Chapter 44: The Third Round of the Exam

When Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lü Zi returned to the hotel, none of them wanted to leave the moment behind.

Today they had felt what it was like to be surrounded by stars, and even Lü Zi, usually quiet and reserved, couldn't help humming a tune on the way back.

"Teacher Geng." Fang Chong rushed straight to Geng Geng Qianxing's door and banged on it loudly.

Geng Geng Qianxing didn't open the door; instead, the doors of the two adjacent rooms opened.

"Stop knocking—Teacher Geng isn't here. He must have gone out," Li Wanran poked her head out and said.

"Yeah, we just knocked too—no one answered," Lü Zi nodded.

"Go back and rest. Get your energy back—we have the third round of the exam tomorrow," Fang Chong said, forcing Li Wanran and Lü Zi to return to their rooms.

Rest, in truth, meant returning to their rooms to practice the Thousand Nerve Gene Scripture.

The Thousand Nerve Gene Scripture quickly allowed one to enter meditation, strengthening internal Qi and expanding the meridians.

Early the next morning, Li Wanran and the other two emerged fully refreshed.

"Something's off—Teacher Geng usually wakes up before us and even calls us himself. Today's the third round—why hasn't he said a word yet?"

Lü Zi was the first to notice something was wrong.

Fang Chong returned to Geng Geng Qianxing's door and knocked again—no one answered.

"I'll get the room card," Li Wanran hurried downstairs.

All three felt something was amiss.

Soon, Li Wanran returned with Geng Geng Qianxing's room card.

To the hotel front desk, Li Wanran and the others were VIPs.

These four had elevated the reputation of Ting Huan Hotel to a new tier, placing it among Shanghai's most famous hotels.

So when Li Wanran asked for Geng Geng Qianxing's room card, the front desk didn't even ask a question.

Inside Geng Geng Qianxing's room, he was gone—but all his belongings remained.

Fang Chong strode to the bedside table and picked up a small handbag.

"This is Teacher Geng's wallet—he wouldn't go out without it. Wait—there's also a letter here," Fang Chong picked up the letter on the coffee table.

"He didn't take his phone either," Lü Zi said, picking up a phone from the table.

"Do you think something happened to Teacher Geng?" Li Wanran grew worried.

All three fell silent—no one suggested calling the police.

Because they already suspected what had happened.

After Teacher Ding left, the Gene Alliance issued a warrant for his arrest—Teacher Geng had been distracted ever since.

"Could it be the Gene Alliance took Teacher Geng?" Fang Chong said.

"That's definitely it—they took Teacher Geng. Do you remember what he told us a few days ago?" Li Wanran said.

Fang Chong and Lü Zi both nodded.

A few days ago, Geng Geng Qianxing had told them: if he suddenly disappeared, they shouldn't worry—just keep focusing on the exam.

"No matter what, Teacher Ding and Teacher Geng's affairs are beyond our reach. All we can do now is perform well in the third round," Lü Zi said.

"Yes—we can only speak to these people as equals if we enter one of the Top Ten Blue Star Academies. Only then can we restore justice for our teachers."

Fang Chong clenched his fists.

…

Although only ten thousand people participated in the third round, the Wu Dao Plaza in Shanghai was even more crowded.

The first two rounds tested only genetic potential and possible future height; the third round would finally determine whether that potential had been partially realized.

In the early years of the Blue Star Top Ten Academies' founding, there was no third or fourth round of testing.

Later, the third and fourth rounds were added because many students with astonishingly high potential scores had ultimately faded into obscurity.

Their potential simply couldn't be unlocked—or was blocked by various conditions, rendering it meaningless.

Thus, the third round became critical—even more so than the fourth round's arena matches.

The third round tested strength, speed, and agility.

Such tests required a martial foundation.

Even if a candidate scored excellently in the first two rounds, a poor performance in the third would still mean rejection.

In this era of environmental transformation, even without a master, those with sufficient potential wouldn't have abysmal strength, speed, or agility.

The ten thousand students who passed the first two rounds entered the waiting area one by one; compared to before, the waiting area now felt empty.

This was already the result of shrinking the waiting area again—if not, ten thousand people spread across a hundred waiting zones would have been barely noticeable.

When Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lü Zi entered, they still drew the full attention of the crowd.

But the crowd soon noticed the problem—Geng Geng Qianxing was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Teacher Geng?"

"Where's Teacher Geng?"

"All candidates are here—how can the supervising teacher be absent?"

Voices kept rising from the crowd—this was no minor matter.

If the training teacher had been absent during the first two rounds, it might have been acceptable.

After all, those rounds tested ability and potential—teachers could only offer encouragement.

But the third round was entirely different—it tested strength, speed, and agility.

In this case, whether the teacher was present or not made a huge difference.

A teacher present could remind students how to unleash their strength, enhance speed, and improve agility.

Even if something had been repeated many times, a final reminder right before the test mattered.

