"Yuan Zi!"
A familiar voice came from behind.
Jiang Yuan turned his head and smiled.
"Hao Zi, you're here too."
Chen Hao walked over, spreading his hands and shaking his head: "I didn't want to come, but my dad insisted I experience the atmosphere of the College Entrance Exam, saying that youth should have no regrets."
He looked at his best friend with emotion: "But you... you've changed so much I almost don't recognize you. I saw you at Thunder Martial Hall last time, and I can't believe how strong you've become now. It's... it's..."
"It's really giving me a lot of face!! You guy! You're really awesome!!"
He finally couldn't hold back his excitement and rushed over, wrapping his arm around Jiang Yuan's neck.
"You don't know the looks those people at school gave me when they heard you were my brother."
"It was so cool!!"
Experiencing the familiar chokehold after a long time, Jiang Yuan's face was also full of smiles.
Indeed, no matter when, no matter how much has changed.
Friends are friends, they won't change.
Guan Xiaoxiao, not far away, secretly glanced at the two.
That Jiang Yuan, after so long, he didn't even come to say hello to her.
Hmph.
So what if he got stronger?
If you don't come to me, this Young Miss won't go talk to you either!
The tsundere girl thought to herself... On the other side, Lin Qingyan also saw Jiang Yuan. A dazzling starlight flashed in her ice-blue right eye, then disappeared.
"Already LV9, huh? Damn it, he's one level higher than me."
Lin Qingyan thought, annoyed, and the cold Qi she emitted grew even stronger, making the surrounding students look terrified and move further away from her.
"Jiang Yuan."
Teacher Zhang, the homeroom teacher, walked over, interrupting Jiang Yuan and Chen Hao's playful scuffle.
"Teacher Zhang."
Jiang Yuan stopped his playful scuffle with Chen Hao. He still held great respect for this homeroom teacher who had helped him considerably.
Teacher Zhang looked at him with a relieved smile: "Good, good, your Qi and bone structure are well-honed. And you know how to keep a low profile; you even fooled your teacher."
Jiang Yuan said, embarrassed: "Sorry, Teacher Zhang, it's just that my profession is indeed a bit hard to explain..."
Teacher Zhang waved his hand: "It's alright, it's alright, if it's hard to explain, then don't. I've always believed that knowing how to hide one's abilities when weak is an excellent quality. Knowing how to avoid danger is the only way to reach great heights and go far."
He stepped forward and patted Jiang Yuan's shoulder,
"Do your best in the College Entrance Exam today. I hope to see your name in the top hundred."
Jiang Yuan smiled and nodded.
Soon.
Xia Qinghou, Qin Nansun, Luo Xi, and other attention-grabbing Prodigies also arrived one after another.
Principal Principal Liu He appeared on the high platform to explain the exam and give a pre-exam speech.
"Today is the day of the College Entrance Exam, and it is also a crucial juncture that will determine your future direction."
"Three years of Cultivating for this very moment."
"Soon, you will receive a teleportation stone. After the magic array is activated, holding the teleportation stone will transport you to the examination venue, which is a small instance. Students from the entire Jiang Province will go there, and you will compete with students from other cities."
"In the instance, you need to survive for three days. You can form teams or go solo; everything depends on your strength and judgment."
"If you encounter life-threatening danger, crush the teleportation stone, and you will be teleported back to your original location."
"You can use equipped gear, but you cannot use items. There are no other restrictions. Please note, try to choose trustworthy teammates to avoid being eliminated by others."
"Killing Vicious Beasts or participating in their defeat will earn you points, and those with higher scores will achieve higher rankings."
"Students who rank in the top ten in the province in this College Entrance Exam will receive additional rewards issued by the Education Bureau. The top three will receive even more generous rewards, and the reward for the first place even makes me, the principal, quite envious, hahaha."
Principal Liu He said, laughing heartily.
The students on the playground were also excited by the news.
"Anything you obtain in the small instance is your spoils of war."
"The points from killing Vicious Beasts are extremely valuable; they can be exchanged for resources in advanced academies, worth more than money."
"Next, we will distribute the teleportation stones."
The Dean waved his staff, and countless teleportation stones glowing with white light fell from the sky, accurately landing in front of each student.
Jiang Yuan reached out to catch one; an extraordinary power surged within it.
"The upcoming trial is the most important exam of your student life."
"I wish you good luck."
Principal Liu He finished speaking.
A loud bell rang from the Martial Artist Association's clock tower in the distance, and a huge magic array appeared on the First High School's playground, forming a thick white beam of light that shot into the sky.
The Second High School, the Third High School... other Martial Dao high schools were all the same, with several white light pillars rushing towards the sky!
Everyone in the city looked up.
Some parents secretly prayed, hoping their children would achieve good results.
"Xiao Yuan, be careful." His aunt, Tao Yufeng, looked at the light pillar and said softly.
Jiang Damu, stationed outside the city, looked up at the sky and secretly prayed,
"Xiao Yuan, do your best..."
Not just Nanjiang City, but Beijiang City, separated by a river, was also the same, with several teleportation light pillars shooting into the sky.
If one looked down from high altitude over the Great Xia territory.
One would see white light pillars shooting up from the Great Xia map, an extremely spectacular sight!
Some terrifying existences opened their eyes and, just as they cast their gaze towards Great Xia, their vision was cut off. Several extremely majestic voices came from within Great Xia, spreading across the four seas.
"Do not cross the line!"
"Scram!"
"Those who dare to offend my Great Xia shall be killed without mercy."
"Look one more time, and I will annihilate your entire abyss clan!"
...Some terrifying existences retreated, letting out strange sneers before leaving.
In the unknown dark abyss.
A several-hundred-meter-tall, mountain-sized, one-eyed tentacle flesh mountain swayed its thousands of tentacles, emitting a strange, mentally polluting laugh like a baby's cry.
"Kukuku kukuku..."