Chapter 14: The Mask

More air shuttles landed one after another along the edges of Feiguang Terrace.

The number of examinees in Zone 9 kept growing.

Jiang Jian opened his identity device, pulled up the screen, and checked his number.

“Zone 9, Candidate 778, Jiang Jian.”

Jiang Jian looked up at the semi-transparent seating map on the massive signboard.

Zhou Yu suddenly walked over and glanced around.

Seeing no one nearby, he lowered his voice slightly: “Jiang Jian, one of my classmates is on the municipal examination board.”

Here, his tone grew even softer: “After you receive your Divine Gift talent, when they assess your Divine Gift score, consider the circumstances.”

“You may be granted an extra 1 to 3 points within the allowable range.”

He fell silent.

Zhou Yu slapped Jiang Jian’s shoulder hard, then turned and walked away.

Over the years, Zhou Yu had never seen a theoretical score as insane as Jiang Jian’s.

So he’d instinctively felt a pang of regret for such talent.

That’s why he’d gritted his teeth and called in a favor from his classmate.

He did his utmost to prevent Jiang Jian’s total score from being too low due to a poor Divine Gift talent.

Jiang Jian glanced at Zhou Yu’s back but said nothing.

He memorized the location of seat 778 and walked forward.

He took a few steps.

Another massive light screen, dozens of meters high, blocked his path.

A mechanical female voice sounded: “Present your identity device for candidate verification.”

Jiang Jian raised his wrist.

On the semi-transparent screen, streams of light surged.

A few seconds later.

“Verification successful. Zone 9, Candidate 778, Jiang Jian.”

“Please enter.”

Hearing the voice, Jiang Jian reached out and touched the screen.

The light screen before him softened instantly, allowing him to pass through unimpeded.

As he passed through, the surroundings grew noticeably quieter.

The earlier bustle and noise were completely sealed out.

Only the footsteps of examinees moving about remained.

“Seat 778...”

Jiang Jian walked over a hundred meters, turning left and right, until he finally found his seat.

The seat before him was extremely basic.

Aside from a chair and a wooden desk, there was nothing else.

Outside the desk, a pale blue light screen also surrounded it, preventing entry.

To take the Divine Gift Examination, one must undergo rigorous, stringent verification at every stage.

Jiang Jian raised his wrist.

“Verification successful. Candidate 778, Jiang Jian.”

The mechanical female voice spoke.

The azure light screen twisted briefly, then shattered apart.

Jiang Jian sat down on the chair.

The next second.

Light lines wove up from the ground, and a new ring of light screen reappeared around the desk.

Instantly, complete silence enveloped Jiang Jian’s ears.

“There—that’s the Ritual Platform...”

Jiang Jian sat properly and looked up.

At the center of Feiguang Terrace stood a massive Ritual Platform.

Above it hung a giant mirror.

Positioned at the highest point of Guangling City, it seemed to touch the heavens.

At every moment, it absorbed the light of the star.

Below it was similarly divided into 24 sections.

It could accommodate 24 students simultaneously for the Divine Gift Ritual.

On either side of the Ritual Platform,

two enormous light screens floated.

The first light screen hung high above, stretching nearly a hundred meters.

At its top, the six characters “Total Theoretical Score Ranking” glowed with blinding brilliance.

The second light screen was even larger!

It was entirely woven from azure light, stretching from Feiguang Terrace to fill the entire sky.

Suspended beneath the Ritual Platform’s mirror, it blazed brilliantly!

At its very top, the same six characters: “Guangling City Total Ranking!”

At this very moment,

countless names flickered and surged wildly across both light screens.

These densely packed names represented all 32,563 examinees in this year’s Guangling City Divine Gift Examination.

“Twenty minutes remaining.”

Jiang Jian lowered his gaze to the desk before him.

A light screen also floated above it.

The small characters glowed faintly: “Time until exam begins: 19 minutes 57 seconds.”

Time continued to dwindle.

Jiang Jian already knew the exam procedure perfectly.

The theoretical score was out of 50 points, with a three-hour time limit.

After three hours,

the names of all 32,563 students would appear on the “Total Theoretical Score Ranking” list, ordered by score.

