With the previous experience of chatting about talismans with Zhao Longhua, this time when Li Yunxian discussed the Dao of Alchemy with Sheng Yu, the conditions were about the same.
After a quick conversation, Li Yunxian swiftly logged off.
She could feel those wolf-like, hungry eyes outside the Changguang Guild negotiation room.
She opened her eyes; the hotel room was pitch black.
Today there had been an unexpected situation, so she was logging off much later than usual.
Fortunately, tomorrow was a rest day, meant for the examinees who had traveled long distances to recover their energy, so it didn’t matter much.
Li Yunxian closed her eyes again.
This time, it was to sleep.
***
The next day, when Li Yunxian woke up, it was almost noon.
She had originally wanted to stroll around the Capital City, but the students from Qingdao collectively pinned her down.
Going to bed so early last night, and waking up this late today—how badly are you hurt! Shouldn’t you rest more instead of running around outside!
Li Yunxian looked at the three meals that had been respectfully brought to her bedside:
Alright then.
Li Yunxian lay back down.
Reality wouldn’t let her go out, so she might as well continue with Wanwuwu.
Ignoring the option to log in from her last logout location, Li Yunxian once again chose to log in at her own little house, and immediately headed for the wild zone.
She fought monsters, killed, killed, and killed to practice her feel, and then……………
She ran into members of the Changguang Guild.
Li Yunxian:
What?! Wasn’t it that before, the Changguang Guild people had been searching for her for ages and never found her once?
How come now, in this huge wild zone where the chances of running into someone are theoretically even lower than in town, she’s running into them every single time?!
Li Yunxian’s mouth twitched.
She asked about it.
They said they sensed someone at the second level of Qi Refining, fighting a ninth-level Qi Refining beast alone, so they came to help.
Thinking back to last night, it seemed the Changguang Guild people had also come looking for her for this reason.
Li Yunxian let out a long sigh, accepting the inexplicable reality that she would be grinding monsters together with the Changguang Guild.
That day, when these Changguang Guild members returned to their base and recounted their experience—
Sheng Yu:
Sheng Yu spoke in a ghostly tone: “So why is it that when you’re fighting a boss, you remember to report your coordinates and call me over, but on a day like today, you just come back to show off?”
Changguang Guild members: “…………”
They looked to the sky, looked to the ground, whistled.
“Xiao Yu, look at the sky, isn’t it just… sky!”
Sheng Yu drew her sword high: “Duel!!!”
After that, for some unknown reason, the Changguang Guild members suddenly became much more enthusiastic about going to the wild zone to hunt monsters.
***
At this very moment, Li Yunxian was already standing inside the Jincheng Academy Bureau in the Capital City.
She gave the Cultivation Hall a quick glance.
It was quite large, with two floors, but the entrance to the second floor was closed off; only the first floor was in use.
On the first floor, chairs of different colors were arranged in blocks. Li Yunxian estimated there were nearly two thousand seats.
Her gaze fell on the chair closest to her, and she clearly saw the three characters for Jishan Province.
Hmm? Are they seated by province?
As she was thinking this, the staff member guiding them at the entrance spoke up: “There’s a change in this year’s selection exam. Please be seated according to your province.”
After saying this, the staff member asked them, “Where are you from?”
“Qingdao in Yihua, and Jincheng in Yuehai,” the Qingdao students replied.
Hearing this answer, the staff member looked confused, as if wondering why candidates from Yihua Province and Yuehai Province were mixed together.
But the staff member was still very professional and quickly pointed, “Yihua Province is in the middle column, second row, second color. Yuehai Province is the far right column, first color in the fifth row.”
“Thank you.” The Qingdao students responded, and under the staff member’s watchful eyes, all of them walked toward the far right column.
Staff member: “?”
Eh? All Yuehai? Then why mention Yihua?
The students already seated in the Yuehai Province area were just as surprised as the staff member when they saw this mighty group of twenty-something examinees coming over.
Impossible, right?
