Chapter 119 Chapter 119
Among the crowd, the most dazzling ones are undoubtedly Guan Yun and Xue Yao.
The two of them did have an "old grudge", and it was much deeper than what the uncle learned through online gossip.
Specifically, the two have been neighbors since childhood, and their parents have a good relationship, often putting the two children together. If it were most boys and girls in the world, they would have a sweet childhood sweetheart story.
But the problem is, they have not gotten along since childhood.
Both of them are geniuses, and their personalities are extremely proud. They dislike each other every day and have had countless fights since they were young.
There were even more secret fights. For example, today Guan Yun stole Xue Yao's game console, and tomorrow Xue Yao secretly poured Chinese medicine into Guan Yun's water cup. When he grew up, he would fight for the little red flower in kindergarten, the first place in the school exam, and the opportunity to become a divine beast master first...
So at this time, when the two saw each other at the meeting point, they rolled their eyes at the same time.
"My luck is so bad today," Xue Yao turned his head deliberately, digging his ear with his right pinky finger. "How come I have to run into a crazy woman like you during the Adventurer Assessment?"
"Hey, what were you doing two years ago? Why did you have to rush here today?"
Guan Yun glanced at him with a sharp knife - she had a pair of extremely heroic almond-shaped eyes, and when she glanced at him, it was like a sharp knife whizzing past.
"What did you do two years earlier? Aren't you asking even though you already know the answer?"
Her tone was lighter than Xue Yao's, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly, as if she had remembered something interesting. "I've traveled to all 56 provinces of Daxia and challenged 609 beastmasters, including two divine beastmasters. How many have you challenged?"
Xue Yao: "...I'm currently ranked 597th. If it weren't for this test, I would have been ranked over 600 today."
"However," he changed the subject, "I challenged three divine beast masters. I'm much better than that crazy woman who only cares about quantity and not quality!"
Guan Yun said calmly, "Really? But I was promoted to Divine Beast Master earlier than you."
Xue Yao's expression became noticeably tense. After a pause, he said unhappily, "It's only one day early!"
Guan Yun: "One day early is early. One hour early, one minute early is early."
Xue Yao: "Haha!"
The two of them engaged in a verbal battle that stunned the other contestants standing nearby. It must be said that although both of them seemed very strong, their quarreling was... really childish.
Fortunately, this childish conversation didn't last long. About ten minutes later, the staff member raised the loudspeaker and said, "OK, the entrance time has ended. Those who haven't arrived yet will be treated as withdrawn. Our assessment is officially underway. The gate to the other dimension has been opened. Candidates, please follow me."
"This exam will last three days and will be based on a points system. After registering your exam number, you can go to the entrance to pick up a copy of the exam rules. If you have any questions, please ask the staff on site..."
When they heard the words "Assessment begins", everyone present became excited.
Guan Yun was about to head towards the passage when he heard Xue Yao shout from behind, "Do you want to compete again in this assessment?"
"The points system is great! It all depends on who gets the most points!"
Guan Yun strode forward and replied without turning his head, "Okay, let's compete. But Xiao Yaozi, listen carefully, the first place in points will definitely be mine."
Xue Yao snorted: "We'll see."
They rushed to the front of the crowd and entered the gate, scrambling to get ahead, as if they would lose the opportunity if they were a step slower. Xia Muqing was mixed in the crowd and saw this scene, her eyebrows twitched inadvertently.
These two beast masters... are really interesting.
It’s a points system, right? Then she has to work harder too.
After receiving a copy of the rules from the staff, Xia Muqing looked through it carefully and found that it was very similar to the rules Cheng Zizhuo had predicted for her.
Cheng Zizhuo had explained to her in detail before that the point system is a commonly used assessment model, which will break down the assessment content into tasks of different levels and scores. Candidates can screen and accept them according to their abilities, and the final ranking will be calculated based on the accumulated scores.
As the gates opened one after another, the candidates rushed in and entered the different space.
Even though everyone was no complete rookie, the intense dizziness of traveling through space still had a significant impact on most people. The concentration of profound energy in the seventh zone was several times higher than that of the fifth zone Xia Muqing had previously visited. Many people couldn't adapt, and their first reaction upon entering was to lean against a tree and retch, or crouch on the ground with their heads in their hands in pain.
"Hiss... my head hurts!"
"It feels like being pricked by needles. I can't stand it. This is the annoying thing about alternate dimensions. I always feel dizzy when I enter."
A group of people around were grumbling, but Xia Muqing felt okay being among them.
When integrating into the environment of high concentration of profound energy, she had practiced her mental power to the point of being very proficient in transforming it into a barrier, covering her body with an invisible film.
And then, Xia Muqing was surprised to find that while her mental power was shielding the external mysterious power and preventing her body from feeling uncomfortable due to the sudden change of environment, it was also subtly absorbing the floating particles in the air, causing her mind and spirit to surge with an indescribable sense of refreshment.
"So the strength of the spiritual power also affects the state of the beastmaster in the alien space?"
Xia Muqing looked around while thinking.
In the map distributed by the assessment team, the seventh district is hundreds of miles in radius and has vast terrain.
