Chapter 15

The chief examiner’s announcement detailed a pre-established assessment procedure, though not all information had been disclosed to the candidates.

The practical combat test required survival for three days.

Points were awarded for killing mutated plants. Candidates ranking within the top twenty earned the privilege to choose their own schools; those in the top ten could select their own departments; and the top three scorers even had the right to choose their mentors.

The military academy was a place dedicated to training elite Starbearers.

Naturally, students with higher talent and ability received greater resource support.

With only half a day left in the practical test, to increase competitiveness and unleash more potential among the candidates, the isolation barriers separating the twenty groups were removed, offering those with ability more opportunities to shine.

Take the third group, where Zhong Qian belonged, as an example.

Candidates in this group were both fortunate and unfortunate.

Zhong Qian had slain a large number of mutated creatures, ensuring their survival for three days, but this made it difficult for others in the group to snatch points from him.

Apart from Zhong Qian, the rest of the candidates in the third group basically had zero points.

Of course, the third group also had the lowest elimination rate.

With the removal of the isolation walls, situations like that in the third group would ease. If they wanted to compete for ranking, they could venture into other areas to steal points.

Upon hearing this announcement, Li Yang instantly perked up.

What? The isolation barriers were being removed?

Her mind flashed with countless images of small shrubs, withered flowers, and weak grass. She had thought the harvesting was over but now more “little lives” were beckoning her.

As for the points ranking, Li Yang just needed to break into the top twenty; she had no desire to be first.

What good was first place?

It only invited envy.

She was just an ordinary citizen and didn’t want to provoke the elite scions of the Starbearer families.

Fang Chuyun and Yu Hongyuan were already wealthy and noble by her standards, but in the provincial capital, students of their caliber were commonplace.

The social hierarchy in this world was far more brutal than in her previous life.

Her ideal was to barely scrape into the top twenty, quietly gaining the right to choose her school.

But now... well, no use thinking about it. What’s done is done.

Besides, if she had the chance to do it again, Li Yang would still harvest those low-value mutated plants.

She would not give up any life she had taken.

If she lost her life, then nothing else mattered; even if the heavens themselves came down, she would fight.

Glancing once more at the leaderboard, Li Yang resigned herself and decided to give it her all. With four hours left, she would continue sweeping up the low-value mutated plants.

She pulled out her hand-drawn map and examined it carefully.

In the previous two days, she had covered the entire eighth group and naturally knew where the isolation barriers were.

There was one on each side—east, west, south, and north—but she wasn’t sure which group lay beyond each barrier.

Still, each group was likely to have plenty of low-value plants, so it didn’t matter where she went.

After calculating her route, Li Yang charged toward the barrier on the left.

Inside the control room, the main screen still displayed the situation of each group. The rescue device’s sound was restored, and the noisy chatter resumed.

“Damn! You get points for killing low-value mutated plants too?”

“That Li Yang is so damn lucky! How did she think of killing those low-value ones?”

“Most low-value mutated plants are in safe zones. She’s racking up points way too easily!”

Upon hearing these murmurs, the chief examiner sneered, “Naïve.”

The other examiners, lacking the chief’s sharp insight, were somewhat doubtful.

Had the chief really set the points too high?

If low-value plants counted as two points...

It felt like many candidates’ scores would soar.

Would the Eastern Hua Province’s assessment become a joke?

Clearly, the candidates who learned how Li Yang had scored 200 points were eager to try hunting low-value mutated plants themselves.

Top-tier mutated creatures were highly aggressive; taking one down solo carried significant risk.

Even killing a low-tier one only granted five points. To break into the top twenty, one needed to kill four or five of them.

One wrong move could lead to immediate elimination.

But low-value mutated creatures posed no such risk—they lurked in safe zones and were weak, worth two points each. A quick strike, double the points, why not?

With this in mind, candidates sharpened their weapons and headed for low-value targets.

On the main screen, candidates searched for low-value mutated creatures in safe zones across all areas, but less than half an hour later, they were sweating profusely.

One candidate circled the safe zone for thirty minutes, eyes wide, but hadn’t found a single low-value mutated plant. He muttered, “Where? Where? Where the hell are you?”

Another candidate, frustrated, began wildly hacking at the bushes, accidentally disturbing an unsightly shrub—a mutated plant Li Yang had named the Ugly Shrub.

Suddenly, it sprang up; its leaves transformed into blades, slashing at the candidate. Fortunately, with 84 physical endurance points, he ducked just in time to avoid eye injury.

The Ugly Shrub wasn’t done—it lunged and bit his calf. The candidate screamed in pain and wildly swung his long knife, unwittingly disturbing a sleeping low-value mutated frog.

The frog leapt up and sprayed toxic mist at him.

The candidate was defenseless, dizziness overtaking him, his face turning green.

Scenes like these appeared frequently on the control room’s large screen.

Candidates either cursed for failing to find low-value mutated plants or panicked after angering them through reckless attacks.

Of course, some skilled candidates successfully cleared low-value plants but sighed, “These things aren’t easy to kill either.”

