127: Chapter 127 Four-digit number?

The day of the monthly exam.

The corridor of the physical testing room was packed with people.

Qian Shuying and Xia Xi stood side by side at the edge of the corridor, both having successfully broken through to the Source Gathering Realm.

"Did you two break through last night?"

Lu Cheng walked over and looked them up and down.

"Yeah." Qian Shuying nodded, "I practiced until three in the morning last night and finally condensed the prototype of my Source Power core."

Xia Xi blinked, smiling a bit smugly:

"Me too! Instructor Luo said we broke through around the same time, so we came to test together today."

Lu Cheng nodded; both of them had extremely high talent.

"How much Source Power do you have?" Lu Cheng asked casually.

"Haven't tested yet." Qian Shuying shook her head, "But it shouldn't be too high. I sensed it myself when it first condensed, probably just over ten points."

"I'm about the same." Xia Xi nodded, "Instructor Luo said having ten points right after breaking through is already quite good."

The door to the testing hall opened.

Zhang Zhenheng stood at the doorway, holding a roster in his hand. His graying hair was combed meticulously, and his face still wore that stern, imposing expression.

Behind him was a row of testing instruments, their silver alloy casings gleaming under the cold white lights.

"Come in." Zhang Zhenheng said in a deep voice, "We'll test two items this morning: Vitality and Source Power. Those called, come up to the stage; everyone else, wait to the side."

The freshmen filed in one after another.

The testing hall was much larger than a classroom, covering an area of at least half a basketball court.

In the center stood two testing instruments: one for measuring Vitality and one for measuring Source Power.

The Vitality tester was a waist-high metal pillar with a palm-shaped sensor plate embedded at the top.

The Source Power tester was a closed, transparent capsule; once someone stepped inside, the door would close automatically, and the concentration of Source Power inside would be monitored in real-time.

Zhang Zhenheng stood between the two instruments and opened the roster.

"First, Zhao Feng."

A tall boy walked quickly onto the stage, took a deep breath, and pressed his hand onto the Vitality tester.

A row of numbers lit up on the surface of the metal pillar.

[Vitality Value: 185]

Zhang Zhenheng made a note on the roster, expressionless: "Next."

The second student went up.

[Vitality Value: 156]

The third one.

[Vitality Value: 203]

The testing proceeded quickly. Each person went up, pressed their palm, the numbers popped up, Zhang Zhenheng made a note, and the next person followed.

After more than half an hour, the Vitality values of the freshmen present had basically all been tested.

The data was very concentrated.

Most people fluctuated between 150 and 220.

Some had broken through to the Source Gathering Realm, while others were still stuck at the Extreme Realm.

But even for those who had already condensed the prototype of their Source Power core, their Vitality values did not exceed 250.

"Qian Shuying."

Qian Shuying walked onto the stage and pressed her palm onto the sensor plate.

[Vitality Value: 236]

Zhang Zhenheng raised an eyebrow: "Not bad."

This number was already considered top-tier among the freshmen; at this point in time, it meant she was at least a double-compressed Source Gathering Realm breakthrough.

"Xia Xi."

Xia Xi set her big hammer aside and pressed her palm onto it.

[Vitality Value: 202]

Xia Xi turned back, gave Lu Cheng a thumbs up, and chuckled.

Zhang Zhenheng nodded and continued reading down the list.

When President Ji Guyan went up, the surroundings quieted down significantly.

[Vitality Value: 307]

President Ji Guyan withdrew his hand and walked off the stage expressionlessly.

How much?

307??

And it looked like President Ji Guyan hadn't even broken through to the Source Gathering Realm yet; he was still trying to break through his limits?!

Several students nearby couldn't help but swallow hard. They were all geniuses from various places whose highest goal was only double compression; they hadn't expected this person to have already reached a value for triple compression!

Zhang Zhenheng looked at the roster and looked up.

"Su Wan"

Su Wan walked up coldly and placed her hand on the instrument.

[457]

The freshmen around her gasped, including President Ji Guyan. He had considered himself the most talented of this year, not to mention Lu Cheng...

This Su Wan... she hadn't had any particularly outstanding performance before, so how could her Vitality be so high???

Su Wan ignored their surprised gazes. She was able to increase her Vitality so quickly because of the Ice Emperor Soul Map she had cultivated in her past life.

