Heh, that's a good question,"
Sun Buyu smiled and said, "Agile-type soul masters do indeed have a speed advantage over support-type soul masters. However, in the tests set by our Tiandou Royal Academy, such an advantage will not appear."
"That's because this test course was designed by the three heads of our academy, making the track as fair as possible."
"The course is made up of five sections. The first section is a normal mountain path, where agility-type soul masters are naturally unbeatable."
"But in the second stage, as your senior mentioned, you will need to run carrying baskets filled with stones. This section favors strong-attack soul masters."
"Similarly, the third stage benefits control-type soul masters, the fourth favors defense-type, and the final stage favors support-type."
"You should know that these three designers are all at the Soul Fighter level. The margin of error during testing has been minimized to about one percent."
"So, at the same level, agile soul masters might not necessarily outrun support soul masters."
The sausage-lipped man nodded, showing no objection—this test seemed fair enough.
"Any other questions? If not, please form three teams. I'm about to order the start of the test," the examiner Sun Buyu glanced over the crowd, seeing no objections.
"Wait, I have a question."
At that moment, a rather unattractive-looking youth spoke up, "Is there any reward for those who place in the top ranks?"
Sun Buyu looked over at the youth. It was Kong Longxian's nephew. His father had just greeted Sun earlier, implying to keep an eye on his son.
Sun Buyu's tone softened a bit, "If any student has a question, please feel free to ask."
Kong Long said, "I was wondering... is there any reward for the student who achieves first place?"
Although he wasn't short of money, he lacked popularity. If he could claim first place in this new student test, he could intimidate everyone with his strength, commanding respect, which would benefit his family as well.
He was confident in claiming first place, so naturally he wanted to know if there was any extra reward.
"Looks like Kong Long is determined to win,"
The crowd buzzed with excitement. Many who knew him knew he was a 29-level Battle Soul Master about to break through to level 30 and gain the Soul Lord title—a sure thing.
"I've heard of Kong Long's name. He's apparently the top fighter from some junior academy. Those who offend him usually don't have good outcomes."
"I heard his soul weapon is a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Soul weapons linked to dragons tend to be very powerful. A 29-level strong-attack soul master like him is not someone we can easily challenge."
"Sigh, looks like the first place in this test will definitely be his."
Someone questioned, "But Kong Long is older than most of us, and maybe his talent isn't better than mine."
"Look over there, the bald guy—his name is Zui Wuqing. He's only twelve but is the only one who managed to train himself into being completely bald."
"So bald!"
"It's said he does 1,000 one-handed push-ups, 1,000 sit-ups, and 1,000 squats every day, and that's the conservative estimate."
"Plus, he insists on running 10 kilometers every day without using soul power. Although he's only level 21, if no one uses soul power during the race, no one could beat him."
The whispers nearby piqued Gu Yechen's curiosity even more. To think there were such people in this world.
There was Kong Long, the junior academy's top 29-level soul master, Zui Wuqing who literally worked himself bald with level 21 soul power, and the most mysterious little girl.
"Looks like these three are no ordinary individuals."
Whether there were other strong contenders, Gu Yechen didn't know. He could only take things one step at a time.
Standing on the platform, Sun Buyu hesitated before speaking: "There are no official rewards for this test, but…"
"But there is an unofficial reward. Because a group of students who met the requirements just graduated from the Advanced Class, the Tiandou Royal Academy's second team now has a vacancy. So the first-place winner of this test will be selected as a member of the academy's second team."
"This secret is not supposed to be disclosed by the Education Committee, but since someone asked about rewards, I think it's better everyone knows. That way, you'll truly push yourselves to your limits."
Sun Buyu nodded toward Kong Long's nephew, clearly favoring him; this second team spot seemed destined for him.
To avoid embarrassment for others, Sun added, "Uh, personally, I will also provide three extra rewards to the second, third, and fourth place finishers as encouragement."
"So, anyone who makes it to the top four will receive a reward. Good luck!"
Since Kong Long's family had influence, Sun Buyu couldn't offend them. Now that the question was asked, he had to answer—and offer some incentives to ease the atmosphere.
Another student asked, "Sun Teacher, what exactly are the other rewards? We need motivation now."
Some students had status beyond Sun's influence. He understood well that in a noble school, everything is interconnected.
Sun explained, "Alright, since everyone's interested, I'll reveal the prizes to give you something to look forward to."
"The first prize—the spot on the Royal Academy's second team—needs no explanation. It represents a position fighting for the honor of the Tiandou Empire."
"The second prize is a special herb that can boost your soul power. For someone at your stage, it can increase your soul power by one to two levels."
"The third prize is a low-grade soul conductor device."
"The fourth prize is 100 Gold Soul Coins."
As Sun spoke, he showed the prizes to everyone. Most sneered—after all, they were nobles; except for the first prize, the others were hardly attractive.
Of course, some dismissed the prizes, but others paid close attention. A few even liked what Sun was offering.
Take the herb, for instance. Although it barely helped Sun Buyu increase his own soul power, for someone around level 20 soul power, it could at least increase one level, and for those at about level 10, it could boost two levels.
Gu Yechen also had his eye on some of the rewards.
Competing for these prizes gave him a bit of confidence, because the nobles were so delicate—they surely hadn't done hard labor.
He, on the other hand, had worked many jobs—gardener, porter, messenger, and his mom's human punching bag—he was practically an all-rounder, so these so-called challenges didn't faze him.
(End of chapter)
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