Chapter 13

"Wait, that's not right. The first round of the practical exam includes both Zhongdu Military Academy and Star-Slaying Military Academy. How are the candidates who pass assigned to the academies?"

Li Yang sucked in a breath. She didn't want to be assigned to a different school; she only wanted to attend the agronomy department at Zhongdu Military Academy!

Did they get to apply in order of their scores on the written exam?

No!

Li Yang recalled the materials she had looked through and realized that the practical exams had rankings every year, and only the highest-ranked students got first choice of school.

But how were they supposed to rank students in survival mode? The only criterion for this practical exam was to hunker down and survive three days.

The answer gradually took shape in Li Yang's mind. "You have to kill mutated creatures!"

That wasn't written in the "entry instructions," and the invigilators hadn't given them any hints either, so Li Yang wasn't sure whether her guess was right.

But how else could they rank them?

Surely they couldn't judge who had lived most comfortably over the three days?

Ahem, she had been quite comfortable, but it would be unfair to rank people by something that couldn't be quantified.

By comparison, counting kills of mutated creatures was much easier.

Li Yang had killed quite a few mutated creatures, but would those tiny fry that weren't even mentioned in the "entry instructions" count?

If they didn't, wouldn't she have missed her chance to get first choice of school?

Li Yang couldn't sleep anymore. She sat up and carefully thought it over.

First, she had to pass the practical exam; second, she needed a decent ranking. Of course, the prerequisite for everything was keeping herself safe.

It looked like she couldn't just keep her head down tomorrow. She would have to look for an opportunity to venture out and improve her ranking.

If she really did get eliminated by accident, she wouldn't panic. She still had two years to live. At worst, she could spend another year preparing and take the exam again.

Either way, she was going to Zhongdu Military Academy, and she was going to the agronomy department!

"Quick! There's a big tree over here! Let's climb up and hide!" a student screamed in terror.

Li Yang narrowed her eyes and instantly spotted "Starlight" in the distance.

Good grief!

This time it wasn't a faint glimmer. It was genuine "Starlight."

In the darkness, the "Starlight" clustered together like a ball of blue flame. It was too far away for Li Yang to see what kind of mutated creature it was; all she could see were four people running this way.

Only four of Chen Song's group of six remained, and those four were facing the greatest crisis they had ever encountered.

This was a mutated plant of at least the First Grade Seventh Stage!

For students like them who hadn't drawn Starlight into their bodies, it meant certain death!

Fortunately, their luck wasn't bad. They had actually found this big tree. As long as they climbed it quickly, they could take shelter for the time being.

The mutated plant looked like a giant man-eating flower. It was a meter tall and couldn't jump very well, so it certainly couldn't climb trees.

After two days of torment, even if they hadn't paid much attention to the "entry instructions," they knew that the big trees in the quarantine zone were relatively safe.

That was because the big trees here wouldn't mutate-their size meant they needed too much Starlight, and it would be difficult for them to mutate without several decades. Of course, once they did mutate, their grade would be far higher than grade two, so they wouldn't appear in this two-star quarantine zone.

And this tree happened to be where Li Yang was spending the night.

After Chen Song and the other three hurriedly climbed up, they immediately spotted Li Yang, who had set up a makeshift "tent" on a huge branch.

Once again, eyes met, and jaws dropped.

Only this time, Li Yang was no longer surprised. Chen Song and the others were the only ones who were.

Chen Song was in far worse shape than Xu Wenpei and her group. He was covered in mud, one arm was roughly wrapped in a bandage, and one leg was bleeding. He had only managed to struggle up the tree thanks to his 88 Physique Points.

The others saw Li Yang too, and their expressions were all the same: utter disbelief.

Chen Song was arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. He immediately realized what was going on. "The 'entry instructions'..."

Li Yang couldn't be bothered to discuss it. She said bluntly, "This spot's taken."

Someone on Chen Song's team protested anxiously, "So what if it is? The tree's big enough for all of us to take shelter!"

Li Yang glanced at the "Starlight" drawing closer. "The more people there are, the more mutated creatures we'll attract."

The four of them: "!"

Someone asked in surprise, "Don't tell me you haven't run into any mutated creatures while traveling alone?"

There was really no need to ask. One look at Li Yang was enough to tell.

They had all spent the same two days surviving, yet she was unscathed and full of energy, looking for all the world as if she had come on a spring outing.

"So that's how it is..." Chen Song's face was deathly pale as he murmured, "I knew there was no way the practical exam could be this difficult..."

With 88 Physique Points, he should have been virtually guaranteed to pass the practical exam, yet over the past two days, he had several times been unable to resist the urge to press his rescue device.

Why had it been so hard?

Because they had ignored the "entry instructions"!

Li Yang said, "If you don't get down soon, you'll attract more mutated creatures patrolling at night."

One of them said, "No! I'm not going down! That man-eating flower eats people!"

