Chapter 4: The Military Academy Qualification Test – Striving for Excellence

The reason Li Yang returned to school today was to catch the military academy’s comprehensive test.

This “comprehensive test” wasn’t an assessment in the traditional sense—it was to determine whether students were even eligible to apply.

Applying to a military academy wasn’t easy. In her previous life, Li Yang knew there were political reviews and military physicals involved…

But in this world, the political review part was omitted, and the military physical was much simpler and more direct—it only measured physical constitution value.

Military academies.

As long as your physical constitution value met the standard, you could apply to the corresponding military academy.

There were many military academies across Huaxia.

Aside from the two top-tier institutions—Zhongdu and Zhanxing—there were over thirty first-class academies and more than a hundred standard ones.

Most students were satisfied with getting into a standard military academy. |

Getting into a first-class academy was equivalent to the 985 universities from Li Yang’s previous life.

As for Zhongdu and Zhanxing—those were the elite of the elite, the kind of schools regular students didn’t even dare to dream of.

Even just qualifying to apply was rare.

Around 8 a.m., all students who wished to apply to military academies gathered on the sports field.

First, students had to register and pay a fee, after which they’d take the test in order.

Li Yang winced a little when she paid—300 yuan was no small amount for her!
The other students weren’t as distressed; they were used to it.

For those aiming to become Starbearers, physical constitution was a key reference value, and nearly every legitimate hospital in Huaxia could test it.

Testing at a hospital would cost at least 500 yuan, so the 300 yuan for the academy’s comprehensive test was actually a bargain.

“I scored 63 yesterday. My mom made me drink old hen soup all day—think I can reach 65 today?”

“Heh, did that soup have a Condensing Vitality Pill in it?”

“If I could afford one of those, would I still be drinking hen soup?”

“Stop trusting those folk remedies. Want to raise your constitution? Either train hard or drop cash on pills—everything else is just superstition.”

The crowd buzzed, then suddenly quieted as the two most talked-about students in the school appeared.

A tall, well-built boy—Yu Hongyuan, Li Yang’s classmate—walked with his head held high, dressed in a black tracksuit that faintly revealed his well-defined chest and abdominal muscles.

Next to him stood a girl, slightly shorter but still tall—Fang Chuyun. Even beside the burly Yu Hongyuan, her presence wasn’t diminished.

On the contrary, her upright posture, long legs, and sharp features gave her an air of dominance that overshadowed him.

There were gasps from the crowd, followed by hushed squeals:

“Ahhh Sister Fang’s killing me!”

“Yu Hongyuan looks like her bodyguard.”

Yu Hongyuan had his own fans too.

“What’s with the attitude! Brother Yu’s constitution hit 85—he can totally crush Fang Chuyun!”

“Pfft, yeah—on pills! What’s there to brag about?”

“Fang Chuyun’s whole family are Starbearers. You think she didn’t take pills? And even if she did, so what? The Condensing Vitality Pill was developed by Zhanxing Military Academy!”

“Everyone boosts their score with effort—why act like some are better than others? Our Yu doesn’t have a Tier-5 Starbearer dad or a Tier-3 Starbearer sister. If he did, he’d be over 90 by now, alright?”

“LOL. What’s family got to do with it? Is Yu Hongyuan as disciplined and hardworking as Fang Chuyun? Everyone knows how to raise their constitution—crazy training. How many actually do it? Most just look for shortcuts.”

Yu Hongyuan and Fang Chuyun were definitely the school’s rising stars—equally admired and criticized.

When their fans clashed, things got noisy fast.

Finally, once all students had signed in and the testing instructors arrived, everyone quieted down.

The military academy comprehensive test was a big annual event.

The instructors running the test were from the provincial education bureau.

They would spend over a month traveling from school to school to ensure fairness.

Even Huangcheng No. 1 High School’s usually strict and reserved principal, Principal Sun, personally received them and acted with utmost respect.

The lead instructor was a middle-aged man named Chen Xiangrong, wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

He adjusted them slightly and said,

“Principal Sun, I heard you’ve got two promising students this year?”

Principal Sun replied at once:

“Yes, Director Chen! One is named Fang Chuyun, and the other is Yu Hongyuan. Their most recent self-tested constitution values were 85 and 86 respectively.”