This was something she had created herself after reaching the Heavenly Destiny Realm; while tempering her soul, her Source Power and Vitality had also undergone a qualitative improvement.

It was just that she only had a little bit of soul power right now and wasn't strong enough yet; otherwise, within these ten days, she would have had the confidence to break a thousand in Vitality!

"Lu Cheng."

Everyone in the hall turned their heads.

Lu Cheng walked out from behind the crowd, his pace neither fast nor slow, walked to the testing instrument, and raised his hand to press it.

The metal pillar vibrated slightly at first.

Immediately after, the numbers popped out.

[Vitality Value: 2026]

The testing hall was quiet for a full three seconds.

Then it exploded.

"Holy crap?!"

"How... how much?"

"Over two thousand?!!"

"Is this instrument broken??"

"Damn, four digits???"

Zhang Zhenheng looked down at the reading, looked up at Lu Cheng, and then looked back down at the reading.

The old man's mouth twitched twice, and he remained silent for several seconds before making a heavy mark on the roster.

"It's not broken." His voice was a bit dry, "Next."

Su Wan looked at Lu Cheng's outrageous Vitality, her head spinning...

How much?

Two thousand?

Do you know that many people can't even reach two thousand in Vitality when they are at the peak of the Source Gathering Realm??

When the next student walked onto the stage, their hands were shaking.

After the Vitality test ended, the Source Power test followed.

The transparent capsules lit up one after another, and the concentration of Source Power inside was read out in real-time.

Most freshmen who had just broken through to the Source Gathering Realm had a Source Power reserve between five and ten points. A few with high compression rates could reach about fifteen points.

When President Ji Guyan stepped into the testing capsule, the reading inside jumped to 34.

Zhang Zhenheng nodded. Thirty-four points of Source Power was already very high for the early stage of the Source Gathering Realm.

"Lu Cheng."

Lu Cheng stepped into the testing capsule, the door closed, and the Source Power inside began to circulate.

The reading jumped out.

[Source Power: 113]

Among the ordinary single-digit numbers, or two-digit numbers starting with 1 or 2, Lu Cheng's number was exceptionally dazzling...

However, with the foundation of the previous two thousand Vitality, they could still accept this one hundred plus Source Power.

"Su Wan"

Su Wan walked up upon hearing this...

[217]

She exhaled a breath of turbid air; finally, there was one item where she was higher than Lu Cheng!

President Ji Guyan was completely dumbfounded... Freshmen... two hundred Source Power??

The standard for measuring the Source Gathering Realm is Source Power; generally, 300 points is one stage, and one thousand points is the peak, at which point one can break through to the Meridian Opening Realm at any time.

At their level, if placed in other martial arts universities, many sophomores wouldn't even be able to reach it...

Zhang Zhenheng closed the roster and took a deep breath.

"The morning test is over. Simulation Tower training this afternoon, don't be late."

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Navigator Academy, Simulation Tower training area.

As one of the academy's core training facilities, the Simulation Tower was open almost every day.

The entire tower was eighteen stories high; from the outside, it looked like nothing more than a silver-gray tower, but once you truly stepped inside, you would discover that each floor utilized independent space folding technology, and the internal training grounds were far more vast than what was seen from the outside.

The point rules for the monthly exam Simulation Tower were very simple.

Pass the first floor, get one point.

Second floor, five points.

Third floor, ten points.

Fourth floor, twenty points.

If you can step onto the fifth floor, your points will directly increase to fifty.

The sixth floor is one hundred points.

And from the sixth floor onward, the difficulty of each floor would increase exponentially; it was no longer an area that ordinary freshmen could easily touch.

The enemies corresponding to the first three floors mostly remained within the strength range of the Body Refining Realm and the early stage of the Source Gathering Realm, while the fourth floor was already close to the peak of the Source Gathering Realm.

As for the fifth floor, it was the threshold of the Meridian Opening Realm.

The sixth floor was even more so the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm.

Precisely because of this, the leaderboard of the Simulation Tower had almost become the most intuitive symbol of strength in the academy.

"Then, Instructor Zhang, what if someone enters the seventh floor?"

Zhang Zhenheng smiled, "If you can enter, the seventh floor is 300 points, the eighth floor is 1000 points, and for the ninth floor, you can take as many points as you want."

Several people around looked at each other and waved their hands...

