Tempest of the Stellar War

Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan were not, in fact, the first to finish. Aurora was the first to complete, pressing the submit button on his Skylink. One second later, the script was sent back to the main system, where further changes to answers could no longer be made. Aurora stood up and left the examination hall directly. Over 70 percent of the tested content was high school standard in Aslan. Worthless.

Following their leader’s lead, the Aslanian people handed in their scripts soon after and left as well.

Following the Aslanian people’s consecutive departures, the tension in the hall’s atmosphere became more stifling. Anxiety rose. Most had barely finished half the paper, and some had already submitted. The pressure was unspeakable. Furthermore, nobody knew what the judging criteria for this test was.

Marks?

Really? Could it be so simple?

Impossible, this was IG! Could the time of submission also be included in the marking?

In their hearts, these contradictory thoughts followed, interfering with their attempts to do the questions. Damn, these were hard questions!

Over at the Solar System side…

Composure.

They were really too composed. Cultural nurturing had always been a priority in the Solar System. Although different regions had their own methods of education, regardless whether it was the liberal education style of Mars, or the conservative education style of Earth, tests were at the core of the pedagogy. Everybody was over-experienced. Biannual end-of-semester tests and mid-semester tests, monthly school tests, bi-monthly class tests, and various subjects’ tests assigned by the teachers themselves…

Those who had been through a hundred battles were unshaken. You hand in your paper, and I’ll just keep doing mine. Cool, calm, and collected.

The Arbitans were clearly panicking, speeding up their answering. But the pressure they felt did not emanate from the Aslanians, who had been the first to submit and take their leave, but…

Olivios!

His murderous spirit!

An aura of murder hung over Olivios like a cobra ready to strike at any moment.

Not to the computer, but at the other Arbitans.

Test? Olivios had never bothered with these things. He had always filled in his answers randomly. Could someone like that advance? His share of the marks now fell to his teammates.

To be eliminated because of a test would rain doom upon the other Arbitans’ heads.

Besides them, the Atlanteans and some other foreign star clans were also facing difficulties, although everybody generally felt that this test was perhaps a final reference check. To eliminate experts simply because of cultural incompetence seemed to be too overboard.

Yet in today’s world, a super soldier indeed had to possess all kinds of information and a worldly perspective.

Anything was possible.

Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan stood up at virtually the same time to hand in their papers. Zhang Shan went without saying. A gifted student in physics, the top student since elementary school. He would have continued this streak if it was not for the fact that he had switched streams. These questions? Keke, he could write a better test himself, let alone answer it.

Wang Zheng’s results went without saying as well. Every since he entered Ares College, he was the benchmark.

Lear lifted his head and looked at Wang Zheng. Three seconds later, he turned in his test and left as well, his face cold as ever.

Zhang Shan gazed at him. “More airs again.”

Zhang Shan acknowledged Lear’s battle prowess. It could not be helped, strength was strength. As a warrior, one had to be fearful of one’s betters. This was not mindless terror, but an instinct for self-preservation. Living on was the prerequisite to surpassing them. He could now look towards subduing Lear as his next target.

But in the aspect of examinations, Mountain Maiden was unafraid. From young, he had been the God of Examinations!

Wang Zheng laughed lightly. They walked out of the door, brushing past the Aslanian people who had been the first to submit.

The Aslan group’s atmosphere was carefree. Indistinctly, their conversation topic was actually about the Aslan soccer club’s Super League match.

The Sword Magician looked at Wang Zheng with nothing in his face, then swept past carelessly without a trace of anger.

“This bunch of punks are really stuck up. Is Aslan really that awesome?” Zhang Shan spat out.

Wang Zheng did not reply. Zhang Shan pondered his own question. They were indeed deserving of their arrogance, they had virtually no weaknesses.

Meng Tian, Zhang Runan, Lie Xin, Lie Guang, Luo Fei, and the rest also handed up their papers together. In a flash, the atmosphere in the large classroom became even more cloying.

The Ghana Star soldiers could endure no longer, and began to turn in their papers as well. Since they could not answer the rest anyway, they might as well turn in their papers a little earlier, in the hope of getting some time-based marks. At least doing so would demonstrate their decisiveness.

Seeing the Ghana Star soldiers’ actions, many other teams also realized the same point. Truly, ruminating would yield no answers at this point. Super soldiers could afford to be a little ignorant, but decisiveness was a basic trait. Character flaws were always the most fatal.

Everybody sped up their answering speed. Those that they knew, they answered seriously. Those that were too complex, they relied on their instincts to guess.

In comparison…

The Atlanteans were completely absorbed in their work, oblivious to the atmosphere in the examination hall.

Those that they did not know? Spare no effort to understand the question. Anyway, there was still time before the examination ended. As long as they allocated time properly, they would definitely answer all the questions within the time limit. That would be enough.

They did not feel that earlier submissions would receive extra merit. There were many different approaches. The key was to commit unwaveringly after making one’s decision. The rules had been stipulated, and submitting within the time limit could not be penalized.

Time ticked on, and one by one the teams handed in their papers…

Outside the venue, many were comparing answers, and complaints flew thick and loud. Evidently, their results were not ideal.

“There was too many trap questions! That question looked easy, we did it before in high school, but who would have known there were so many pitfalls in it?”

“Don’t panic. This test is only a component in determining our quality. It’s for moderation. To the middle-of-the-pack teams like us, it has minimal effects. The ones hit hardest by it would be Atlantis.” The Caragal captain, Max, comforted his team calmly.

They were third-tier teams with realistic goals. Their goal from the start had been to enter the top 128, and they had already accomplished their national mission. Every step from now on was an unexpected bonus, and from the way things looked, they stood a chance.

Everybody milled around, waiting for the results. It was a weird feeling, like they were all back in school again.

An IG member stood up and announced, “Everybody, please do not leave. The tabulation of marks will be released very shortly. Following that, we will announce the top 64.” At this time, besides the Atlanteans in the venue, every other team had already submitted their scripts and exited.

“Are the Atlanteans really going to write to the last second?”

Everybody was discussing such things. In truth, everybody was stressed, even Max of Caragal. Although he had said those things about accomplishing the national mission and unexpected bonuses, who did not dream of becoming a dark horse and taking the championship?

It was exactly because they had come so far without being eliminated, that they had started to dare to dream a little.