Tan Bei also noticed Geng Geng Qianxing was missing—he panicked.

In the first two rounds, Teacher Ding Huan just left, and now Teacher Geng has also vanished for no reason—this won't do.

He wanted to rush into the examination waiting area to ask Fang Chong and the others, but quickly remembered he wasn't allowed to enter the waiting area.

Tan Bei, frantic as ants on a hot pan, snatched up his phone and frantically dialed, but no one answered on the other end.

Tan Bei stamped his feet in rage, cursing those three students for not even bothering to inform him, the principal, when their teachers disappeared.

This is a complete disaster.

Inside the examination zone, Li Chuan, dean of the Guardian Academy—one of the Ten Great Academies of Blue Star—frowned and said, "Dean Nong, something's off."

Before the exam, Teacher Ding Huan from Yujiang University suddenly vanished. Now, in the third round, Teacher Geng Qianxing has disappeared too.

If there's no problem, I'd never believe it."

He was speaking to Nong Yizhen, dean of Zhenyu Academy. Upon hearing Li Chuan's words, Nong Yizhen frowned as if deep in thought, but did not immediately reply.

Sitting beside him was Zhang Yongcheng, the white-haired dean of Yi Academy, who upon hearing Li Chuan's words let out a cold snort.

"The Gene Alliance has gone too far. Geng Qianxing is the lead examiner, and the third round is still ongoing."

Do they think they can control everything? To snatch away an examiner at this critical moment?"

"This matter, the Ten Great Academies of Blue Star absolutely cannot let it slide—otherwise, cultivating geniuses and protecting humanity becomes a colossal joke."

"Dean, you can't speak so recklessly."

A woman's voice interrupted Zhang Yongcheng.

"You haven't even investigated—how do you know Geng Qianxing's disappearance is linked to the Gene Alliance?"

When the Ten Great Academies of Blue Star were founded, the Gene Alliance gave tremendous support. Do you think they wouldn't know it's dangerous to take away an examiner now? Better to investigate thoroughly before drawing conclusions."

The speaker was Qin Qiang, dean of Wu Mai Mountain Field.

Li Chuan said coldly, "Dean Qin speaks wisely—but perhaps you've forgotten you're one of the Gene Alliance's directors. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to say this?"

"What do you mean by that, Li Chuan?" Qin Qiang suddenly stood up.

Before Li Chuan could reply, Nong Yizhen abruptly spoke.

"Let's settle everything after the exam ends. This recruitment by the Ten Great Academies of Blue Star is crucial—we can't afford even the slightest error or carelessness."

…

The third round's duration was greatly extended, yet only ten thousand candidates participated, so the pace of the third round was faster.

With Geng Qianxing absent, Fang Chong and the others weren't especially nervous—they'd already endured two rounds.

Fang Chong was called first.

"Fang Chong! Do your best."

As Fang Chong entered the examination hall, Li Wanran and Lü Zi cheered him on.

Fang Chong took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly.

He was still a student, lacking social experience—but that didn't mean he was foolish.

Ding Huan's early departure and Geng Qianxing's disappearance subtly made him suspect it had something to do with the three of them.

Because their scores were absurdly high, many people with ulterior motives were watching them.

To make those shameless bastards behave, they had to become stronger themselves.

Think of Master Senior Yan Xia—when he first emerged, everyone dared to teach him a lesson.

Later, Master Senior Yan Xia gained a breakthrough and his power soared continuously.

Whether he was truly a Primordial or a Grade Earth cultivator now, no one dared to provoke him.

If their teacher had been Master Senior Yan Xia, would the Gene Alliance dare to move?"

So he must become a strong one—make the Gene Alliance know: don't ever touch Fang Chong's teachers.

The venue for the third round had been reconfigured. As Fang Chong entered, he saw a hall roughly thirty meters long and six meters wide.

On the left side of the hall stood a strength-testing platform; during his time at Yujiang University, he had tested his punch strength nearly every day.

He recognized this strength-testing platform at a glance.

"You're Fang Chong?" The examiner suddenly asked upon seeing him enter.

Fang Chong paused, then nodded. "Yes, I'm Fang Chong."

He was puzzled—examiners usually didn't ask for names; even if they needed to verify, they'd just ask for his exam number.

"Good. First, test your speed—run ten round trips."

"Understood." Fang Chong didn't hesitate—he stepped directly onto the starting blocks.

After adjusting his posture, he pushed off with his left rear foot and shot forward like a slingshot.

This sprint test required no starting pistol.

As soon as your foot touched the starting block, the system automatically began timing.

After completing ten round trips, as long as you stepped off the track, the system would automatically display your total time.

Ten round trips equaled six hundred meters. After cultivating the Thousand Nerve Gene Scripture, this six-hundred-meter sprint was effortless.

After finishing, he didn't even break a sweat.

The examiner secretly praised him—truly, a student who had scored S-rank consecutively; without internal Qi to support him, no one could achieve what Fang Chong just did.