The freshman monthly exam this time was truly exciting.
After just two matches, the upperclassmen watching the livestream were already shouting with excitement.
On the gift leaderboard, Lin Zhaoxia and Li Yang’s rankings shot up, quickly surpassing the duo who had climbed up through self-voting.
Of course, Lin Zhaoxia ranked higher—after all, she was the “main star.”
Even the upperclassmen from the Star Combat department couldn’t help but exclaim, “As expected of the prodigy carefully nurtured by the Lin family.
That burst-speed combo was absolutely amazing!”
“Li Yang isn’t bad either. Even though she used a substitute version, the effect still beat a bunch of Star Combat upperclassmen.”
The Star Magic department lost two matches in a row, and many upperclassmen were growing agitated:
“What the hell? Why are this year’s freshmen all so useless?”
“Heh, if they weren’t ‘useless,’ would someone have managed to steal the Tree Tower?”
As soon as that was said, the Spiritual department upperclassmen couldn’t stay quiet and immediately snapped back:
“Oh wow, here come the thieves yelling ‘stop thief’ again.”
“You hog someone’s sacred artifact for years and just assume it’s yours now?”
“Even your Dean Shen already apologized. What? Still want to slap your Grandmaster in the face?”
The livestream chat blew up, and even the live audience was getting rowdy.
“Li Yang is really a habitual thief! First she stole the Tree Tower, now she’s stealing someone’s combo!”
“Yeah, copying someone else’s combo—what kind of skill is that? If you’ve got guts, show us a Star Technique from the Agriculture Department!”
“LOL. What Star Technique does the Agriculture Department even have? ‘You reap what you sow?’”
The on-site Spiritual department students spoke up too:
“You Star Magic guys have the nerve to say that? If you hadn’t hogged someone else’s Tree Tower, would they even lack Star Techniques?”
“Where did your so-called [Multi-Star Technique] come from, huh? Don’t you have even a shred of self-awareness?!”
And so, both the livestream and the on-site debate ended with the Star Magic students being utterly roasted.
Not only did they lose the match, they lost face too.
Each of them fumed, unsure whether to hate Li Yang more or the Spiritual department jerks who were kicking them while they were down.
Luckily, the next match began.
The Zhong family brothers took the stage, putting on a comical performance of “Big Brother Beats Little Brother Freely.”
Zhong Kun was a riot.
He genuinely wanted to surrender on the spot, but his brother wouldn’t let him.
He insisted Zhong Kun show his skills, and he wanted to test him at the same time.
What Li Yang didn’t expect was that Zhong Kun had actually learned the burst-speed combo too.
Zhong Qian, however, clearly hadn’t—he used another close-combat combo from the Star Combat department: Power Assault.
He wielded a massive sword, his Power Assault moves bold and sweeping, exuding a mountainous momentum.
Zhong Kun wailed, “Professor Xu! Can we call it off yet? My brother’s gonna beat me to death!”
Professor Xu rolled his eyes and said, “Not even close.”
Zhong Kun: “???”
Seeing that begging didn’t work, Zhong Kun had no choice but to fight his big brother head-on.
Compared to what came before, his version of the burst-speed combo made everyone realize just how strong Li Yang actually was.
So what if it was a substitute version?
Zhong Kun’s three Star Techniques were “authentic.”
But somehow, his “authentic” felt more like a knockoff than Li Yang’s substitute.
As Zhong Qian’s massive sword came crashing down on his head, Professor Xu finally spoke:
“Stop.”
The brothers were forcibly frozen in place.
Once they could move again, Zhong Kun wailed tearlessly, “I begged you to stop, but you made me keep fighting! Fighting after those two already went—what’s the point? Just pure humiliation!”
Zhong Qian: “…”
Zhong Kun glared at his brother angrily and shouted, “Compensation!”
Zhong Qian: “…”
“…Fine. 700.”
“A thousand merit points!”
(@Infinite good stories, all on Jinjiang Literature City)
The freshmen watching from below:
“Stop showing off, man. One more move and we’re seriously gonna rush the stage and beat you up!”
Even Li Yang’s hands were itching.
Zhong Kun was seriously asking for a beating.
Born into such luxury and still acting like this—he really made people’s fists itch.
The next two matches weren’t very exciting.
Lin Zhaoqin faced off against Wang Ruika. Old Wang wasn’t one to surrender easily.
Though he only had two Star Techniques, he still managed to showcase the strength of a Spiritual department Starbearer.
One of his techniques was Mental Disruption.
Lin Zhaoqin’s movements were clearly slowed down.
Luckily, her combo wasn’t burst-speed but Zhong Qian’s Power Assault, so the slower pace didn’t affect her too much.
Her massive blade still carried plenty of force.
Wang Ruika’s second technique was also a control-type, freezing Lin Zhaoqin in place for half a second.
