Star Gate

Chapter 778: Examination (III)

Li Hao and the others didn’t say a single word. It didn’t matter that the lord of Buddha Mountain was dead. The key was that he’d died in a manner that made them grieve for their own kind. Even though the two sides were opposed to each other, Li Hao was also shaken by the cold ruthlessness of the existences in the ruins.

Whatever occupied the ruins was not of the same era as modern day humans. He found Battle Heaven to be nice because they took care of him. Today, he saw how cruel those in the ruins could be.

Failure to pay off their fine meant death with no exception.

“Are the four of you going to use life essence to pay off your fine?” The Black Armor looked at Li Hao.

“Yes!”

“Very well, I expect to see payment in full after three days!” It looked at Li Hao again, hesitating. “Are you from the army?”

Li Hao summoned his gold armor with a nod. “I am from the Battle Heaven Army!”

“The Battle Heaven Army...” the Black Armor sighed with emotion. “The heritage of the Sword Sovereign and Battle Heaven count as auxiliary branches of an exalted emperor... You also have a descendant of another emperor with you and a guard of the imperial palace...”

Its eyes settled on Hou Xiaochen after scanning the group. “And you bear the heritage of the emperor from the foremost military school...”

This quartet came with quite the background—not that any of it made a difference. This place was not like the others. However, the four in front of him were connected to many people. There were ties to the Green Emperor [1] and the Heavenly Emperor. They were connected to the Eternal Sword Sovereign, the Exalted Broken Will Emperor, and the Exalted Blood Emperor...

One had to say, even the Black Armor hesitated in its course of action. However, it decided to proceed forth after momentary thought. Those people had just collected a large sum of energy stones. They were able to pay the fine.

Li Hao and the others didn’t say anything as another three who could not pay their fine died in the blink of an eye. There was no safety to be found in a place like this. Death was possible at any second—a situation that filled them with utmost resignation. It was difficult to say if any of them would be able to make it out alive.

“Alright, that concludes the matter of the fines for now!” announced the Black Armor. “It is both your fortune and disaster that you’ve set foot on Evenround grounds! It falls upon you to make it a stroke of fortune or doom...”

The group listened intently.

“There were many reasons why Evenround Martial was established here back in the day. The key was that energy is sufficient here. When the world changed, the Star Gate sealed shut, and Silver Moon Territory spontaneously declined in energy sources...

“The land entered a period of Late Martial in the blink of an eye!” The Black Armor looked at everyone. “And yet, Evenround was bestowed with an important duty of nurturing powerhouses for the frontlines. With the world being sealed away, you do not count as true students. If you wish to become real students, you must undergo an examination!”

“Report.” Li Hao frowned. “What if we fail the examination or choose not to participate in it?”

“Then that makes you a trespasser!” came the indifferent reply. “The fines earlier were but a small punishment meant to deliver a larger warning. You can leave only after becoming an official student. Otherwise, the school will continue to be closed. I will not punish you, but you will not be able to leave either!”

Eyes widened at its words. They wouldn’t be able to leave!

“This is the requisite path that each new student must take after joining a martial university, I am not singling you out!” the Black Armor said calmly. “Evenround Martial has a higher threshold than most. Only half step Apexes were accepted. Although you lot are somewhat removed from that level, the gap is not great, so I will not make things difficult for you!

“You may join the school if you pass three tests!”

Three tests!

“Then...” Li Hao’s head ached.

“There’s no need to haggle. Although you bear the heritage of the Sword Sovereign, keep in mind that many applicants were the descendants of emperors and exalted emperors back in the day. There were numerous applicants who were of a direct lineage, much less a latter-day descendant like you...”

It’d been countless years and the young man’s bloodline was greatly diluted. Did he still expect preferential treatment for it? If this was still in times past, even the Imperial Majesty’s son would have to take the test if they were here!

“Refusing the examinations will result in being treated as a trespasser. Trespassers will be exterminated!”

Fine! There was no way around it! Li Hao and the rest were highly apprehensive. What would be tested? Were they going to fight? Or work through obstacles?

As they pondered, they were suddenly moved away from the field and reappeared in a classroom. Everyone was assigned to a desk, as were Panther and the little tree. A scroll of paper appeared in front of them.

“This is the entrance exam of a martial university. The first subject: culture and civilization!”

“......” Jaws dropped. Li Hao also gaped. Culture and civilization?

