Translator: CinderTL
[Physique: Mortal Body (Grade B)]
[Innate Talent: Nascent]
Jiang Ye glanced at Zhao Qingli's profile above her head, thinking to himself, "She has the same Grade B Physique as me, and we're both in our second year of high school. But her total score across the four subjects has already reached 700 points."
Her current score of 700 points doesn't guarantee the same result on the College Entrance Examination.
There's still a full year until the exam.
By next year, Zhao Qingli's score will undoubtedly far surpass this.
"The gap between me and these nascent-talent geniuses is still vast," Jiang Ye sighed inwardly, yet his composure remained steady.
Time is on his side. One day, he'll catch up!
He also knew that even surpassing the nascent-talent level would only be the beginning.
In this era, geniuses are as plentiful as carp crossing a river.
As their cultural studies teacher had explained:
Innate talents are classified into four tiers: primitive, nascent, dao bone, and transcendent.
Exceptional individuals with nascent talent can achieve their first breakthrough by their third year of high school, becoming cosmic martial artists.
For those with dao bone talent, becoming a cosmic martial artist by their third year is merely the foundation. Achieving a second breakthrough before the College Entrance Examination is hardly a challenge.
Yet even such prodigies wouldn't be considered true geniuses.
What truly defines a genius?
Someone who begins cultivating at ten, achieves their first breakthrough at twelve, their second at fifteen, and by the time they turn eighteen, has already reached their third breakthrough!
This is transcendent innate talent!
These are the true Heavenly Prides of this world.
While ordinary people typically start cultivating at fifteen, these prodigies, born with extraordinary abilities, begin five years earlier, making them far superior to their peers.
Yet even such geniuses aren't the pinnacle. Rumor has it that there exist even greater innate talents, but that realm lies far beyond Ancheng.
The martial dao knows no limits.
Heavenly Prides shine like countless stars!
"Perhaps one day, I too can reach such heights," Jiang Ye thought, his two lifetimes having failed to extinguish his burning ambition.
By now, Class Nine had entered the spherical building.
Before them stretched a vast metallic hall.
Rows of metal seats lined the center of the hall, each equipped with a silver-white virtual helmet.
At the far end, a massive screen displayed the year's rankings:
First Place: Zhao Qingli: 710 points
Second Place: Lin Miaomiao: 652 points
Third Place: Wang Zi'ang
The top hundred rankings were almost entirely dominated by students from the Elite Classes.
Occasionally, a few students from the regular classes managed to break into the rankings, but they were invariably at the very bottom.
"Strange," Jiang Ye mused, glancing at the Elite Class students around him. "The Elite Classes have plenty of students with Grade C Physique, yet Zhao Qingli, who has only a Grade B Physique, is ranked first?"
According to theory, a Grade A Physique should far surpass a Grade B Physique.
Yet, as far as Jiang Ye knew, Zhao Qingli had consistently held the top position in their year group since the beginning of their first year.
"Is it due to innate talent? Or some other factor?" Jiang Ye wondered, lost in thought.
While he pondered, it was already Class Nine's turn for the assessment.
"Next, let's assign team numbers!" Zhang Jianwu announced loudly, standing before the Class Nine formation.
The students' anticipation surged.
This wasn't their first time here; they occasionally experienced the Virtual Cosmos Combat Assessment during regular classes.
The assessment involved five-person teams entering a virtual world to battle the Shadow Clan.
Scoring was based on the number of Shadow Clan members killed and the team's casualty rate.
Team formation wasn't random; the school's system assigned numbers to ensure each team had roughly equal strength.
Of course, the teams were ranked by class.
Students from the Elite Class were certain to score high on this assessment, given their uniformly high average skill level.
"Jiang Ye, Xia Qing, Tao Xiaogang, He Hua, Li Xuan."
Jiang Ye was surprised to hear his group.
Xia Qing, the girl who often brought him water.
As for the other three, they were all mid-to-lower-tier students he wasn't particularly close to.
However, the moment their names were called, all of them quickly gathered around Jiang Ye.
