43: Chapter 43 The 17-Star Joint Examination, the Focus of Everyone's Attention

The school bus came to a smooth stop at the entrance of the Federal Virtual StarNet Connection Center, and the twelve students representing the school in the competition stepped off one by one.

The interior of the domed building was larger than it appeared from the outside. The central hall was as wide as ten martial arts arenas joined together. Hundreds of silver-white connection pods were arranged neatly, each connected to thick StarNet transmission lines, with blue spiritual light pulsing through them like a heartbeat.

Tianhai No. 1 High School was not the only school to arrive.

The top five high schools on Tianhai Star had all sent their competition teams, and the students, dressed in their respective school uniforms, waited in designated zones within the hall.

"Attention, all contestants."

The broadcast formation in the very center of the dome lit up, and a deep, resonant voice filled the entire hall.

"The 117th Xuanyuan Star Region Seventeen Stars Nova Assessment will officially begin in fifteen minutes. At that time, the entire network will be live-streamed and connected. Please proceed to your designated connection pods and complete the consciousness interface."

Entire network live-stream.

These four words caused the atmosphere in the hall to tighten instantly, and the breathing of several students grew heavy.

Wang Pingan's expression remained unchanged as he followed the guide toward the exclusive connection pod area for Tianhai No. 1 High School.

Twelve connection pods stood side by side, with a light screen displaying the contestant's name and basic information floating above each one.

Wang Pingan found the one with his name on it, and just as he was about to open the pod door, he heard Old Li's voice from behind him.

"Don't rush after you go in. Read the rules clearly before you make a move."

Old Li stood behind the railing on the perimeter of the connection pod area, with Principal Zhou Mingyuan beside him. Both were dressed in formal attire, clearly present as guests to watch the competition.

Wang Pingan nodded and pulled open the pod door to lie down inside.

The silver-white pod cover closed, and his vision darkened. Then, a wave of cool spiritual energy surged in from his temples, and his consciousness was captured by the StarNet.

The view before him brightened.

Wang Pingan found himself standing on a massive virtual plaza.

The plaza was a circular platform floating in the starry sky with no boundaries. Beneath his feet was a transparent energy floor, through which he could see countless stars slowly rotating below.

Hundreds of people were already standing on the plaza.

Floating above everyone's head was an information panel indicating their name, home planet, talent rating, and comprehensive evaluation.

Wang Pingan scanned the area. Young people in various school uniforms, skin tones, and temperaments were scattered throughout the plaza. Some were chatting in small groups, while others stood alone at the edge, closing their eyes to rest.

The seed contestants from the seventeen life-bearing planets of the Xuanyuan Star Region were all gathered here.

He looked down at the panel above his head: [Wang Pingan · Tianhai Star · Talent A-Grade Comprehension · Comprehensive Evaluation A+ · Civilization System Immortal-Martial Dual Cultivation].

The information panels were public; everyone could see the basic data of everyone else.

Wang Jincheng was standing a dozen steps behind him to the left, and his panel read: [Wang Jincheng · Tianhai Star · Talent B-Grade Lightning Spirit Root · Comprehensive Evaluation A- · Civilization System Immortal Cultivation].

Wang Qingyan stood further away, her panel marked with A-Grade Wood Spirit Affinity and a comprehensive evaluation of A.

Immediately afterward, a giant light screen unfolded out of thin air in the center of the plaza, displaying the detailed configuration information of all contestants.

Not only their talents and evaluations, but even summaries of their military configurations were made public.

Wang Pingan's gaze fell onto his own configuration column.

[Wang Pingan · Military Configuration Summary]

[Combat Subjects: 3,000 (2,000 Heavy Infantry, 500 Spiritual Energy Artillery Battalion, 500 Heavy Cavalry)]

[Logistics Subjects: 0]

[Non-Combat Subjects: 0]

Logistics Subjects: 0. Non-Combat Subjects: 0.

These two "0"s were particularly glaring within the dense configuration panels, because the logistics columns of other contestants ranged from hundreds to thousands. Not a single person had dumped all their subjects into the combat line like Wang Pingan.

Less than three seconds after the light screen refreshed, the public channel exploded.

"That A+ from Tianhai Star, their Logistics Subjects is actually zero?"

"Did I read that right? 3,000 Combat Subjects, zero logistics? What is he going to eat?"

