The Legend of the Dragon King - Chapter 412

Chapter 412

Chapter 412 - Preparing to Set Out

Tang Wulin lit up at Shen Yi’s words . “What do we have to do so no one is expelled?”

Shen Yi glanced at him before returning her gaze to the rest of the class . “The results of the final exam will be based on how many points you score . If everyone meets the minimum score, then everyone might be able to pass . But then the bar for next semester’s exam would be raised by five percent . ”

Tang Wulin furrowed his brow . He wasn’t naive enough to think Shrek Academy’s exams would be simple . Passing the exam was definitely easier said than done .  

Shen Yi smiled . “The only leeway we’ll allow is the option to share points with other students . However, let me remind you that these points are the same ones that will determine whether you get into the inner court . Be careful of how many points you give away . They could be the difference between making into the inner court or not . ”

Her words caused a stir, hushed murmurs breaking out among the stronger of the students . They all yearned to enter the inner court, but giving away their points would hurt their chances of making it in .  

Tang Wulin lowered his hand and said no more . His strength was limited . Even if he wanted to help his classmates pass the exam, there were only so many he could help . He decided it was better to consider this matter closer to the end of the exam .  

“Now, here are the details of the exam . The exam will span fifteen days . In those fifteen days, you will go to Bright City . You must visit at least ten cities, including Bright City, and in every city you visit, you must defeat a soul master at least five soul power ranks above you . You may not receive any help with finding your opponents, defeating them, or travelling to Bright City . All of you will have to figure out how to do this on your own .

“Furthermore, your soul storage devices, communicators, and any other resources you possess will be confiscated before you head out . That includes money . You will all leave empty-handed . Remember, you will only have fifteen days . As long as you can complete the assigned tasks and return within fifteen days, you’ll pass the exam . The number of points you earn will depend on the strength of the opponents you defeat . If you don’t manage to accomplish the assigned tasks in those fifteen days, you will unconditionally fail the exam and have half your points deducted . Do not worry about how your points are being counted during the exam . The Academy will be dispatching teachers to shadow all of you .  

“But don’t expect them to help you under any circumstances . ” She paused, letting the words sink in . “Even if your life is in danger, they will not intervene . So act with caution during the exam . Don’t pick a fight with someone you can’t handle . ” 

Tang Wulin could hardly believe his ears .  There are exams like this? But after a moment of thought, he understood the aim of Shrek Academy . The exam was structured like this to be a comprehensive test of their abilities . Previous benefits of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were all stripped away . Without a single penny, they had to visit ten cities, find and defeat opponents stronger than them, then make their way back .  

Bright City was located on the western part of the continent while Shrek Academy sat right in the continent’s heart . Even traveling via high-speed train would take three straight days of travel from Shrek City to Bright City . In other words, that was at least six days of travelling, not to mention the time they would have to spend in each city looking for opponents .  

A grim silence descended upon the class following Shen Yi’s announcement . Every student was deep in thought, planning just how they would tackle the exam .  

“You may not form groups,” Shen Yi continued . “Everyone must take this exam alone . If any cooperation is discovered, everyone involved will fail . ” Then she departed .  

A smile tugged at the corner of Tang Wulin’s mouth .  Interesting! 

He glanced at his friends . They were all deep in thought as well, but none showed any worry . Ye Xinglan’s eyes blazed with determination . Gu Yue calmly contemplated the exam as if it were no big deal . Xu Lizhi and Xie Xie both looked excited, and Xu Xiaoyan simply wore a sweet smile on her face .  

The exam would begin the morning of the next day .  

☀ 

Sitting behind at desk in the headmaster’s office, Elder Cai smiled at Shen Yi . “So the arrangements for the exam are complete?”

Shen Yi nodded . “Everything is in order . ”

“Good . There has always been a few surprises during the first final exam for new students . Let’s see what happens this year . Remember to be thorough with the body search . These are clever kids we’ve got . Who knows what they’ll do for an advantage?” 

