Chapter 80: Chapter 78: Starry Sky Free-for-All
Inside the hotel room.
"Swish~!"
Jiang Ye suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.
He was drenched in sweat.
"Huff! Huff!"
He was panting heavily.
"Had a nightmare again." Jiang Ye held his head, his face looking somewhat terrible.
In the past six months, he hadn’t slept at all.
Every night, he spent his time in the Martial Arts Celestial Ladder.
This time, because he was too exhausted, he fell asleep right after getting on the vehicle.
Unexpectedly, in this sleep, Jiang Ye once again dreamt of the scene he frequently saw in his dreams before.
The man who seemed to be his biological father, holding him and walking towards a magnificent palace.
On the plaque of the palace, the words ’Star Sea Divine Path’ were engraved.
The scene shifted, he was abandoned at the gate of the palace, swallowed by endless darkness...
"Why do I dream of this whenever I sleep?"
Jiang Ye gradually calmed down, pondering: "Star Sea Divine Path, what kind of place is that?"
Could it be that his biological father encountered something there?
In the depths of his memory, there seemed to be an obsession that constantly guided him, urging him to explore the answers there.
Soon, Jiang Ye stopped thinking about it.
He stood up, checked the time on his watch.
Eleven o’clock at night.
"I actually slept for 23 hours this time." Jiang Ye smiled.
"Hmm?"
Just then, his expression changed slightly, and he looked at his panel.
A system message appeared.
[You have achieved a new achievement: Slaying over two thousand members of the Demon Path, exorcising evil and defending the path, gaining great fame!]
[Unlock title: Exorcising Evil and Defending the Path]
[Reward: Obtain level 1 [Prosperous Fortune], slaying demons is an act in accordance with the heavenly path, your fortune has slightly improved]
——
"Prosperous Fortune? Fortune improvement?"
Jiang Ye looked at this reward, his gaze curious.
"Level 1 Prosperous Fortune?" He looked at the panel, thoughtfully: "Could it be that by continuing to slay the Shadow Race, my fortune will increase?"
However.
Things like fortune are even more elusive than Martial Arts Will.
Jiang Ye checked himself and didn’t feel much change.
Looking in the mirror, it seemed he just became a bit more handsome.
"Better than nothing." Jiang Ye shook his head slightly, unconcerned.
He went to the bathroom and enjoyed a comfortable shower.
Then, he went downstairs for a hearty meal and quickly returned to his room.
Started cultivating the Star Martial Advancement Technique.
"Hmm?" A trace of surprise flashed in Jiang Ye’s eyes: "Nearly ten thousand strands of Star Energy, all depleted."
The continuous battles over the past five days.
The nearly ten thousand strands of Star Energy stored in the Guanyuan Acupoint had been completely exhausted.
"I’ll have to replenish it during the next Star Sky Refinement." Jiang Ye shook his head slightly.
Also unconcerned.
Lack of Star Energy does not affect the cultivation of the Advanced Technique.
"The upcoming special assessment, to enter the top three, the difficulty might not be small." Jiang Ye’s self-awareness was clear.
Whether it’s Su Tong’Er or Wanyao Yang, their talent and strength far exceed his.
And those college students close to the Second Break, needless to say, their combat experience is certainly above his.
Want to defeat these people? Very difficult.
Even though Jiang Ye had many buffs, he also found it troublesome.
Moreover...
"Tomorrow, the Examination Bureau will suppress everyone to the same level."
"I wonder if the effect of hitting a stone with an egg will still work then?" Jiang Ye thought to himself.
Hitting a stone with an egg allows him to gain extraordinary combat power when facing opponents stronger than himself.
This is also the reason he can defeat stronger foes.
Without this effect? Jiang Ye might not achieve much advantage.
Soon, Jiang Ye shook his head: "No matter."
He dared to face the strength of his opponents, but he wouldn’t belittle himself either.
Only by facing the gap and striving to catch up.
This is the path of powerhouses.
Jiang Ye closed his eyes, immersing himself in cultivation.
Time slowly passed by.
[Star Martial Advancement Technique: Entry (45％→46％)]
On the Grounded Martial Arts achievement panel, a hint quietly flashed by.
...
The next day.
Jiang Ye arrived early at the Examination Bureau hall to wait.
Eight o’clock in the morning.
All those who were not eliminated had arrived.
Jiang Ye looked around, only to see that in the large hall, there were only less than two hundred candidates left.
"A thousand candidates, over eight hundred were eliminated." Jiang Ye looked around.
