Although the education center appeared to be a gathering place for intellectuals, the likes of Elder Zhang Ruolang and her peers were once formidable practitioners of the arcane arts, rising to the top through various rigorous exams and fierce competition. As such, this training center spanned a vast area. The announcement before the exam revealed no specific details about the test environment, only stating it would take place within the center. Yao noticed that the children of bureaucratic families seemed especially confident, likely because of their privileged backgrounds and their familiarity with the place from a young age.
However, Yao suspected that the exam's setting had been modified, and that the broadcast's mention of exploring the exam content on one's own was a hint…
As she entered the gate, Yao quickly surveyed the space, spotting colorful advertisements on the walls. These ads were as strange as they were varied, offering everything from sausages and mining robots to blood pressure medication, bread, bagpipes, and even posters for the movie Era X. On the opposite side, she noticed numbers: 4000, 2600, 500, 320,000, 600, alongside posters showing various figures.
"That must mean the scene is 4000 meters long, 2600 meters wide, 300 meters high, covering an area of 320,000 square meters, with a depth of 600 meters. The figure placements likely indicate the locations of the meditation devices."
"But something doesn't quite add up. The area of 320,000 doesn't match a flat surface area or a cubic volume, and there are only 24 people in the posters, yet 1500 devices are mentioned. Could I be mistaken?"
Lost in thought, Yao noticed three branching paths ahead—clearly, they had to choose which sector to enter.
Then she saw Blue Ice standing still, clearly waiting for someone. His refusal to move made others hesitate as well, fearful they might become his targets.
How shameless!
Yao sighed and approached him. "Blue brother, waiting for someone?"
She discreetly activated her amplifier.
Blue Ice raised an eyebrow and coldly replied, "You."
Yao smirked. "I don't love you, so give up."
Blue Ice blinked in confusion.
Without hesitation, Yao swiftly took the middle path, and Blue Ice immediately followed.
"Running away? Do you think I can't catch you?" he spat.
But in the next moment, Yao veered off down the left path and, in a loud voice, called out, "Blue Ice, if you have the guts, come and chase me, but I, Ouxi, am not someone you can get by pestering me endlessly—unless you can pin me down."
Her voice echoed, drifting out and reaching the waiting area, where many parents and teachers exchanged puzzled looks.
Then they whispered among themselves, while the Blue family's members turned purple with fury.
This shameless Ouxi!
The vice minister shook his head, his face filled with awkwardness. He glanced at Zhou Linlang, who wore an expression of restrained discomfort. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Thank goodness his own child wasn't like this, and he murmured, "Xiao Zhou, I suppose you've never seen such a reckless child in Beruk?"
"Well... no, I haven't," Zhou Linlang replied, somewhat perplexed. She checked her communicator and saw a certain photo.
The girl's eyes reflected a sense of numbing oppression from life, but there was no denying her beauty—a melancholy, wearied kind of beauty. If she were mixed with someone like Ouxi, the contrast would be jarring.
Unless DNA evidence pointed to something clear, she might have doubted her judgment.
Perhaps that girl harbored a rebellious, shameless side deep inside?
Blue Ice had intended to pursue, but upon hearing Yao's amplified words, he realized the crowd outside must have overheard. He gritted his teeth in frustration but, ultimately, refrained from chasing her.
Yao walked slowly down the left path, knowing full well he wouldn't follow. She had seen this side of aristocratic children in the most distinguished families—especially those with inheritance rights—who were deeply concerned about their reputation. Given that Blue Ice had yet to escape the scandal, and knowing how easily rumors could twist into accusations of dragon-loving tendencies, it was simply unwise for him to chase her down, as it would tarnish his name.
Thus, Blue Ice could only storm down the middle path, his face a dark mask of anger.
Those watching this scene saw the others gravitate toward the left or right paths, avoiding the center.
Ah Qi glanced at Yao's retreating figure, hesitated for a moment, and followed her. Meanwhile, Jian Feilan and his friends exchanged looks. The usually mild-mannered Xu Yi joked, "Exams are ruthless. If I've been playing the fool all along, I'll just take you both out and call it a day."
Jian Feilan rolled his eyes. "You're just full of it. If anyone's going to drag you both down, it'll be me, so consider yourself lucky."
But Chen Mofei disagreed. "Keep an eye on Zhang Jun and the others. We've only ever seen their rankings in the top thirty, but after this cheating scandal, we've suffered. Blue Ice and the Lin siblings have climbed up, yet Zhang Jun's scores seem normal. It's clear they weren't eager to gain an advantage in the theory exam."
Jian Feilan furrowed his brow, beginning to understand. "You mean they're confident in their arcane skills, so they didn't feel the need to risk anything in the theory exam?"
