Post-Mythical Era: I don't want to die in the third reincarnation

"Every candidate who came to Pu Hai Martial Arts Square was filled with hope,

even though they knew they stood little chance, deep down there was still a sliver of luck—what if they were accepted?

The Blue Star Ten Great Colleges only enrolled five hundred students at a time, but there were two million students participating in the assessment.

Consider that admission ratio; it was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Although there were nearly two million candidates in total, the number of students from Hua Xia who participated in the assessment was only about one hundred thousand.

Don't think that one hundred thousand is a small number; in fact, students from Hua Xia were the largest group of candidates to participate in the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges' recruitment assessment.

Some countries had only about a dozen people come over, and most countries had between one thousand to ten thousand participants.

On average, each country had about ten thousand students participating in the assessments of the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges.

Hua Xia alone accounted for about one hundred thousand spots, more than double the number of the second-placed country.

Aside from the candidates, their families, school teachers, and staff, the most numerous group here was the local vendors from various places.

The Martial Arts Square had seating arrangements, and since the square was too large, it took a long time to go out and purchase something—this was when the vendors would actively bring items right to your hands.

Imagine, with family members participating in the assessments, who would be in the mood to leave their seats?

...

The first round of assessment was the gene compatibility test, which was the simplest; each person only needed a few minutes to complete.

Yet with nearly two million candidates, the assessments couldn't be finished in a short time.

The Blue Star Ten Great Colleges, which hosted the assessment, had divided Pu Hai Martial Arts Square into one hundred assessment zones.

Since there were relatively more candidates from the Asian Zone, it exclusively occupied fifty assessment zones, Europe had twenty, America had twenty, and Africa had ten.

As for continents that did not have their own designated assessment zones, candidates could take the assessment in America.

These one hundred assessment zones were only for the first round of assessment. Those who did not pass the first round had no qualification to participate in the second round.

Around the perimeter of the square, rows of huge electronic screens were erected.

These screens displayed the rankings for each continent and for the entire globe.

Anywhere in Pu Hai Martial Arts Square, anyone could see these large ranking screens from any corner.

...

Geng Qianxing was with Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lv Zi in the thirty-eighth assessment zone.

Candidates and their families were both in Pu Hai Martial Arts Square, but they were separated into two different groups.

Candidates were in the inner circle, while family members or those who came specifically to watch the recruitment assessment were seated in the outer circle.

Even Tan Bei, the principal of Yujiang University, could only sit in the outer circle with the relatives. Only training instructors like Geng Qianxing could sit with the candidates in the inner circle waiting area.

Sitting in the outer circle actually didn't affect the view; one could still see the assessment site with their own eyes.

The first and second rounds of assessments were purely tests of potential and talent; other than the results, there wasn't much to watch.

The third and fourth rounds of assessments were more interesting, especially the fourth round, which was the arena competition.

Despite the crowdedness of Pu Hai Martial Arts Square, with Hua Xia as the host and occupying four of the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges, there were advantages.

This advantage could be seen from the seating arrangement; with so many candidates, each high school in Hua Xia with students participating had its own area.

Each school had a waiting area for their candidates, ranging from twenty to one hundred seats; Yujiang University had thirty seats.

Now only four people were occupying these thirty seats, no wonder Tan Bei felt awkward and embarrassed.

There were only one teacher and three candidates from Yujiang University, which indeed seemed a bit conspicuous.

Tan Bei allocated most of the slots to outsiders, due both to social courtesy and to his knowledge that Yujiang University's own students were not up to par.

Deep down, Tan Bei still hoped that those who received slots from Yujiang University would sit in the waiting area designated for the university.

It would have been good to add some liveliness.

"Hmph, it's fine if others who took our school's assessment slots don't come here. But Huang Chengwei, Tong Quan, those who are actually from our Yujiang University and still don't sit here, that's too much."

Fang Chong felt indignant seeing only four of them occupying the thirty seats set aside for Yujiang University.

Geng Qianxing sighed as well; all he could do was pray inwardly, hoping at least one of the three candidates from Fang Chong would be accepted.

In that case, Yujiang University would not close down.

He was quite fond of the freedom at Yujiang University and held a good impression of Principal Tan Bei. It would be such a pity to see such a school shut down.

...

"Yi Yi, what are you looking at?" Qu Fei, who was sitting next to Qu Yi, noticed Qu Yi looking around constantly and couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing, I was just looking around," Qu Yi hurriedly said.

