Chapter 7

The Star River Federation spans sixty-two light years, with four major administrative regions and a population in the trillions.

On the map of the Federation, five A-level academies stand tall—

In the capital of the First Administrative Region—“Federation Dawn Military Academy”

In the capital of the First Administrative Region—“Bonar United Academy”

In the Xuanming Star of the Second Administrative Region—“Pulan Military Academy”

In the Lingguang Star of the Third Administrative Region—“Taoyun Academy”

In the Landu Star of the Fourth Administrative Region—“Dingchuan Academy”

These five top academies are the cradle of talent in the Federation, the golden starting point for a meteoric rise, and the highest institutions of learning in the vast territory of the Federation. Every year during the admission season, millions of eligible candidates from the entire star system apply.

The five academies jointly stipulate that all applicants must not be older than twenty years old!

This single requirement has held back countless talents! Every year, during the holiday, the academies send teams to various planets to discover outstanding potential talents. The Federation stipulates that A-level academies have the right of first refusal. Before the admission season, this always draws countless curses from other academies, as the top students are always picked first, leaving other institutions struggling to survive.

But the five major academies are not worried; there are always plenty of applicants.

Glory! Privilege!

Getting into one of the five A-level academies is the dream of countless young people!

Each administrative region sets up examination centers on several major planets, so every exam season, thousands of young people gather on these planets.

On June 10th of the Federation Calendar, the exam day!

...

Landu Star Spaceport.

Glancing at the antique mechanical wristwatch on his arm, it read, "May 10th, Federation Calendar, 10:57."

A bald middle-aged man in a light blue uniform raised his head and sneered, "The damn higher-ups sent me to that godforsaken place. Every year, the people they recruit are at the bottom of the academy! This is the last year of the three-year evaluation, and they send me there. It's impossible to find any outstanding talent among a bunch of weaklings. They're deliberately trying to screw me over! If I find out who's behind this, I'll—"

His thick wrist joints strained the sleeves of his light blue uniform, with four embroidered characters tightly aligned—Dingchuan Academy.

He clenched his fist and punched the air, the wind from the impact pressing down the skirt of a woman in front of him. Fortunately, they hadn't boarded the interstellar travel ship yet, or she would have been sent off the ship.

Ruan Xiongfeng, the combat instructor of Dingchuan Academy on Landu Star! A retired colonel from the Federation's 114th Elite Infantry Regiment, thirty-seven years old, with a 25th-level physique and a 2nd-level mental lock, a martial arts master!

25th-level physique!

In the Federation's physical standards, a 6th-level instantaneous explosive punch force and body endurance of 75KG, then 150KG, 250KG, 400KG, 600KG, and 850KG for levels 7 to 11, with each subsequent level increasing by 50KG. A 25th-level physique has a baseline of 9600KG, a level that commands respect throughout the Federation.

Since strength does not necessarily correspond to endurance, a person with a 15th-level strength might only have a 10th-level endurance, making them a 10th-level physique.

However, a 25th-level physique means both instantaneous explosive force and body endurance reach 9600KG! This means that when he unleashes his full physical strength, a single punch delivers a force equivalent to over 9 tons!! It also means he can withstand that much force!!

The crowd waiting in line for inspection only cast respectful glances at his light blue uniform, unaware that a prehistoric beast in human form was waiting in line with them.

He had been teaching well, and he hadn't offended anyone at this school. But today, he received an order from the upper management to go to Zicui Star, 8.2 light years from Landu Star, to handle the recruitment. The other staff members had already left, and he was the overall coordinator for Zicui Star, with the freedom to choose his mode of travel.

What freedom! He was told to leave today, and he had to leave today! What a joke! This man, who had seen countless battles, cursed as he raised his hands for inspection. The people around him, seeing his Dingchuan Academy uniform, turned their heads away.

After passing through security and entering the waiting area, he had twenty minutes before entering the cryosleep pod.

Ruan Xiongfeng threw his bag behind him and leaned back, his broad hand rubbing his shiny bald head. He grinned, and the people around him quickly moved away.

Before leaving, he had researched Zicui Star, which was on the edge of the Fourth Administrative Region. The candidates from nearby areas would all gather there.

"What kind of talent can there be! The damn higher-ups, that poor place has already been proven by history to produce no real talent. Every year, half of the bottom hundred in the overall rankings come from the border regions! Including that Zicui Star! What bad luck!"

"Anyway, I don't understand anything else. The academy assigned me, and I'm responsible for the infantry major. I'll just treat this as recruiting cannon fodder."

"Right, the special recruitment for the Army Reserve must be interesting. Only ten spots are given, and those ten spots are shared among seven or eight nearby planets. Heh, interesting, I like this kind of thing."

A-level academies and the Federation's military have a partnership. Besides the military assessment day on September 17th each year, there are some special spots. These spots are handled by A-level academies during recruitment, requiring applicants to be no older than twenty and have a physique standard of at least 15th level. After the initial screening, the final 100 are selected! Each A-level academy has only 100 spots, and these will be the elite talents for military reserve training. During this period, 90 will be eliminated, and the remaining 10 can take internal exams to change majors or leave the school. In the end, only 10 will graduate. From the four administrative regions, the entire Federation... fifty people!

The difficulty is a thousand times, even ten thousand times, higher than the regular exam! But if you can survive four years without being eliminated, the ultimate reward is glory! Graduates receive the rank of major and become officers in special task forces!

One in a million...

There are geniuses who believe they are different from the norm, and there are those with outstanding achievements who want to prove their exceptionalism. They often end up with bloody heads.

This exam doesn't require academic scores or vast knowledge; it only requires one thing: you must be stronger than the others and stand at the end!

I'm counting on this to select some talent, but the academy has divided the area into ten zones. I bet my zone will still be at the bottom! Damn, just thinking about it makes me angry!

His facial muscles twitched, and Ruan Xiongfeng found himself still angry. He directly entered the spaceship, found a cryosleep pod, and lay down, out of sight, out of mind!!

...

...

The spaceship slowly started, heading towards the space jump point. A pleasant female voice repeated over the intercom, "Good afternoon, passengers. The interstellar journey is about to begin. Please enter the cryosleep pods within five minutes. The destination of this journey is Zicui Star, a distance of 8.2 light years, and it will take seven Federation days. Wishing you a pleasant journey."

This spaceship, carrying the dreams of young people from several border planets, slowly accelerated and disappeared into the vast starry sky.

A month later, the major exams of the Star River Federation's academies will begin!

************

(PS: Extra chapter for the patron Bai Yiduo!

Thank you to the reader "Ten Billion Light Years" for the tip, and thank you to the reader "Doctor Xu Loves Sweets" for the tip.)

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