Chen Mofei's perspective was cautious yet sharp. "Did you think they couldn't figure out the patterns of the test? They didn't cheat because they didn't need to. It's obvious their choice was right—being conservative can be an advantage. They're confident because they likely have other strengths. Both meditation and micro-manipulation tests are based on individual aptitude. But placing us all in such a large, interactive environment creates potential interference. I think it's better if we stick together, unless you feel confident enough to dominate alone."
Confident?
They certainly weren't. They had no idea which of their past competitors were hiding arcane abilities. After all, every year, there were countless dark horses in the exams.
"Then we'll stick together."
The trio altered their strategy and chose the first sector of the right path.
It wasn't fear of Blue Ice, but concern about the influence of his family, particularly Blue Xuanyu, whose position and resources were powerful enough that if he gave Blue Ice a trump card, they wouldn't be able to handle it. It was simply not worth the risk in the second phase of the exam.
The Lin siblings also opted for the first sector of the right path, and the others scattered in various directions.
By now, the exam had already begun, coinciding with the workday for many parents, but few were leaving as several were still on the phone requesting time off.
The vice minister, hesitant, was a good father who cared deeply for his child but didn't want to leave his post… As he wavered, one of his subordinates gently spoke, "I've finished my tasks, and I'm entitled to a three-day break. Since I find this exam quite intriguing, I'd rather stay and observe. Could you approve my leave?"
The vice minister instantly understood, secretly admiring the young woman's cleverness, knowing why she had done so well in the Economic Department. He readily agreed, "Alright, I'm heading back. Xiao Zhou, let me know if you discover anything interesting here."
As he left, Zhou Linlang sat down, sipping water while keeping an eye on the exam scenes on the screen. Her gaze was not fixed on one individual but wandered across the room, though her thoughts were clearly focused on her communicator, where a new message had appeared.
"The person you asked me to look into… I was curious about why you were interested in this boy. Now it seems he's no simple character. Look at these photos."
At the Blue family's side, confusion lingered, but a young man in his thirties, with fair skin and a small mustache, suddenly walked up to them and said calmly, "The last advertisement shows a figure standing in position 7, but the staircase represents number 8. There are a total of 12 floor panels, and the chandelier in the ceiling has a white tiger totem, which symbolizes the zodiac. This corresponds directly to the White Tiger constellation in meditation astrology, where the seventh and eighth sectors contain 1600 star coordinates. Of these, 1500 correspond to the meditation device locations. While there may be some errors, only 100 positions are wrong, which shouldn't be hard to cross-check. This section of the exam tests their grasp of meditation astrology."
Who is this person?
Several members of the Blue family stood up and greeted him respectfully, calling him "Third Master." He seemed to be the younger brother of the Blue family patriarch, a former genius who, however, didn't inherit the leadership position of the family.
While the Blue family wasn't devoid of talent, some were well-educated but…
"1600 coordinates? Who could possibly memorize all of them?"
The Third Master replied, "Not many can remember all of them, but knowing a portion of them is enough to locate one device. The four-hour window is for them to allocate their time. From finding the device to meditation and then micro-manipulation, how they distribute their time to maximize their score depends entirely on them."
"This year's exam seems to be screening out the unqualified," Blue Third Master added thoughtfully, before turning away from the family and heading toward the second floor.
"Linlang, long time no see."
Zhou Linlang, who had been chatting with someone on her communicator, turned at the sound and immediately recognized the man as Blue Luoqi, another official from the Beruk Economic Department. She greeted him calmly, neither too warmly nor coldly.
Why hadn't he succeeded the patriarch? Because he had to enter the Economic Department, and at times, the Economic Department clashed with the influence of large families. He could only choose one path—patriarch or department official.
Blue Luoqi asked, "Would it be convenient to sit down?"
Zhou Linlang smiled politely. "Recently, my family's been trying to arrange a marriage for me. It might not be convenient to talk. It could affect both our reputations—people talk."
"I understand," Blue Luoqi replied, his eyes flashing slightly before he moved to a distant spot and sat down.
Nearby, despite the Teng family's disastrous performance in the exam, some members were observing. They quickly passed the information to the Teng patriarch.
After seeing the photo of Blue Luoqi and Zhou Linlang, the Teng patriarch sneered.
"Blue family really is greedy. The son's going into the military, the younger brother's in the Economic Department, but that's not all… It seems Zhou Linlang was reassigned to our Jingyang area, and although Blue Luoqi didn't replace her directly, her subordinates were severely oppressed. The likely culprits are Blue Luoqi's faction."
