Weekly Exam 2: Deep Sea Exam (I)
The officer on the stage slowly spoke: "Everyone, put your hands together and raise your palms."
Lin Bai followed her instructions and raised her hands, palms facing upward. Instantly, a handful of moist soil appeared out of thin air, and the faint scent of earth lingered at the tip of her nose. She was slightly startled. It seemed that these freshmen were still only superficially versed in mimicry.
She concentrated on feeling the soil in her palms, warm and moist, as if teeming with life, the breath of life coursing through her fingertips. However, as her peripheral vision darted around her, her heart sank. The relaxed atmosphere had quietly dissipated, replaced by the frowns and solemn expressions of her classmates. Lin Bai's heart tightened, and she instantly became more serious about the handful of soil in her palms.
The officer on the stage continued to speak, his emotions as calm as drinking water, but when it fell into Lin Bai's ears, it was like a stone thrown into the lake, stirring up huge waves.
"Now, induce mimicry, transform it into spiritual power, and extend it into the handful of soil in front of you. Try to let the spiritual power penetrate every particle of the soil until you understand every detail of it. The process may be painful."
Lin Bai's heart skipped a beat, her pupils shrinking. Mimicry? Mental power? She was stunned, a wave of shock rising in her heart. Mimicry could actually be transformed into mental power! Could it be that mimicry was essentially the embodiment of mental power?
If this is the case, then when people summon the gods, their bodies become the vessels of the gods' spiritual power. The larger the vessel, the greater the spiritual power it can hold...
However, at this moment, the officer's mimicry pressure was like an invisible yoke, pressing down heavily, leaving Lin Bai no time for reflection. She took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, closed her eyes, and concentrated on sensing the mimicry in her palm.
Instantly, she felt the threads of mimicry intertwining and entwining. Carefully, she extracted and analyzed each strand, and soon, the energy gradually transformed into fine threads, floating in her palm like silk.
Lin Bai thought, is this mental power?
Her mind moved slightly, and she controlled her mental power to slowly reach into the soil in her palm.
However, the moment the mental power touched the soil - boom!
Countless pieces of information suddenly rushed into her mind like a torrent. A sharp pain suddenly struck, causing her scalp to tingle. A fishy-sweet taste welled up in her throat, and a fine layer of cold sweat oozed from her forehead. She felt as if countless ants were gnawing at her brain, frantically tearing at her consciousness.
Too much... too much clutter...
Her mind trembled violently, almost unbearable, and she quickly withdrew her mental power. Suddenly, the overwhelming flow of information was abruptly interrupted, and the pain from just now seemed to still linger in her mind.
Lin Bai raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, his chest heaving and his heart still in fear.
She looked down at the soil in her palm, her eyes filled with shock. A mere handful of soil held such a vast amount of information, and she felt the overwhelming impact of that information even after barely touching it with her mental power.
Suddenly, a drop of bright red blood dripped from the tip of his nose, splashing onto the dirt. Lin Bai was stunned for a moment, then suddenly covered his nose. Another nosebleed?
Just by touching the soil, she felt as if her body was being torn apart and reshaped. The intensity of this training far exceeded her imagination. At this moment, she desperately wanted her grandmother's powerful life force.
"Teacher! Lin Bai is bleeding from his nose!"
Seeing this, Li Dong beside him immediately called for help anxiously.
A teacher quickly came over and raised his hand without hesitation, injecting gentle life force into Lin Bai's body, which seeped through his pores and into every tiny tear.
Lin Bai felt a warm current coursing through her body, followed by an intense itching sensation, as if countless tiny threads were wriggling and intertwining within her body, more unbearable than the pain. Then her consciousness was completely drawn into darkness.
*
When she woke up, a huge enlarged face suddenly appeared in front of her, striking the depths of her soul.
"Ugh!" Lin Bai shuddered and almost fainted again. He sat up suddenly with his heart beating faster.
"Li Dong!" She patted her chest, her tone filled with fear, "Why are you so close?"
Li Dong said as a matter of course: "Of course, I want to see if your nose is healed."
Lin Bai was speechless. He took a deep breath, suppressed his turbulent emotions, and asked seriously, "How long have I slept?"
Li Dong tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said in confusion, "Sleep? Did you sleep? I thought you just closed your eyes and rested for a while. Okay, stop being lazy, get up and continue training."
Before she finished speaking, she had already grabbed Lin Bai's arm and pulled her up from the ground effortlessly.
As soon as Lin Bai stood firm, he felt the soft touch in the palm of his hand - it was a furry claw, and he could vaguely feel the surging power in his palm.
She was slightly startled, then collected her thoughts and continued to train as the officer requested.
*
By the end of the training, Lin Bai was exhausted to the limit.