Unfortunately, he himself couldn’t move for the next ten seconds.
Dead.
Professor Xu called stop and said, “Lin Zhaoqin wins.”
But he also praised Wang Ruika:
“Little Wang did great, just like his father!”
Lin Zhaoqin hefted her massive sword and rolled her eyes.
“So weak.”
Wang Ruika snapped angrily, “Don’t underestimate the mentally weak! We’ll crush you all later in the game!!”
In fact, starting from the Fourth Rank, the Spiritual department’s strength really starts to shine.
But within the school, their combat power always ranked below the Star Combat and Star Magic departments.
Next came Ying Qi against the 9th-ranked freshman from the Star Magic department.
This freshman was very respectful toward Ying Qi, bowing politely before the match began—only to be blasted off the stage by one of Ying Qi’s explosive Star Techniques.
This time, Professor Xu couldn’t freeze the match in time and had to toss out a shield to protect the ninth-ranked student from getting blown to smithereens.
“Ying Qi, wins.”
With that, only one match remained in the 12-to-6 round.
This time it was Star Magic’s Shen Shangchi versus Star Combat’s Sun Mairan.
Sun Mairan was a girl with straight bangs, big almond-shaped eyes, and a sweet smile.
As soon as she stepped onstage, the Star Combat department started cheering her on.
She bowed toward the crowd and chirped in a clear voice, “I’ll do my best!”
Shen Shangchi wasn’t about to underestimate her.
The Sun family of Southern Province was famous.
They had a truly bizarre ancestor who—through some mysterious cultivation method—could lay eggs and have children.
Every ten years, this ancestor would hatch a batch of a hundred kids and raise them together.
The talented ones were given the Sun surname; the less gifted ones were sent off to guard houses or patrol yards.
The fact that Sun Mairan bore the Sun name already proved her strength.
Shen Shangchi was very experienced in fighting Star Combat types.
As soon as the match began, he widened the distance between them.
Sun Mairan, meanwhile, had also learned Zhong Qian and Lin Zhaoqin’s combo.
The sweet girl with the bangs rushed at Shen Shangchi, wielding a giant hammer.
Shen Shangchi had a speed-boosting Star Technique, which let him keep a stable distance from her.
He also had a long-range Star Technique, but his accuracy was a bit poor, and he hadn’t managed to actually hurt her yet.
The two were evenly matched.
Sun Mairan kept smiling sweetly, but her heavy hammer strikes were fierce and forceful, executing the strong attack combo with precision and ferocity.
If not for Shen Shangchi being too “slippery,” he would’ve been eliminated long ago.
They fought intensely for a full ten minutes.
This was the longest match of the first round.
In the end, Sun Mairan’s strength gave out, revealing a fatal opening.
Shen Shangchi seized the chance and unleashed an “Ice Seal,” overwhelming her in a blizzard of pressure.
Professor Xu promptly cast a shield over Sun Mairan and announced, “Shen Shangchi wins.”
Finally, the Star Law Department won a clean, beautiful victory against another division.
The students erupted in excitement, standing and cheering:
“Shen Shangchi! You rock!”
“Old Shen does it again! Beautiful fight!”
“Keep going! Beat Zhong Qian! Crush Lin Zhaoxia! Take first place!”
The Star Combat students were fired up too.
They stood up and shouted back at the Star Law crowd.
Lin Zhaoqin helped Sun Mairan off the field—they seemed close. You could vaguely hear Lin Zhaoqin say, “Don’t worry. I’ll take down Shen Shangchi next round for you.”
Sun Mairan, pale from depleted star energy, still smiled sweetly and said, “Okay! Ah Qin, you’ll definitely make top three!”
The 12-to-6 round had concluded.
The six winners returned to the stage to draw lots for the next round.
Lin Zhaoxia drew first. The senior host took her drawn card, opened it, and raised his eyebrows.
“Oh my! Lin Zhaoxia’s opponent is… Lin Zhaoqin.”
Lin Zhaoqin: “…”
She glared at Shen Shangchi.
“Lucky you.”
Shen Shangchi smiled, but his vibe didn’t match the cool, aloof air of his family’s elder.
His peach-blossom eyes made him seem more like a flirtatious playboy than a noble genius.
Li Yang was the second to draw.
Just as she reached in, Ying Qi muttered, “Draw me, draw me, draw me.”
Li Yang: “?”
Ying Qi looked at her confidently.
“You’re the weakest.”
Li Yang chuckled.
“Alright then.”
Ying Qi realized that didn’t sound too good and tried to explain.
“I meant your star skills and star weapon are the weakest.”
Li Yang smiled more.
“Yeah, they’re pretty weak.”
Ying Qi felt a little embarrassed and was about to say more when the host separated them and announced Li Yang’s match-up:
“Li Yang’s opponent is… Shen Shangchi!”
