Chapter 34 – The Admission Assessment Begins

“There are so many people!”

Liu Siyan widened her eyes as she looked around, somewhat taken aback.

The vast square was packed with people, candidates holding bronze tokens everywhere.

“After all, there are nearly five thousand candidates.”

Zhang Xiaoyun said with a smile.

Ever since her Pet Beast successfully evolved and broke through to the second level, both she and Liu Siyan had been performing much more relaxed.

No longer as anxious and uncertain as before.

In fact, the period leading up to the big exam was often a concentrated time for candidates’ power levels to surge.

Many candidates’ Pet Beasts had successfully evolved during this time, advancing from the first level to the second.

These lucky ones had basically secured their enrollment spots at Ningjiang Academy, the only difference being their final scores and which class they would be assigned to.

As for those whose Pet Beasts were still stuck at the first level, they would have to fight desperately in the assessment.

The time reached exactly eight o’clock.

A group of teachers from Ningjiang Academy walked into the square.

Leading them was a middle-aged man in his forties with a dignified and imposing appearance.

“Quiet!”

The moment he stood still, the middle-aged man spoke in a deep voice.

He seemed to have used some kind of Soul Art—though his voice wasn’t particularly loud, it reached every person present with perfect clarity.

The noisy murmurs in the square instantly vanished.

“I am the chief supervisor of this Ningjiang Academy Admission Assessment, Gao Wenbai.”

“The assessment is about to begin. I won’t waste words—everyone, sit on the ground now, activate your keys to enter the Virtual Realm. All relevant instructions regarding the assessment will be explained inside.”

Gao Wenbai’s decisive and swift manner intimidated all the candidates.

Everyone immediately followed his instructions.

Before long.

The entire square fell completely silent.

All candidates sat cross-legged on the ground in stillness.

A strange ripple enveloped the whole square.

When Lin Ze opened his eyes again, he found himself standing on an open stretch of land.

It was empty all around, not a single person in sight—only him.

About a hundred meters away lay a dense forest.

“Now I will explain the assessment rules.”

Gao Wenbai’s authoritative voice came from the void.

“The assessment adopts a Points System. In the forest before you, a large number of Ferocious Beasts ranging from the first to third level roam. Each Ferocious Beast you kill will earn you varying Points based on its Power Level.”

“The specific Points corresponding to each level can be checked on your own later.”

“You may encounter other candidates in the forest, but forming teams or deliberately providing any form of assistance to other candidates is strictly prohibited. Violators will be disqualified from the assessment!”

“Additionally, you must cross this forest within five hours and reach the plain on the other side. Anyone who fails to pass through the forest within the time limit will be directly judged as having failed the assessment, regardless of how many Points they have!”

“Once you leave the forest, you cannot return.”

“Furthermore, there is a stone stele on the plain beyond the forest. Anyone who successfully touches it will receive 500 Points in addition to a special reward provided by the academy.”

“When the assessment finally concludes, the top one thousand students in the Points ranking will be admitted to the academy, and the rest will be eliminated.”

“These one thousand admitted students will also be divided into different classes based on their scores, which will affect your treatment at the academy afterward. So, do your utmost to earn as many Points as possible during the assessment!”

“Now, I declare—the assessment begins!”

As the voice faded, Lin Ze suddenly felt a slight warmth on the back of his right hand.

He looked down and saw that a pitch-black number had already appeared on the back of his hand.

“0”

And as his gaze focused, a list suddenly popped up in front of him.

Tier 1 Stage 5 Ferocious Beast: 1 Point

Tier 1 Stage 6 Ferocious Beast: 2 Points

Tier 1 Stage 9 Ferocious Beast: 5 Points

Tier 2 Stage 1 Ferocious Beast: 10 Points

Tier 2 Stage 2 Ferocious Beast: 12 Points

Tier 2 Stage 3 Ferocious Beast: 14 Points

Tier 3 Stage 1 Ferocious Beast: 50 Points

Tier 3 Stage 2 Ferocious Beast: 60 Points

“So even the weakest Pet Beast is at Tier 1 Stage 5.”

Lin Ze skimmed through the lines quickly and soon reached the bottom.

“The strongest is Tier 3 Stage 6, worth 100 Points.”

“At this rate, the 500 Points rewarded for touching the stone tablet is pretty generous—equivalent to hunting down dozens of Tier 2 Pet Beasts.”

But it didn’t take a genius to figure out that there would definitely be Ferocious Beasts guarding the stone tablet, or some other Trial in place.

Either way, there was no way the examinees would be getting those 500 Points easily.

Aside from that.

Next to the list, there was also a Leaderboard.

It was marked with numbers from 1 to 1000, clearly representing rankings.

But no one had made it onto the board yet.

“Real-time ranking updates, huh.”

Lin Ze clicked his tongue.

This way, everyone could see their own scores and everyone else’s.

And with the ranking capped at the top 1000, it meant anyone not on the board would be eliminated.

It was easy to predict that under these circumstances, the intensity of competition would skyrocket.

“I’ve heard that Ningjiang Academy advocates competition and encourages students to grow through it. Looks like the rumors are true—they’re even trying every trick to intensify competition in the Admission Assessment.”

Lin Ze grumbled inwardly, then pulled his gaze away from the Leaderboard and looked toward the forest.

“I need to find the exit of this forest first.”

Without knowing how vast the forest was, how long it would take to cross it remained a mystery.

To be safe, it was best to first reach the edge of the forest, confirm the location of the exit, and then turn back to hunt Ferocious Beasts.

If he focused only on hunting and then realized there wasn’t enough time to cross the forest, causing him to fail the assessment, he’d be crying tears of regret.

With that thought, Lin Ze had already made up his mind and immediately summoned Xiao Xue.

Ever since arriving at the hotel, Xiao Xue had been staying in the Pet Space.

Having not seen her master for two whole days, the moment she came out, she cheered and pounced into Lin Ze’s arms.

Lin Ze smiled softly and affectionately ruffled her hair.

The girl immediately let out a contented purr like a cat.

“Let’s go. Time to start hunting.”

Lin Ze didn’t waste any time. He strode into the forest with Xiao Xue by his side.

The surroundings dimmed.

In an instant, they were surrounded by towering trees.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, casting dense patches of light on the ground.

A thick layer of fallen leaves covered the earth, giving a soft, carpet-like sensation underfoot.

“In a forest environment, there should be more Plant Type and Insect Type Ferocious Beasts.”

Thoughts churned through Lin Ze’s mind as he casually cast a Soul Guardian on himself.

This Admission Assessment was completely different from the Apprentice Assessment.

Ferocious Beasts wouldn’t turn a blind eye to the Beast Tamer himself.

Without proper protective measures, he could easily be ambushed and killed.

Just as he was thinking, several dark figures suddenly dropped from the trees ahead at an angle, spitting out clumps of unknown substances toward Lin Ze.

Xiao Xue reacted swiftly, raising her hand to condense an Ice Shield, blocking the incoming projectiles just in time.

Lin Ze focused his gaze.

What he saw were several clumps of white silk threads.

Looking again at the attackers, they were three Ferocious Beasts resembling caterpillars in appearance, yet wrapped in a layer of straw cloak below their heads.

Bagworms, Insect Type Ferocious Beasts, capable of reaching Tier 1 Stage 7 at Mature Stage.