"Every backpack contains a smartwatch, three energy bars, and one safety ball.
All candidates, please check carefully. If anything is missing, please come to the podium to get a replacement as soon as possible."
After Wang Haiyang finished speaking, he immediately stepped down from the podium.
It was 8:40 AM, and there were still over twenty minutes until the Martial Arts college entrance exam began.
So, after Wang Haiyang left the podium, the many students on the open ground relaxed.
"Is there any team lacking a tank? I have a D-Class Enhancement-type Ability, I can both tank and deal damage."
"Sigh, the difficulty of this year's College Entrance Examination is too high, it's impossible not to form a team. I have a C-Class Mental-type Ability that can, to some extent, halt a fierce beast's thoughts. Does any team need me?"
"Our team needs a powerful damage dealer. Any Ability User with a D-Class or higher damage-type Ability can join our team!"
"..."
For the Martial Arts college entrance exam, students were not prohibited from forming teams.
Of course, the points obtained from killing fierce beasts as a team would be divided equally among all team members, making it much less efficient than fighting alone.
Therefore, most people would still choose to enter the examination site alone.
But the Unicorn Rhino discovered earlier had already proven that the difficulty of this Martial Arts college entrance exam would be very unusual.
So, candidates who originally didn't plan to team up now began to look for teammates.
"Astret, you haven't joined a team yet, have you? Why don't you join ours?
Our team is still missing a support damage dealer, and your Thunder-type Ability would be a perfect fit."
In the Class 5 team, a young woman wearing a yinbai (silver white) tight-fitting battle suit that outlined her graceful figure approached Astret.
The young woman had a beautiful face and a faint smile.
An ordinary student, facing such an invitation from a beautiful young woman, would probably be overjoyed.
However, Astret's eyebrow twitched.
The young woman's name was Lin Qingyuan, she was the class monitor of Class 5, and also a kind-hearted person with a gentle personality.
Coupled with her beauty and good figure, she had a high reputation in Class 5.
This gentle class monitor, after learning that Astret's parents had passed away, would secretly provide help in daily class activities and school life.
Lin Qingyuan believed she was doing it very discreetly, but his previous introverted and sensitive self quickly noticed this difference.
He even secretly thought that Lin Qingyuan had a crush on him.
However, Astret, who had transmigrated, knew very well that Lin Qingyuan's series of actions were merely due to her kind heart.
Her current invitation to team up with him was for the same reason.
But, my dear lady, you also need to learn to read the room!
The Martial Arts college entrance exam is a make-or-break test!
No one wants an extra burden in their team. If Lin Qingyuan invited him to join, the other members of her team would definitely feel uncomfortable.
Astret glanced behind him.
Sure enough, seeing Lin Qingyuan invite him to join her team, her other teammates' faces instantly turned beet red.
"Class monitor, I plan to enter the examination site alone. You guys just team up."
Astret shook his head.
At the same time, he sighed at Lin Qingyuan's innocent kindness.
Of course, purely from this point of view, Lin Qingyuan's family must have protected her very well.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have developed such a personality... "Is that so? Alright then, be careful when you enter the examination site."
Lin Qingyuan was about to continue persuading him, but seeing the seriousness in Astret's eyes,
She knew further persuasion would be useless, so she sighed and turned to leave, disappointed.
"At least this kid knows his place."
In the class team, Lin Qingyuan's other teammates also breathed a sigh of relief.
In their team, Lin Qingyuan was the captain, and they couldn't stop her decisions.
However, if Astret, who only had an E-Class Ability, joined the team, their entire team's score would drop significantly... "You even rejected Lin, the great beauty's, invitation to team up, A-Ming, you're quite something. So many people would jump at the chance to team up with her."
After Lin Qingyuan left, Liu Jie sidled over, a lewd smile on his face.
"Cut it out, you know our class monitor is just like that, she likes to help the weak."
Astret rolled his eyes.
"Oh, you knew? I thought you took it as her secretly liking you."
Liu Jie replied with feigned surprise, "But speaking of which, are you really planning to enter the examination site alone?"
"This Martial Arts college entrance exam is very difficult. It might be tough for you to enter alone with just an E-Class Ability."
"But if you're willing to call me 'Big Brother,' I'll reluctantly take you along."
Liu Jie flamboyantly tossed his hair.
Speaking of which, Liu Jie used to be as quiet as Astret.
But ever since he Ability User a C-Class Ability, he had become increasingly flamboyant.
Although his words were annoying, Astret knew Liu Jie was worried about him—truly a good brother!
Of course, he wouldn't show it verbally.
"Heh heh, what a joke! I need you to take me along?"
Astret let out an exaggerated sneer, revealing a mysterious smile:
"To tell you the truth, I'm not the same person I used to be. I'm no longer what I once was!"
"This time, I'm aiming for Provincial Champion of Jiangnan Province. If you're willing to call me 'Dad,' then I'll reluctantly take you into the top 100 of Jiangnan Province."
After speaking, Astret, imitating Liu Jie, flamboyantly tossed his head.
That's how male friendships are, vying to be each other's dad.
"Provincial Champion of Jiangnan Province? You can really boast! I never realized you were such a braggart."
"If Zhang Hao were here, he'd probably laugh his teeth out."
Liu Jie's eyes widened, clicking his tongue in wonder.
"Tsk tsk, these days, no one believes the truth anymore. The world is truly degenerating."
Astret shook his head and sighed... Amidst Astret and Liu Jie's mutual teasing, time quickly passed.
Soon, it was exactly nine o'clock.
"Whoosh—"
So, the gate leading to the Ruined Town was opened by soldiers, and Wang Haiyang also stood on the podium, announcing:
"The 2037th Jiangcheng Martial Arts college entrance exam officially begins!! Candidates, enter the examination site!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than over fourteen hundred candidates began to move.
