Central Magic Academy, admissions committee, conference.
At the round-shaped table in the conference room, most of the committee members were smoking custom-made cigars. In the smoke-filled conference room, they were flipping through the complicated documents in their hands. From time to time, their phones would vibrate. The scene was extremely busy.
Every year, the list of "mage apprentices" was decided by this meeting that lasted for several hours.
Apprentices who passed the 650 mark threshold were generally guaranteed to pass, while those who had a political record would not have even qualified for the exam. The main agenda was to make out a "Priority list" from the accepted students, who would then be given special treatment. They would also make out an "Exceptions list" of the students who scored below the threshold.
Committee members were rotated every three years and each member held great power during their term. It was also not uncommon for the upper-class mage families to curry favor with them. It was a gilded position.
At this moment, the committee members were flipping through identical copies of the "examination papers", "Analysis Report of the Answers", "Personnel Records" and "Video Analysis Report".
Half an hour ago, these materials were urgently delivered as a last minute agenda.
On the big screen at the back of the room, a candidate in shackles was diligent writing the entire time. The only sound in the background was the scraping sounds of a pen.
The committee director took off his glasses and wiped them gently with a cloth. "What does everyone think about this?"
Sitting on the lower left side was a female mage who was the deputy director. She said conservatively, "He definitely passed, but the results of the analysis are too ridiculous. I suggest that he undergo another 'Mage Intelligence Level Test' after he enters the school. If he's indeed a genius, it will not be too late to give him special treatment then, or even double it."
The committee director nodded slightly in agreement. He had the same idea.
The reason why the list of "Mage Apprentices" had to be released immediately at midnight on the day of the examination was mainly because they were afraid that if they allowed for a delay in the release, the list might get inevitably leaked out and be subject to tempering by people with ulterior motives, speculators, or even powerful people behind the scenes.
"The grading department did not know the standard of this candidate and so misunderstood that he is a genius."
A newly promoted black-robed committee member seated toward the back objected loudly. "The candidate's file clearly listed the results of all his high school tests for the past three years. There were more than 30 tests in total and his average intelligence score was only 150 points. He only managed to score over 240 points once by a stroke of luck."
As he spoke, he tapped the table lightly with the Mont Blanc pen in his hand. "If the candidate scores more than 240 points this time, then I won't have any further objections. But this 400 points is a score that even you and I would find difficult to achieve! To put it bluntly, I suspect that some mage is secretly helping him."
The formerly-harmonious atmosphere in the meeting room instantly tensed.
It was an examination hall that was completely locked, covered up, with multiple cameras and human eyes watching. In addition, the candidate had been completely isolated and been under surveillance cameras the entire period leading up to the test. Only a mage could have performed such a tremendous deception and cheat secretly. This was also one of the ugly practices over the past years.
Apprentices with insufficient aptitude would most likely waste the resources invested to nurture them. But this didn't stop mages from secretly manipulating things to ensure their beloved children got enrolled.
But this accusation was too ridiculous.
The file of the candidate clearly stated the "death sentence" verdict for causing the death of a certain mage apprentice. But everyone at present knew very well the background of the deceased Luo Qi!
If a mage interfered and cheated, it would be interpreted as a declaration of war against the entire family clan.
The black-robed committee member continued to ask, "In fact, I feel that after the results of the admission are announced, we will need to conduct an overnight investigation. True gold doesn't fear fire. If this candidate had really blossomed in the face of death, we can still quickly make it up to him with extra preferential treatment the next day."
"In fact, to ensure fairness of the exam, I feel that it is necessary to apply for a mind-reading spell as an intervention method. I am sure even the candidate will agree to this measure to prove his own innocence."
"I agree."
"I think that's a good argument."
Committee member Lu raised his hand in approval. Since someone had taken the initiative to suggest measures, they were more than happy to go with the flow.
"Director, there are still a lot of issues to discuss tonight. Why don't we just take a vote?" the female deputy director suggested.
On the stage, the director smiled mysteriously. He looked at another newly-promoted committee member at the back. "Mo Feng, what do you think?"
The young mage Mo Feng sat up straight and nodded at everyone. He moved the mouse in his hand and brought the projector screen back to the first part of the answer sheet.
He said seriously, "I object to this. I believe that using violent interrogation methods might even end up destroying a genius. Everyone knows that the risk of mind reading spells is too high. A single mistake can cause permanent brain damage."
