68: The practical assessment has begun; the top twenty...

After Zhao Liancheng's interruption, Qin Yu no longer dwelled on Nie Yuxi's unusual demeanor.

Instead, he calmly awaited the start of the combat assessment.

Soon, with Zhao Yuanming entering the examination hall looking flustered, all two hundred eighty-plus, nearly three hundred candidates had arrived... accompanied by a familiar chime.

The combat assessment officially began.

The rules for the combat assessment were simple. First, a drawing system would be used within each 100 euler energy level range to determine the top performers at that level.

Then, these top performers from their respective energy levels would challenge losers from higher energy levels.

This would determine the combat rankings of all candidates.

To put it simply, after all the Examiners' scores yesterday, all candidates already had corresponding rankings based on their overall energy level, strength, speed, and spirit in the comprehensive evaluation.

Building on this ranking, every 100 euler was considered a tier or rank. Only by defeating the vast majority of people within that tier could one challenge a candidate in the next 100 euler tier.

If the challenge was successful, their own ranking would move above that candidate's! If the challenge failed, the ranking would not change.

Until the top twenty candidates were thoroughly decided among all participants.

Only then would the top twenty candidates begin a drawing system for random combat.

Of course, those below the 20th rank would still have one opportunity for a named challenge.

However, because most of these candidates outside the top 20 had already been defeated once before.

Therefore, free challenges could only be made against candidates in the top twenty.

Other candidates outside the top 20 were not within the challenge scope.

Although the process of this combat assessment rule might seem a bit cumbersome, it must be said that it was quite fair to every candidate.

Everything was decided by strength!

Even if some candidates had bad luck and performed poorly due to an accident in the preliminary rounds.

As long as they were truly strong enough, they could completely reclaim their rightful ranking in the subsequent free challenges.

And naturally, under these rules... Qin Yu, with an energy level as high as 5400 euler, and Nie Yuxi, with 3700 euler, were naturally in a state of constant bye in the preliminary rounds.

After all, in their respective energy level tiers... there was only one person each.

They could securely hold the first place in their respective energy level tiers without any combat.

Even after candidates in the later tiers determined their winners.

Not a single person was so foolish as to challenge these two SSS-rank Class Changer geniuses, who had a clear, unbridgeable lead over all other candidates.

Therefore, throughout the entire preliminary round, which lasted over three hours... Nie Yuxi and Qin Yu remained seated in the rest area.

They did not engage in any combat.

During this time, Lin Xueyue, who had reached the highest level among other candidates with 800 euler in yesterday's energy level test, went on stage and participated in two battles with two other candidates who also had 800 euler energy levels.

And relying on the agility of her S-rank rare class: Wind Mage, and high attack power, she easily secured first place at the 800 euler level.

It was only then that Qin Yu realized... Lin Xueyue's level had actually reached Level 13.

She could be considered the highest-level candidate among all participants, apart from him and Nie Yuxi.

Seeing this, after Lin Xueyue stepped down, Qin Yu half-jokingly said:

"So, if there are no surprises, among our Jiangzhou City candidates, you're most likely the third person after me and Xiaoyu."

"Want to try challenging us two?"

Of course, Lin Xueyue was clearly not one to be so oblivious.

Facing Qin Yu's teasing, she glanced at Qin Yu, then rolled her eyes dramatically, saying exasperatedly:

"One of you is 3700 euler, the other is 5400 euler. Am I crazy to challenge you two?"

"With my class, taking third place is good enough..."

"I hope one of the Four Great Academies will take an interest in me."

...And as the preliminary rounds, lasting over three hours, concluded.

The top 20 candidates among the more than two hundred candidates in Jiangzhou City were also announced!

Among them, besides Qin Yu, Nie Yuxi, and Lin Xueyue... there were quite a few "acquaintances" of Qin Yu from the Vanguard Class among these top 20!

Both Wu Wenbin and Zhao Yuanming successfully made it in.

Even a dark horse, Ning Qianqian, who had been inconspicuous in class for all three years of high school, entered the top 20 with an energy level of six hundred and something euler, among a group of candidates with six hundred eighty to ninety, seven hundred, or eight hundred euler.

She truly stood out from the crowd.

This surprised many Examiners and spectators present.

And although, as of yet, the two people everyone truly cared about, Nie Yuxi and Qin Yu, had not yet made a move.

The atmosphere in the examination hall still gradually heated up with hundreds of duels between Class Changers.

Among the candidates, some were extremely unwilling:

"Just a little bit more, I was clearly just a little bit more, and I could have gotten close to Zhao Yuanming himself. He's a Beast Tamer, and I'm a Berserker from the Martial Arts System. If I got close..."

"Isn't that a guaranteed loss for him?"

"At the last moment, that bastard actually hid a trump card, Position Swap."

"It infuriates me! If I had known his Beast Taming talent was that, how could I have lost?"

"I still have one free challenge opportunity later, I'm going to challenge Zhao Yuanming again! This time..."

"I can't possibly lose again!"

Others were completely convinced:

"Alas, the gap is too big. I thought my 590 energy level wasn't too far off from those with 600 euler."

"I didn't expect that even someone ranked at the bottom of the 600 euler tier could one-shot me."

"Forget it, that's how it is. With my class, this ranking in Jiangzhou City is acceptable. I can't dream of a First-Class Academy, but a Second-Class Academy should be possible."

Besides the candidates, the countless spectators outside the examination hall also became boisterous at this time.

In addition to witnessing the "style" of Jiangzhou City's top twenty in this year's College Entrance Examination, more importantly, they would finally get to see Qin Yu and Nie Yuxi in action in the upcoming final rounds:

"This is so exciting to watch, I feel like our Jiangzhou City is getting better and better!"

"This year's students are clearly a big step up from last year's."

"Last year's battles weren't nearly as good as this year's."

"Brother, great minds think alike! I watched last year's College Entrance Examination in its entirety, and honestly, the quality wasn't as high as this year's."

"Oh my god, the preliminary rounds are finally over. I knew I wouldn't see Nie Yuxi and Qin Yu in action for the first few hours."

"One of them is 3700, the other is 5400 euler. Which of those 800 euler candidates would dare to fight them in the preliminary rounds?"

"Finally, it's the final rounds! Haha, in the final rounds, if you're drawn, you have to fight whether you want to or not."

"Indeed, I've been waiting forever..."

""

The preliminary rounds ended, and the fifteen-minute break passed in a flash.

And with another chime resounding in the examination hall.

The finals also kicked off... And as luck would have it, in the first round, Qin Yu's drawn opponent was none other than Zhao Yuanming.