Given how poor the spiritual energy in Jincheng is, they hadn’t produced a single student for the Four Great Academies in years, not to mention anyone for the Qingteng Selection Exam.
It’s clear that all of Yuehai Province isn’t exactly a land of genius.
There were only 22 chairs for Yuehai Province in total. After those who arrived first took their seats, only 13 seats were left.
Are they here to cause trouble?
Before the Yuehai Province students could get defensive, they saw these newcomers smiling at them and pushing forward someone at the second level of Qi Refining.
Li Yunxian, who’d been pushed out, wore a deadpan expression.
What could she say?
She’d only been back in this world for about a month, but she already felt like she was getting used to these socially mortifying situations.
After being pressed into a chair, Li Yunxian found that there was now a cushion behind her back, a blanket in her arms, and a thermos and some snacks placed by her side.
Li Yunxian:
“……?
When did these Qingdao people bring all this stuff?
The question had barely formed before Li Yunxian quickly realized—she wasn’t the only one in this world with a storage artifact.
“I brought some of this too……………” Li Yunxian said helplessly.
“That’s not the same.” Jiang Qiqing muttered.
Li Yunxian looked puzzled: “What’s different?”
Jiang Qiqing reached out and grasped Li Yunxian’s hand, face full of solemnity: “I put goji berries in your thermos. If you run into me later, go easy on me, okay?”
Li Yunxian’s mouth twitched.
After shooing the Qingdao group to their proper seats, Li Yunxian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the students from Yuehai Province exchanged glances.
They were all wondering—what kind of precious young lady was Li Yunxian, descending to the mortal world?
They could all see that those who had escorted Li Yunxian over were also candidates for the exam.
Everyone knows their own circumstances.
Which of the candidates here isn’t the pride of their city, all with high ambitions? No way would they treat an ordinary person like this.
Driven by curiosity, the two girls sitting in front of Li Yunxian tugged at each other, then finally turned around together to look at her.
“Um………………are you also from Yuehai Province?” they asked.
Having been enthusiastically accosted both online and offline, Li Yunxian had learned her lesson this time. She answered awkwardly and cautiously, “Yes, I’m from Jincheng.”
Li Yunxian instinctively thought that, just like the Qingdao people, these girls wouldn’t know where Jincheng was.
-Back when she’d introduced herself at the service area, she’d later discovered that the Qingdao group had secretly searched for Jincheng’s location behind her back.
But the two in front of her now looked as if they suddenly understood.
“Jincheng, ah!” The two of them chimed in, “We know! People from your place have been buying up Bloodbone everywhere.”
“The price in my hometown shot up so much it’s impossible to get any. My second aunt wanted to buy some, but couldn’t get any at all.”
Li Yunxian:
Ah………
It seemed like she was the culprit?
The two only mentioned this to break the ice. Seeing Li Yunxian look embarrassed, they didn’t dwell on it. After formally exchanging names, they got to the main topic.
“Those people who brought you over—where are they from? How did you end up with them?”
Li Yunxian thought for a moment, then summarized in the most boring way possible:
“I’m the only candidate from Jincheng. I ran into their Qingdao bus at the service area, and since I was alone, they kindly offered to give me a ride.”
The people around her didn’t quite believe this.
But seeing how Li Yunxian answered every question, she didn’t seem to have the airs of a spoiled young lady, so a few more people joined in.
“Then why are they taking such good care of you?”
Must be because she’s hurt.
Li Yunxian put on a weak look: “Probably because our bus was attacked on the road. Aside from their teacher, I was the only one injured.”
At this, the Yuehai Province students glanced at Li Yunxian’s porcelain-doll-like, pale appearance, and their expressions became more understanding.
So… the Qingdao group was worried that Jincheng entrusted their precious only candidate to them, and if she died en route, they wouldn’t be able to explain themselves?
The corners of the Yuehai Province students’ mouths twitched.
But they’d also heard Jiang Qiqing’s muttered “go easy on me if you see me.”
Something still felt off.
Did they mishear?