Qu Fei had followed Qu Yi's gaze and saw the Yujiang University sign, and she immediately remembered,

"That Ding Huan said he was from Yujiang University, didn't he? Look, you can't see him anywhere. What a liar."

Qu Yi didn't respond to Qu Fei's comment but instead said, "Is Yujiang University only sending three students and one tutor?"

"Ever since that Ding Huan mentioned Yujiang University, I went back to check it out. Turns out that school is about to close down, which you can tell just by the fact that only three students came to participate in the tests."

Qu Fei added another sentence to prove her foresight.

Qu Yi lowered her head, trying hard to figure out why Ding Huan would lie to her—or if Ding Huan hadn't actually lied. Regardless, she wanted to go and ask him after the exam was over.

At that moment, a platform suddenly rose in the middle of the square.

A man in gray appeared to walk through the air for a dozen steps before gently landing on the platform in the middle of the square.

"It's Principal Nong…"

Loud applause erupted in the square, and people who had never seen Principal Nong asked around to find out who he was.

"Jeez, if you don't know Principal Nong, then why are you even here watching the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges' examination…"

Before this person could continue putting on airs, someone nearby answered for him,

"Principal Nong is Nong Yizhen, the head of the True Universe Academy, ranked number one among the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges. He's an Innate Expert who has fused four Alien Genes."

"Do you think there's anyone stronger than Principal Nong?"

"Well, there's Senior Yan Xia. He's also one of the Innate Strong People, but I don't know how many Alien Genes he has fused."

"The Innate Expert is a previous level, right? I heard that later the Martial Arts Alliance, along with some Martial Arts Sects, revised the Martial Arts Realms. So is the previous Innate Realm equivalent to the current Earth-level Martial Artists?"

"You don't know anything. Innate is Innate, and Earth-level is Earth-level…"

"We don't get any of this, so let's not argue. I just think, if you practice martial arts, why bother fusing genes? Isn't that like trying to ride two horses at once?"

"You don't know jack. Only by fusing top-tier Martial Arts Genes can you reach the pinnacle of martial arts."

...

With the quarreling sounds continuous, the man on the platform, Nong Yizhen, spoke out loud, "Everyone, please quiet down."

Just with one sentence, without relying on any amplification equipment, nearly the whole square heard his words.

Some of the martial artists sighed in admiration, claiming that Nong Yizhen's Inner Qi was so refined it had returned to a state of primal simplicity. Even from a far distance, or in a noisy place, he sounded as if he was speaking right beside you.

The square immediately fell silent at Nong Yizhen's words, and he said again,

"Friends from all over the world, the reason we have gathered here today is to strive for the future of humanity.

I am Nong Yizhen from the True Universe Academy, and on behalf of the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges, I welcome you all.

I also make a promise here today that whether in the past, present, or future, the sole purpose of the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges will always be to protect Earth and humanity…"

Warm applause rose once again.

After the applause subsided, Nong Yizhen continued, "Today, the enrollment exam for the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges officially begins.

On behalf of the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges, I promise that this assessment will be conducted under the principles of fairness and integrity to select the world's most exceptional talent to enter the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges. Now, let the examination begin."

There was no superfluous nonsense.

With the Earth's environment undergoing rapid changes and life becoming harsh, official platitudes at conferences and events became rare or even nonexistent.

Just like this Blue Star Ten Great Colleges' enrollment exam, no leader gave a speech. There were just the two promises made by Nong Yizhen before the assessments started right away.

As the exam began, sounds between testing areas were blocked, and each area's broadcast played within its confines.

For example, the broadcast from Area 1 would not be heard in Area 2.

All the students taking part were focused, listening intently to the announcements, anxious they might miss something crucial as they awaited their turn to be called for the exam.

A voice came through the broadcast in Area 38,

"Applicants with exam numbers ranging from A1721301 to A1721320, please proceed to station number 38 for the first round of exams."

The first round, the gene compatibility test, was straightforward, allowing twenty people to participate at the same time.

As for calling out numbers one by one, or even repeating them three times? That simply wasn't done.

If you weren't paying attention or didn't hear, or if you didn't expect your number to be within the called range, then you weren't a genius. And if you weren't a genius, what were you doing at the exam?

The square was very quiet, and the chatter of the onlookers couldn't reach into the examination area.

Each candidate's number was unique; for example, A1721301 signifies Asia (A), Hua Xia (1), Zhongyuan Province (7), Luoh River City (2), the school or institution (13), and the individual's own number is 01.

(That's all for today's update, have a good night, friends!)