NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28: Assesment Begins
Over thirty students filed out in an orderly fashion and formed a line. Su Luoheng followed the crowd and stood in the middle of the group.
Soon, all the students whose names had been called stepped out of the line.
The female teacher glanced over the group and then turned her head slightly. "Teacher Li, the students I'm responsible for are all here. I'll take them to participate in the second-year assessment."
"Alright, take the children with you," responded Teacher Li.
The female teacher nodded slightly and, with a command, led the group toward the teaching building.
However, unlike the other new students heading to the first-year teaching building for their assessment, their assessment location was the second-year teaching building.
This was because all these students had already achieved the level of a first-level Soul Engineer during the entrance examination, so for this entrance placement assessment, they would be tested alongside the current second-year students.
...
...
Before long, the group arrived at the examination room and took their seats.
The female teacher who had led them there began to explain the examination rules.
"My name is Ran Ruobing, and I am the teacher in charge of your freshman assessment."
"The academy's grade assessments consist of a written test and a practical test. We will start with the written test. You will have one hour to complete the questions. To prevent cheating during the written test, all soul tools must be handed over. If I catch anyone hiding a soul tool or cheating, they will be disqualified immediately. A first offense will result in being barred from participating in the advancement assessment for a year; a second offense, for two years; and a third offense will result in expulsion."
Ran Ruobing paused briefly, her sharp eyes sweeping across the faces of the students.
"Does everyone understand?"
The students responded in unison.
It seemed they were intimidated by her stern words.
"Good."
Ran Ruobing nodded slightly, her previously cold tone now somewhat softer. "Now, you have five minutes to place all items unrelated to the exam on the podium."
As soon as she finished speaking, the students hurried to the podium to turn in their soul tools.
Most of the new students were exceptionally careful during the check, fearing that a moment of carelessness might affect their upcoming exam.
In contrast, Su Luoheng remained quite composed.
After all, he had participated in similar types of examinations nearly a thousand times in his previous life and was long accustomed to them, unlike these new students who were facing such a test for the first time.
He casually removed his storage bracelet and ice crystal wristband and placed them on the podium.
The storage bracelet was a third-level soul tool and could not store the ice crystal wristband, which was one level higher.
Su Luoheng's calm demeanor caught the teacher's attention.
Five minutes quickly passed.
Ran Ruobing checked the time and slightly furrowed her beautiful eyebrows, reminding the group, "There are still thirty seconds left. Please double-check yourselves. If anyone is still carrying a soul tool, don't blame me for being harsh when the time comes."
"…"
"Five, four, three, two, one."
As the countdown ended, no student left their seat.
Ran Ruobing's beautiful eyes glinted with a hint of icy light as she sharply scanned the group. Everywhere her gaze passed, there was a chilling, bone-piercing cold. Eventually, her eyes settled on a boy in the corner, and a cold but captivating smile appeared on her lips.
"It seems someone didn't take my warning to heart..."
She walked straight to the boy, raised her hand, and pointed to the door, her tone icy: "Leave. You are disqualified."
"Teacher Ran, I... I don't understand what you mean."
The boy's body trembled slightly, his face pale, and his lips quivered as he tried to explain.
Seeing this, Ran Ruobing decided not to show any mercy. She raised her hand and waved, and with a 'clink,' a bracelet-shaped storage soul tool fell to the ground.
The boy's legs trembled uncontrollably, his eyes filled with despair.
The evidence was irrefutable; there was no room for denial.
He was truly finished this time.
"Leave."
"Teacher, please give me another chance! The exam hasn't started yet, and I just made a foolish mistake. I promise it won't happen again—"
Ran Ruobing raised her hand and pointed to the door, her cold gaze fixed on him.
"Leave immediately. I don't want to repeat myself."
The boy dared not say another word. He hurriedly picked up the bracelet from the ground and left the classroom in disgrace, regretting his moment of foolishness.
But there's no medicine for regret in this world.
Moreover, she had already given him one chance.
Seeing the boy's embarrassed departure from the examination room, the atmosphere in the class became more serious.
Noticing this, Ran Ruobing nodded slightly, thinking to herself: "Senior Brother was right. These kids are quite cunning. You have to set an example to make them behave."
Judging by the current atmosphere, it seemed to be working well.
The little rascal just happened to be the perfect example.
"Now, the exam officially begins."
As Ran Ruobing finished speaking, she gently waved her arm, and a stack of test papers landed neatly on everyone's desk.
All the new students quickly put the earlier incident behind them and focused on answering the questions, their pens flying across the paper.
Su Luoheng was no different.
The exam questions tested the foundational knowledge of Soul Engineers, as well as the theory behind first-level core formations.
For Su Luoheng, who was already quite skilled in first-level core formations, these questions posed no challenge. In less than half an hour, he had completed more than half of the test.
Meanwhile, in the same timeframe, the other students had only managed to complete about a quarter of the test at best.
Su Luoheng's quick progress caught Ran Ruobing's attention once again.
As she passed by his desk, she glanced at his test paper and noticed the name "Su Luoheng." A look of recognition flashed in her eyes.
So, it was him, after all.
...
...
Time flew by, and an hour quickly passed.
"The written test is over."
As soon as the words left her mouth, all the students stopped writing.
Ran Ruobing suddenly spread her arms, and the next moment, all the test papers seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, neatly returning to her hands.
"You have two minutes to pack up your belongings. Assemble at the entrance of the teaching building in five minutes."
After gathering the test papers, Ran Ruobing left the examination room with a single instruction.
"Finally, it's over~"
"Did you manage to draw the Spirit Gathering Formation?"
"What was the first formation in the fill-in-the-blank section?"
"..."
As they packed up and organized their things, the students began to discuss the exam among themselves.
Naturally, there were mixed feelings—some were happy, while others were worried.
Before long, when Ran Ruobing reappeared, the new students quickly lined up in front of the teaching building, still under the shadow of the boy who had been expelled from the examination room.
She then led them to the experimental area to take the practical test.
Although the teaching building had experimental classrooms, conducting a test with over thirty participants and evaluating their soul tools was more convenient in the experimental area.
On the way, Ran Ruobing also briefed the students on the key points of the practical exam.
As the name implies, the practical exam tests the students' abilities to create soul tools.
The advancement assessment consists of a written test and a practical test, with the practical component accounting for 70% of the total score, making it the most crucial part of the entire assessment.