Chapter 161: Initial Exam
Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.
Morning.
Chen Beiwu opened his eyes, finishing a night of meditation.
After going downstairs and eating the breakfast prepared by his mother, he set off for school.
Today was the first day of the Immortal Alliance Entrance Examâs initial test, and the entrance of Shouhe No. 2 High School was packed with numerous beast-drawn carriages.
"Such a coincidence, good morning!" Xu Ziqing had just gotten out of her carriage and gracefully walked up beside Chen Beiwu.
Chen Beiwu also greeted her.
"Linglingâs luck was a bit worse, she was assigned to take the exam at Fallen Dragon No. 1 High School." Xu Ziqing gave a gentle smile, extending her right hand toward Chen Beiwu. "Do your best today. We agreed to both pass into the Thirteen Immortal Sects together."
"Of course. After all, Iâm the top student at Shouhe No. 2 High School. Passing the initial test is nothing difficult." Chen Beiwuâs tone was relaxed.
"Itâs exactly because youâre the top student that I worry you might be careless." Xu Ziqing paused in her steps. "Anyway, I wish you success in todayâs exam."
After speaking, she turned and walked toward the adjacent teaching building.
Watching Xu Ziqingâs figure disappear, Chen Beiwu stepped onto the wind, taking three steps to reach the seventh floor.
That graceful bearing drew the gazes of passing candidates, and even the two proctors standing at the classroom door couldnât help but look over.
"Di-di!"
After passing layer upon layer of instrument checks, Chen Beiwu smoothly entered the classroom, found his seat, and quietly waited for the exam papers to be distributed.
To leave behind a record for backup and prevent cultivators from taking the exam in place of others, the Immortal Alliance Entrance Examâs initial test had always been conducted in written form. Candidates had to leave behind their unique mana traces and spiritual sense aura while answering.
"Ring-ring-ring!" The starting bell sounded.
The subject for the first day was Beast Taming Studies.
Chen Beiwu swept through the paper with his spiritual sense and found that most of the questions were very simple. The only one he wasnât entirely sure about was the last essay question.
ăFor a Heavy Earth Rhinoceros with forty-nine years of cultivation, if equipped with a Star-Dome Beast Armor (defensive type), would it be able to defeat an Immortal Alliance Foundation Establishment peak cultivator? If yes, please explain your reasoning in detail.ă
âThis essay question is a bit obscure.â Chen Beiwu thought to himself.
He had once read the Comprehensive Manual of Spiritual Armors, which contained a few scattered records.
The Star-Dome Beast Armor was a third-tier military treasure once produced by the Immortal Allianceâs Artifacts Pavilion. It came in offensive and defensive types, specifically designed for Companion Beasts.
The defensive type could distort space to form an absolute defensive layer, capable of withstanding three spell attacks from a Golden Core True Person.
The offensive type was slightly inferior, only able to compress mid-grade Spirit Stones to unleash bombardments comparable to a peak Foundation Establishment cultivatorâs self-detonation.
If Chen Beiwu remembered correctly, these two military artifacts were special models developed after the Immortal Alliance conquered a technological planet.
However, because the Star-Dome Beast Armor was expensive to manufacture and its power not fully satisfactory, failing to meet the militaryâs requirements, it had been phased out thousands of years ago. Almost no cultivators remembered it.
If not for Chen Beiwuâs habit of reading miscellaneous books, he truly wouldnât have known what the Star-Dome Beast Armor was.
âFor the initial exam to test on such a topic, could it be that the Immortal Alliance has discovered another technological planet?â
Thinking so, Chen Beiwu casually wrote down an answer.
Since the examiners dared to set such an obscure essay question, he hadnât expected to get it right by luck anyway.
It was just one essay questionâif necessary, he could simply give up those points.
âŠâŠ
The next afternoon, the Immortal Alliance initial test ended.
After handing in his Formation exam paper, Chen Beiwu left the hall, calculating his cultural test scores in his mind as he walked.
For Exotic Beasts, Beast Nurturing, and Beast Taming, he should be able to score above 135 points.