In the darkness, Li Yang couldn't see what sort of mutated creature was wrapped in that "Starlight." Only now, hearing what he said, did she realize... it was a mutated plant.

Someone else said, "It's at least the First Grade Seventh Stage! If we go down, we'll... we'll..." They wouldn't actually die, but they would definitely have to press their rescue devices.

If they pressed their rescue devices, the invigilators would only take them away; they wouldn't deal with the mutated plant. After all, to grade-three invigilators, a grade-one mutated plant was hardly worth mentioning.

Li Yang quickly assessed the situation and said decisively, "Let's kill it. Otherwise, we'll all have to press our rescue devices."

If they didn't get rid of it, none of them could get down from the tree.

But if the five of them stayed clustered together for too long, they would be in trouble if they attracted a powerful flying mutated creature.

Of course, Li Yang had her own reasons too.

A First Grade Seventh Stage mutated plant...

How much "life" would that be worth?

She would try fighting it first. If she couldn't beat it, she could take the opportunity to escape. Otherwise, if they all stayed holed up in the tree, sooner or later they would drag her down to her death.

Chapter 13

Li Yang's words clearly stunned them. The injured candidates in particular were scared out of their wits. One of them blurted out, "Are you crazy? That's a Grade One High Stage mutated plant! None of us have drawn Starlight into our bodies, and we don't even have the most basic 'Star Skills'... You still want to kill it? It can eat us all!"

Li Yang didn't have much of a sense for any of that.

The mutated plants in the safe zone had all been "little cabbages" beneath her axe. The Four-Leaf Clover at Heqing Residential Complex had been troublesome, but she had brought it down too.

The man-eating flower in front of her looked dangerous, but that didn't necessarily mean she couldn't kill it!

Li Yang didn't waste time. She said quickly, "Don't think you're safe in the tree. If we attract a flying mutated creature, we'll be caught between enemies on both sides, and then we'll have no choice but to press our rescue devices."

The candidate's face turned white in an instant. "We can't be that unlucky. There's already one mutated creature here. How could another one possibly..."

Li Yang couldn't be bothered to say more. She swiftly drew the iron axe at her waist and stared at the people in front of her. "Either you get down yourselves, or I'll kick every one of you down."

The tree was huge, its trunk so thick it would take four people with their arms outstretched to encircle it. That was how so many people could squeeze onto it.

But Li Yang was standing in just the right spot. As long as she didn't move aside, Chen Song and the other three could forget about climbing any higher. And with her above them, it really would be easy for her to kick them down.

Their expressions grew even uglier. A relatively small, thin boy said, "You can't do this..."

Li Yang knew what he was going to say and shot back, "This isn't against the rules. After all, I'm doing it to 'survive.'"

That one sentence stunned them.

Indeed, the only task in this practical exam was to survive for three days.

Their arrival endangered Li Yang's survival, and she had made her decision in accordance with the task.

It was cold and merciless, but this was an exam, after all. At the moment, they weren't classmates, but opponents.

"Three seconds." Li Yang wasn't going to argue with them any longer. "Either come down with me and kill the mutated plant, or I kick you down."

Chen Song had been silent until now. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "I'll go down with you and kill the mutated plant." As he spoke, he drew his long saber.

The others panicked. They had always looked to Chen Song for leadership, and now that he had agreed, they didn't know what to do.

"Brother Chen..."

"She's right. If we attract a flying mutated creature, we'll all be out," Chen Song said. "I can't be eliminated. I have to pass the practical exam."

Li Yang began counting down coldly. "Three, two..."

They swallowed nervously. "All... all right, we'll go down with you..."

Li Yang didn't move. She looked at them and said, "Come on, down the tree."

Chen Song had completely put away his arrogance. He said to Li Yang, "That man-eating flower has two ways of attacking. One is to shoot seeds. They don't do much damage, but they're corrosive. If you get hit, you'll have to press your rescue device... The second is biting. It launches sudden attacks and moves very fast, and its sharp teeth are incredibly hard. Whatever you do, don't let it bite you."

Chen Song's team was no weak group. Three of them were from the provincial capital, and to have developed Physique Points like theirs, they undoubtedly came from Star Wielder families.

The fact that they had escaped from this Grade One High Stage mutated plant was proof enough of their strength.

Li Yang nodded, then asked, "Who's faster?"

Chen Song immediately said, "I am."

Li Yang said, "All right. You distract it from the front, and we'll attack from behind."

Someone still didn't trust Li Yang and couldn't help saying, "Brother Chen, what if you go draw the mutated plant away and she takes the chance to run..."

Li Yang said bluntly, "There's no 'what if' about it. If we can't beat it, I'll definitely run."

She didn't hide it, saying frankly, "I'm not the one who provoked this mutated plant. When all's said and done, you're the ones who dragged me into this. I'm doing you a favor by helping you, and I'm under no obligation to do so. Don't put the cart before the horse."

Her retort left him speechless.