Li Yang’s hundred kills had given others a misleading impression; low-value mutated plants were not as easy to kill as they imagined.

Even capable fighters felt the two-point reward wasn’t worth it.

Killing two low-value creatures took as much time as killing one low-tier top-grade mutated creature, which was worth five points.

The only advantage was relative safety.

But time was pressing.

For those unlucky enough not to find a single low-value creature in half an hour, with less than four hours remaining, chasing points this way wouldn’t secure a top twenty spot.

After an hour, all doubters of Li Yang’s score fell silent, filled with respect.

How had she found a hundred low-value mutated plants? That alone defeated ninety percent of the candidates.

Inside the control room, the examiners were convinced of the chief’s wisdom. No wonder she set those point values—they were the most reasonable.

Unaware of all this, Li Yang, upon reaching the new area, used her 90-point mental acuity to quickly detect low-value mutated plants hidden in the safe zone.

With a swift chop, she skillfully harvested one, earning a month’s lifespan.

Her only regret was that safe points were far apart, and each contained limited low-value plants, so much of her time was spent traveling.

Along the way, Li Yang encountered clusters of other candidates.

They hadn’t failed to read the “Entry Instructions” but had deliberately gathered—to quickly lure mutated creatures and gain points.

From their conversation, Li Yang learned this area belonged to the seventh group.

“Seventh group...” Li Yang now had a clearer picture. “Then the other side must be the sixth group.”

She set herself a small goal: “I’ll aim to clear the entire sixth group.”

On average, two hours per group; she wouldn’t bother with the more remote safe zones, instead choosing the optimal route to clear as many low-value plants as possible.

Her muttered plan was caught by the control room’s cameras.

The examiners were speechless: “She’s really going all out!”

No one doubted her score anymore. This kid’s mental acuity must be very high; otherwise, she couldn’t detect low-value mutated plants as precisely as a radar sweep.

With 90 physical endurance points and mental acuity over 80...

Such a prodigy only appears once in a decade.

On the screen, another figure drew attention: Zhong Qian of the third group.

He was from the prestigious Zhong family, a powerful clan in Eastern Hua Province that produced many notable figures over the years.

Zhong Qian was the most outstanding youth of his generation, even known in the capital.

At this moment, he stared at the leaderboard, his already stern face utterly expressionless.

He ranked second.

Eighty points behind first place.

He stared at the board for a full three minutes, then expressionlessly shut off the projection and swiftly rushed toward the right isolation wall.

All the top-tier mutated creatures in group three had been cleared; he would not waste time killing low-value plants. He aimed to kill the lone grade-two mutated creature.

Killing a grade-two mutated plant would earn him a full 100 points.

First place was his for the taking.

Lin Zhaoqin from group five was also watching the leaderboard.

At first, seeing herself in third place, she cursed in frustration.

When she saw Zhong Qian in second, she smirked and spat a curse: “You bastard, you got your day.”

Finally, upon seeing the overwhelming score of first place...

Lin Zhaoqin exclaimed, “Holy crap!”

Who was this?

Li Yang?

She was a full hundred points ahead of her?

Lin Zhaoqin, who had been ready to push herself harder after seeing Zhong Qian’s score, immediately gave up—someone had already crushed Zhong Qian.

Most of the top ten candidates knew each other’s groups, but no one knew which group Li Yang belonged to or what she looked like.

Fang Chuyun and Yu Hongyuan were also stunned.

They had guessed Li Yang was in first place but never imagined she would score so high—220 points!

Yu Hongyuan emerged from his hiding spot, dirtied and dazed, staring at the leaderboard: “Damn, believe in me and you’ll live forever.”

Originally reluctant to be a subordinate, he now wished he could wear a headband declaring “Li Yang’s Loyal Follower.”

With the leaderboard now fully visible, candidates who failed to make the top twenty stopped trying and began to watch the show.

“Look, look! Li Yang’s score moved again!”

“+2, +2, +2... She really loves those low-value mutated plants.”

“Even if Zhong Qian kills the grade-two mutated creature, it’ll be hard for him to take first place.”

“He’ll probably clear some high-grade top-tier creatures along the way. As long as he kills the grade-two mutated plant, there’s still a sliver of hope.”

“A sliver...” The candidates couldn’t help but feel secretly pleased.

It was rare to see a young celebrity from Eastern Hua Province humbled like this.

Meanwhile, around Zhong Qian, more candidates gathered. His goal was clear:

“Follow me; I want to attract the grade-two mutated creature. You won’t need to fight.”

Being a celebrity in Eastern Hua Province, most candidates followed him.

Some wanted to help him attract the grade-two creature, others just wanted to watch the spectacle—especially with examiners watching.

Zhong Qian led a large group from group three to the sixth group’s area.

Li Yang had just finished clearing the seventh group’s low-value mutated plants and moved into the sixth group.

Lin Zhaoqin, having left group five, was wandering around group six.

The top three candidates simultaneously appeared in the same area, triggering the practical test’s hidden mechanism.

When the three gathered, a dangerous aura awakened the grade-two mutated creature.

Thus, the grade-two mutated dahlia was released into the sixth group’s area.