Clearly, not everyone, like him, slaughters the Shadow Race as easily as cutting vegetables.
The difficulty of killing 1000 Shadow Race members in five days is definitely not small.
Without a doubt.
Those who can complete the task and gather here are all true elites.
"Brother Jiang." Lin Yushu, with a large head and pockmarked face, came over.
"Brother Lin." Jiang Ye nodded at him, just about to speak.
Suddenly, a purple figure flashed by and appeared in front of Jiang Ye.
"Hmm? You two actually stayed."
A cute girl in a purple dress and snow-white thin stockings looked at Jiang Ye and Lin Yushu in surprise.
It was Su Tong’Er.
Lin Yushu instinctively looked at her white silk legs, staring intensely.
Jiang Ye laughed and said, "Just luck."
"Luck?" Su Tong’Er tilted her head curiously.
Suddenly, she giggled, walked up, and whispered, "I hope you can keep having such luck, like...encountering me."
Su Tong’Er looked at Jiang Ye and licked her delicate little tongue.
She really wanted to experience...the feeling of stepping on this handsome face!
She showed a slight mischievous smile, then abruptly turned her head and shouted at Lin Yushu, "What are you looking at! Believe it or not, I’ll really stomp you to death!"
"Pardon me." Lin Yushu smiled slightly, with a look of a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.
"Hmph."
Su Tong’Er snorted coldly and walked away with her hands behind her back.
"She really is a witch..." Jiang Ye watched her depart and shook his head.
Then, he looked at Lin Yushu beside him, thinking to himself, "It seems only Lin Yushu’s kind of magic can fight magic."
"Whoosh!"
Just then, a woman in a black cheongsam, with quite a sizzling figure, appeared on the platform ahead.
"Congratulations to the 190 candidates who passed the kill task assessment."
Tang Huochan’s voice was magnetic as she said:
"The preparatory Star Profession special assessment is divided into two major items."
"First item, Primordial Training Assessment."
"Second item, Starry Sky Chaos Battle."
Tang Huochan’s voice, though light, clearly resonated across the venue: "The first assessment will eliminate 100 people."
"The remaining 90 candidates will enter the Starry Sky Chaos Battle."
"These 90 individuals will enter the virtual starry sky, and everyone’s realm will be adjusted to Star Martial Cultivation Technique Perfection."
"Thirty people per group, determining the three strongest through mixed battles within the group."
"The final winners will be the ones ultimately admitted!" Tang Huochan announced loudly.
Whoa~
As the words fell.
The venue instantly erupted into a commotion.
Many showed expressions of surprise.
"This time it’s not a tiered elimination?"
"In previous years, it gradually determined the top fifty, top ten, even top three, why has it changed this year?"
The crowd was very surprised.
Jiang Ye also felt incredibly surprised upon hearing these discussions.
"The elimination system changed to group mixed battles?" Jiang Ye’s eyes flickered.
This news might be good for him!
With elimination, only defeating all opponents allows reaching the end.
But group mixed battles? Lots of room for maneuver.
"Suddenly changed the rules this year?" Jiang Ye was increasingly surprised listening to the chatter.
Why change so drastically out of the blue?
Suddenly, he thought of the ’Prosperous Fortune’ he gained earlier.
Jiang Ye shook his head slightly: "This shouldn’t be related."
Increasing a bit of fortune can change the Federation exam rules?
What a joke!
...
Meanwhile.
Tang Huochan looked at the commotion below, not surprised in the least.
She thought to herself, "The Federation had already changed the assessment rules years ago and tested them in major first-tier cities."
Rule changes like this generally proceed step by step, not done everywhere simultaneously.
Cyan Yang City followed relatively late.
But last night, Director Li received an order from above, instructing them to test the new plan in this assessment.
Changing from a tiered elimination to a group mixed battle.
Tang Huochan really appreciated the new rules.
"These three strongest positions were predetermined during the kill task."
Five days of slaughter.
Whose performance was best? Obvious at a glance.
Who are the three strongest? The higher-ups selected them early and chose the best.
The so-called group mixed battle wasn’t random grouping either.
Instead, the three strongest were placed in three groups.
The purpose of this is to see if these three strongest can defeat the other 29 people.
If they can, then their treatment is enhanced.
If not, they can still be shortlisted based on the situation.
"I wonder how those three performed?" Tang Huochan was very much looking forward to it.
Then, without pause.
She looked below and loudly declared, "I announce, preparatory Star Profession special assessment begins now!!"