"Silence!"
A man wearing a cape stepped forward. "I am Zhou Weiping, the leader of the team of judges in the joint examination this time. Now, I shall announce the rules of the joint examination. Everyone, behave in a disciplined manner!"
Zhou Weiping's voice was loud and clear. Even without any voice amplification devices, his voice could be heard over the sound of the wind. It reached everyone's ears.
His aura was even more impressive as if he was Coach Xiong's Tyrant Bear. He intimidated everyone there right away.
Su Hao found him a little familiar to the eye. He seemed to have heard his name somewhere before as well.
After a moment of wondering, a name of great fame flashed across his mind—the Wave-Riding Heavenly King, Zhou Weiping!
'So it's him!'
A Heavenly King… in the flesh!
But was a small and unassuming joint examination like this enough to get a Heavenly King over? Were the schools that capable?
Su Hao wasn't sure.
In the vicinity, several visibly agitated students also recognized Zhou Weiping.
However, under Zhou Weiping's strong presence, they remained well-behaved and stood where they were, not daring to make any inappropriate actions.
Zhou Weiping began to announce the rules of the joint examination.
"At the start of the joint examination, everyone is to draw lots to determine their starting positions and enter the forest in batches from the 23 entrances south of the primordial area. Your mission is to arrive at the finishing point 80 kilometers away within three days…"
Su Hao understood now.
Like what they had predicted, it was a "survival in the wilderness" mission lasting three days.
However, towers would be set up in the primordial forest area to provide examination candidates with supplies. Everything was available there, including food and other necessities. The examination mainly assessed them on their battle capabilities and concealment tactics in a complex environment.
This was a test on the overall quality of the students!
This was much more difficult than in the past, where they needed only to exercise their mouth muscles and command the sprites on the battlefield!
Many of the students were sporting dreadful looks on their faces.
It had nothing to do with how strong or weak their sprites were. Just thinking about the fact that they had to travel such a long distance on foot already filled them with hopelessness.
But Zhou Weiping didn't let them off. He continued to speak.
"There are a large number of sprites that still retain their wild nature in the primordial forest area. Most of them are in their adulthood. Even though they have never undergone specialized nurturing, they possess a certain degree of battle power nonetheless. In addition…
"… there is a chance that there are entry-level sprites in the primordial forest.
"Other than wild sprites, all the other exam candidates are also your competitors. Defeating a sprite earns you 1 to 3 points while defeating a candidate entitles you to half of the points they have… Those who are unable to reach the finishing point within the stipulated time limit will receive the same treatment as those who are defeated and lose half of their accumulated points.
"Lastly, the number of points you have will determine your ranking. On behalf of the Green Blue Sprite Breeding Base, the top ten will receive a surprise reward from me!"
After saying that, Zhou Weiping paused for a moment before he then said, "Teachers, please distribute the joint examination equipment now."
After he finished, Su Hao discovered that Old Chen, his form teacher, was opening a box. Silver wristbands were lined up vertically inside.
"These are known as Defense Wristbands. They emulate Sprite Commandeering: Protection, and can form a light shield around the user and withstand attacks to a certain extent…" explained Zhou Weiping, who was standing a fair distance away.
His expression turned a little sterner as he said, "Let me remind you again—wild sprites will not be so foolish as to solely battle your sprites. The purpose of the Defense Wristbands is precisely to provide you with a means of protection.
"Similarly, the joint examination does not have any battle restrictions. You can also command your sprites to attack other students directly, and exhaust the energy in their Defense Wristbands.
"When the wristband's energy level is reduced to 50%, it will sound a warning. When it is reduced to 30%, it means that you've been defeated and eliminated. Related personnel will then bring you out of the examination venue.
"There is also a button on the wristband that you can press to call for help. Should any of you be unable to hang in there or meet with any danger, you can call for help. This will also be seen as elimination."
The rules could be said to be both complex and simple…
Su Hao concluded that in general, what they were supposed to do was to set off and head to the finishing point and defeat all the students and wild sprites they encountered along the way.
