Chapter 17

Li Yang had been prepared. Her high Spirit Points played a crucial role, allowing her to keenly sense the movement of Starlight and leap up a step ahead of time, dodging the dahlia head flying at her.

"Amazing!"

"As expected of the top scorer! This Li Yang's got skills!"

Watching the scene, Zhong Kun muttered inwardly, Student Fang, you really were hiding your abilities.

Zhong Qian and Lin Zhaoqin's fighting spirit was stirred. Neither willing to be outdone, one thrust at the dahlia's trunk while the other swung her blade at its other head.

The three fought the dahlia in a furious melee, setting the blood of the surrounding examinees boiling.

Who would claim those 100 points?

Who was the true top scorer of Donghua Province?!

Li Yang focused entirely on the fight. She didn't underestimate the Second Grade dahlia. Just as she had told Zhong Kun, she either wouldn't fight at all, or she would give it her all.

Every sound around her faded away. All she could see was the densely packed Starlight.

The Starlight wasn't stationary, but constantly surging. She couldn't see it all clearly, only make out some of its broader movements.

Gradually, Li Yang discerned a pattern.

A large gathering of Starlight meant the dahlia was building up power, and its main means of attack were the "Ten Thousand Swords Piercing" from its two heads and the charging attacks of its two vines.

The dahlia's trunk, rooted in the ground, was exceptionally hard. Its defense stat had to be at least as high as Four-Leaf Clover's.

How was she supposed to kill it?

Li Yang suddenly narrowed her eyes and said, "Watch its trunk!"

Zhong Qian was close to her and shot her a quick glance. Lin Zhaoqin heard her too, but she hadn't noticed anything unusual.

With a whoosh.

The dahlia's trunk, originally thick with green leaves, suddenly erupted, and countless clouds of poisonous mist spread outward.

Lin Zhaoqin swiftly held her breath, Zhong Qian had already retreated, and Li Yang had circled around in another direction well in advance, avoiding the poisonous mist attack.

Lin Zhaoqin arrived at Li Yang's side in an instant and asked, "What's your mental stat?"

Li Yang: "..."

Lin Zhaoqin quickly added, "You can see 'weak points,' right? You take command!"

But before Li Yang could speak, Zhong Qian had already slashed at a spot that happened to be a "weak point" exposed by the shifting of the dahlia's Starlight.

Li Yang could tell that Zhong Qian's Spirit Points were probably high too, but Lin Zhaoqin seemed to be on bad terms with him and didn't want to follow his lead.

Lin Zhaoqin urged her again. "Hurry!"

Li Yang wasted no more time. "Follow me."

Lin Zhaoqin: "Ah... you don't know Mental Resonance yet... fine, fine..."

Li Yang slashed at the dahlia's "weak point." Lin Zhaoqin was exceptionally fast, her blade steady, precise, and ruthless. It crashed down with a clang, landing in the same spot as Li Yang's axe.

A piercing shriek rang out. The dahlia had been gravely wounded.

Lin Zhaoqin said, "That felt good! You really have to hit the 'weak points'!"

On the other side, Zhong Qian leaped up and stabbed down at the dahlia's head. Li Yang narrowed her eyes. "The other head..."

Lin Zhaoqin said, "Got it!" She rushed over at once. Li Yang was a little slower, but the two strikes landed one after the other, and with two thuds, they actually chopped off one of the dahlia's heads.

Zhong Qian quickly landed and drove his sword into the dahlia's trunk.

Li Yang was also examining it intently. She found two weak points, but because she couldn't pinpoint the one on the trunk in detail, she could only tell Lin Zhaoqin, "Right behind the head!"

Lin Zhaoqin met the dahlia head swinging toward her, Zhong Qian stabbed into the dahlia's second "weak point," and Li Yang raised her axe and struck the dahlia's third "weak point" with all her might.

In the main control room.

The examiners watched with great interest as well. Although Star Wielders had long since had no need for such a primitive way of fighting, watching the young examinees clash head-on at such close quarters still stirred them.

"These three have bright futures ahead of them!"

"The question is, who landed the final blow?"

"We'll need a detailed assessment."

All three had struck the dahlia's "weak points." It looked as though they had killed the Second Grade mutated plant at the same time, but a detailed analysis by specialist instructors would still reveal differences in the force of their blows.

Whoever dealt more damage with the final blow would get the 100 points.

In fact, the examiners knew perfectly well that it would come down to Physique Points.

Zhong Qian's 93 Physique Points gave him an absolute advantage.

All three had struck weak points in the same way, dealing the same triple damage, so 93 points would certainly be quite a bit more than 90.

Looking at it that way, the provincial top scorer would still be Zhong Qian.

The examiners all felt a faint sense of regret at this outcome.

Li Yang, the dark horse who had burst onto the scene, truly had the makings of a top scorer. Unfortunately, she had fallen one move short and missed first place.

Chapter 17

After the Second Grade dahlia fell, the Donghua Province practical exam for the 301st class came to an end at just the right time.