That ninth floor was already at the level of the peak of the Hua Hai Realm...

The standards of the Navigator Academy Simulation Tower were all customized for one-in-a-hundred-thousand geniuses...

At this time, people were coming and going outside the training area.

A young man walked in from outside the training area.

The man was wearing a dark gray combat uniform, with the standard frontline insignia on his shoulder and a black tactical band wrapped around his left arm.

He was thin and tall, with slightly prominent cheekbones and decent features, but there was an air of arrogance between his brows that he couldn't quite hide.

The aura of the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm was released without any concealment.

Several freshmen who noticed him subconsciously stepped aside.

"Who is that?"

"Haven't seen him in the academy."

"He has a frontline insignia on his shoulder; is he from the previous batch?"

Lu Cheng withdrew his gaze.

This person must be the senior from the front line that Zhang Zhenheng mentioned.

Gu Yu was ranked twenty-fourth in the previous selection, just barely making it into the Navigator Academy.

Although he was the last one, the title of Navigator Academy alone was enough for him to walk sideways.

Gu Yu walked around the training area, his gaze sweeping over the freshmen present, with a faint smile on his face.

He looked around, and his gaze suddenly stopped.

It stopped on the row of benches against the wall in the rest area.

Xia Xi was sitting there, holding a water cup in her hands, her legs dangling and swaying, the sleeves of her training uniform rolled up to her elbows, revealing her slender, white wrists.

The seat next to her was empty; Lu Cheng had just gotten up to throw away a water bottle.

The smile on Gu Yu's face immediately changed, taking on a bit of eagerness.

He strode toward Xia Xi.

"Xiao Xi? Is it really you?"

Xia Xi looked up, saw the person's face clearly, and froze on the spot.

Holy crap.

Why is it this guy?

How did he get into the Navigator Academy???

The Gu family and the Xia family had some business dealings in the Imperial Capital...

But this person was a bit too narcissistic... he was the type of person Xia Xi couldn't handle.

"Holy crap, why are you here?"

Xia Xi's body involuntarily moved to the other side of the chair.

"Didn't expect you to come to the selection too." Gu Yu sat down next to her very naturally.

"I just came back from the front line, and Instructor Zhang asked me to come and see you junior students. Which group are you in? How were your test scores? I can put in a good word for you with Instructor Zhang to get you some extra points."

He asked very naturally, his tone carrying a sense of closeness that he took for granted.

The hair on the back of Xia Xi's neck stood up.

"It's... it's okay." She replied, her eyes scanning to the side.

She happened to see Lu Cheng walking back after throwing away the water bottle.

Xia Xi almost reflexively sprang up from the bench, dashed to Lu Cheng's side in two steps, and hid behind him, revealing only half of her head.

"Let me introduce you, this is my boyfriend!"

Lu Cheng: "?"

Gu Yu's smiling face stiffened for a moment.

He looked at the way Xia Xi was hiding behind Lu Cheng, looking at the distance where Xia Xi was almost pressed against Lu Cheng's arm, and his eyes darkened.

Gu Yu suppressed the displeasure in his heart, squeezed out a smile again, and asked somewhat disbelievingly...

"Xiao Xi, this is your..."

"My boyfriend!" Xia Xi answered quickly, her voice crisp and clear,

Lu Cheng did not refute it, knowing that Xia Xi was using him as a shield..

The smile on Gu Yu's face faded a layer.

He stood up and looked Lu Cheng up and down.

"Source Gathering Realm?" Gu Yu smiled, "Not bad, to be able to break through right at the beginning of the selection, your foundation is quite good."

The words were polite, but the tone carried a faint condescension.

Lu Cheng didn't pick up the conversation, just turned his head to look at him.

Their gazes met in mid-air, and neither of them looked away.

Gu Yu averted his gaze and nodded to Xia Xi: "Let's chat later."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Lu Cheng looked at Xia Xi and asked, "What's the deal with this guy?"

"A... very disgusting person..."

Xia Xi couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine.

"I haven't seen him for almost eight years, and he actually recognized me at a glance..."

To be able to make Xia Xi say such things...

Then it seems he really is very disgusting...

And... Lu Cheng also felt a faint... danger from this guy...

It's just that this feeling deepened a bit after Xia Xi moved closer to him...

So... Xia Xi was just a front... this guy was targeting him with a purpose...