"The Martial Arts college entrance exam has begun!"
"This time, I'm going to make a splash!"
"My goal is Jiangnan Ability User University!"
"..."
Carrying their hopes and expectations for the College Entrance Examination, the candidates, dressed in battle suits and carrying weapons, rushed into the Ruined Town like a swarm of locusts.
Influenced by this atmosphere, Astret also took down his spear and, following the crowd, rushed in with a hearty laugh.
The Ruined Town, like an abyss, swallowed all the students.
And the open ground outside quickly became empty.
"Activate the Ruined Town cameras and follow-up drones, prepare to start the College Entrance Examination live broadcast!"
The Great Xia Nation is rich in martial virtue, and the live broadcast of the Martial Arts college entrance exam is conducted annually.
Not only are the Education Bureau, school principals, and homeroom teachers watching the battles, but each school also arranges time for first and second-year high school students to watch.
So, when all the candidates entered the examination site, tens of thousands of hidden cameras in the Ruined Town activated simultaneously.
At the same time, over fifty military drones ascended into the sky, tracking and filming celebrity candidates who already had a certain reputation before the Martial Arts college entrance exam.
Soon, images were projected onto the sky above the open ground.
And the principals, homeroom teachers, and Education Bureau personnel from various middle schools also chatted among themselves as they entered the spectator stands... The Ruined Town, though a small village under Jiangcheng, covered a vast area.
Over fourteen hundred candidates entered it, and except for some crowding at the entrance,
As they continued to go deeper, it was like a drop of water falling into the ocean, causing no ripples.
Furthermore, fierce beasts are also intelligent creatures.
So when so many candidates entered the ruins, these fierce beasts did not immediately attack; instead, they hid.
Thus, various teams and lone wolves also moved separately, heading deeper into the Ruined Town.
Zhou Mingyang, the "Light Breeze Sword" from First High School, even directly used his Ability after entering the examination site.
He manipulated the strong wind, reducing air resistance, and then sprinted out like a leopard.
Astret also chose a direction, walked forward with his spear, and activated the smartwatch on his wrist.
Immediately, a blue virtual screen projected from the smartwatch, appearing before Astret, with a row of black text on it:
"Candidate, please verify your identity on the smartwatch."
The technological development on Blue Star was more advanced than in his previous life; virtual projection like this was already a very mature technology.
Astret was not surprised. He extended his left thumb and pressed it on the smartwatch screen.
"Fingerprint confirmation in progress..."
"Confirmation successful. Candidate is Astret from Class 5, Senior Year, Jiangcheng Second High School. Exam ID: 20372147849."
Astret's identity information appeared on the virtual projection.
At the same time, two small boxes popped up in the upper right corner. The first box contained his score information:
[Name]: Astret
[Class]: Class 5, Senior Year, Jiangnan Second High School
[Score]: 0
The second box was the score ranking for the Jiangcheng Martial Arts college entrance exam:
'No. 1: Zhou Mingyang, 7 points. (Jiangcheng First High School)
No. 2: Li Yuan, 5 points. (Jiangcheng First High School)
No. 3: Zhao Hu, 4 points. (Jiangcheng First High School)
...No. 874: Astret, 0 points. (Jiangcheng Second High School)
…'
"As expected of First High School, they've already killed fierce beasts so quickly."
Shaking his head, Astret clicked on the map option on the virtual screen.
The map of the Ruined Town then appeared on the virtual screen in front of him.
The map was an irregular circle, with different colors marking different areas.
The outer area was marked green, the middle area yellow, the core area red, and the innermost core area a deeper dark red!
And the white light spot representing Astret himself was located at the edge of the map.
"There's still a good distance from the outer edge to the core, so I'll head straight for the core area."
Astret adjusted his direction, heading towards the red zone marked on the map.
Before long, however, he was blocked by a leopard-sized fierce beast.
This fierce beast's fur was as black as ink, but its vertical pupils were a pale orange.
If one ignored the fangs in its mouth and the sharp claws on its paws with dark red bloodstains, it was actually a very beautiful creature.
"Fierce beast, Shadow Cat..."
Astret, having thoroughly read the "Fierce Beast Illustrated Handbook," immediately recognized the identity of this fierce beast.
This was a very common fierce beast in the Wilderness Area.
Of course, common did not mean that the Shadow Cat was an easy fierce beast to deal with.
On the contrary, it meant they had good adaptability.
Agile speed, sharp claws, and a bite force of over a thousand kilograms.
Quite a few candidates had fallen at the hands of the Shadow Cat.
"Roar!!"
Discovering a human, the Shadow Cat let out a bloodthirsty growl, then stretched its four limbs and rushed towards Astret.
The scent of fresh blood and flesh stimulated its taste buds, making its rushing speed even faster.
Generally speaking, Ability User who fought fierce beasts for the first time would be flustered and unaware of it.
However, Astret, who was encountering a Shadow Cat in reality for the first time, remained calm.
Soon,
The Shadow Cat approached within three meters of Astret, then leaped up.
It raised its sharp claws, aimed at Astret's head, and swung down with force!
One must know that a fierce beast's sharp claws were comparable to alloy.
If this blow connected, Astret's entire head would burst open like a watermelon!
As if anticipating this scene, a human-like excitement actually appeared on the Shadow Cat's ferocious beastly face!!
However, the next moment, a black phantom flashed by.
The entire Shadow Cat was pierced through the throat by a sharp spearhead, nailed in mid-air!
Bright red blood gushed out like a fountain from the severed artery in the Shadow Cat's neck!
'Killed one unranked fierce beast, Shadow Cat, ability points + 3.'