54: Chapter 54 The Gate of Light Exploded: Monsters the System Could Not Recognize

The train arrived at the station.

The pneumatic sound of the doors opening had just faded when the clamor rushed in.

Lin Qi walked off the platform carrying his faded backpack and looked up.

Before his eyes stood a magnificent school gate, a hundred meters high.

Carved from a single block of obsidian, it shimmered with the light of a deep blue magic array, refracting the midday sun into distorted patterns.

The characters for "Longya" on the lintel were written with strokes as sharp as blades, radiating a sharpness that seemed ready to pierce a hole through the heavens.

"Dazed already?"

Someone passing by bumped into Lin Qi's shoulder.

It was the mage boy who had been scared off on the train earlier; now back on familiar ground, his sense of superiority had reclaimed the high ground.

He pointed to the square not far away.

"See that? That’s what Longya’s prestige looks like. Someone like you who came by bus can probably only afford to look from the gate for the rest of your life."

The square was packed with all kinds of luxury cars and private aircraft.

Well-dressed young masters and Young Misses were chatting and laughing, surrounded by butlers and bodyguards; they wore limited-edition tactical watches on their wrists, and the weapons beside them glowed with shifting light.

This was hardly an entrance exam; it was clearly a social gathering for the elite.

In contrast, Lin Qi—wearing a cheap tracksuit from a street stall and carrying snacks in a plastic bag—really did look like a vagrant who had stumbled into a palace.

Lin Qi ignored the mage and walked straight toward the freshman registration area.

A long line had already formed there.

The upperclassmen in charge of reception wore uniform dark green outfits with grade badges pinned to their chests, efficiently checking the candidates' electronic files.

When it was Lin Qi's turn, the senior sister with a high ponytail glanced at the tablet in her hand and froze.

She looked up, her gaze lingering on Lin Qi's face for three seconds before looking back down at the screen, her brow furrowed.

"Is the System malfunctioning?"

The senior sister muttered to herself, tapping the screen forcefully a few times.

"Name: Lin Qi. Tianhai City Third Middle School. Profession... None?"

She emphasized the word "None" heavily.

Several candidates in line nearby turned to look.

"No profession? Are you kidding me?"

"How can a place like Longya let someone without a profession sneak in?"

"Probably has some family background and was shoved in through the back door just to get some prestige."

The senior sister impatiently handed the tablet to Lin Qi.

"Student, please confirm your information. Although special recruitment slots have recommendation rights, Longya Academy is ultimately a place that values strength. If you're trying to hide your professional attributes to get attention, that's very childish."

Lin Qi glanced at the screen.

"The information is correct."

"You mean you're really a Blank Slate?"

The senior sister's voice rose an octave.

"What's wrong with being a Blank Slate?"

A gruff voice interjected from behind.

The crowd was forcibly pushed aside by a large hand.

Out stepped a man as sturdy as an iron tower, at least two meters tall, his muscles bulging beneath his heavy armor.

He carried a greatsword wider than a door on his back, and the ground shook with every step he took.

"Blank Slates should scurry back to ordinary high schools to study; don't come here to take up space."

The burly man walked up to Lin Qi and looked down at him condescendingly.

"I am Zhao Lei, the top special recruit from the North, with the A-grade talent [Berserk Blood]."

Zhao Lei crossed his arms, his face full of undisguised contempt.

"Longya is where the Federation trains top-tier warriors; every bit of resource is incredibly precious. Using them on a Trash Physique like yours is a pure waste."

Many people around him nodded in agreement.

In this digitized world, having no profession panel meant having no growth ceiling; this was an accepted truth.

Lin Qi looked up at this guy who was like a wall.

"Resources belong to whoever can grab them."

"Grab?"

Zhao Lei laughed as if he had heard a joke, grinning to reveal a mouthful of white teeth.

"With your Trash panel where all attributes are only 5? What are you going to grab them with? Your mouth?"

He stepped forward, releasing the bloody Aura of a Berserker without reservation; several timid girls nearby instinctively backed away.

"Tell me, what right do you have to stand here?"

Lin Qi didn't back down.

Instead, he took a step forward until their noses almost touched.

"Because my fists are harder than yours."

Zhao Lei was stunned for a moment.

Then, his expression turned ferocious, and he reached for the greatsword on his back.

"What big talk! I'll show you right now what an A-grade strength talent is!"

Just as the greatsword was about to be unsheathed.

"Stop."

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable chill.

A middle-aged man in a gray robe appeared beside them at some unknown point.