Who was supposed to go easy on whom?
“Um…what was your score, can you tell us?”
Li Yunxian smiled gently: “A little above the cutoff for the Selection Exam, 722 points. A few points short. The academic score was a bit lower than Director Chen’s estimated score.”
As they chatted like this, when students from other cities in Yuehai Province arrived, they looked curiously at the area centered around Li Yunxian.
Cautiously, they found seats a little closer to her, listened in, and before they knew it, joined the conversation.
Li Yunxian was completely oblivious to this.
She thought she was being very distant from these people.
But a frail, pitiful, doll-like girl, with a gentle and steady voice, calm and unhurried, was just too soothing for their nerves.
They felt like they finally understood why the Qingdao group treated her like a porcelain doll.
Such a cute and obedient little sister—what’s wrong with taking extra care of her?
When the assembly time ended, the leaders of the Academy Bureau and the admissions teachers from the Four Great Academies walked onto the stage. After a few formal words, they got down to business.
“There’s been an adjustment to this year’s selection exam. Everyone will be grouped by province, and you cannot harm others from your own province.
“The Qingteng Ranking will be based on the number of kills. Cross-level kills will be scored by the number of levels crossed. The top hundred will enter the Qingteng Class.”
The examinees had already guessed this when they saw the seating was arranged by province.
The Test Director’s words were barely finished before someone protested: “That’s not fair!”
The Test Director replied calmly: “Real combat doesn’t care about fairness. Fewer fighting more is the norm.
“On the way to Capital City this year, some cities’ vehicles were attacked. The enemy had nine Foundation Establishment cultivators and one Golden Core.
“Do you think that’s fair?
“For the academic exams, we strive for fairness. But the Qingteng Selection Exam simulates real combat, so fairness isn’t considered.”
The Cultivation Hall fell silent at these words.
The Test Director said blandly, “Now, if you’re willing to accept the selection exam’s contents, pick up the device you’ve been given and put it on your head.”
The Yuehai Province students looked at each other.
But Li Yunxian had already put on the device, which resembled a pair of glasses, and tossed out a line: “Don’t overthink it, we all have to take the exam anyway.”
Indeed.
The Yuehai Province students gave a wry smile, glanced at their province’s pitifully small numbers, sighed, and put on their devices too.
Two minutes later, all the examinees who had put on the device and chosen their weapons saw their vision suddenly brighten.
They had entered the selection exam assessment platform.
With her Wanwuwu login experience, Li Yunxian adapted quickly, though she did frown a little when checking her physical condition.
Her body in the exam platform was noticeably weaker than in Wanwuwu.
It seemed that the weakness from blood loss had carried over.
A bit less intelligent than Wanwuwu.
Li Yunxian sighed and accepted the situation.
By now, the other students had also recovered. They looked around and found that everyone nearby was a familiar face from earlier.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
At least the Academy Bureau had some humanity and hadn’t separated them.
“Let’s check the Qingteng Ranking first,” someone said.
This ranking list floated in the air at the side of their vision, open by default and able to be toggled on and off by thought.
Li Yunxian immediately noticed the name at the very top of the Qingteng Ranking.
- Shen Bofeng, Capital City, 0
- Qu Yingzi, Xia City, 0
- Ying Qian, Capital City, 0
Li Yunxian had heard the Qingdao students talk about the Qingteng Ranking on the way.
The last digit represented the kill count, and the initial default ranking was based on the device’s scan of each candidate’s individual status.
“Yunxian, what’s your rank?” someone suddenly asked Li Yunxian.
Li Yunxian lowered her gaze and checked her own stats at the bottom of the list, then answered: “1742.”
The people around her were stunned for a moment, then checked that ranking—only to see……………
- Zhang Jing, Mo City, 0
- Li Yunxian, Jincheng, 0
And that was it.
There was no one after Li Yunxian.
There were 1,742 examinees in this Selection Exam—she was last.
The Yuehai Province students:
“……Well, lots of room for improvement.”
They struggled to come up with something comforting to say.