In this almost life-threatening training, she constantly endured the pain of tearing and relied on healing to recover time and time again. Now, her body can fully bear the power of a demigod at the level of Bellerophon without suffering the slightest damage.
She slowly clenched her fists, and the power in her palms surged like a wave, and an unprecedented strength filled her whole body.
At this moment, a distant broadcast sounded——
"Please note that the second weekly exam for first-year students will be held tomorrow. Please prepare yourself and take it seriously."
After the broadcast, Li Dong patted Lin Bai on the shoulder and said goodbye to her. Lin Bai's mouth corners slightly raised, and a light of eagerness appeared in her eyes.
Finally, I can test the waters again.
*
The next day, the exam came as scheduled.
However, when Lin Bai stepped into the examination room, she was slightly startled. What she saw before her was not an ordinary trial field, but a boundless ocean. Beneath the shimmering surface lay a silent, lightless deep sea.
The foothold of all candidates is just a small boat.
The small boat beneath Lin Bai was only big enough for her. She didn't think much of it; she could swim and wasn't afraid of the deep sea. She casually paddled, letting the boat drift with the weak current, drifting aimlessly across the sea.
There seemed to be no hidden beasts in the sea where she was, and the sea was calm.
She narrowed her eyes, feeling doubtful.
It was too quiet… abnormally quiet.
Maybe I should go explore the sea.
Thinking that the ocean itself contains a vast amount of information, she hesitated for a moment, quietly summoned mimicry, transformed it into mental power as thin as a gossamer, and slowly probed into the sea water.
——
In the monitoring room, several teachers were observing the performance of the candidates through the light screen.
When he saw Lin Bai's actions, Chen Chen frowned.
"Is Lin Bai crazy?" he asked in a deep voice, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction. "At this time, she is still thinking about training? Can't she understand the situation?"
The teacher beside her was not so nervous. She smiled and comforted him, "Teacher Chen, don't worry too much. There are no dark beasts on the surface of this sea area for the time being. Besides, it's not a bad thing for students to dare to try."
"Dare to try?" Chen Chen snorted coldly, his tone sharp, "It's simply reckless!"
——
In the examination room, Lin Bai's mental power had already penetrated into the sea water.
In an instant, her consciousness seemed to be swallowed by the ocean, the world spun around, and the boundaries of the world completely disappeared.
For a moment, she didn't know who she was or what kind of creature she was.
She could no longer sense the existence of her body, nor even the concept of "self" - she was the ocean, and the ocean was her. The flow of the water was her flow, the rise and fall of the waves was her breath, the entire ocean seemed to become a part of her body, merging with her.
She had thought that this huge torrent of information would tear her spirit apart like last time, giving her a splitting headache, or even making it unbearable for her.
However, contrary to Lin Bai's expectations, there was no severe pain or mental tearing.
Instead, the energy of the ocean continuously flowed into her body, intertwining with her divine power like an invisible tide surging within her. This power was different from the divine power of life. It was not a direct healing force, but a nourishing force, gentle yet profound, gradually restoring her spiritual strength, as if it had been completely repaired.
This sea...is accommodating her and repairing her.
Lin Bai's mind trembled, and then a sense of peace spread. She gradually settled down, feeling the power flowing through her body. At the same time, her consciousness penetrated deeper into the ocean. All around her was still and silent. There was no trace of the dark beast, no uneasy fluctuations—this sea was clearly peaceful, seemingly devoid of any potential danger.
Lin Bai severed his spiritual connection with the ocean and quietly lay on the boat, floating in the gentle sea breeze. After a few minutes, a feeling of dullness gradually set in.
She thought for a moment that if she could turn into a small fish, she could dive into the seabed to search for the dark beast, instead of floating on the sea like she was now, waiting for time to pass.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.
Kunpeng? No, it's too big and might damage the foundation.
Then, Lin Bai's eyes lit up slightly. Mermaids might be a good choice. They don't require too much divine power, and they can swim freely in the water.
She whispered, "Mermaids are spirits of the sea, their songs are enchanting, their tears turn into pearls."
As soon as she finished speaking, a light and shadow gradually appeared, like an illusion. A beautiful mermaid with a human head and a fish tail gently appeared behind her, looming, like an elf in the water, emitting a faint glow.
Lin Bai's mind moved, and the mermaid conjured a divine power that enveloped Lin Bai's entire body. She stepped out of the boat and plunged straight into the sea, splashing a faint splash of water.
Lin Bai did not hold her breath after entering the water, but she was able to breathe completely. She felt as if gills had grown on her jaw, and she swam in the sea like a fish in water, and then went to the depths of the ocean.
At this time, in the monitoring room, Chen Chen shouted again, "Great, Lin Bai, you are such a good student and a new god."
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