“BZZZZ…”

　　The out-dated examination chamber opened slowly, allowing Li Yao to take a step outside. He shook his head trying to clear a faint headache, a side effect from overtaxing the mind after staying too long in the Great Illusionary Land.

　　“Damnit! My head hurts like hell! The only students that are still using these kinds of garbage devices are those of us in the ‘Mish-mash class’. All the students of the Important Class and the Ascending Class had their spirit exam chambers swapped to the newest generation. There wouldn’t be any side effects for them no matter how taxing it was!” Meng Jiang was at his side complaining loudly, rubbing his eyes soon after. “Little Devil, this time, the difficulty of the exam simulation was really high. I probably failed again. When I get back, I’ll definitely eat some stir-fried bamboo shoots. How did you do?”

　　“So so I suppose.” Li Yao rubbed his nose. This time, the examination’s difficulty was indeed a bit high. Although in comparison his fundamentals were more solid and his mentality was sufficiently calm, he felt that he had been drawn to his utmost limit.

　　“Come on, let’s see!” Meng Jiang moved to the examination chamber’s side and began to extract a device. Every examination chamber had high-speed crystal processing units installed, allowing for test scores to be instantly calculated. The test scores were released the instant the examination ended.

　　“Wow! 525 points! What a high score! Thats enough to get admitted to the main universities. And yet, you said you did so-so? To be excessively modest is really just being arrogant. Go die Little Devil!” Meng Jiang cried out in surprise.

　　Li Yao swept a glance at the hologram. He actual letting out a dark sigh within his heart. Indeed, a score of 525 points wasn’t technically low. It was barely enough to meet the minimum passing score for a few of the well-known, main universities within the Union. However, the following numerical value was red, causing his eyes to feel somewhat prickled.

　　“Spiritual Actualization Quotient, 35%.”

　　The Spirit Root. A “pineal gland” located on the front medial part of the brain of those of the human race. It was a mysterious organ. It was a mystery because from the perspective of anatomy, this organ fundamentally does not exist; not a single genuinely true specimen of the spirit root has been found in the hundreds of thousands of years up to now.

　　However, this organ genuinely exists in the world of cultivation. Moreover, this organ is of most importance for cultivators. It is the link between mankind and the essence energy of heaven and earth. It is the key to the Essence Energy of the Universe!

　　Only when one’s Spirit Actualization Quotient reached 100% can one’s “Spirit Root Awakening” occur. Only then could one step onto the road of cultivation!

　　When an ordinary university decides on their admissions, they don’t look at the value of an applicant’s Spirit Actualization Quotient. It didn’t matter even if the value was just 1% since an ordinary university only fostered ordinary people.

　　But when it came to the admission process of the “Nine Elite Universities”, who specialized in fostering cultivators, they would take the examination score and multiply it with the Spirit Actualization Quotient to produce a final score. Naturally, the higher one’s Spirit Actualization Quotient was, the more of an advantage one had.

　　Li Yao’s Spirit Actualization Quotient was pitifully low. After multiplying 500 or so points with 35%, only a mere 200 points remained.

　　As for the arrogant Important Class of the heavens, it was common to have a Spirit Actualization Quotient exceeding 60%. In other words, others only needed to score 300 or so points to be able to effortlessly crush Li Yao.

　　Even worse was that the when one’s Spirit Actualization Quotient became higher, their thinking process became quicker, their five sense became sharper, and the degree of control over their body became greater. How could the scores of those from the Important Class not be different from them of the mish-mashed Common Class.

　　It wasn’t that Li Yao never thought of putting in painstaking work to increase his Spirit Base Opening Degree. Its that this matter was different than studying. Facts from books can be learned from rote memorization. Physically ability and martial skills can be exercised and cultivated crazily. Yet, one’s spirit base opening degree genuinely needed one to rely on heaps of natural resources to improve.

　　Take the arrogant heaven’s chosen one’s of the Important Class as an example. Everyday, they consumed all sorts of heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and strengthening concoctions. They purchased special “Actualization Quotient Trainers” for home use or they went to “Underground Cultivation Shops” for special training. The amount of money they spend on opening their spirit bases each month varied from being less than several tens of thousands to being over dozens of billions. Only by demolishing mountains of gold and silver could they increase their Actualization Quotient by a single percent.

　　As for Li Yao, he scavenged scraps from the Artifact Graveyard. The most he made was 10,000 a month. After paying rent, living expenses, and tuition fees, all that was left was chicken feed, not even enough to fill his stomach. How would he have the money to increase his Actualization Quotient?

　　To summarize in a sentence— He was poor as f*ck!

　　Right while his heart was bogged with worries, he heard Meng Jian howl like a pig being slaughtered, “Damn! Two people got 691 points! Its Si Jiaxue and Helian Lie, those two bastards. These two are tied for first place again in the exam simulation this time!”