He took a closer look at the paper and nearly cursed out loud. This really did test culture and civilization! Li Hao could scarcely believe his eyes.

“Students of martial universities are expected to be versed in both civil and martial subjects. There is no future for pure martial blockheads! Even the Human King had to pass such an exam to enroll at the Demonic Martial University! The one at the Department of Education places an even higher importance on these subjects, so there will be a full gamut of civil subject tests to come!”

Li Hao’s head ached and Hong Yitang frowned at his test. “Report, the times are different now and we have no recourse for learning about some of the material being tested. Exams should not seek to lean on particular prejudices. As the heritage of education, they should be as universal as possible. They should not be narrowly targeted as a means to stump candidates. Purposefully making things difficult would mean that the examination is just going through the motions of testing applicants.”

Li Hao’s head spun when he picked his paper up for a look. The hell was all this? Firstly, all of the text was in the ancient language. He knew it, but the others would be disqualified on that alone. Secondly, he had no idea what most of the questions were asking.

Granted, with the number of ancient books he’d read, he more or less knew of the material they covered. However, how was one supposed to calculate exact sums of blood qi or answer anatomical questions about the three cavities? He could perhaps write a response to the question asking about core origin dao, but why was this being tested?

He hadn’t thought that he’d one day sit down for an examination again after leaving school.

The Black Armor looked at Hong Yitang and seemed to agree after some thought. “Your words are reasonable. Education should advance with the times. Since the times are different... then... let’s make things simpler. All of you shall describe your martial dao for me to score! What is martial dao? What is its core? What is its goal? You can give a brief description of these.

“As for civilian life... I am not familiar with this age and thus cannot judge those subjects. Therefore, they can indeed be set aside for these examinations.”

The group sagged with relief. Thank goodness! They’d be in such great trouble otherwise. Who the hell could fill out that exam? As for a description of martial dao, everyone’s thoughts on that would be different. There was no standard answer for it, so it was up to the Black Armor whether it would detract points on purpose.

“Report, what is a passing score?”

“There is only pass or fail!”

The group understood. Nine powerhouses, one tree, and one dog sat docilely in place, quite resigned that they could do nothing other than take a test. Brush and paper appeared in their hands...

Panther looked down blankly at its paws, then raised an innocent look at the Black Armor.

“Monster spirits have their martial dao as well,” it said coolly when Panther looked over. “If you don’t know how to write... You can converse through mental strength. But a descendant of the exalted monster spirit emperor not knowing how to write... Thank goodness this is no longer the New Martial era or there wouldn’t be a good end in store for you!”

Why not? Because the ancestor of this guy’s ancestor once tried being shut in a dark room for countless years. It was a bleak period of pure studying that it wanted to experience.

As for the little tree, the Black Armor also considered it. “As a plant spirit and the only core origin cultivator present, you likely only inherited the dao of your predecessor. You can also use mental strength to convey your thoughts!”

It sat down on the lectern like it was the teacher, watching the students below like it truly wanted to listen to their understanding of dao. It was an uncomfortable situation, but the group had no choice but to comply.

Panther barked, a regular dog bark that communicated it didn’t know how to use mental strength either.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know how to use mental strength either...” The Black Armor seemed disdainful now. “Forget it, use the monster spirit language. I can understand dog barks!”

This Black Armor was quite unusual. Li Hao and the rest didn’t know how to approach the question. Ultimately, they lowered their heads and began writing, boldly forging ahead in the absence of other options. They were plainly in an unspeakably dangerous place, but were wracking their brains and putting brush to paper like they were students. It was... an incredibly surreal scene to many.

The little tree’s mental strength rippled while Panther barked continuously. The Black Armor sometimes nodded and at times shook its head. Who knew if it was really listening?

“It’s good that He Yong isn’t here...” Hou Xiaochen suddenly laughed partway through his response.

“No whispering allowed!” snapped the Black Armor. “Silence!”

Hou Xiaochen awkwardly shut his mouth. It’d just been one emotional expression, but he’d been rebuked for it. On second thought, this was rather funny. How many years had it been since something like this had happened to him?

No one said a word in the time remaining. Heads were lowered and brushes moved rapidly over paper, until they rested roughly half an hour later.

The papers flew into the air and landed in the Black Armor’s hands. It read them carefully before raising its head to look at the group. His gaze ultimately landed on Li Hao.

1. The Green Deity or Green Emperor is the manifestation of the supreme god associated with the essence of wood and spring. He is worshiped as the god of fertility. ☜

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