Chapter 24

As myriad spirit talismans flickered one by one, the world before his eyes distorted, transforming into a 100% realistic virtual realm. Li Yao appeared on a vast square paved with black rocks.

He was only going to take a simple test, so it wasn’t as grand as the last simulated college entrance exam.

The black rock square was about 500 meters in diameter, surrounded on all sides by towering black walls. Looking far into the distance, one could see countless blood-red doorways around the square, from which the roars of demonic beasts could be faintly heard.

One by one, the ferocious demonic beasts began to reveal their forms.

Li Yao leisurely moved his joints, making a series of popping sounds. Suddenly, he had an idea and, imitating the grinning clown from last night, he meticulously and earnestly performed the “Federation’s Fifth Set of Fitness Exercises.”

“It seems ordinary, nothing special. Never mind, let’s test my maximum speed first!” Ignoring the dozens of demonic beasts approaching, Li Yao knelt on one knee, hands on the ground, buttocks raised, and assumed the starting position for a sprint.

“Ao ao ao ao!” Several demonic wolves with blood-red eyes howled as they pounced at him.

“Whoosh!” Every muscle in Li Yao’s legs seemed to turn into countless sharp blades in an instant, leaving two fist-sized deep pits in the black rock ground. In a flash, he turned into a blur, darting through the midst of seven or eight demonic wolves!

Li Yao paid no attention to the oncoming demonic wolves, with only one thought in his mind: run!

In an instant, he sprinted from the center of the black rock square to the edge 250 meters away. Still maintaining high speed, he was about to collide with the wall when he leaped into the air, turning strangely in mid-air, and kicked hard with both feet.

“Bang!”

Cracks like a spider web instantly appeared on the wall. Li Yao shot forward like an arrow, heading towards the other end of the square.

By this time, the dozens of demonic beasts had yet to touch a single hair on his head!

Another 500 meters of lightning-fast sprinting, Li Yao turned back, standing firmly in the center of the square once again, and checked the time displayed in the sky.

“1000 meters, 1 minute and 32 seconds! Not bad, 41 seconds faster than my past self! Next, let’s test my maximum jumping ability!”

Li Yao squatted deeply, ran, accelerated, and sprinted. Just before two demonic beasts could tear him to pieces, he leaped high into the sky like a flying sword, piercing the heavens!

Thus, he tested his speed, endurance, jumping ability, carrying capacity, and explosive power one by one, all while surrounded by demonic beasts!

An hour later.

Li Yao was exhausted, panting heavily, sitting amidst the dismembered bodies of the demonic beasts, his face smeared with their foul-smelling blood.

Through the blood mist, his eyes were filled with anticipation as he gazed at the sky.

In the sky, dark clouds churned, cold winds raged, and thunder rumbled. After a series of complex calculations, the virtual realm gave his current spirit root development:

“58%!”

Seeing this shining number, Li Yao couldn’t help but raise his fist and roar in excitement.

Two days ago, his spirit root development was only 35%, placing him in the lowest tier. After the soul refinement by Ouyezi in the longest dream, it had increased by over 20 percentage points, bringing him just a step away from being a cultivation genius in the key class!

Although he was very clear that such a transformative change might only happen once, there were still 97 days left. He was absolutely confident that he could increase his spirit root development by at least 10% more during this time!

The road ahead was long, but nothing could block his path. He would definitely be admitted to one of the nine elite schools, embark on the path of cultivation, and become a master alchemist!

Even after leaving the virtual realm and stepping out of the exam cabin, Li Yao’s excitement remained for a long time.

He felt every joint itching, every muscle howling, and each breath exhaling steam. The unspent energy coursing through his body made him incredibly restless and eager to try.

Looking around, everyone was diligently practicing, and his best friend Meng Jiang was nowhere to be found, leaving him no one to share his joy with.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, his throat still felt like it was on fire. Taking a deep breath, Li Yao walked to the deepest part of the gym.

There, an old, dilapidated strength testing machine was placed.

Nowadays, students were accustomed to testing their strength in the virtual realm and had little interest in this old-fashioned mechanical and talisman array structure.

It had been a long time since anyone used this old machine to test their strength. It was covered in dust, like the remains of a long-dead giant beast, leaving only a dull skeleton.

However, Li Yao was very fond of this old machine. Compared to the intangible virtual realm, he found the old machine, assembled from countless parts, talismans, and pipes, with its intricate and profound structure, to have a unique and captivating charm.

At this moment, he urgently needed to vent his excitement.

In the virtual realm, he could certainly unleash his full potential, but how could it compare to the real-world, bone-crushing satisfaction of a punch?

“Bang!”

Li Yao delivered a straightforward punch, hitting the bullseye of the strength testing machine, instantly stirring up a cloud of dust.

The old machine, like a awakened giant beast, had its spirit talismans flicker one by one. The internal mechanism produced pleasant metallic clinks, gear rotations, and the hum of spirit energy flowing through the crystal tubes. Finally, a number appeared on the crystal tube counter above the machine.

“355 pounds!”

“This jab only has a force of a few hundred pounds? It doesn’t seem very powerful. What’s missing? What is it?” Li Yao squinted his eyes, letting the dust swirl around him, staring at his fist, deep in thought.

After a moment, he smiled slightly, took two earplugs from his pocket.

These were “sound bells” crafted by the “Miao Yin Sect.” Inserting them into his ears, he activated the miniature talisman array inside, which began to play beautiful music.

“Look at the rolling dark clouds, unable to block the flow of the Milky Way!”

“The endless darkness will eventually dissipate, and the stars of the heavens will ignite the light of life!”

Lu Yinxin’s high-pitched, powerful voice exploded in Li Yao’s ears!

“Yes, that’s it, the rolling dark clouds cannot block the flow of the Milky Way, wow!” Li Yao lowered his hips, growling, and the dust that had just settled on him instantly stirred up, forming a faint gray circle within a meter. Moments later, it was torn apart by the wind of his punch!

“Bang!”

“Bang bang!”

“Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang 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