Ignoring the murmurs of the crowd, Mo Feng pointed at the projection screen. "Let's observe first. What did the candidate do after reading the first three questions?"
On the screen, Lin Qi had put his head in his hands and dropped his pen on the table.
When the committee members at the table saw this scene, they couldn't help but smile knowingly. Wasn't this the actions of a person unable to answer the questions? But right after thinking this, quite a number of the member's expressions changed slightly.
"Everyone saw it and understood. We could tell from his earlier expressions that he appeared to have an idea how to answer the first two questions. It was only when he read the third question that he seemed to have lost all hope. He knew that he come up with the answers."
"Especially when the candidate knows that if he doesn't get 400 points, he will definitely die. The next day, he will face the fate of being shot."
"Mm, but then? What does that mean?" The black-robed committee member asked.
Mo Feng smiled confidently. "If the candidate turns in a blank paper just like that, it would mean giving up and waiting for death. But on the contrary, the candidate suddenly came up with a strategy and words just flowed smoothly from his pen to paper. Even the video analysis report shows that other than the first minute spent reading the questions, the candidate did not stop writing for the remaining four hours."
The black-robed committee member sneered, "That's right, the flow was so smooth, as if he was copying from a standard answer."
"Committee member Mo Feng, we all know what you're talking about." The deputy director raised her eyebrows slightly.
Mo Feng could barely hold back his smile.
"That's right, but I would like to ask everyone here."
"If you can't achieve 400 points, you might be shot to death. Even if you have absolute confidence, would you only answer the first eight questions for 400 points?"
"If you were the mage who was helping him to cheat, would you dare to bet that your answers are perfectly correct? Or are you deliberately issuing a challenge? Or do you suspect the question setters?"
Everyone at the long table looked at each other.
Apart from the big shot who set the question, no one else would possess that confidence.
But suspecting her would be courting death. This was because she could settle this matter with a single word!
"Perhaps the candidate was just unable to complete the test in time?" The black-robed committee member continued to argue.
Mo Feng couldn't help but laugh. "Committee member Lu, you can take a closer look at the recording and analysis log. The candidate completed the eighth question with 48 minutes to spare. That's more than enough. However, he chose to go back and perfect the first question and add more solutions."
"Instead of bothering about those easy questions which would only give 20-30 points, he would rather continue thinking about the first question."
With that, he smacked the table.
"Geniuses bet on their confidence, but this candidate was betting on his life!"
"And what is your conclusion?"
Wearing the robe of a Great Mage and with a white beard, the Dean of the academy suddenly pushed open the door and asked.
Everyone at the long table immediately bowed and greeted the dean, who had the highest position in the council.
Mo Feng took a few deep breaths before saying slowly, "I suspect that when the candidate threw down his pen, he did not even know how to answer those three questions."
"Hmm?" The expressions of everyone changed slightly. They were quite puzzled.
But Mo Feng continued his surmisation, "But under the pressure of life and death, a miraculous change occurred!"
"I suspect that in that state, the candidate's brain went into a hyper-charged state, or rather, he evolved into a 'super-genius'. From there, the candidate will be able to solve any problem, reaching a stage where no one else has ever achieved! The existence of such a case has appeared in the academy's history."
"If we go interrogate him now without the pressure of death, it's very likely that he won't be able to replicate his peak state during the exam, so I don't think it's desirable."
The dean smiled and stroked his long beard. He turned and looked at the committee members at the long table. "What do you think?"
Everyone lowered their heads in unison. "We will listen to your guidance, great venerable one."
In fact, if committee member Mo Feng had brought up the historical case earlier, they would not have argued about it.
They wouldn't go wrong if they followed a precedent case.
Everyone was also thinking about which mage had such a similar situation.
And what was the eventual result?
Fifth-level? Seventh-level? Ninth-level?
The dean nodded. "Alright, then we'll execute it according to the academy's historical records. Anyway, there are still many opportunities to verify him after entering the academy. He's worth looking forward to…"
"Candidate: Lin Qi, to be inducted into the S-Class cultivation scheme. Distinctive feature: Tier 5 genius in Deduction and Computation. Special note: Triggered by high pressure."
At this moment, the secretary in the corner raised his hand in embarrassment. "Dean, non-verified tier 5 geniuses need clear historical references. Who should I fill in?"
Everyone at the long table was already shocked by his classification into S-Class and tier 5. They were even more astonished by the secretary's words.
The dean replied in a kindly tone.
"My late teacher, the legendary mage Quinn."