The chief examiner's voice rang out from everyone's rescue devices. "Congratulations, examinees. You have successfully survived three days in the two-star quarantine zone and passed this practical exam."

The examinees began cheering before the chief examiner had even finished. "It's finally over!"

"Three days! I can finally have a good meal and a good night's sleep!"

The past three days had been anything but easy for them. Leaving aside the threat of mutated creatures everywhere, even if they carefully avoided them, they still had to hide in damp tree hollows or rotting, foul-smelling dog holes. For three days and three nights, they hadn't eaten, drunk, or slept well.

With the exam finally over, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief. Their faces lit up with smiles, and their spirits lifted.

Seeing them like this, the examiners couldn't bear to dampen their spirits.

The practical exam was only the first step. After they became military academy cadets, and even soldiers, there would be plenty more wilderness survival missions like this.

They had a long road ahead of them, and these three days hardly counted as hardship.

Once their excitement had passed, everyone opened the points leaderboard and looked curiously at the top three.

The Second Grade mutated plant had been brought down. Who had gotten the 100 points?

The examinees had only seen the three deliver their final blows at the same time. They couldn't tell at all who had finished off the dahlia.

"Huh? None of their scores have changed."

"What's going on? Could there have been a fourth person?"

Those words made Zhong Kun panic. He was the only "one in the know" at the scene.

If none of the top three's scores had changed, could Fang Chuyun really have snatched the final blow?

No way!

Zhong Kun turned pale and hurriedly opened the points leaderboard, quickly searching for Fang Chuyun's name.

One look, and he let out a long breath of relief. "That scared me to death. I knew it was impossible..."

Fang Chuyun's score hadn't changed significantly. It had risen a little, but it was still nowhere near 100 points.

At that moment, the chief examiner spoke. "To ensure the fairness and impartiality of the exam, three instructors will now assess the damage dealt to the Second Grade dahlia. The final points rankings will be announced afterward."

Only then did the examinees understand. "So they can't judge it with the naked eye."

"That makes sense. All three struck at the same time at the end, and it looked like they all hit the dahlia's weak points. To determine who gets the final points, they have to analyze the actual damage."

An examinee who knew the subject spoke up. "Then there's no suspense. Zhong Qian definitely dealt the most damage."

"That's right. He has 93 Physique Points, higher than both Lin Zhaoqin's and Li Yang's."

"Not necessarily. What if he messed up and didn't bring out his full Physique Points?"

"Give me a break. Who do you think he is? He didn't earn his title as the number one in Donghua's 301st class by bluffing. If he messed up, I'll eat shit standing on my head!"

Zhong Kun listened to everyone's discussion with a smile. He felt completely at ease. First place was bound to be Zhong Qian's; there was no suspense.

It had to be him, the Zhong Family's strongest support!

Zhong Kun walked over and said to Li Yang, "Thanks for your hard work!"

Li Yang was in a daze.

She stared wide-eyed at the line of text before her.

[Lifespan +20 years.]

A single Second Grade mutated plant had actually given her 20 years of life.

Looking again at the lifespan field on her panel, she saw that it had reached a full 40 years!

She'd struck it rich!

When had Pauper Li ever seen so much "life"!

Zhong Kun was in an excellent mood. He said to Li Yang, "Don't worry. I'll give them to you once we're out. Four Star-Attracting Pills will be enough to last you until Grade One High Stage!"

He simply assumed Li Yang was excited about the Star-Attracting Pills she was about to receive.

Look at the corners of her mouth—she couldn't even hold her smile down.

Though Zhong Kun was much the same, his own grin practically reaching the sun!

Lin Zhaoqin walked over and looked suspiciously at Zhong Kun and Li Yang. "What are you two talking about? I understand why Zhong Kun's happy, but Li Yang, what are you so happy about? You've lost first place!"

Zhong Kun cleared his throat. "Lin Zhaoqin, I lied to you earlier. Actually..."

Before he could finish, the instructors responsible for assessing the damage values rose to their feet, every one of them looking astonished. "How is that possible..."

"That can't be right!"

"The highest is actually..."

The chief examiner arrived too. She strode in like the wind, reaching the scene in the blink of an eye. "What are the results?"

The assessing instructor pushed up his glasses and said, "Position one is Zhong Qian. Damage value: 280."

The examinees had all gathered around. Hearing this, they sucked in sharp breaths. "Incredible, God Zhong! He unleashed more than triple damage!"

Zhong Qian had 93 physique points. Tripled, that should have been 279, but he had dealt a full 280 damage.

A mistake was out of the question. Zhong Qian had clearly performed beyond his usual level!

The assessing instructor continued, "Position two is Lin Zhaoqin. Damage value: 273."

Lin Zhaoqin had a lollipop in her mouth again. She said casually, "All right, all right, I'm third." She was still better than that idiot Jiang Yuqing.

The watching examinees all felt there was no suspense. Li Yang couldn't possibly have scored higher than Zhong Qian. In fact, she probably hadn't even scored higher than Lin Zhaoqin, since she had only 90 Physique Points.