Chapter 420: Sophomore Year Final Exams (of the 12 Alliance Leaders)

Chapter 420: The Sophomore Finals (And the 1.2 Lords)

In the blink of an eye, the end of August had arrived, bringing with it the days of the sophomore final examinations.

The students of the Civil Engineering Foundation Establishment Class had, quite unthinkingly, spent two full academic years together.

Upon the testing grounds of the Daoist Mind.

Feng Jiu’s gaze swept across the performance of each examinee projected within the spiritual realm.

Li Xiao steered his flying vessel at a furious sprint, and given the choice between a student from the Netherworld University and a junior college student, he decisively chose to run over the junior college student.

Then it was ten junior college students, a hundred, two hundred… until the number reached three hundred, at which point a hint of hesitation finally crept into his heart.

Feng Jiu nodded slightly, thinking to himself, "This question is getting a bit old; it's far too simple for today's students, it ought to be updated."

"After all, the value of junior college students has depreciated severely over these past few years, so doesn't this just become a simple math problem? It can hardly test the human heart at all."

In another curtain of light, Yu Xinghan had been subjected to a shapeshifting art, transformed into a stray dog; worried that he would never find employment after becoming a dog, he scoured the land looking for work, practicing his canine skills relentlessly, solely to grasp a single thread of survival.

Feng Jiu nodded slightly: "Even in the depths of adversity, he does not forget to strive and struggle; to persist in seeking employment even after turning into a dog, such a Daoist mind is truly commendable."

In yet another curtain of light, Ying Xin faced the coercion of the Double-Cultivation Cult; she manifested her resolve through death, choosing to die rather than rest.

Feng Jiu nodded slightly: "This question touches upon current events, it must be a recent addition. Willing to die rather than accept the cult's coercion, refusing to give up her right to work overtime—another fine seed for the Immortal Dao."

"It seems the school's recent anti-cult education has been highly successful."

Turning his gaze to another curtain of light, he saw Gongshu Jin standing amidst a construction site, lifting the corpse of a fellow worker and unleashing the corpse's dharma-skeleton to hammer and vibrate the earth.

Feng Jiu nodded slightly: "Inheriting the dying wish of his companion, turning his companion's death into an advantage for the labor, working overtime together until the very last moment—not bad, not bad at all."

Then Feng Jiu thought to himself: "However, across several consecutive questions, the things tested are all related to work; is this due to the influence of the Double-Cultivation Cult?"

On the curtain of light to the other side, Feng Jiu watched Jia Yuanchu become a demon-descendant, overcoming the desire to devour the flesh and blood of his family time and again, ultimately succeeding in raising a family of demon-descendants, selling his kin, and earning his first pot of gold.

Feng Jiu: "He both overcame the instinct of flesh-hunger and suppressed the notion of familial affection, leaving nothing but the Immortal Dao. This counts as a fine solution to the problem; what matters is that he displayed a steadfast Daoist mind throughout this process."

In another curtain of light, Zhang Yu faced a forced demolition; finding an opportunity to hide inside the house, he acquired the demolition compensation meant for those physically present, obtaining even greater restitution.

Feng Jiu nodded slightly: "Risking his own life to gamble for high stakes, he has displayed a spirit of struggle and adventure. However, Zhang Yu’s Daoist mind should not stop at this; the next question ought to have its difficulty raised further."

Observing the performance of each student in the Foundation Establishment Class, Feng Jiu evaluated: "Every single one possesses astonishing fighting spirit, every single one is a prime talent, and all have made continuous progress over the past academic year."

"They are all good students; there is not a single academic slacker among them."

…

Upon the testing grounds of Magical Power.

Students were taking their turns one by one, lining up to undergo testing on their magical power capacity, magical power quality, and astral qi conduction, among other aspects.

Li Mingbo, as the magical power instructor, was at this moment filled with amazement.

"Zhang Yu of the first tier ranks first in every single value related to magical power, completely surpassing Jia Yuanchu of the sixth tier…"

A student of the first tier besting a student of the sixth tier, and a comprehensive, overwhelming victory at that, could not help but make Li Mingbo feel that the natural order of the heavens had been completely upended.

Then his gaze shifted toward Yu Xinghan on the other side.

Though also a student of the first tier, his performance was already at the level of the top five in the class, and he was even extremely close to the fourth position.

Had it not been for the appearance of a anomaly like Zhang Yu, Yu Xinghan’s results alone would have been enough to startle Li Mingbo.

Then he looked toward Li Xiao, nodding slightly: "Now this is the normal range of ability for a first-tier student."

…

Within the testing grounds for Physical Intensity.

Zhang Yu was seen leading the pack, shooting forward like a bolt of lightning across the complex testing ground; wherever he passed, it was as if a hurricane had swept through, blasting plumes of architectural dust high into the sky.

At this moment, the vital essence within Zhang Yu's body could be said to be boiling.

Surges of qi and blood surged back and forth like molten lava.

Driven by a Level 20 physical intensity, various explosive cultivation methods were forcefully activated by him.

The War Demon Life-Sacrificing Merit, the Endless Zen of Spring and Autumn… these frantically propelled his physical body; although they could not temporarily break the Foundation Establishment limit of his physical intensity, they allowed him to forcefully exert a trace of power that surpassed Level 20 physical intensity.

Under the propulsion of such ferocious power, the burden on his physical body was naturally immense; almost every single moment, flesh and blood were being damaged, being ruptured, as if his body were being consumed by fire.

Yet with the blessing of bodily vitalization, his flesh ruptured again and again, only to heal again and again.