　　This time, all the third-years took the exam simulation simultaneously. In the front of the classroom was a hologram projector. The names and information of the top 10 students of the entire school came into view at lightning speeds.

　　Those tied for first were a beautiful girl who was as cold and pure as snow and a tall teen with an intimidating gaze and a flourishing heroic appearance.

　　Their scores did not really shock Li Yao. But the Spirit Actualization Quotient that followed caused flames of jealousy to erupt within his eyes.

　　Si Jiaxue, Actualization Quotient 71%; Helian Lie, Actualization Quotient 72%!

　　Meng Jian was still clamoring, “Tsk Tsk Tsk, They are truly worthy of being Crimson Nimbus Second’s stars. The school beauty and the school Adonis. The elites of the top dozen elites of the Important Class! Come take a look at these two bastards. Not only is the dude handsome and the chick beautiful, but they also come from rich and powerful families. Rumor has it that several cultivators have emerged in their family line. Their grades are good and their Actualization Quotient are also high. They are our school’s secret weapons for attacking the entrance exams! Everyone says that it should be a cinch for them to test into the Nine Elite Universities. The school specifically asked Fiend Blade Peng Hai to give them special training. This also has another meaning. The school hopes that they would be able to break into the top scores of Floating Spear City’s university entrance exams. At least breaking into the top 10 in the city!”

　　Speaking and speaking, Meng Jian let out an exaggerated sigh, “Alas, goods will eventually be thrown away, people will eventually die. Everyone here are equals as high school students. Everyone’s all hanging out in this school, but once we get through the university examinations, I am afraid that they shall fly, soar away, and enter the circle of cultivators, crossing over to indulge in a life of luxury, living a declining life of degeneracy. As for poor kids like us, we could only become laborers for life, the salaried class. Thinking about this cools my heart!”

　　He had spoken for a long time, but he was not met with a reaction. Meng Jiang turned his head to look and was surprised to see Li Yao’s pair of eyes staring blankly, gazing at Si Jiaxue’s picture. The look in his eyes was serene and remote, leaving no clues as to what he was mulling. Meng Jiang promptly tapped the head of his best friend, “Hey kid, it can’t be that you fell for Si Jiaxue? I’ll remind you out of the kindness of my heart. This women is indeed untouchable for you and I. She and Helian Lie are childhood family friends. Rumor has that their two main families have the intention of joining by marriage. And also, Helian Lie has her as a must-have target. Don’t you even look at this tall insurmountable power, for he has the smallest tolerance. Never has he allowed anyone else to get close to Si Jiaxue. Last time, it was a fresh transfer student who didn’t know his limits. He let out a declaration that he would pursue Si Jiaxue. The result was that in ‘Martial Arts Class’, Helian Lie broke three of his bones. As for us mish-mash of students, Helian Lie only needs a single sneeze to cause us to cough blood from internal injuries.”

　　“Nonsense.”

　　Li Yao retracted his gaze and appeared to make a resolution. “Let’s not mention Helian Lie for now. Lets just talk about this Si Jiaxue, who spends the entire day assuming the ice cold face of a dead person. Most likely, it’s because she has a frigid personality. How can I like this type of girl?”

　　……

　　……

　　The school’s resources was biased for the most part towards the Important Class and Ascending Class. Their policy towards the Common Class was very relaxed. After taking the simulated exam, the students of the Common Class focused on each of their weaknesses and practiced special skills. The day went by quickly. At 4 in the afternoon, class was about to end.

　　“Wait a moment so that we can walk together. I found a pancake stall recently. The owner’s third uncle works part time as the Vulcan Sect’s burner. The owner was also taught the skill ‘Fire Cloud Palm’. The ‘Hand Engraved Crimson Flame Omelet’ he produces is of the utmost quality. Today, I’ll treat you to dinner. What do you say?” Meng Jian heroically pounded his chest a multitude of times.

　　“I can’t, I have something I need to do today.”

　　“Or, I’ll treat you tomorrow then!” his best friend replied without hesitation. Li Yao fled the classroom at lightning speeds.

　　For a moment, he looked to his left and to his right, acting like a thief. Circling around the campus, he moved half a giant circle’s distance. He passed through two chow halls and stopped in a forest grove at the back of the campus for a dozen or so minutes before turning back the way he came. He walked quietly on his tiptoes, sneaking towards the first floor of an old school building where there was a room filled with junk.

　　He closed the door softly and was met with the faint and indistinct fragrance of wild valley orchids.

　　A pair of cold eyes like a clear spring was glaring somewhat impatiently right at him from the darkness. Beneath those pupils were a nose that was tall and raised and thin lips that were pursed tight.

　　If Meng Jiang was here, he would absolutely let out his iconic pig-slaughtered howl, “Okay, you’re a dead little devil. You really actually hooked up with the Second’s School Goddess! You! Your thirst knows no bounds!”