is nothing.
"For the money, for the resources, we must take first place!!" Lancelot shouted in his heart, not only because of the huge bet, but also because of the reward for first place in the preliminary round: a two-star Legend -level Transcendent equipment provided by the Kahn Province.
Lancelot is currently missing a suitable piece of equipment. If he can take first place, he'll get money, fame, and equipment—a triple win!
The layers of encouragement gradually excited Lancelot; his blood was boiling, his cells were roaring, and his spirit seemed to be ignited, gradually becoming scorching and burning.
"That's the feeling! Fire, ignite it!"
The qualifying rounds lasted all day, and the entire Lancelot team passed without any major setbacks.
I heard that other contestants were unfortunately killed or seriously injured by the bio-beasts. Although there weren't many, it still served as a warning, making everyone more cautious.
The tournament began as scheduled on the second day.
Randomly draw lots to determine who will compete in pairs, with the winner receiving one point.
The 20,000 people were divided into fourteen rounds.
Rounds 1 to 3, each person needs to play 10 matches.
There are 4 to 6 rounds, and each person needs to play 5 matches.
There are 7 to 9 rounds, and each person needs to play 3 matches.
The tournament consists of 10 to 12 rounds, with each player required to play two matches.
Rounds 12 to 14 only require one match.
This means that a maximum of 62 points can be accumulated, and only one person can get this many points without any failures.
"Now, all participants in the arena, please draw lots!"
Lancelot walked to the machine next to him, scanned his face, and a lottery page popped up. He casually tapped a number, and the numbers scrolled, eventually leaving four numbers: 1022.
This number is considered early, but based on past experience, it will still take about an hour before it can enter the battle.
Lancelot simply sat down on a bench in the waiting area and closed his eyes to meditate. Not far to his right were rows of capsule-shaped mechanical devices, all white, with green energy circuits lighting up from time to time, giving them a very futuristic feel.
This thing is called a "Comprehensive Medical Support and Rescue Container," or simply a treatment container. It is one of the representative works of the Alliance Biotechnology. It can quickly repair damage to the human body. Even if someone is seriously injured and on the verge of death, they can be saved by entering the treatment container.
However, the treatment chambers are extremely expensive; even the cheapest model requires tens of millions of Crimson Notes to purchase one.
The treatment chambers currently displayed in the waiting area are all advanced models, capable of treating most injuries below the High-Rank Transcendent. Each one could easily sell for hundreds of millions of Crimson Notes.
So even the original training camps weren't equipped with them, not because they didn't want to, but because they simply didn't have the money. It's said that only the training camp in the capital Bolake City, the entire Kahn Province, was equipped with these treatment pods, allowing members to familiarize themselves with the sensations beforehand.
According to the Joint Entrance Examination rules, each participant can only use the treatment chamber 3 times, and they need to allocate the time themselves.
Past experience has shown that the proper use of healing chambers is also key to achieving good results, especially for players who have mastered explosive power; every use of a healing chamber is extremely crucial.
Time passed slowly, and soon, the announcement reminding Lancelot to take the field rang out in the waiting area.
He stood up, stretched, making a crackling sound, put on Lancelot metal boxing gloves, and strode towards the ring.
His opponent was already waiting on the other side of the ring, and his face turned pale when he saw Lancelot.
"Damn it, how unlucky am I? My first time on stage and I run into Iron Fist!" The man seemed utterly desperate.
There weren't many well-known contestants in the entire preliminary round, only a few dozen, so they were easy to remember. Lancelot was among them.
An authoritative external organization described him as having a ruthless and swift fighting style, possessing excellent adaptability and superior psychological qualities, but not being brutal. As long as he doesn't provoke others and court death, and surrenders in time, he will not be in mortal danger.
Glug~
The rather older-looking young man swallowed hard, his lips twitched, but he said nothing, obediently adopting a fighting stance.
Giving up outright is out of the question. Although he may look a bit laid-back, he has a strong competitive spirit.
Seeing this, Lancelot also lowered his center of gravity, staring intently at his opponent with burning eyes, his expression serious yet slightly excited, showing utmost respect.
"Can you not take this so seriously, boss? I'm just a nobody!" the man lamented inwardly, but he was quite flattered by Lancelot's high regard for him.
Soon, the floating assistants hovering outside the arena emitted a mechanical voice announcing the start of the battle.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Lancelot vanished into thin air, leaving only a blurry afterimage slowly fading away.
"So fast!"
Cold sweat instantly beaded on the man's forehead, and blood vessels spread across his pupils like tree roots. His eyesight was pushed to its limit, and his nerves trembled violently like harp strings, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of Lancelot.
However, the final result was that he saw nothing, but felt a sharp pain in his waist, and then flew out of the ring while spinning around.
It took less than five seconds from start to finish.
"I can't even see a shadow, there's no way to fight like this!" The man clutched his waist, stood up with a helpless bitter smile, and accepted his defeat wholeheartedly. He was completely powerless to fight back and was knocked out of the ring. In a real fight, he wouldn't even know how he died. The difference in skill was too great.
Contestant number 1022 wins!
A line of eye-catching characters appeared on the projection above the arena.
In the stands, fans who had been following Lancelot's performance cheered wildly, holding up banners high as if they wanted to know he had won the match.
Lancelot waved to his fans, eliciting even louder screams and cheers, before gracefully leaving the stage to await the next battle.
The opponents they faced in the first battle were clearly among the lowest-ranked groups out of 20,000 people.
The tournament is supposed to be a random draw, but in reality, there's big data manipulation behind the scenes.
Artificial intelligence will assign weaker opponents to seeded players in the early stages to prevent strong opponents from clashing and causing an upset, and will assign evenly matched opponents to mediocre players to highlight their strengths... These are all behind-the-scenes operations, things that are seen through but not said.
The first round of ten matches was completed quickly.
As expected, Lancelot won all his matches and scored 10 points.
With 20,000 people remaining, only 10,000 took a one-hour break before the second round of the competition began.
Victory! Victory! Victory!
Lancelot swept through the enemy lines, his fighting style remaining as Berserk and powerful as ever, like a rampaging rhinoceros beast, crushing everything in its path.
Such a performance is undoubtedly very appealing, especially to male viewers. Just watching Lancelot fight makes their blood boil, and they wish they could go up and throw a couple of punches themselves.
For female viewers, they pay more attention to Lancelot's looks and figure; wherever he goes, there are always a lot of people who judge by appearance.
In short, with each match, Lancelot's fan base exploded, with more and more viewers becoming his loyal supporters and his fame soaring.