"Brother Jiang, please carry us!"
"Yeah, Brother Jiang, you're the strongest among us. We're counting on you to lead us to victory!"
Jiang Ye smiled faintly. "This is teamwork. Every member is important. Let's all do our best."
"Right, let's give it our all!" the group chorused. They naturally followed the lead of Jiang Ye, who ranked second in the entire class.
Jiang Ye glanced at Xia Qing, who was secretly watching him, and suddenly said, "Xia Qing, be careful out there. Don't get one-shot by the monsters."
"Huh?" Xia Qing blinked in surprise, then her cheeks flushed slightly as she nodded quickly. "I'll be careful."
Tao Xiaogang, noticing the exchange, immediately stepped forward. "Brother Jiang, don't worry! Xia Qing is the only girl in our team. We'll make sure to protect her!"
Jiang Ye nodded, saying little.
He was determined to protect Xia Qing. After all, having a female teammate granted him a 35% attack speed bonus, with a chance to trigger a 50% damage boost!
Could this ability help me seize first place? Jiang Ye glanced silently at Li Zhichao in the distance.
The first-place prize was a 30,000 yuan poverty alleviation scholarship—a sum he desperately coveted.
With the teams assigned, Li Zhichao maintained his composure, radiating the confidence of someone who had already secured first place.
Meanwhile, Xu Sisi clenched her fists, a flicker of determination in her almond-shaped eyes.
My speed gives me an edge in this assessment. This is my chance to reclaim second place, she thought to herself.
At that moment, Zhang Jianwu announced, "All teams, take your assigned seats in sequence and begin the Virtual Cosmos Assessment!"
The crowd stirred into action.
Jiang Ye walked to his seat and donned the silver-white virtual helmet.
The virtual helmet, also known as the Brain-Neural Connector, communicated with brainwaves via neutrinos, instantly inducing a state of deep sleep.
The moment he put on the helmet, Jiang Ye's consciousness plunged into darkness.
In the next moment, he found himself in a corner of a virtual city.
Jiang Ye was accompanied by Xia Qing, Tao Xiaogang, and two others.
The night was dark and windy.
The streetlights cast a dim, yellowish glow.
"It's too realistic," Jiang Ye murmured, gazing at the surroundings. Though this wasn't his first time here, he couldn't help but marvel.
The Virtual Cosmos could perfectly replicate reality, even down to the sensation of pain.
This meant that any injuries sustained within the simulation would immediately impact combat effectiveness.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a pitch-black humanoid figure materialized from the shadows ahead, its form solidifying like liquid coalescing.
As the shadowy figure solidified, a bone-chilling gust of wind swept through the area.
"Shadow Clan—Infant Form!" Jiang Ye's eyes narrowed as he barked, "Prepare for battle!"
The other four tensed visibly.
The Shadow Clan was immensely powerful.
Even in their Infant Form, they stood between 1.5 and 2 meters tall. In their Juvenile Form, they could reach heights exceeding 3 meters.
Only Martial Artists who had achieved at least the first breakthrough could hope to contend with a Juvenile Form.
The Infant Form before them, barely 1.5 meters tall, was the weakest of its kind, yet it still required the combined efforts of all five of them to handle.
Hiss!
The pitch-black phantom let out a piercing roar and lunged toward them with terrifying speed.
But just as Jiang Ye and the others were bracing for a full-scale assault, the phantom suddenly vanished without a trace.
Tao Xiaogang and the others froze in confusion.
"Behind us!" Jiang Ye roared.
The Shadow Clan favored possessing shadows.
Jiang Ye remembered Chen Zilu's repeated warnings: during combat, one must always be aware of their shadow's position, ensuring it remains within their field of vision.
From the moment the battle began, Jiang Ye had noticed his shadow lurking behind him.
He whirled around.
A gaping, blood-red maw lunged toward him.
Without hesitation, Jiang Ye unleashed a devastating punch.
35% attack speed boost!
Farmer's Three Fists!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
(End of the Chapter)
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