Chapter 4

On September 19, 63520 AD, it was the unified date for the adult graduation exam in the Zhou Shan Empire. Millions of students across the empire were about to take the final step towards adulthood.

Du Qian looked at the questions with full confidence. His academic performance had always been good, but he rarely scored high marks, keeping his grades at an upper-middle level to avoid standing out. This had always been Du Qian's life philosophy.

A brief history of human development—this was practically a freebie.

Du Qian picked up his pen and wrote: "The history of human development is a history of wars. From clans devouring clans to form tribes, from tribes devouring tribes to form city-states, from city-states devouring city-states to form nations, and from nations devouring nations, the three major powers were ultimately formed: the Zhou Shan Empire, the Zhenhai Alliance, and the Bitian Republic."

Under the current social system, the three most popular and respected professions.

Even simpler, the graduation exam was indeed easy. He continued to write: "Wuxiu, Jufushi, and Yuhunshi."

Answering the questions smoothly, he felt no resistance.

The results of the graduation exam were not important. As long as they were not abysmal, everyone could pass. Even if they failed, they could still obtain a green identity card, though the information on it might make one blush.

Compared to the adult graduation exam, the entrance exam for higher education institutions two weeks later was the main event. Top students from all over would compete, taking the first step towards the peak of their lives.

As for the war orphans, very few had the opportunity to enter the examination room. The registration fee alone was a significant barrier for most orphans. As for tuition after enrollment, it was even more out of reach for war orphans.

The results of the adult graduation exam were processed by the central differential machine and announced half an hour after the exam.

Leaving the examination room, Lei Ming was already waiting outside. His academic performance was even better than Du Qian's. Du Qian's focus was not on academics; he spent more time cultivating his spiritual energy.

On the playground, many vehicles had already parked, with various banners. The largest and most prominent were from the military and political departments, with the best location, the most people, and the strongest presence.

After the adult graduation exam each year, it was the time for the major powers to recruit. The exam results were not significant; the people they wanted to recruit had already been decided months ago. The focus was on the combat power test in June.

"Logistics, General Staff, Field Army, Special Forces, Navy, Air Force—quite a full lineup," Du Qian said with a smile, though it was tinged with bitterness.

"Over there are the City Lord's Office, the City Guard, and the Police Department—all government departments," Lei Ming said, looking at the other side.

"Yes, and also here, Piaoxue, Leimo, and Buzhou are all here," Du Qian said softly. This year's setup was more grandiose than usual. All three major commercial enterprises were present, which was not common.

After all, this was just the Pingchuan City War Orphan School. The number of graduates who could catch their eye was limited, and it was not worth the effort. The combat power test in June showed that only five graduates had a combat power over 10,000, and only about thirty had a combat power over 5,000.

"Something's strange," Lei Ming said, rubbing his chin.

Not just a little strange, but very strange. Before the adult graduation exam, a combat power over 10,000 was indeed good, but it was just good. The military and political departments came every year, but not as exaggerated as this year. The three major commercial enterprises and government departments had no need to come here to recruit; there were many other schools in Pingchuan City.

"Here they come, here they come, it's her..." Just as they were puzzled, the crowd on the playground started to move, surging like a tide.

"Her?"

"Never seen her before," Lei Ming said, shaking his head. Why would he know the trivial matters of the orphan school? Even if someone told him, he wouldn't bother to listen.

Du Qian glared at Lei Ming. You might not know her, but I do. There were over a thousand war orphans in this class, and after ten years, Du Qian knew almost all of them. This girl was particularly special; almost everyone except for someone like Lei Ming knew her.

Her name was Yao Jing. Her academic performance was average, and her combat power seemed average as well. Everything about her was ordinary. The only thing not ordinary was her height—she was the shortest girl in the class, barely reaching 1.5 meters at the age of eighteen. Some might even mistake her for a primary school student.

"Her name is Yao Jing, the shortest girl in our class. What's the deal with her?" The grand setup puzzled Du Qian. She was short and had a childlike face, making her look like a little girl.

People from various organizations gathered around, and the war orphans were curious, naturally forming a semicircle around them.

"You are Yao Jing, a graduate of the Pingchuan War Orphan School, class of 63520. Your results are out. Please choose. If you join the military and political department, you can choose any department, starting as a colonel," the officer with a major general's insignia said crisply, then stepped back to let others speak.