“Fang Chuyun? Her sister is…”

“Yes, yes—Fang Suyun. She’s currently at Zhongdu Military Academy and already a Tier-3 Starbearer!”

Chen Xiangrong gave a light cough, then said,

“Ah… so she’s Star Master Fang’s younger sister… I do see the resemblance.”

Starbearers held extremely high social status.

In a small place like Huangcheng, even a Tier-1 or Tier-2 Starbearer was considered impressive.
Even Chen Xiangrong himself—who came from the provincial education bureau—was only an entry-level Tier-3 Starbearer.

But even so, he had to respectfully call Fang Suyun Star Master, because…

There’s just no comparison between a 50-year-old Tier-3 and a 20-year-old Tier-3.

The former likely had reached his ceiling, with no chance of progressing.

The latter, however, had immense talent and limitless potential—even the possibility of becoming a Grandmaster.

Chen Xiangrong praised again:

“For a student like Fang Chuyun to have a constitution value of 86 before even awakening her Star Aperture—that’s truly remarkable.”

Principal Sun chuckled awkwardly:

“Fang’s value is actually 85.”

Chen raised his brows:

“Oh? Then the 86 must belong to Yu Hongyuan? He…”

“It’s said he took a Condensing Vitality Pill.”

“Oh.”

Chen Xiangrong responded flatly.

Over the years, students across provinces had used such pills to raise their scores before applying to military academies.

A single Condensing Vitality Pill might start at a million yuan, but across Huaxia, many families could afford it.

Still, constitution value was only a qualification.

Whether a student could actually get in depended on their academic scores and performance in combat assessments.

Chen Xiangrong said,

“Self-testing isn’t always accurate. We’ll see how it goes during the official test.”

Principal Sun nodded repeatedly, but felt much more at ease.

After all, both students could qualify to apply to Zhongdu Military Academy.

Two applicants in a single year was already an amazing achievement for his school—some other high schools in Huangcheng couldn’t even produce one.

It was inevitable. Huaxia had so many provinces and cities, while the top two military academies had limited spots.

That’s why the application threshold rose every year.

Suddenly, Chen Xiangrong said,

“It’s been years since Huangcheng produced a ‘Heaven’s Chosen’.”

In this context, “Heaven’s Chosen” referred to rare geniuses who reached a constitution value of 90 before becoming Starbearers.

Typically, once a student’s constitution value passed 80, they could try to awaken their Star Aperture.
If successful, they’d become a Tier-1 Starbearer.

With the Star Aperture opened, they could begin to draw starlight into their bodies, and their constitution would increase rapidly—90, even 100, would be easy.

That was why Starbearers could easily kill mutant creatures—they were vastly superior to normal humans.

But constitution values before awakening were a different story..

Without having drawn starlight into the body, it’s very difficult to improve one’s physique value through physical training alone.

Of course, difficulty comes with its own benefits.

The higher one’s physique value before awakening the star aperture, the faster and more efficiently they can draw in starlight afterward.

It’s much easier to achieve dominance in one’s level, or even defeat those of higher levels.

That’s also why many children from powerful families aren’t in a rush to awaken the star aperture.

Build a strong foundation first—only then can the tower that follows stand taller and steadier.

There’s also an unofficial theory: the higher one’s physique value before awakening, the farther they can go after becoming a Starbearer.

That’s why a physique value of 90 is considered the mark of a true prodigy.

The National Education Bureau also has performance metrics.

If a city like Huangcheng can produce a student with a 90-point physique value, education funding would increase significantly, and Huangcheng No.1 High School’s overall rating could rise as well.

The testing began.

Roughly over 400 students from Huangcheng No.1 High School had signed up.

Li Yang wasn’t in a rush. She didn’t fight for a spot in line and simply queued at the end.

Information online was still lacking; eavesdropping on the casual chatter of these military academy hopefuls proved much more informative.

The more she listened, the more Li Yang understood.

Her own physique value was, in truth, a bit too high.

But with only a year left to live, she couldn’t afford another “grind” to recalibrate it.

Besides, there was no guarantee the score would go down. It might even go higher.

So be it, she thought. If she tested last, most of the teachers and students would probably have left the field by then—less attention.