However, compared to the widespread influence of the Blue family, the Teng and Xie families were relatively weak in this area.
"Zhou Linlang is no simple figure. If she returns, Blue Luoqi is done for," the Teng patriarch mused.
As he spoke with his elders, he remarked, "If I were Blue Luoqi, I'd definitely prefer not to let her return easily."
The elder asked, "Would he dare?"
The Teng patriarch replied with a cold smile, "He wouldn't dare, but there are many people who want Zhou Linlang dead. I'd rather see them fight it out—two lose, one wins. As for Blue Xuanyu, how's the situation with him? We need to make sure his path to the military is blocked, or we'll have nothing left to live for."
The elder nodded, "It's already been arranged, but patriarch, Blue Ice found the device."
The Teng patriarch turned and saw Blue Ice had indeed located the device first. However, what happened next was shocking.
Blue Ice smashed the device in an instant.
The Teng patriarch's face changed slightly.
At the same time, many people watching from the outside also wore startled expressions.
Zhou Linlang looked up, her arms crossed. Her first thought was that communication devices were prohibited inside the exam area. Someone must have guided Blue Ice in advance.
It was Blue Xuanyu.
The Blue family's heir was certainly extraordinary, but he couldn't have connected with the national-level education department's exam creators and received the test content ahead of time. Instead, it seemed that he had deduced the style of this year's test from the theoretical exam.
The first stage had tested arcane knowledge, while the second tested the practitioner's arcane aptitude in the field. It was essentially a double-layered test, designed to eliminate the unqualified ones who relied solely on resources and experience.
Moreover, since the Education Department had already locked onto the meditation theme early on, it wasn't surprising that Blue Xuanyu had prepared his younger brother by teaching him astrology in advance. Memorizing the positions of all 24 constellations would have been impossible, but this year's White Tiger year made the task much more manageable.
Blue Xuanyu had simply provided his brother with a focused study guide.
Meanwhile, in the third exam area, Yao had already memorized the 1600 coordinates in her mind.
The reason she could recall so many coordinates was that she had been working on a meditation doll project recently. As an alchemist, it was one of the highest-level professions, requiring an enormous amount of knowledge. While she was just a small part of it, she needed to master astrology to craft the meditation dolls and mark the star coordinates on them. Although she had failed multiple times, she had prepared for this in advance.
Thus, finding a device wasn't hard.
Near the creek, under the dense water plants, Yao dove into the water. She quickly found the cold device beneath.
Should she smash it?
If she destroyed it, it would eliminate the meditation opportunity for others, but it also felt morally wrong.
At that moment, many students, including Ouxi, were seen finding their devices.
"His character is so bad, maybe he's just as ruthless as Blue Xingfang," someone whispered.
"Definitely."
"See? She'll destroy it. After all, she already used the life of that driver."
But the next moment, Ouxi didn't destroy the device. Instead, she activated it and entered the device, her body being enveloped.
They fell silent and quickly changed their tune, now muttering that she was just worried she wouldn't find the next device.
However, when Yao entered the device for testing, the screen shifted.
Zhou Linlang glanced at the rankings. There were only a few names on the leaderboard in the second stage exam since most students had yet to start meditation, but some had already begun, with their scores climbing slowly.
Low on the list, at 9th place, was Ouxi.
"Second Young Master! It's the second young master!"
The Xie family members were also present, though the Teng family had been wiped out. The Xie family still had one second young master to cheer for, and it would be inappropriate not to watch.
However, Second Young Master's ranking was rather embarrassing—1299th.
Fortunately, the second stage results were still hopeful. With a jump, he rose to 9th place!
But… his score was only 0.1 points.
Compared to the others, who scored several points or even ten points right away, that 0.1 seemed... pitiful.
"Must be some device malfunction," the Xie family guards muttered.
But Zhou Linlang had a bad feeling.
Could it be that this person's meditation skills were worse than her theoretical exam?
Yao, though, wasn't surprised. Her meditation aptitude had always been poor, and she knew that to rank higher, she would have to destroy several devices. The four-hour window wasn't even enough for her to waste time.
She gave up on meditation, realizing the futility of it. But now, her issue was that both the theoretical test and meditation skills were her worst scores, and her chances were slim.
"Is meditation everything? No, the heavens may have closed one door, but they haven't closed all of them. There's always another path," Yao thought, recalling one of the advertisements.
It was a small line at the bottom of a flour ad, but it was a hint.
It was a subtle reminder from the Education Department.
Meditation wasn't everything. Micro-manipulation could also be a way out. With four hours of free control, if meditation aptitude was poor, one could spend the time on micro-manipulation instead.
Scores were unlimited.
