Don't mess with that necromancer; his summoned creatures level up on their own!

Su Youran lowered her hand and took a deep breath.

"Go and find out everything about that girl. Her hobbies, birthday, zodiac sign, favorite color, favorite animal... gather it all up for me."

The henchman paused for a moment, then asked, "Miss, what do you need these for?"

Su Youran glared at him: "Stop talking nonsense! Just go when I tell you to!"

The follower nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, I'll go right away."

Su Youran leaned against the wall, looking at the lights on the corridor ceiling, her mind a complete mess.

As for Lu Zhixing—just thinking about Lu Zhixing made her angry again.

That guy stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking completely nonchalant.

She came to provoke him, but ended up being made so embarrassed by his sister.

If this gets out, where will Su Youran put her face?

A lackey approached, his obsequious tone tinged with trepidation: "Miss, don't be angry, don't bother arguing with this kind of person."

Lu Zhixing is just putting on a show; we all know how he got to level eighteen—he's a useless person with a high level but no substance.

Another follower chimed in: "That's right! Miss is destined to be a prodigy who enters the Qinglong Academy in Kyoto. Lu Zhixing will most likely only be able to live a miserable life in Dachang City."

We're from completely different worlds, why bother arguing with him?

Su Youran's expression softened a bit, and she took the water handed to her by her attendant and took a sip.

She screwed the bottle cap on and scoffed, "Azure Dragon Academy? That's just a safety net."

"My goal is the 'Azure Dragon Class' at Azure Dragon Academy."

Several people around gasped at the same time.

"The... Azure Dragon Class?"

"Miss Su, the Azure Dragon Class is the highest-ranking reserve force in our Dragon Kingdom! Will their recruitment officers come to Dachang City?"

"I heard the entry requirement is at least SS level?"

Su Youran slightly raised her chin: "Yu Xiaogang from the Azure Dragon Class did indeed come, and... he came for me."

There was a moment of silence, then an even more enthusiastic burst of praise erupted.

"Miss Su is awesome!"

"As expected of Miss Su! Even the admissions officer came in person!"

"Lu Zhixing must be terrified when he hears this news, right? No matter how powerful his father is, he can only act arrogantly in Dachang City. Old Master Yu is a national-level figure!"

Hearing the flattery around her, Su Youran's gloom vanished.

She regained that superior self-confidence.

The chick knows the ambition of the swan.

Lu Zhixing, you're like a frog in a well; you'll never know how big the real world is.

While you were still drifting through life in Dachang City, I was already standing at the highest point in this country in the Qinglong Class of Qinglong Academy.

She withdrew her gaze, turned, and walked towards the entrance of the examination hall. Her steps were light and confident.

-

When Lu Zhixing walked to the corner of the rest area, the skill bar was already in an uproar.

The little zombie icon is jumping around wildly.

The little zombie was extremely annoyed: What did that woman mean by that look in her eyes? Was she looking down on me?

Nostrils flared, swaggering, looking down on people with her chin—who does she think she is? I despise people like that the most! What's with the act, trying to be all high and mighty?

[The little zombie is jumping around in a rage: I want to fight her one-on-one!!]

Lu Zhixing thought to himself, "Alright, little zombie, don't rush. You'll have your chance to make a move."

According to the rules of previous years' major exams, the first stage is usually a solo trial where you fight monsters and earn points.

The second stage depends on what you choose, such as a pursuit race or medicine making, but in the third stage, there is usually a PVP battle segment where candidates can steal points from each other.

However, the specific rules vary slightly each year, and we'll have to wait for the examiners to announce them.

[The little zombie rubbed its hands together, eager for action: PVP? That's fantastic! My greatsword is itching for a fight.]

"Quiet down, all of you!"

A majestic voice came from directly above the square.

Everyone looked up.

A burly figure appeared on the high platform directly above the square.

Someone exclaimed in a low voice, "That's... Zhang Tiejun, the deputy commander of the Dachang City Defense Army?"

Zhang Tiejun scanned the entire room expressionlessly, and wherever his gaze fell, the candidates lowered their heads.

"I am Zhang Tiejun, the chief examiner for this major exam."

"I won't waste any more words. Now that you're standing here, put away your frivolous thoughts!"

This is an examination hall, and also a battlefield! In the future, you will face monsters and the abyss. If you don't even have this much seriousness, you might as well go home and drink your milk!

