45: The college entrance examination begins, beams of light are transmitted, and peeking from the restricted area

"Yuanzi!"

A familiar voice came from behind.

Jiang Yuan turned around and smiled.

"Haozi, you came too."

Chen Hao walked over, spreading his hands and shaking his head. "I didn't want to participate, but my dad insisted that I come and experience the atmosphere of the College Entrance Examination, saying youth shouldn't leave any regrets."

He looked at his best friend in front of him with emotion. "It's just you... you've changed so much that I almost don't recognize you. I saw it last time at the Thunder Martial Hall; I never thought you'd become so powerful now. It's really... really..."

"You've really brought so much honor to me!! You guy! You are truly awesome!!"

He could finally no longer suppress his excitement, rushing over to wrap his arm around Jiang Yuan's neck.

"You have no idea the looks people at school give me as soon as they hear you're my brother."

"It feels so awesome!!"

Experiencing the long-lost, familiar headlock, Jiang Yuan's face was also filled with smiles.

Indeed, no matter when it is, and no matter how huge the changes are.

Friends are friends, and that won't change.

Not far away, Guan Xiaoxiao secretly glanced toward the two of them.

That guy Jiang Yuan hasn't even come over to greet her after so long.

"Hmph."

"So what if you've become awesome."

"If you don't find me, this Young Miss won't go talk to you either!"

The tsundere young lady thought to herself.

...

On the other side, Lin Qingyan also saw Jiang Yuan. A brilliant starlight flashed across her ice-blue right eye, vanishing in an instant.

"Already at LV9, huh? Dammit, he's actually one level higher than me."

Lin Qingyan thought angrily, the freezing chill she emitted growing even stronger, causing the surrounding students to retreat further away with terrified expressions.

"Jiang Yuan."

Head teacher Zhang Yiming walked over, interrupting Jiang Yuan and Chen Hao's scuffle.

"Teacher Zhang."

Jiang Yuan stopped his scuffle with Chen Hao, still holding deep respect for this head teacher who had helped him quite a bit.

Zhang Yiming looked at him with a gratified smile. "Not bad, not bad. Your blood qi and constitution have been polished very well. You even know how to bide your time and hide your brilliance; even your teacher was tricked by you."

Jiang Yuan said sheepishly, "Sorry, Teacher Zhang, because my profession is indeed a bit hard to explain..."

Zhang Yiming waved his hand. "It's fine, it's fine. If it's hard to say, then don't say it. I've always believed that knowing how to conceal one's abilities when weak is an exceptionally fine quality. Only by knowing how to avoid danger can one climb high and walk far."

He stepped forward and patted Jiang Yuan on the shoulder,

"Work hard in today's College Entrance Examination; I hope to see your name in the top one hundred."

Jiang Yuan smiled and nodded.

Soon.

Prodigies that attracted much attention, such as Xia Qinghou, Qin Nansun, and Luo Xi, also arrived one after another.

Principal Liu He appeared on the high platform to give exam instructions and a pre-exam speech.

"Today is the day of the College Entrance Examination, and also an important checkpoint that determines your future path."

"Three years of Cultivate is all for this very day."

"Later on, you will receive a Teleportation Stone. After the magic array activates, holding the Teleportation Stone will teleport you to the exam venue, which is a small-scale dungeon. Students from all over Jiang Province will go there, and you will compete on the same stage with students from other cities."

"Inside the dungeon, you need to survive for three days. You can form teams or solo; judge for yourselves based on your own strength."

"If you encounter life-threatening danger, crush the Teleportation Stone to be teleported back to the starting point."

"You can use equipped gear, but items cannot be used. All other rules are unrestricted. Please note, try to choose trustworthy teammates to avoid being eliminated by others."

"Killing Vicious Beasts or participating in defeating Vicious Beasts can earn you scores, and those with higher scores can also obtain higher rankings."

"Students who rank in the top ten province-wide in this College Entrance Examination will receive extra rewards issued by the Education Bureau. The rewards for the top three are even more generous, and the reward for first place is enough to make even me, the principal, green with envy, oh hahaha." Liu He said, laughing out loud,

The students on the playground were also extremely excited upon hearing this.

"Anything obtained within the small-scale dungeon belongs to your loot."

"Points from killing Vicious Beasts are quite precious and can be exchanged for resources in institutions of higher learning, exceeding money in value."

"Next up is the distribution of the Teleportation Stones."

The dean waved the magic staff in his hand, and countless Teleportation Stones emitting white light fell from the sky, landing precisely in front of every student.

Jiang Yuan reached out and caught it, feeling extraordinary power surging within it.

"The upcoming trial is the most important exam of your student days."

"Good luck."

After Liu He finished speaking.

A loud bell chime came from the bell tower of the Martial Artist Association in the distance. A huge magic array appeared on the playground of No. 1 High School, forming a thick pillar of white light that soared into the sky.

No. 2 High School, No. 3 High School... All other martial arts high schools were the same, with several white pillars of light rushing towards the sky!

People across the city raised their heads to look.

Some parents prayed silently, hoping their children would get good scores.

"Brother Yuan, stay safe." Aunt Tao Yufeng looked at the pillars of light and said softly.

Jiang Damu, stationed outside the city, looked up at the sky and prayed silently,

"Brother Yuan, do your best..."

Not only South River City, but Beijiang City just across the river was the same, with several teleportation pillars of light shooting up into the sky.

If one looked towards the territory of Daxia from high altitude.

One could see pillars of white light soaring into the sky across Daxia's territory, extremely spectacular!

Some terrifying existences opened their eyes. Just as they cast their gazes towards Daxia, their line of sight was severed, and several supremely majestic voices emanated from within Daxia, spreading across the four seas.

"Do not cross the boundary!"

"Scram!"

"Those who dare offend our Daxia shall be executed without mercy."

"Take one more glance, and I will annihilate your entire Abyss clan!"

...

Some terrifying existences retreated, uttering strange jeers before leaving.

In the dark abyss unknown to anyone.

A mountain-sized, hundreds-of-meters-tall flesh mountain of tentacles covered in single eyes swayed thousands of tentacles, emitting strange laughter like an infant crying, enough to cause mental pollution.

"Kuku kukuku..."