For Alchemy and Artifact Refining, around 95 points each, while for Formation and Talismans, he could get full marks.
âNot bad. This time, I should be able to score around 790, more than enough to surpass the Thirteen Immortal Sectsâ admission cutoff.â Chen Beiwu thought.
Just then, Xu Ziqing also walked out from the adjacent teaching building.
"When do you plan to set off for the sect re-exams?" she asked as she came up beside Chen Beiwu.
"Iâll probably leave a few days early." Chen Beiwu replied. "The exact time depends on when the initial results come out."
"Actually, youâre already almost guaranteed. For cultivators beyond the limits of Qi Refining, even if their initial results arenât enough, they can still go through the sectsâ special recruitment routes."
At this point, Xu Ziqingâs tone shifted. "That is, if youâre willing to pay the exorbitant special recruitment fees."
Hearing this, Chen Beiwuâs expression showed curiosity. "Then do you know how much the special recruitment fee for the Five Great Grotto-Heavens is?"
Xu Ziqing gave him a strange look. "I think you really need to take a good look at yourself right now."
"What, you donât have any confidence in me?" Chen Beiwu countered.
"Thatâs not what I mean." Xu Ziqing shook her head. "To step into the Qi Refining Overlimit at nineteen, I admit youâre indeed very strongâperhaps the strongest peer cultivator Iâve seen."
"But heroes across the land are as numerous as carps crossing the river!" Xu Ziqing said seriously. "True prodigies donât even need to take the Immortal Alliance Entrance Exam. Theyâre directly guaranteed admission into the Five Great Grotto-Heavens."
"If your aptitude were truly enough, you wouldnât even need to apply. The Five Great Grotto-Heavens would proactively send a Nascent Soul True Monarch to invite you in person."
"I donât mean to discourage you, but youâre not the first cultivator to want to pay special recruitment fees to make the Five Great Grotto-Heavens open their entrance exams. But that is simply impossible."
At this, Chen Beiwu looked intrigued. "Not even the son of a Nascent Soul True Monarch could manage it?"
Xu Ziqing was briefly at a loss for words, glaring at him. "Thatâs not something I could possibly know."
"True enough." Chen Beiwu nodded, no longer dwelling on it.
Dreams were dreams, reality was reality.
If he truly couldnât get into the Five Great Grotto-Heavens, being admitted to the Thirteen Immortal Sects would still be fine.
"The homeroom teacher said we should gather for a farewell dinner later. Will you come?" Xu Ziqing suddenly asked.
"No." Chen Beiwu flatly refused.
Over the past three years, he had mostly studied on his own and didnât know many classmates well. There was no need to attend a farewell meal.
After bidding farewell to Xu Ziqing, Chen Beiwu hurried back to the Southern Wastes.
He wanted to seek out Senior Sister Yun to ask about his cultivation doubts.
âŠâŠ
Southern Wastes, Mirror Moon Sect.
Formation Hall.
Yun Yishu looked up in surprise, so shocked she couldnât even focus on the formation in her hands.
"Youâve advanced to the twelfth level of Qi Refining?" Her tone carried undisguised astonishment.
If Yun Yishu remembered correctly, three years ago, Chen Ziâang had only been at the tenth level of Qi Refining, and the sect contribution points he earned were almost all spent on that seemingly weak fish-type Spirit Beast.
"Senior Sister misunderstood. Iâm only at the peak of the eleventh level of Qi Refining now, I havenât stepped into the twelfth level yet." Chen Beiwu explained truthfully.
Hearing this, Yun Yishu gazed at her junior brother with a complex, indescribable expression.
Both of them possessed Heavenly Roots.
But when she had advanced from the tenth to the eleventh level of Qi Refining, it had taken her a full ten years.
And to seek the opportunity of mana liquefaction, stepping into the twelfth level of Qi Refining, she had remained at the eleventh level for five whole years.
"So youâve come to me now wanting to know how to absorb the corresponding yin and yang spiritual energy at noon and midnight, complete the mana cycle of the great circulation, and step into the twelfth level of Qi Refining?" Yun Yishu took a deep breath.