Yeap, that was right.
Su Hao put on the wristband. A thin light shield immediately appeared around him, as though isolating him from everything else in the surroundings.
At this point, Heavenly King Zhou Weiping reached the end of his instructions. "You can choose to form teams, with three in a team being the maximum. The points gained will be distributed evenly among the team. You can also choose to go solo… You have five minutes to confirm your teams and submit the name list."
When Heavenly King Zhou finished, Su Hao immediately felt gazes landing on him from all around.
Student A looked bashful.
Student B had a bright and intense look in his eyes.
Li Songting was staring at him.
Gu Lingyao also intended to form a team.
Liu Ren… merely felt intense pressure, as though a mountain pressing on him. Looking out there, everyone here was a competitor. "Old Su, Boss, don't abandon meeee…"
Su Hao stretched his arm out and interrupted Liu Ren, who was close to sobbing.
Then, he said something which disappointed all of them. "I'm going solo. All of you can do what you want."
"But I'd suggest that you team up with Li Songting and Gu Lingyao."
In the whole of An City First High, apart from himself, the three were the only presentable ones. The cultivation standards of their sprites were about the same, and they could even make up for each other's shortcomings. Thus, teaming up was the most appropriate choice of action.
As for himself?
Su Hao was gunning for the top three positions. Forming a team meant that the points would be evenly distributed, which would cut him off from the top three spots for sure.
Without any hesitation whatsoever, he chose to go solo.
A short while later, the entrances that the candidates were supposed to go to were determined. Su Hao was at Entrance 18, while Liu Ren and his team were at Entrance 11.
Under the lead of a Sprite Trainer judge, Su Hao and the other candidates that were supposed to go through Entrance 18 rode the tourist sightseeing vehicle to the corresponding location.
Groups of examination candidates entered in sequential order.
The interesting thing was that even though the entrance number was given out randomly, the sequence of students entering wasn't.
Weaker students went in first, while those whose sprites had a higher cultivation level, and those with good battle results, were placed at the back.
This sequence didn't differ much from the collector's edition intel report.
Su Hao was last in the sequence.
"Next, candidate Su Hao," said the expressionless judge.
Su Hao straightened his clothes. He brought his two sprites with him, got up, and headed toward the primordial forest.
After walking a short distance, when he looked out into the distance, what surrounded him were gigantic trees that were a few floors tall. Thick foliage blocked the sky from his view. Only specks of sunlight shone through the leaves.
"Is merely setting out ten minutes later enough to let everyone disappear from sight?"
He was also aware that the weaker candidates would definitely run away as fast as they could. Wild sprites were where regular candidates would be getting their points from.
Su Hao looked around him. He discovered some traces of footsteps.
But after inspecting them for a while, he realized that he didn't know how to track others down at all.
Su Hao asked Silkworm Baby, "Do you know how to?"
"Gurgle~ Gurgle, gurgle!"
"Oh right, I have to look for a supply point first… I remember supply points are towers, right…? Little Fire Crow!"
Little Fire Crow flapped its wings, weaved through the dense tree foliage, and flew upward.
Soon, it came back.
"Squawk."
Su Hao nodded and headed in the direction pointed out by Little Fire Crow.
…
Perhaps because he was still in the outer boundaries of the primordial forest, Su Hao only discovered one lonesome sprite even after walking for more than ten minutes.
He gently pushed the bushes apart.
"It's a Fluffy Ball, probably a wild sprite. Let's quietly circle to the back…"
Before he even finished, Silkworm Baby had already hurled a mini Energy Ball at it.
The table tennis ball-sized Energy Ball shot out with a whoosh and threw the Fluffy Ball out with a boom.
The silver wristband vibrated.
"+1 point."
Su Hao's forehead was covered with black lines. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Silkworm Baby's cries.
His gaze followed the direction where it was pointing, and he saw a white tower piercing through the tops of the trees in the distance.