Many students shrank back, their expressions becoming tense.

Some people clenched their fists, while others swallowed hard.

The candidates, who were just whispering and laughing, were now standing ramrod straight.

Zhang Tiejun nodded slightly and announced loudly, "Now, let's announce the rules for the major exam!"

"This major test is divided into three stages."

"Phase One - The Trial Tower!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground in the center of the square shook violently.

The test takers staggered about, some crouching down to steady themselves, others reaching out to support their classmates.

Several black towers, each tens of meters tall, slowly rose from the ground. The towers were made of an unknown black metal and their surfaces were covered with dense runes.

The Trial Tower has a total of thirty floors, and each floor will spawn different types and strengths of monsters.

The higher you go, the stronger, more numerous, and denser the monsters become.

You get 100 points for clearing one floor, and 3,000 points for clearing all 30 floors.

The final ranking will be based on the score, and in case of a tie, the person with the shorter completion time will be ranked higher.

The second stage takes into account the different future career paths of different students, allowing them to choose one of two options: Wasteland Chase or Alchemy Competition.

The former tests speed and reconnaissance skills, while the latter tests pharmaceutical skills. Candidates can choose one to participate in based on their professional strengths.

As for the specific rules, they will be announced after the first phase ends.

Zhang Tiejun's voice suddenly became a few decibels lower.

"Phase Three - Points Raid"

The entire room fell silent; even breathing became soft.

"The two hundred candidates who advance will be randomly teleported to a large open-world instance."

At that time, a wind mage will unleash a storm outside the instance, and the storm's radius will gradually shrink over time.

Don't try to touch the edge of the storm, or you'll be torn apart and eliminated.

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire room.

"The dungeon is filled with a large number of monsters. Killing a regular monster will earn you ten points, while killing an elite monster will earn you twenty points."

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Besides monsters, you have another fastest way to gain points—defeat other examinees. Defeating an examinee will allow you to directly plunder all the points they possess."

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

Defeating a candidate will directly plunder all the points they possess.

You painstakingly defeat monsters in two phases, accumulating hundreds or even thousands of points, only to lose them all to someone else if you are defeated even once.

This means that no matter how many monsters you kill or how high your ranking is in the early stages, if you get tricked at the last moment, you've just been doing all the work for someone else.

Some people looked ashen-faced, while others began to scrutinize their classmates with a newfound wariness in their eyes.

Zhang Tiejun raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling for quiet.

The uproar gradually subsided, and everyone's attention returned to him.

"All candidates will be given a 'Soul Protection' status before being teleported into the instance."

When you suffer fatal damage, the Sanctuary buff will be forcibly activated, teleporting you out of the instance and protecting you until the end of the assessment. That also means—elimination.

He gave the room one last look, raising his voice slightly: "Now, everyone, line up according to your admission ticket number and enter the Trial Tower in turn! The grand exam—begins!"

Lu Zhixing listened calmly to all the rules, his expression unchanged.

It's nothing more than fighting monsters and people; all he needs to do is lie down.

He pulled another bag of wind element snacks from his pocket and slowly walked toward the entrance of the Trial Tower.

[Little Zombie: Thirty floors! I'm going to beat it! Beating it one floor at a time is too slow, can I beat ten floors at once?]

"cannot."

[Little Zombie: Tch. What a hassle.]

The little vampire's voice rang out lazily.

[Little Vampire: I'm going to take a nap first. Wake me up when we reach higher levels. The lower-level monsters are no problem for me, little zombie.]

[Little Zombie: What do you mean? Are you saying I can't take on the higher levels by myself?]

[Little Vampire: I didn't say anything. If you insist on interpreting it that way, that's your business.]

[Little Zombie: You—!]

Lu Zhixing sighed inwardly. "Alright, stop arguing."

---

VIP monitoring room on the second floor of the monitoring and command center.

Yu Xiaogang sat on the sofa in the center, legs crossed, holding a cup of freshly brewed Longjing tea, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two large screens.

Lu Zaoxie and his wife, along with Su Yangwei, sat on either side.

A subtle smell of gunpowder permeated the air.

Lu Zaoxie sat up straight, his gaze falling on the candidates queuing to enter the Trial Tower on the screen.

"here we go."

He turned to his technical adjutant behind him and gave him instructions.

"Bring up my son's picture and zoom in to the maximum."