Stay low-profile. All she wanted was to quietly win that 100,000 yuan scholarship and then go off to Zhongdu Military Academy to happily harvest wheat.

The testing process was quick—less than ten minutes per person on average.

She overheard two students in front of her nervously murmuring:

“Deep breaths! Don’t be nervous! I just need to perform like I did in self-testing!”

“Ugh, I can’t not be nervous! I’m barely on the threshold. If I screw up under pressure, I’m done!”

“That’s why you shouldn’t be nervous!”

“You’re making me more nervous by saying that!”

Ahead, they heard a wail.

A boy who had just finished testing cried out:

“Give me one more chance! I can reach 65! Just one more chance, please!”

The test instructor replied expressionlessly, “You’ve used both attempts. Please don’t hold up the line.”

The surrounding students were rattled, growing more anxious.

“That’s brutal. Just one point short of qualifying for a Tier-3 military academy…”

“He usually hits 65. Must’ve been nerves this time…”

“That’s why you need a safety margin—your self-test score should be a couple points higher than your target score, just to be safe.”

Li Yang’s thoughts stirred.

So physique values could fluctuate?

Made sense. After all, it was a test, and your state of mind and physical condition would affect the result.

Everyone else was focused on optimizing their condition to score higher…

But Li Yang was wondering how she might make hers a bit lower.

90 points stood out too much.

86 would be perfect.

But… bringing it down by 4 points wouldn’t be easy.

After observing for a while, she noticed most fluctuations were only about 1 or 2 points.

Okay then… 88 would work too.

A lucky number.

Soon, the testing reached a peak—Fang Chuyun’s turn had come.

Li Yang didn’t have many people ahead of her now, and she spotted the tall girl standing under the testing device at a glance.

Fang Chuyun had short hair cropped to her ears, with one side tucked neatly behind her ear, revealing her sharp features and cold, dignified aura.

She stood calmly under the machine, no sign of panic or nerves—just confidence and certainty.

The result came quickly. The instructor smiled and announced:

“Congratulations, Fang Chuyun. Your physique value is… 85.”

Compared to the other students’ results, her score was a clear standout.

65 points qualified for Tier-3 academies.

70 for Tier-2.

75 for Tier-1.

And the top-tier schools like Zhongdu and Zhanxing?

This year, their minimum was raised to 83.

Right now, only a few dozen students at Huangcheng No.1 scored above 75. Fang Chuyun’s 85 was miles ahead.

Even hearing the score, Fang Chuyun remained composed and simply said, “Thank you, teacher.”

The instructor asked, “Would you like a second test?”

She answered without hesitation, “No need.”

The students around her couldn’t help applauding.

So steady!

Fang Chuyun’s poise was truly remarkable!

Yu Hongyuan, watching from nearby, let out a cold snort and crossed his arms.

“Only 85.”

One of his lackeys immediately egged him on.

“Brother Yu, go show her who’s boss!”

Yu Hongyuan replied, “What’s the rush? I’ll be the last to test—give Huangcheng No.1 a perfect finale!”

With that, he scanned the field and strode straight toward the longest queue.

At the end of that line stood a familiar-looking girl.

“Li Yang?”

He blurted out her name, full of disbelief.

Back in the classroom earlier, surrounded by his usual crowd, Yu Hongyuan hadn’t noticed her in the corner.

They had been classmates since freshman year, and even after the classes were reshuffled, they were still in the same one.

So even though Li Yang had been on leave for nearly half a year, he recognized her instantly.

In his memory, she had always been pale and timid, barely able to look him in the eye.

But now, hearing his voice, she turned to face him.

Same faded school uniform, but her presence was totally different. Her long black hair was tied in a high ponytail, revealing a slender neck.

Her skin was luminous and pale, her posture poised and confident. Her dark eyes were clear and calm, steady and composed.

Yu Hongyuan couldn’t believe it—was this really Li Yang?

Li Yang saw him standing behind her and asked, “Yu, are you lining up behind me?”

“Uh…” Yu Hongyuan didn’t answer her question.

Instead, he asked, “You’re applying to a military academy?”

Li Yang: ‘What else would she be doing here in this long line?’

Yu Hongyuan realized how dumb his question was and quickly followed up, “What’s your physique value? Even Tier-3 military academies require at least 65. Are you… above that?”