Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest-Chapter 1201: Star Sea (6)

Although the Empire’s technology is extremely advanced, the Star Sea network covers all clusters and cities.

When it comes to education, however, it still adheres to ancient traditions. The vast majority of students learn in schools, classrooms, and Martial Arts Halls, directly interacting with their teachers face-to-face rather than taking the most cost-effective online classes.

Wang Chen is currently a third-year student at the Third Intermediate Academy of Long Sea City. He has already mastered the elementary and intermediate knowledge, as well as reached the tier of Second Order in Body Skill and Combat Skills.

His daily courses now only consist of preparing for and reviewing for the Advanced Martial Examination.

Right on time, Wang Chen arrived at the Martial Arts Hall of the academy.

By this point, the Martial Arts Hall was already bustling, with one or two thousand third-year students who, like Wang Chen, were also preparing for the upcoming final exams.

The Martial Arts teacher responsible for today’s lecture had yet to arrive. Students gathered in groups of threes and fives, whispering, joking, and engaging in lively discussions with each other.

The topics they discussed naturally revolved around next month’s advanced exams.

The Empire places immense importance on the annual advanced exams. The content is strictly confidential, and the examination locations are changed every year. Even the majority of nobles cannot exploit loopholes.

Over the centuries, heads lost due to examination corruption scandals could pile up into a hundred-meter-high view!

Few people dare to challenge the authority of the Imperial Inspection Court.

Thus, while the hierarchy within the Empire is rigid, the advanced exams provide countless commoners with the opportunity to change their fate. This system enables the Empire’s upper and middle layers to continually absorb fresh blood, significantly slowing the pace of decay and corruption.

The faces in the Martial Arts Hall—young and vibrant—were filled with dreams and longing for the future.

Yet only about 30% of them would pass the exam!

Wang Chen had just found himself a seat when his personal terminal, strapped to his wrist, vibrated lightly.

Opening it up, he saw a message from Mu Yu: "Lu Yuan-ge, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have hurt your feelings yesterday. Please believe me, you will always be the best brother in my heart!"

Even through the holographic screen, Wang Chen could smell the thick fragrance of melodrama.

He replied with a simple: "Mm."

Mu Yu continued, "I know you’ve always taken great care of me, and I truly feel grateful and touched from the bottom of my heart."

Wang Chen grew impatient: "What do you want?"

Apparently, the other party wasn’t expecting such a cold attitude, as there was a half-minute delay before the response: "Lu Yuan-ge, my classmates and I are planning to enroll in an exam crash-course tutoring program, but I’m still short of two thousand for the tuition. Could you lend me some money?"

She even attached a pitiful emoji to her message!

Wang Chen was speechless.

Mu Yu really treated his predecessor like an ATM.

After issuing such harsh words yesterday, she came asking for money today without the slightest hesitation. She clearly calculated her odds, assuming there was no danger of a fallout.

Wang Chen mulled it over briefly, then accessed his personal terminal to check his bank records. He compiled all the instances of money transfers he had made to Mu Yu into an extensive chart.

Amounts ranged from tens to hundreds, and sometimes even exceeded one or two thousand. In the end, the total stunned Wang Chen.

28,609.50 Star Currency!

In just three short years, his predecessor had lent Mu Yu nearly thirty thousand Star Currency.

To put this into perspective, the monthly salary of an ordinary worker in Long Sea City was only around three to four thousand Star Currency. All of Lu Yuan’s contributions came from his hard-earned wages and the savings he’d amassed through frugal living!

At the moment, his Imperial Bank account contained only 395.70 Star Currency.

And Mu Yu casually asked for two thousand!

Wang Chen didn’t hesitate in the least. He sent her the transaction record directly: "Repay this sum, and we’ll be even."

It’s worth noting that this money was only what his predecessor had directly loaned to Mu Yu. Gifts, snacks, toys, and similar items purchased for her through the years weren’t included in this count.

Mu Yu didn’t reply for a good while—probably stunned.

Wang Chen didn’t bother to pay her any attention after that.

In truth, he had plenty of ways to pressure Mu Yu into repaying her debt: he could post the transaction records on the academy forum or send them to her boyfriend to demand reimbursement.

But Wang Chen knew that if his predecessor’s spirit were watching this unfold, he likely wouldn’t approve.

What’s meant to be is meant to be; Wang Chen wouldn’t meddle further—as long as Mu Yu stopped pestering him.

At that moment, a burly man clad in a gray-and-white martial arts uniform appeared on the demonstration platform.

His pair of sharp, leopard-like eyes swept across the room, instantly silencing all noise in the Martial Arts Hall.

The man was none other than Jiang Zhenping, the third-year Martial Arts teacher, a War Professional with D-level strength!

He said in a deep voice, "Students, today we’ll be watching the Advanced Martial Examination content from Holy Light Calendar Year 579 for the Azure Star Cluster, coordinates EK390 Ecological Experimental Star..."

As Jiang Zhenping’s resonant voice echoed through the Martial Arts Hall, a massive holographic display screen appeared behind him, projecting an image of the planet’s surface.

The Empire’s Advanced Martial Examination is conducted entirely in real combat conditions. After transporting all candidates within the same star cluster to a designated Ecological Experimental Star via interstellar transport ships, they are uniformly deployed onto the planetary surface.

Each candidate is allowed to carry a set of armor, a weapon, and an emergency survival kit.

The examination’s objective is straightforward—hunt the mutated creatures residing on the Ecological Experimental Star!

The mutated creatures on these stars are genetic creations developed by the Imperial Supreme Academy of Sciences. They come in countless variations and possess a wide array of abilities, making them ideal for budding War Professionals to hone their combat skills and resilience.

The candidates’ performance during the exam is scored and evaluated by a super AI, which ultimately determines their grade!

Given the Empire’s extensive assortment of Ecological Experimental Stars—which continues to grow—along with their widely varying environments, terrain, and weather, the naturally cultivated mutated creatures also differ greatly among the planets.

Thus, the academy arranges for third-year students preparing for the advanced exams to familiarize themselves with the conditions of Ecological Experimental Stars and mutated creatures through holographic videos.

The Ecological Experimental Star currently being discussed by Jiang Zhenping, EK390, is located 3.7 light-years from the Azure Star Cluster. Its planetary diameter exceeds 17,000 kilometers, with landmass accounting for over 90% of its surface, and is home to countless mutated creatures.

Although the chances of this year’s Advanced Martial Examination taking place on EK390 are slim, this Martial Arts teacher is still patiently explaining its details—including its mutated creatures.

His lecture is practical and comprehensive, covering topics such as survival, combat, evasion, and self-rescue on unfamiliar planets.

The content is highly informative!

The Advanced Martial Examination differs significantly from its counterpart, the Advanced Literature Examination. The latter takes place in the secure cities of habitable planets, whereas the former may demand a life-or-death sacrifice.

What Jiang Zhenping is teaching could very well help the students pass their exams safely.

Wang Chen listened intently, thoroughly engrossed. Not even the frequent vibrations from his personal terminal could distract him.

It wasn’t until the break that he glanced at it.

Then he promptly added Mu Yu to his blacklist!

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