Students with identical scores would be ranked by time taken—

the less time used, the higher the rank!

The second stage: the Divine Gift Ritual.

Based on the theoretical score ranking list,

students would begin the ritual in reverse order,

starting from the lowest-ranked candidate,

ascending upward one by one.

The Guangling City Examination Board would assign each student a Divine Gift score on the spot.

The Divine Gift score added to the theoretical score would be the candidate’s total score.

As soon as the total score was calculated, the candidate’s name would immediately appear on the list.

The “Guangling City Total Ranking” list updated in real time.

Until the very last moment,

no final ranking could be determined!

“Time until exam begins: 10 minutes 00 seconds.”

Ten minutes remained.

Inside his seat’s light screen, Jiang Jian gently closed his eyes.

He recalled everything he had studied over the past seven years:

every textbook, every memorized theoretical concept,

and every expanded interpretation he had made of the exam materials.

The theoretical exam was difficult.

Because the actual Divine Gift Examination’s theoretical questions differed entirely from mock exams.

It included “comprehension questions” of extreme difficulty—not found in any textbook.

These “comprehension questions” were precisely why many candidates failed to raise their theoretical scores.

A candidate who scored 40 on mock exams

would typically lose at least five points on the real Divine Gift theoretical exam!

“Time until exam begins: 5 minutes 00 seconds.”

“Time until exam begins: 3 minutes 00 seconds.”

“Time until exam begins: 50 seconds.”

"20 seconds until exam start."

"0 seconds until exam start."

"Guangling City Divine Grant Examination — Theory Section — now beginning!"

Time reached zero; the mechanical female voice echoed across Feiguang Terrace!

The semi-transparent screen before Jiang Jian suddenly shimmered with interwoven light!

The next instant.

New luminous characters appeared upon it!

"Question One, 3 points."

"List as many races of the Jupiter Alliance as possible, and briefly describe each race’s characteristics."

"Correctness rate sixty percent: 1 point awarded."

"Correctness rate ninety percent: 2 points awarded."

"Correctness rate one hundred percent: 3 points awarded."

Seeing this,

Jiang Jian frowned slightly.

This type of question was extremely difficult.

The textbook mentioned only fragments.

It was entirely extracurricular knowledge.

"For this first question, the vast majority of candidates will score only 1 point."

Jiang Jian silenced his scattered thoughts and pondered carefully.

He had encountered this information in the book he had read: "Miscellaneous Notes on Jupiter."

After several dozen seconds.

Jiang Jian’s gaze sharpened; he picked up the light pen and swiftly wrote on the screen before him.

Not long after,

The semi-transparent screen was filled with small characters.

Jiang Jian reviewed it once more, verified his answers, then tapped the "Next Question" button in the lower-right corner.

On the left side of the screen, a prominent countdown floated.

Allowing every candidate to clearly see the remaining time.

"Remaining exam time: 175 minutes."

Jiang Jian glanced at the time, then returned his focus to the screen and continued answering.

Around him,

In the light screens of other desks,

Many candidates frowned deeply, their expressions grim.

Some clever candidates, after securing their 1 point, chose to abandon the remaining 2 points of this question and moved directly to Question Two.

Minutes and seconds passed.

Tens of thousands of candidates slowed their pace with each passing question.

Yet Jiang Jian’s writing speed grew faster and faster.

Though he encountered several difficult "comprehension questions,"

Jiang Jian still relied on seven years of relentless, daily study,

Filling the screen with answers to every "comprehension question" he faced.

"Remaining exam time: 56 minutes."

Jiang Jian set down his pen, gazed at the screen, and exhaled softly.

The answer progress bar was now reduced to a tiny sliver.

"Question Twenty, 2 points."

"Assume Candidate 'Jia' has obtained a Level 2 'Mind' talent: telekinesis."

"List at least three combat-appropriate second-talent combinations, and explain each in detail."

Seeing the final question,

Jiang Jian’s expression darkened.

This question was entirely beyond the syllabus.

Although "telekinesis" was not rare,

Information regarding second talents

Was knowledge revealed only after the Divine Grant Ceremony.

(End of Chapter)