Testing Building, Monitoring Room.
A dozen people—the provincial guild's examiner team, and official representatives from cities like Yunhua, Ancheng, and Pingcheng—were staring at the surveillance screens on the wall.
They displayed the exam site conditions.
In the spiritual power testing area, rows of crescent-shaped devices stood ready. Examinees only needed to stand on the circular pedal in the center of the crescent and wait for the indicator light to turn on.
Five seconds later, they could step off.
Students from each school and class lined up in order according to their admission ticket numbers. While waiting, proctors checked their ID cards and admission tickets. When their names were called, they directed their spirits forward for testing.
One by one.
The testing was very fast.
Spiritual power values were displayed in real time, recorded by the proctoring examiners and logged into the system.
Of course, all examinee spirits and spiritual power data during the process were backed up and retained for at least a year.
The test results brought joy to some and sorrow to others.
Those with spiritual power estimates below 96 were deeply disheartened.
But deep down, they had a sense of their spirits' cultivation level and had anticipated the results.
Only a few refused to accept it, causing a commotion. After being warned, the others fell completely silent.
…
Inside the monitoring room,
The examiner team and city officials glanced over briefly before shifting their attention elsewhere.
The power testing area.
That was where the year's top examinees were.
The head of the examiner team, a middle-aged man with an imposing presence, turned his head and asked, "How many official spirit masters are there in this year's Yunhua exam site?"
Standing beside the middle-aged man was the vice president of the Yunhua City Spirit Master Guild, a master-level spirit master.
He replied, "A total of 563 people, including 259 from Yunhua City, XX City…, 29 from Ancheng, 21 from Pingcheng…
"Senior spirit masters: 5 from Yunhua City, 1 from Ancheng…"
The examiner team head let out a surprised "Oh," looked at the Ancheng representative, and said approvingly, "Ancheng has done well this year. I hope you'll keep it up next year."
"Yes, Team Leader Chen."
Luo Jinghong, the vice president of the Ancheng Guild, nodded, unable to hide his delight.
"You all as well!"
The examiner team head looked at the representatives from each city. "In recent years, there have been breakthroughs in spirit nurturing techniques. The higher-ups are placing more and more importance on cultivating the new generation of spirit masters, allocating substantial funds each year. I hope you all use them where they're needed."
…
Power testing area.
Five attack strength testing machines were lined up in a row.
The machines were entirely black, bolted to the floor. At the very front of each machine was a target roughly the size of a single-person round table.
Embedded in it were certain crystals arranged in a circle.
Each machine was spaced ten meters apart.
About a dozen meters in front of the machines, a yellow line was drawn. The queue formed behind it, and when called, examinees stepped forward to have their spirits unleash their best moves.
Su Hao and the other Ancheng examinees were assigned to Machine No. 5.
It was in the middle section.
The order was: First High School students first, then other students from this year's cohort, followed by repeat students.
Among First High School students, they were sorted by class and student number.
Standing right behind him was Liu Ren, his chubby face barely hiding his nervousness.
"Old Su, Old Su, my Lava Turtle hasn't been tested in three days. I don't know if it's improved. It seems a bit carsick—what if its performance drops? What if…"
Su Hao's forehead was lined with exasperation.
You might as well set up a testing machine at home, right?!
Liu Ren wasn't the only nervous examinee.
The longer they waited, the more anxious they became, the more they fretted over gains and losses.
A single-point difference could sometimes mean the gap between getting into an ordinary university and a key one.
…
Time ticked by, second by second.
The proctor called out the names of examinees to step forward.
"Next, Xingyuan High School, Wang Hucheng, spirit: Fluff Monster…"
"Next, Xingyuan High School, Cheng Yan, spirit: Six-Winged Silk Moth…"
"Next, Xingyuan High School, Zheng Bo, spirit: Monstrous Strength Ape…"
With five machines, five examinees were tested simultaneously per batch.
Ahead of them on Machine No. 5 were students from the city where Xingyuan High School was located.
A pimply-faced boy directed his Monstrous Strength Ape forward.
The ape, over two meters tall with bulging muscles even its fur couldn't hide, pounded its chest with loud "Ahhh" cries and strode up to the testing target.
The pimply boy called out nervously, "Slow down, get ready first. Just like usual—use your most powerful Power Punch!"
The ape raised its arms, the angle between its forearms and upper arms steadily decreasing, causing the muscles to bulge high.
It performed a few bodybuilding stretches. As the proctor's face gradually darkened, the pimply boy quickly gave the order.
"Ahem, Power Punch, Power Punch!"
The ape, disappointed that no one appreciated its display, planted its feet, bent its arms, and a ring of earthy yellow light radiated from its fist, the size of a sandbag.
The light grew steadily brighter.
Finally…
It threw a punch, slamming into the testing target.
Boom!!!
The target trembled slightly. The energy in the fist was absorbed, and the intensity value was displayed.
"Ding—"
"155 Dang!"
The ape powered up again, throwing another punch and then another.
Scoring 154 Dang and 152 Dang.
"That's enough. Step down."
The proctor, seeing the ape about to strike another pose, quickly waved it off the field.
One by one, the examinees' spirits stepped up for testing.
Su Hao spotted Bing Ning and Lin Mingzheng.
Both of their spirits had already evolved.
Bing Ning's Emperor Seal condensed three ice spikes in front of it. The spikes spun in a triangular formation, accelerating rapidly.
The three spikes seemed to merge into one as they suddenly shot forward.
Boom!!
The shattered spikes emitted a visible, bone-chilling cold.
The biting air hit the front-row examinees, making them shiver violently.
The cold was quickly absorbed by the testing machine.
The power value kept climbing, eventually settling at 998 Dang.
Lin Mingzheng's Clockwork Golem, resembling a child, formed a dark gold orb between its palms.
This was a metal-type energy ball.
The orb gradually expanded, sprouting countless spikes. In an instant, the entire orb turned into something like a hedgehog, which the golem hurled forward.
—Both spirits were using enhanced moves!
A piercing hum spread out.
A burst of golden light flared.
The testing machine's target vibrated intensely, causing even the ground to tremble slightly.
The value jumped rapidly.
Five hundred, six hundred…
Finally settling at 1024 Dang!
Countless examinees gasped in shock.
Inside the monitoring room, the examiner team head nodded slightly. "Not bad."
Yunhua City had depth; every year, it produced two or three very promising examinees.
But he wouldn't hold back his praise because of that.
After the test,
Lin Mingzheng led his Clockwork Golem to the back.
His gaze swept toward the Ancheng queue, lingering for a long time on Su Hao and the Dream Moth perched atop his head.
'During the joint exam, we never got a chance to face off directly. Now… let me see the Dream Moth's true strength!'
He mused silently.
After a wait,
It was finally Su Hao's turn to step forward.
The Dream Moth flew past the yellow line, hovering in midair.
Su Hao looked at the machine ahead, thought for a moment, and said to the little one, "Use an energy ball. Don't put too much power into it."
After all, 600 Dang was a perfect score.
"Guno~!"
The Dream Moth nodded.
In an instant, a soccer-ball-sized emerald green energy ball formed in front of it and shot out with a whoosh.
The energy ball, which didn't seem particularly imposing, slammed into the machine's target.
The energy within exploded at once.
Amid the roar,
The target shook violently.
Ripples of residual force swept outward like a gale.
The climbing value suddenly stopped, and the entire display screen went black.
An abnormal sound came from the machine.
Wisps of black smoke rose.
The machine… was wrecked!