The adjutant responded immediately, his fingers flying across the control panel.

A few seconds later, the view inside the Trial Tower where Lu Zhixing was located was brought up and zoomed in to almost fill the entire main screen.

In the video, Lu Zhixing is sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding a bag of snacks in his hand.

His expression was as relaxed as if he were having a picnic, completely lacking the tense feeling that other candidates had, as if facing a formidable enemy.

On the small screens around them, other candidates were doing warm-up exercises; some were stretching, some were meditating with their eyes closed, and some were repeatedly checking their equipment.

He was the only one sitting on the ground eating.

Yu Xiaogang stared at the screen for three seconds, then turned to look at Lu Zaoxie and blurted out, "Your son... is quite relaxed, huh?"

Lu Zaoxie's face flushed slightly, and he coughed awkwardly, "Ahem... well, Lao Yu, I just have a good mentality. It's called—remaining calm even when Mount Tai collapses before you."

Yu Xiaogang was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Hahahaha... What a remarkable composure in the face of a collapsing mountain! Young people these days are mostly too tense; it's rare to see someone so interesting."

Su Yangwei found these words particularly grating.

Still feeling relaxed?

How can one remain unmoved even if Mount Tai collapses before them?

This is what they call "too bad to be helped"—it's a complete mess!

With the big exam approaching, while everyone else was nervously preparing, he was eating snacks.

Does this attitude even deserve to be called "good mindset"?

But he didn't say anything; he just picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Su Yangwei put down his teacup, turned to his adjutant and said, "Bring up Su Youran's image as well."

The adjutant responded and quickly tapped a few keys on the control panel.

Su Youran's image was brought up and placed side by side with Lu Zhixing's image in the center of the screen, one on the left and one on the right.

In the scene, Su Youran holds a staff, her expression solemn, her eyes sharp as an eagle's.

Her ponytail was tied high, and she stood tall and straight.

Her gaze was fixed on the entrance to the Trial Tower, her breathing steady and focused, her whole being like an arrow already fully drawn, just waiting for the moment to be released.

Su Yangwei pointed at the screen and said meaningfully, "Old Yu, look, this is the attitude we should have for a big exam."

When a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength.

This is the quality a good professional should have: never letting your guard down, even when facing a weak enemy.

He glanced at Lu Zaoxie, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Unlike some people who treat the exam hall like a playground. This kind of attitude will cause them great harm when they go to the real battlefield."

Lu Zaoxie was displeased and immediately retorted, raising her voice several decibels:

"Su Yangwei, stop making a mountain out of a molehill. You're acting like you're facing a major battle just because you're fighting a few monsters. Aren't you tired of that?"

Anyone who didn't know better would think she was fighting a deep abyss boss. My son's skill is effortless; you know nothing!

Su Yangwei glared: "Effortless? Hmph, I think it's just being a slacker!"

Lu Zaoxie, his face full of defiance, leaned forward, tapping his fingers loudly on the sofa armrest: "So what if I'm lazy? If you're not convinced, let's see who clears the level faster!"

Su Yangwei sneered, "Let's compete then, who's afraid of who?"

Two middle-aged men, whose combined age is nearly one hundred, stared at each other in the VIP room of the exam monitoring center, their faces flushed and necks red, like two primary school students.

Yu Xiaogang quickly smoothed things over, placing his hand between the two of them and making a couple of light taps, his tone tinged with helplessness:

"Alright, alright, you're all in your fifties or sixties, yet you're acting like children. Look at this, everyone."

One is a prodigy with extraordinary talent and effortless skill, and the other is an excellent student with solid basic skills and a rigorous attitude.

"Each has its own merits. Let's keep watching. The trial tower hasn't even started yet; the best is yet to come."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and glanced back and forth between the two screens.

Lu Zaoxie and Su Yangwei both snorted coldly, ignoring each other and turning to look at the screen.

Although Yu Xiaogang said that, his gaze lingered more on the screen on the left.

The boy sitting cross-legged on the ground eating snacks.

In all these years, this was the first time he had ever seen a student so relaxed under the nose of the Qinglong Class admissions officer.

When the other candidates saw him, weren't they all so nervous that their palms were sweating and they were stammering?

Even if they're not nervous, they'll at least pretend to be "very serious".

This is great, she eats snacks right in front of him, and she seems to enjoy them very much.