The one speaking was a student from Liumang Star, with the panel reading [Zhou Yan · Liumang Star · Talent A-Grade Fire Domain Control · Comprehensive Evaluation A · Civilization System Immortal Cultivation], ranked first in the Liumang Star competition team.

In his configuration column, there were 1,800 Combat Subjects and 1,200 Logistics Subjects, a 40/60 split, which was a standard type capable of both offense and defense.

Zhou Yan did not lower his voice, and several foreign star contestants nearby looked over at Wang Pingan, their eyes filled with scrutiny and disdain.

Following that, another voice came from the west side of the plaza, even more blunt.

"3,000 people all fighting, not leaving a single one to cook—if that's not a reckless brute, what is?"

The person speaking was tall and broad-shouldered, and the information on his panel made Wang Pingan take a second look: [Wu Tie · Tianlang Star · Talent A-Grade Iron-Spine Beast Taming · Comprehensive Evaluation A · Civilization System Martial Arts].

Someone from Tianlang Star.

Behind Wu Tie stood seven or eight contestants from Tianlang Star, all of them robust in build, with an emblem of an open-mouthed iron wolf embroidered on their school uniforms.

Wu Tie's voice was loud enough for the entire plaza to hear: "There are no shops or outside aid in the Plane Fragments. Once supplies are exhausted, it's just waiting for death. This configuration won't last three days."

Zhou Yan also chuckled: "Maybe Tianhai Star thinks three days is enough."

The two sang in harmony, and more and more people in the public channel joined in the jeering. Most were foreign star contestants, while a small portion were students from other Tianhai Star schools who didn't know Wang Pingan.

On the Tianhai No. 1 High School side, Zhao Yang was so anxious in the spectator area that he slapped his thigh.

Although he wasn't competing, he had accessed the StarNet live stream as a spectator and saw with his own eyes the entire screen filled with comments mocking Wang Pingan's zero-logistics configuration.

"What exactly is Brother Pingan doing? Why doesn't he explain?"

Old Li stood in the teacher spectator area, arms crossed, saying nothing.

There was no expression on his face, but his fingers were clenched tightly inside his sleeves.

Zhou Mingyuan stood beside him, watching the mocking comments on the light screen, and only said one sentence: "You'll know if you keep watching."

Wang Jincheng was standing not far from Wang Pingan. He heard all the mockery and fixed his gaze on Wang Pingan.

He wanted to see how this guy, who walked around Tianhai No. 1 High School as if he owned the place, would react when faced with the collective ridicule of the Seventeen Stars.

Wang Pingan stood where he was, not moving an inch.

His gaze swept over Zhou Yan, then over Wu Tie, without lingering for more than a second.

Then he raised his hand and tapped the virtual panel twice.

The sound from the public channel vanished.

All the mockery, discussion, and jeering were manually blocked by him, completely wiped away.

He didn't even reply with a single word.

The foreign star contestants on the plaza saw Wang Pingan's action. Some thought he was guilty and afraid to engage, others thought he was feigning calmness.

Wu Tie snorted coldly, his gaze becoming a bit sharper.

Wang Pingan didn't know about the Lin family's underhanded tactics, nor did he care where Wu Tie's hostility came from.

After turning off the public channel, he opened his private command interface.

The God Kingdom connection channel was ready, and the real-time status of all 3,000 Combat Subjects was online.

Wang Mu's report popped up first: "The entire army is ready for battle. Please, God Lord, give the order."

Wang Shan's voice followed immediately after: "The Cavalry is mounted and ready to move at any time."

Wang Pingan entered four words on the command interface.

[All forces, advance.]

The giant light screen above the plaza suddenly flickered, and a line of large golden characters appeared before everyone.

[The 117th Xuanyuan Star Region Seventeen Stars Nova Assessment · Preliminary Round · Officially Begins.]

[Competition Format: Plane Fragment Survival Point Battle.]

[Rules: All contestants will be randomly assigned to different Plane Fragments. Kill alien creatures within the fragments to earn points. Point rankings will determine qualification for advancement.]

[Teleportation Countdown: Ten seconds.]

The transparent floor beneath their feet began to glow, and energy fluctuations rose from the soles of every contestant.

Wang Pingan closed his eyes.

Ten, nine, eight...

Three, two, one.

White light swallowed everyone.