What's even more peculiar is that the rich and colorful terrain connects seamlessly here. Adventurers can see the Gobi Desert connected to the wetlands, and the lakes bordering the desert. Jumping from a cliff covered with lush branches and leaves and blooming flowers, the bottom of the cliff may be covered with snow. It is said that sometimes, there will be a strange sight of the sun and the moon shining together, with day and night each occupying half of the sky.
Therefore, among veteran adventurers, District 7 has another affectionate name: the Land of Miracles.
The moral is here, everything is possible.
At this moment, what Xia Muqing saw before her eyes was a desert. The dry wind mixed with a bitter smell blew over her head. Many beastmasters couldn't help but wrap their scarves and wrap their heads like a round potato.
Those who didn't bring scarves could only helplessly face the gale, letting the grit in the wind make their skin red, swollen, and dry.
But Xia Muqing doesn't have this worry.
The mental barrier covering her face is better than the most moisturizing mask, and no wind or sand can harm her skin.
She released a few mysterious beasts, then went to the nearby stronghold and received a palm-sized locator.
It's called a locator, but it's actually more like a mobile phone, not only displaying the examinees' locations but also offering important features like a task list and a one-touch call for help. Of course, pressing that button essentially means failure.
As for the task list, it is convenient for candidates to accept and abandon tasks at any time.
Xia Muqing clicked on the list.
A long row of densely packed text popped up on the screen, all of which were tasks that could be accepted.
The tasks in the assessment are divided into 5 levels from "D~S". From A to S, the difficulty of the tasks gradually increases, and the corresponding points for completing the tasks are also more generous.
D-level tasks, on the other hand, don't have specific targets—they're collection tasks, targeting resources collected by candidates while on their way to completing their tasks. These are guaranteed tasks that anyone can take. Ultimately, the organizers will award additional points based on the importance of the resources.
"Well, little girl, it seems you've come here a long way, so I'll teach you something."
The uncle who came in with her walked beside her, clicking on the task list while saying calmly, "For this points-based assessment, choosing the task is the most crucial part."
"Selecting easy-to-complete, high-scoring tasks is also a test of the examinees' discerning eye. Grabbing the right tasks will give you and me a head start. Otherwise—what the hell!"
The uncle scratched the screen and made a chicken cry.
Xia Muqing moved closer with the locator, and just when she wanted to take a closer look, she found that the tasks were disappearing rapidly - the beastmasters who entered at the same time were frantically screening the tasks they wanted!
There are extra many candidates taking the test this time, so the uncle's advice on careful selection is no longer applicable. No one wants to lose at the first step, so everyone is scrambling for tasks, regardless of whether they are suitable or not, just grab a few first!
“What the hell, what the hell!”
The uncle was already dizzy and dazed, staring at the screen with a flushed face. "Damn it, you're going to play this trick on me, right? Fine, I'll pick one too! This one—this one's gone! And this one—why is it gone too?"
"They're grabbing C-rank missions so quickly. Are these people animals?"
"Damn it, damn it, I won't be picky, I'll just order two first—Um, little girl, what are you doing? Hurry up and take the task?"
"B- and C-rank missions aren't very difficult, and they're best suited to winning by sheer volume. If you don't hurry up, soon only the more difficult A- and S-rank missions will be left!"
Xia Muqing responded softly: "Yeah, let me take a look first..."
As she spoke, she took out a data cable from her pocket and quietly connected the locator to Ark Xiaoxue.
In the alien space, most electronic devices will malfunction, but now Ark Xiaoxue is driven by mysterious power, so of course she is not affected.
At this moment, it was operating its core, and with eyesight and hand speed far exceeding that of many beastmasters, it copied all the tasks into its own simulator in a few seconds. Then, combined with the map that Xia Muqing had shown it before, it quickly calculated several optimal routes.
[Route 1: C-rank Mission 0918 – A-rank Character 0031 – S-rank Mission 0003…]
[Route 2: B-level mission 0234 - A-level mission 0045 - S-level mission 0007...]
After a few seconds of sorting out, the uncle over there had quickly grabbed 4 C-level tasks, reaching the upper limit of tasks that could be accepted at one time.
After he heaved a sigh of relief and carefully checked the mission he had snatched, he suddenly revealed a bitter expression: "...Oh my god, this is too unlucky, isn't it?"
"The four missions are in the Panyun District, the Leishi District, the Shuilin District, and the Yijing District. They're all in the four directions of east, south, west, and north. Are you kidding me?"
"That's ridiculous! I can't finish this race without speed. No, I have to change two events..."
However, if I give up the mission now, I may not have enough time to grab other C-level and B-level missions, so I can only bite the bullet and take the A-level mission.
The uncle felt a more and more headache as he thought about it, and rubbed his solar plexus vigorously. At this moment, Xia Muqing next to him clicked a few times on the locator and soon received 4 tasks.
Filtering logic: optimal route, highest points, shortest completion time, plus an additional condition - closest to the Colorful Stone Beach.
Xia Muqing didn't need to analyze the tasks herself, let alone rush blindly like the uncle and others. In just a few seconds, Ark Xiaoxue could help her filter out the best combination from the remaining tasks!
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