He wore rimless glasses and held an electronic scoreboard, his eyes as cold as two venomous snakes.

Zhao Lei's hand froze in mid-air; after seeing who it was, his expression changed, and he obediently lowered his hand.

"Instructor Wang."

The surrounding candidates also fell silent, clearly recognizing him.

Wang Su.

Examiner Wang Su was Longya Academy's notorious "Data Faction" mad dog and the head examiner for this freshman assessment. In his eyes, people were just strings of data code; if the values weren't up to standard, they were Trash.

Examiner Wang Su adjusted his glasses, his gaze passing over Zhao Lei to land on Lin Qi.

It was the look one would give a laboratory rat—specifically, a defective one about to be discarded.

"Private fighting is prohibited at Longya Academy."

Examiner Wang Su scribbled on the scoreboard.

"Zhao Lei, two points deducted. As for you..."

He looked at Lin Qi's "No Profession" label, his lip twitching as if enduring some physical discomfort.

"I don't like uncontrollable variables. Regardless of who shoved you in here, data is everything."

Examiner Wang Su turned around, his gray robe sweeping in a cold arc.

"Everyone, follow me to Training Ground No. 1. The first assessment is the basic data scan."

"If your numbers don't meet Longya's threshold, you'll have to get out, even if you have a recommendation letter from the principal."

The final sentence was clearly directed at Lin Qi.

Lin Qi shrugged and followed at the end of the line with an indifferent expression.

Training Ground No. 1 was astonishingly large.

The dome was fifty meters high, the surrounding walls embedded with countless precision sensors, and an archway emitting a pale blue light screen stood in the center.

This was the Federation's latest "Holographic Data Scanner," capable of analyzing an Awakened's potential rating, physical attributes, and energy fluctuations within a second.

"Line up and go through one by one."

Examiner Wang Su stood at the control console, his fingers dancing rapidly across the operation panel.

The first one up was a petite person with an Assassin profession.

As soon as he passed through the light gate, a string of data appeared on the large screen.

[Profession: Windrunner (B-grade)]

[Comprehensive Potential Rating: B+]

"Next," Examiner Wang Su said expressionlessly.

As the testing progressed, the ratings on the large screen were constantly updated.

Occasionally, an A-grade would appear, prompting low gasps from the crowd and causing Examiner Wang Su's expression to soften slightly.

Finally, it was Zhao Lei's turn.

The burly man from the North strode in and deliberately paused in the middle of the light gate, tensing his muscles as the power fluctuation swept over his body.

Buzz!

The light gate emitted a high-pitched hum, and the blue light suddenly brightened.

[Profession: Berserker (Hidden Branch)]

[Talent: Berserk Blood (A-grade)]

[Strength Growth: S-]

[Comprehensive Rating: A+]

"Good!"

A burst of warm applause erupted from the crowd.

An S- strength growth meant that as long as he didn't die, he was guaranteed to become a meat grinder on the battlefield in the future.

Zhao Lei walked out triumphantly; as he passed Lin Qi, he pointedly bumped the air with his shoulder—though he didn't hit anyone, the provocation was clear.

"See that? That’s called talent. Some things are just gifts from the heavens."

Examiner Wang Su made a heavy mark on the scoreboard, a rare look of satisfaction appearing on his face.

"Not bad, a good prospect."

He looked up and scanned toward the end of the line.

"Last one, Lin Qi."

The eyes of the entire room focused once again.

How much weight that Blank Slate—who had talked tough at the gate about his "hard fists"—actually carried was about to be revealed.

Li Shaobai was also in the crowd, arms crossed, a smile on his face as he waited for the show to begin.

He knew Lin Qi's background all too well.

Even if the kid could fight, in front of an instrument that purely detected data and potential, those so-called "Ancient Martial Arts Techniques" were nothing but a joke.

Lin Qi ignored the gazes around him waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

He tossed his backpack onto the ground, cracked his neck, and stepped toward the light gate.

One step, two steps.

The moment Lin Qi's body passed through the light screen.

The previously stable pale blue light screen suddenly flickered twice.

Zizizi—

A sound like a poor electrical connection rang out.

Immediately after, the data columns on the large screen jumped wildly before going completely black.

The light gate, a symbol of high-tech crystallization, completely went out as if someone had pulled the plug.

"Beep—Error! Unable to detect profession template!"

"Beep—Error! Target cannot be defined!"

The piercing sound of an alarm echoed through the empty training ground.