Understanding this, Yao immediately stopped her meditation and exited the creek, thinking about what the micro-manipulation test would entail. But before she could think further, her heightened senses detected a presence nearby…
She quickly jumped out of the water and was followed by a large, yellow duck.
Chapter 51: Judgment by Fire
"His meditation aptitude is already proven to be poor, but his rapid improvement in scores, reaching 90 points in no time, can only mean one thing: he's excelling in micro-manipulation. Is it really that easy to score points in micro-manipulation?"
Some people, noticing the change in his meditation scores, decided to head out immediately. Luckily, one of them encountered a duck right away.
Ha!
The man was thrilled, raising his hand to attack, only to… be unable to break its defense.
Boom! A bolt of lightning struck him, leaving him paralyzed.
"Hit by the big yellow duck, deducting 30 points!"
"!!!"
What the hell? Why are points being deducted? The test creators this year are insane!
Meanwhile, Yao was still unaware of the impact her rising scores were having on the other participants. She was methodically hunting down ducks, but these mechanical creatures were no easy targets.
Their mechanical bodies were difficult to detect, but this was Yao's specialty. She suspected that the area might be using projections, so she made sure to release her webs in complete invisibility. The others couldn't detect her, but she had already covered an area of hundreds of meters with her detection range.
She spent several minutes before finding the first three ducks, then she picked up speed, gradually eliminating them. The effect was that people believed she had mastered the technique for finding ducks, when in fact, she was using her advanced detection methods.
Her speed increased.
Fifth, sixth, seventh…
Yao's points skyrocketed, moving from 1000th place to over 700th. This shocked many, especially as her attack skills seemed to improve drastically. At first, her attacks were somewhat clumsy and awkward, but now she was executing ambushes, quick strikes, and retreats with incredible efficiency.
"Each duck has a different weak point—some under the wings, others on the tail, some on the neck. But she hits the vital spots every time."
"This shows her reaction time and judgment are excellent."
Was that surprising?
Not really. It had been evident from her previous encounters—the plane crash and the restaurant incident—that this "trash" second young master was terrifyingly sharp at reading situations. She always managed to turn a bad hand into a winning one.
Blue Third Master furrowed his brows and glanced at his family subordinates. "Why isn't the Xie family reporting on such a talented descendant? Why are they letting this fool, Cheng Guang, send himself to his doom?"
If it hadn't been for hearing about Blue Xuanyu's plans today, and rushing back to Jingyang, he wouldn't have even known the Xie family had such a person.
The Blue family was embarrassed. "But… he really was useless in the past, and you saw it for yourself—his aptitude was terrible. He has always hidden his true nature, and we didn't know."
It was the slow reveal of his true capabilities, but each time, he had constructed an image of incompetence and immorality, allowing others to overlook his strength. Once a spoiled child's image was established, most people attributed her actions to noble status and resources, not considering her true abilities.
Blue Third Master's thoughts deepened as he glanced at Zhou Linlang.
Ever since Zhou Linlang was reassigned to Jingyang, he had been secretly pleased. After all, Jingyang was his family's territory. A little behind-the-scenes maneuvering, and with a little luck, he could obstruct her efforts to rise to a provincial position.
But he didn't expect her to find an opening in the Xie family farm and make use of it so easily.
Did she already know that Ouxi was someone worth molding?
"Never mind," Blue Third Master muttered, "She's still too far behind. With her poor meditation aptitude and weak spiritual energy, there's no hope for her. I'll just have to keep an eye on her."
The "keeping an eye" part… essentially meant there was no "later" for her.
Blue family members exchanged quiet words of agreement.
Blue Third Master smirked, muttering, "Interesting. My nephew really is something…"
At the same time, on the screen, Yao had locked onto her eighth big yellow duck and was about to strike.
Suddenly, she felt a chill run down her spine.
From the creek, a massive group of yellow, plump, mechanical ducks emerged, their eyes glowing fiercely, and they simultaneously opened their beaks.
Water arrows, fireballs, missiles, and even lightning bolts came at her all at once.
Wait, how did so many ducks gather here? Something's wrong!
Yao's scalp tingled. She quickly turned and ran.
As she sprinted, she sensed a shadow in the grass, tailing her. She squinted her eyes, feigning ignorance, then—just as she suspected—there was a sudden attack on her ankle.
A level-one arcane spell!
Vine Bind!
Swish!
A vine wrapped around her ankle, tripping her to the ground. The fastest of the yellow ducks shot a fireball at her, hitting her arm with a loud bang.