Particularly under the blessing of the Martial Dao Sacred Physique, his vitalized body also carried a sense of martial microscopic intent, allowing him to always distribute the bodily damage somewhat evenly, maintaining the rupture and healing of flesh and blood in a state of equilibrium.

In addition to this, the exertion of power throughout his entire body under the control of martial microscopic intent also allowed him to erupt with greater, faster, and fiercer speed, advancing rapidly through sharp-angled turns with almost no deceleration.

Jia Yuanchu’s entire body was enveloped in dancing wild winds, continuously accelerating forward under the blessing of his dharma-skeleton, yet he found himself lagging behind Zhang Yu without cease.

"Damn it, my straight-line acceleration is absolutely faster than his, but..."

Looking at the twisted and crooked terrain, Jia Yuanchu was forced to decelerate and turn time and again, consistently unable to display his maximum speed.

At the same time, within this testing ground that simulated a war environment, he had to continuously dodge various attacks that came shooting furiously toward him.

Looking back at Zhang Yu...

He simply allowed a bolt of thunder-fire to blast him head-on, colliding violently with a mass of mist on his face. Under the impact of this thunder-fire, not only did Zhang Yu’s figure not slow down in the slightest, but by virtue of his martial microscopic operations and the Nine Heavens Cloud-Sky Force blessed by his Martial Dao Sacred Physique, he forcefully borrowed a surge of power from the thunder-fire strike to accelerate himself once more.

Jia Yuanchu watched with his own eyes as he accelerated time and again, only to be forced to a halt time and again due to turning and dodging.

Conversely, Zhang Yu’s speed grew faster and faster, fiercer and fiercer, pulling the distance between them wider and wider.

"Why?"

"Why is it that I have already exerted all my strength?"

"Why am I getting further and further away from Zhang Yu?"

Watching Zhang Yu’s increasingly distant back, Jia Yuanchu felt as though he were looking at an opponent whose composite score was leading his own by an ever-widening margin, yet he was utterly helpless, and an increasingly intense resentment swelled within his heart.

…

As exam after exam concluded.

Zhang Yu displayed overwhelming strength in nearly every single round, firmly occupying the position of number one in the class in a manner that left absolutely no room for dispute.

Yu Xinghan took a photograph of Zhang Yu sprinting all the way to claim first place and sent it into Zhang Yu’s backup double-cultivation group.

Yu Xinghan: Zhang Yu Photo.image_file

Messages instantly flooded the group in sheets.

"The way Zhang Yu sprints is so handsome!"

"With that much money, of course anything he does is handsome."

"Group Leader, take a few more pictures."

"Group Leader, has Zhang Yu responded yet?"

Yu Xinghan: The number of applicants is too high.

Yu Xinghan: I discussed it with Zhang Yu; you all should first contribute a sum for potion expenses, and Zhang Yu can take potions together with you for a meal.

Yu Xinghan: Remember, only taking potions, no doing other things.

"Ah? We can only take potions together?"

Yu Xinghan: It will depend on your performance then; he may select one of you to cultivate together.

In the blink of an eye, the time arrived for the final examination of the Civil Engineering major.

To objectively assess the professional capabilities of each student, this exam, like the one last year, was based on practical application.

It was even more practical than the last, with the examination hall set directly on the 668th floor.

Tu Lishan looked at the entire class and began: "This time, for your exam, and to ensure we can evaluate your true performance on a construction site in a real-world environment and provide you with more objective grades, we have specifically arranged the venue at an actual construction site."

"In fact, for the sake of this exam, all work in this area will be completely halted for the next twelve hours; there will be no workers here but you."

"We have suspended the overtime work here."

The students were shocked upon hearing this, exclaiming at the lengths the teachers had gone to.

"They actually made the construction workers stop for twelve hours?"

"All for the sake of our exam?"

"What a grand gesture!"

Zhang Yu cursed inwardly: "Damn it... they're just deliberately making us serve as free labor, aren't they?"

Yu Xinghan cursed inwardly: "A twelve-hour exam? Twelve hours of free labor? Are you even human?"

Ying Xin cursed inwardly: "Why is everyone only daring to curse in their hearts? Is there no one brave enough to stand up and lead the protest? Is there not a single person with guts in the Civil Engineering department?"

Tu Lishan continued: "Throughout your sophomore year, the focus of your studies has been on large-scale construction capabilities."

"Therefore, the content of this exam is the same; it tests your large-scale construction proficiency."

"I have assigned different construction tasks to each of you, covering various aspects of large-scale construction, ensuring that every student has endless work to do over these twelve hours, enough to test your limits."

As he spoke, the students saw streams of information appear in their retinas, all detailing the large-scale construction tasks they could perform at the site before them.

At the same time, they saw their respective wage statistics, though for now, they all stood at zero.

Tu Lishan said: "I believe you have all seen the wage statistics, haven't you?"

Zhang Yu thought with delight: "So there is a salary after all. Tu Lishan... I was wrong about you, damn it!"

Tu Lishan continued: "The scoring for this exam is simple; it is calculated based on the completion rate of your large-scale construction tasks."

"Specifically, it is calculated based on the wages you earn, which will then be converted into your final score."

"We believe this is the data that best reflects the large-scale construction capabilities you possess after a year of study and training."

Yu Xinghan raised his hand and asked: "Will the wages be paid out after the exam?"

Tu Lishan smiled faintly: "Hasn't your salary already been converted into something more important: your grade?"

"Of course, you may choose not to convert it."

Yu Xinghan cursed inwardly: "Damn it... this exploitative scumbag!"

(End of chapter)