"Damn, starting as a colonel, what's going on?" someone whispered. Du Qian was also stunned. This didn't make sense.

As a war orphan, with parents who were soldiers, he was naturally well-versed in military matters. In the field army, a colonel was at least a battalion commander, with over a thousand subordinates.

A middle-aged man with glasses stepped forward: "I represent the Pingchuan City Lord's Office and invite Yao Jing to join. You can choose any department and set any conditions."

Du Qian's eyes widened. Any department? Any conditions? This was even more generous than the military and political department's offer.

An old man from the three major commercial enterprises stepped forward and looked at Yao Jing: "Choose any of the three major commercial enterprises."

No conditions were offered, but everyone understood. Like the City Lord's Office, this was an invitation for Yao Jing to set her own conditions. As long as she came, everything was negotiable.

What was going on?

Yao Jing seemed calm, as if she had expected this.

She scanned the crowd, bowed, and replied in a somewhat childish voice: "I choose the Pingchuan City Lord's Office, the Police Department's Flying Tiger Team."

The middle-aged man smiled and stepped forward, while the colonel and the commercial enterprise representative remained calm, showing no signs of disappointment.

"Everyone must be wondering what's happening. I'll tell you, being a graduate of this class is an honor and a glory."

"**'s report..." Lei Ming muttered.

"Shut up," Du Qian said softly, knowing that this guy would always say something negative.

However, Du Qian agreed with Lei Ming. The guy's words were full of official jargon, and the long-winded report style was annoying. But his curiosity about Yao Jing's situation was piqued.

"Yao Jing tested with extraordinary talent in June, with a combat power over 200,000. Cheer up, young people, our Pingchuan City has produced an 18-year-old War King."

"Wow..."

"Um..."

"This is impossible... an 18-year-old War King? A 17th-level War King?"

A wave of shock swept through the crowd. This was too much information.

Becoming a Wuxiu was the dream of every imperial citizen. But the entry barrier was extremely high, with a combat power of 10,000 acting as a mountain that most people could not climb.

The higher the combat power, the harder it was to increase, which was common knowledge. Even though Du Qian had a combat power of 5,980 at 18, he might never reach 10,000 in his lifetime, which was the norm.

Those like Lei Ming, who had a combat power over 10,000 at 18, were all considered geniuses. Among the 1,200 graduates, there were only five such geniuses.

"Damn... 200,000 combat power, is this even possible?" Even Lei Ming, who usually only recognized Du Qian, exclaimed. 200,000 combat power was an unimaginable height.

Combat power could not be obtained out of thin air; it required effort, blood, sweat, and talent.

Combat power could not increase so rapidly in a short time. The school conducted a combat power test every year, so why hadn't it been detected before?

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Some might doubt why Yao Jing's combat power was not discovered earlier. This is normal. The testing equipment used in schools has a maximum limit of 10,000. Any combat power over 10,000 cannot be detected, and the needle will only slightly move."

"Oh..."

That made sense. The combat power testing equipment used in schools was usually old, and only prestigious schools used new digital testing equipment. The equipment used in the war orphan school was the oldest, so it was normal that it couldn't detect her combat power.

"During the combat power test in June, a small accident occurred, which led to the surprising discovery of Yao Jing, a genius among geniuses. In the entire empire, there are no more than ten such geniuses."

"Ah..." No more than ten in the entire empire, this was indeed extraordinary. Compared to the royal family and the major commercial enterprises, war orphans had access to far fewer resources.

"Alright, I won't say more today. Yao Jing, come with me. I'll have someone handle the identity card for you." The middle-aged man left the playground with Yao Jing, looking at the colonel and the commercial enterprise representative with a satisfied smile.

As Yao Jing left, the crowd dispersed. The results would be out soon, and the graduation exam would be over. They could then change their identity cards and leave the school, marking the beginning of their lives.

Du Qian didn't move, and neither did Lei Ming. Many other smart kids also remained on the playground.

It was normal for the military to come during the graduation season, but the representatives from the commercial enterprises not leaving was interesting.

"Brother Qian, what are we waiting for? There will be a lot of people changing their identity cards, and we'll have to queue up," Lei Ming asked, puzzled. Even if they didn't go to queue up now, they should at least contact the military and political department, as his goal was to join the military.

"No rush, let's wait and see the miracle."