Shen Yi chuckled . “You can rest easy . I’ve gone through this once before, so I know exactly what they’re all thinking . Anything they can come up with, their seniors have already done . Senior brother and the other proctors have already set out . ” 

“Excellent . This will be a good learning experience for them,” Elder Cai said .

With their business finished, Shen Yi left . Elder Cai laid back in her chair deep in thought . After a while, she stood up and walked over to the window . She peered out and stared at a towering building on the horizon that pierced through the clouds . Then her mind began to drift among the clouds, moving back to another time .

“Cai Yue, Gu Yue is my disciple . Stop meddling in her business . ” 

“How am I meddling?”

“Do you believe I don’t understand how you think? She has already joined the Spirit Pagoda and become my disciple . I’m certain she’ll do better under my tutelage than yours . ”

“Phoenix!”

“You want to go again? How many times have you lost already? Enough of this . We’ve already known each other for years . If you still can’t accept this, then you can come find me whenever you want . But in the end, I will bring Gu Yue take with me once she graduates from the outer court . ” 

And then she was back .  

Elder Cai took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes as she opened the window . She stepped out into empty air .  

Then her figure flickered, and she was gone .  

☀ 

Tang Wulin and his friends stood gathered around a map . He pointed to a few lines drawn on it . “This is the best route . It’s the shortest path possible to Bright City with nine other cities on the way . We’ll take the least amount of time possible if we follow it . We’re not allowed to work together though, so each of us will have to find our own way . ” 

Xie Xie eyed the map . “Wulin, I know we’re not allowed to bring anything, but what if we could sneak some things past the inspection?” he asked in a hushed tone . “We would have a huge advantage . Do you think there’s any way?” 

Tang Wulin turned to him . “We can’t try anything sneaky like that . It’s a waste of time . Do you think the Academy would impose such rules without a way to enforce them?  The pre-exam inspection will definitely be extremely strict . Besides, this a test of our abilities . We need to show that we can accomplish the tasks with just our own abilities .  

“Our first problem is money . Without any money, we can’t take the soul train . Everyone use tonight to think of a way to earn some money . ”

Xu Lizhi smirked . “I’ll just sell some buns . ” 

Xu Xiaoyan giggled . “I’ll put on a sad face and ask some senior brothers to lend me some money . The rest of you are going to need another way though . ” 

Xie Xie shrugged . “If worst comes to worst, I’ll just do some street performances . Wulin, you’re planning on going to do some forging assignments, right?”

“It’s the fastest way for me . ” Tang Wulin nodded . Then he looked over to Gu Yue and Ye Xinglan . “How about you two?”

Gu Yue and Ye Xinglan shared a look, then answered at the same time .  

☀ 

In the early morning of the following day, all of the first grade students were gathered in Spirit Ice Plaza to prepare for their departure .  

Any student who could make it into Shrek Academy undoubtedly possessed a soul storage device . The first thing Wu Zhangkong and Shen Yi did when they arrived was collect all of them . Apart from the clothes on their backs, the students were left with nothing .  

“I can’t even bring my forging hammers?” Tang Wulin asked in shock .  

“All you are allowed to bring are the clothes you’re wearing . Nothing else is permitted,” Wu Zhangkong answered coldly .  

Tang Wulin reluctantly put his hammers back into his storage rings and handed the rings over . After using those storage rings and hammers for so long, he felt uneasy without them . It had already become a habit for him to put the storage rings on every day . Furthermore, those rings were filled with valuable chunks of metal and forged alloys .  

Apart from the occasional alloy that had a harmony rate over ninety percent, those he gave to his friends, the majority of his successfully-forged alloys were in those rings . He hadn’t been in a hurry to sell the alloys . He instead chose to wait until he needed to break his fourth seal before using them to gain funds . They were sure to fetch a good price at Shrek Academy since it was a place where alloys were in high demand .

It was time for Tang Wulin to hand over all of his things, but his greedy nature made it hard for him to do so!