The flame seared her skin, and her clothes clung to her body, burning toward her face. Pain flared, and a notification popped up, deducting her points. Yao immediately rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames, brushing off the burning debris, then drew out a blade and sliced through the vine. Quickly, she threw a level-one explosive charge to block the pursuing ducks.
She activated a speed boost and fled, looking absolutely chaotic as she dashed into the nearby dense forest.
The ducks were momentarily blocked by the explosion.
The spectators immediately realized Yao had been ambushed. The vine wasn't something that appeared out of nowhere.
But who had cast it?
The camera focused on the empty area for a while before they saw a shadow barely visible, moving cautiously toward a tree. The attacker was preparing to strike.
At that moment, Blue family members, Xie family members, and those from the Teng family all understood: Ouxi was done for. He had already been struck by the ducks and burned through a significant amount of his energy. Now that he was being targeted, it was certain he would be eliminated from the test.
Blue family members couldn't help but smile.
It was working.
The eldest son had already made arrangements with their affiliates in the school to set up an ambush.
The Blue family butler remembered what the eldest son had said during a long-distance conversation from Beruk City.
"Don't underestimate anyone. I don't believe someone who has been designing my downfall so precisely is a waste of space. If he turns out to be useful, then let's make sure he becomes a real waste."
"Arrange for someone to keep an eye on her."
Ouxi had indeed played the role of the fool, but their assassination plan was working perfectly.
The Blue family butler was about to inform the eldest son of the success when suddenly, everyone watching the screen felt their hearts stop.
Zhou Linlang's finger twitched.
Because the shadow behind the tree suddenly sprang forward, a bottle of liquor falling from the tree.
Boom!
The bottle hit the shadow's head with a resounding crash.
The bottle shattered, and the shadow's head was shaken violently. Blood mixed with liquor splattered everywhere. His head tilted, and he went into a daze, but he didn't die. The exam rules prohibited death.
Still, he was knocked out by the bottle.
As he fell to the ground, Xie Second Young Master tossed the broken bottle aside and replaced it with a real hammer.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He ruthlessly struck the joints of the attacker's limbs.
Blood sprayed everywhere, but it wasn't fatal. He restrained himself, then began muttering an incantation as the approaching ducks neared.
The ducks' sounds grew louder, but the incantation she was chanting had already taken shape. A trap appeared beneath the attacker. Yao grabbed his leg, dragged him two steps, and then tossed him into the hole like he was trash.
She followed it up with more beer bottles, smashing them one by one.
And then she sealed the trap.
The man in the pit struggled in agony but was unable to escape. His eyes filled with terror as he watched the trap seal.
It was pitch-black.
Yao jumped into a tree and crouched down, watching as the ducks, following their mechanical instincts, locked onto the area with heat sensors, scent detection, and sound.
Yao had already figured out their programming—they were set to chase and attack any participants.
And so, the ducks went after him.
Dozens of ducks swarmed the pit, and the attacker was crushed beneath their weight. Worse, the ducks' attacks pounded him relentlessly.
Scores plummeted.
Zero, zero, zero.
No more deductions.
He was stuck at the very bottom—1500th place.
What the hell?
The scene was so sudden that many people didn't even recognize the attacker's name. They only saw him trapped in the pit under a pile of ducks.
Then, they saw Ouxi on the tree above, taking out a cigarette, lighting it with a lighter, and casually tossing the lighter down.
The fire quickly ignited, and the ducks in the pit were burned alive.
But it wasn't just the ducks that were incinerated.
The exam participant, trapped and helpless, was also consumed by the flames.
The intense heat from the fire caused a breakdown in the mechanical ducks' circuits, rendering them useless—essentially, killing them.
This was the mechanical ducks' fatal flaw. Fire was their greatest enemy!
Screams filled the air.
"I give up! I give up! I'm withdrawing from the exam! Help! Help! Ahhh!"
Just moments ago, this same person
had tried to ambush and eliminate Yao, but now, he was nothing but a pitiful sight.
The spectacle was terrifying, but Yao remained calm, sitting quietly on the tree branch, smoking.
Many who were watching now realized that the "useless star" was a ruthless and cunning thug.
Savage, devious, and terrifying, evoking fear in everyone.
Yet, despite her brutal actions, her face still bore the burns from earlier. Her clothes were torn and tattered.
She never once cried out in pain. As her score climbed, jumping into the top 200, she didn't smile.
She just watched below, silently, as the others begged for mercy.
In truth, she didn't even know the name of the person she had eliminated.
And with the flames blazing, she calmly enjoyed her cigarette, watching the smoke rise, as if detached from it all.
At that moment, Zhou Linlang sighed and rubbed her temples.
Why did she feel that this cunning and cruel Ouxi had a hint of sadness in her eyes?