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Shen Yi wasn't surprised by the students' reactions below her.
"According to the academy's regulations, ten students must be eliminated each academic year. After this final exam, five of you will be eliminated," Shen Yi said sternly.
Xu Yuan raised his hand.
"Teacher, is there any way for everyone to pass?"
Tang Wulin turned around. He had just thought of the same question, but since he wasn't the class monitor, he didn't have the motivation to bring it up.
He never expected that Xu Yuan, who was usually busy with cultivation and rarely appeared in class, would show such a sense of responsibility.
He actually cared about his classmates.
Shen Yi looked at Xu Yuan and nodded with a smile. "Of course."
Her tone was light as she explained the academy's assessment system.
"Based on your performance throughout the first semester and your upcoming final exam results, we'll assign your final scores. The bottom five students with the lowest scores will be eliminated. However, there's also a passing score—sixty points. If all of you reach the passing line, then no one will be eliminated. But next semester, the passing score will increase by five points."
Upon hearing this system again, Xu Yuan couldn't help but frown.
He could understand that this was meant to put pressure on the students.
The mechanism Shen Yi described was stressful but also offered hope.
No one had to be eliminated!
The so-called elimination of ten students wasn't a rigid condition. As long as one was sufficiently outstanding, they wouldn't be eliminated just because they were at the bottom of this cohort.
Even if someone ranked at the bottom of this year's cohort but surpassed the middle level of last year's cohort, they could still stay in Shrek's Outer Court.
"Students who score above the passing line can transfer their extra points to those who don't meet the requirement. However, I must remind you that your chances of entering the Inner Court in the future depend on your annual exam scores. If you give away your points now, it will become much harder for you to enter the Inner Court later, and you might even lose the opportunity entirely."
With Shen Yi's explanation, Xu Yuan felt no pressure.
If one had sufficient talent, all these conditions and assessments were meaningless.
Even if he barely passed the exams with the minimum score every time, it wouldn't affect his chances of entering the Inner Court.
But among the students, only Xu Yuan had this kind of confidence.
Even Wu Siduo felt some pressure.
To enter the Inner Court, the minimum standard was becoming a One-Word Battle Armor Master before the age of twenty-five. This required passing an evaluation and being selected based on past academic performance. The most promising candidates typically achieved this by the age of twenty-two—but only if their performance remained consistently excellent.
If one gave away their points to others, the requirements would become increasingly demanding.
Xu Yuan nodded.
He stood up.
Shen Yi and Wu Zhangkong watched him closely but didn't stop him.
"Since there's a chance for everyone to continue studying in the Outer Court, as the class monitor, I naturally hope that every student in our class can stay."
"For the first assessment, the passing score is sixty points—the easiest to achieve. If everyone in the class reaches this level, I can guarantee that in future assessments, even if the passing score increases by five points each time, you'll still have a chance to meet the goal collectively."
"Because, if the entire class stays, I can guarantee that for everyone, any Thousand Refinements Grade-One metal needed for crafting battle armor will be provided promptly. Of course, the materials will need to be purchased by yourselves or bought through the association. As for the forging fee, I'll only charge half of the standard association rate."
Shen Yi and Wu Zhangkong's eyes narrowed as they scrutinized Xu Yuan.
Was this really necessary?
For the sake of ensuring that no one from his class was eliminated during his term as monitor, Xu Yuan was making a significant commitment.
After all, there were more than a hundred students in the class. The cost of crafting battle armor for so many people was enormous. Each set of battle armor required at least eleven pieces of Thousand Refinements Grade-One metal—and that was assuming a 100% success rate.
In reality, achieving a 100% success rate was impossible. Even after accounting for improvements in skill, the overall average success rate for crafting battle armor was less than 50%—and that was for top-tier students.
For those dealing with higher-difficulty battle armor, the success rate might drop below 30%.
This meant that each person would need twenty to thirty pieces of Thousand Refinements Grade-One metal.
For a hundred students, that amounted to two to three thousand pieces!
Forging ten pieces per day would take an entire year of continuous work.
The effort required was immense.
"Of course, this is a massive undertaking. In truth, I'd prefer it if you all helped each other. After all, we do have several students in our class capable of Thousand Refinements Grade-One forging."
Tang Wulin's lips twitched, sensing something ominous.
"Wulin, your forging rank is Level Five. You should be able to handle Thousand Refinements Grade-One relatively easily, right?"
Xu Yuan smiled warmly at him.
Tang Wulin opened his mouth to say something but ultimately remained silent.
What could he say?
His expression, however, revealed his internal conflict.
Why should he do something without any benefit to himself?
If he were the class monitor, it might make sense—but he wasn't.
"Fine. If anyone needs Thousand Refinements Grade-One metal, they can come to me," Tang Wulin reluctantly conceded under the gaze of so many classmates.
After all, he was still the vice-class monitor.
Since Xu Yuan, as the class monitor, had taken the lead and made this offer, it would be awkward for him not to follow suit.
Besides, although the forging fee was reduced by half, it didn't significantly impact him.
At the start of the school year, he had been desperate for contribution points because he couldn't get enough food. But with long-term meal tickets secured, he was no longer as obsessed with contribution points.
As for Xu Yuan using his efforts to do favors for others, Tang Wulin accepted it.
He considered it an indirect repayment for the fusion technique Xu Yuan had traded with him earlier.
In his heart, Tang Wulin had always felt that he had gotten the better end of that deal, while Xu Yuan had been at a disadvantage. Therefore, he harbored no resentment about this situation.
Moreover, thanks to Xu Yuan's arrangements during the exchange matches, Tang Wulin had successfully pushed for Spirit Forging and obtained a valuable piece of titanium alloy.
Though it had all been part of Xu Yuan's planning, Tang Wulin had undeniably reaped tangible benefits.
In the end, helping classmates wasn't necessarily a bad thing, was it?
Xu Yuan nodded respectfully to the two teachers and sat down slowly.
Shen Yi smiled and said, "Since your class monitor has spoken, I hope none of you will disappoint his expectations."
"Sixty points—you all have a chance to achieve it."
Her gaze swept across everyone, filled with certainty.
"You all have a chance to achieve it."
"It all depends on your performance in this assessment!"
At this moment, Wu Zhangkong stepped forward and took over from Shen Yi, beginning to explain the details of the assessment.
"The format of this assessment is simple. You have fifteen days. Within those fifteen days, you must travel to Mingdu, passing through at least ten cities, including Mingdu."
"In each city, you must defeat an opponent whose cultivation level is at least five ranks higher than yours. During this process, no external assistance is allowed."
"How to find opponents, how to defeat them, and how to reach Mingdu—all of this is up to you to figure out."
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