Ying Qi’s disappointment was plain as day.
She glared at Shen Shangchi and said, “Lucky you!”
Shen Shangchi: “…”
He didn’t feel lucky at all, sisters!
That left only Zhong Qian and Ying Qi, so no draw was needed for them.
The 6-to-3 round began, once again with Lin Zhaoxia opening.
Li Yang was looking forward to it—curious to see this head-to-head clash between the two cousins.
Yu Hongyuan sneakily pulled out his phone.
“I’m recording this so I can study Lin Zhaoxia’s moves later.”
Li Yang patted him on the shoulder.
“Nice, Yuanzi! Send it to me after—you record, I’ll study it as much as I can.”
Her mental energy had reached 500 now.
She hadn’t formally studied “simulated combat,” but watching these videos a few more times would basically be like getting real combat practice.
Yu Hongyuan was thrilled to be useful and said eagerly, “Don’t worry! I’ll record all the 6-to-3 matches!”
“And the finals too.”
“Got it!”
As soon as the countdown ended, Lin Zhaoxia and Lin Zhaoqin clashed.
There was no doubt the Lin family produced geniuses.
No wonder Lin Zhaoqin had gone to Donghua Province—having such a monstrous little sister in the capital meant she would’ve been totally overshadowed there.
Lin Zhaoxia used the burst-speed combo, while Lin Zhaoqin used the strong attack combo.
They clearly knew each other well, predicting each other’s moves and countering flawlessly.
Against Fang Chuyun, Lin Zhaoxia had ended the match instantly, but facing Lin Zhaoqin, her moves were constantly interrupted—her heavy saber forced to retreat.
Feng Yiqiao commented, “The strong attack combo really counters the burst combo.”
“Not necessarily,” said Li Yang.
Thanks to her high mental power, she could see more clearly.
At first glance, Lin Zhaoqin seemed more forceful, not giving Lin Zhaoxia a chance to use any star skills, forcing her to dodge continuously.
But… star energy is finite.
After several strong attacks, all five of Lin Zhaoqin’s star apertures were empty.
Lin Zhaoxia had used energy too, but her burst combo was more efficient—less star energy consumption.
Finally, when Lin Zhaoqin failed to land a blow after so many tries, Lin Zhaoxia seized a gap. Several “Void Severing” moves landed.
When the light of “Execution” lit up, Professor Xu’s voice rang out: “Stop!”
“Lin Zhaoxia wins.”
With a loud thunk, Lin Zhaoqin’s saber stabbed deep into the stage, embedding one-third of the blade into it.
The host senior walked over with a dry laugh.
“Lin classmate, damaging school property…”
Lin Zhaoqin snorted, “I’ll pay.”
The way she said it sounded more like “I spit on it.”
Li Yang sighed lightly.
“Lin Zhaoqin’s star weapon wasn’t good enough—otherwise, she would’ve won earlier.”
To be fair, burst and strong attack combos both had strengths and weaknesses.
But if Lin Zhaoqin had a star weapon of the same caliber as “Eclipse,” Lin Zhaoxia wouldn’t have lasted and Lin Zhaoqin wouldn’t have lost due to exhaustion.
It seemed Lin Zhaoqin heard Li Yang.
She suddenly turned to look at her.
Li Yang didn’t look away—they met eyes across the field.
Lin Zhaoqin said, “I lost.”
Though she grumbled, she accepted the loss.
Lin Zhaoxia didn’t get “Eclipse” out of nowhere—she earned it.
Lin Zhaoqin had already lost long ago, lost within the family.
Li Yang’s lips moved—she mouthed a silent sentence.
No one else noticed, but Lin Zhaoqin saw it clearly and smiled—a bright, unrestrained smile.
“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”
The second match was Li Yang versus Shen Shangchi.
As they entered the arena, the Star Law students erupted again.
Their monthly exam had been a painful one.
Only Shen Shangchi had managed a solid win.
Ying Qi had fought one of their own first round, and her second match was against Zhong Qian—his Star Combat combo was a perfect counter to low-rank Star Law skills.
It was nearly impossible for her to win.
So, Shen Shangchi was their only hope this exam.
Now, he was facing Li Yang.
“Defeat her!”
“Don’t let her get close!”
“Go Shen Shangchi! Avenge Dean Shen!”
Those shouts from the crowd?
Shen Shangchi’s smile onstage grew even more stiff.
He wasn’t underestimating Li Yang.
Back during the Tree Tower trial, he had already witnessed her strength.
Are you kidding? Someone who could drag twenty star-plants around in a rampage—how could she possibly be weak?
And that was before she had any offensive star skills. Now…?
She could probably solo the Tree Tower!
The senior host seemed worried the students would brawl before the match started and quickly said, “Contestants, please.”
The countdown began.
Shen Shangchi instantly became serious.
He really wanted to win.