Chapter 37: Setting Sail for the Celestial Sea! You Haven't Reached Level 20 Already, Have You?

The atmosphere in the square was incredibly tense. Countless parents ushered their children to the edge of the isolation zone, whispering words of comfort like "Don't be nervous" and "It will be alright."

Lin Yi’s father was no exception. Lin Yi even noticed his mother, Xu Qingfang, standing behind his father with red, tear-filled eyes. After exchanging a few comforting words with them, Lin Yi waved his hand with a smile. "Just wait for my good news. Turn on the television; you might even see me on it later this afternoon."

This wasn't blind confidence on Lin Yi's part. It was the assurance provided by the forbidden spell he held in his arsenal. No matter how difficult this exam might be, surely a single forbidden spell would be enough to resolve it, wouldn't it?

After saying goodbye to his parents, Lin Yi spent a long time searching but couldn't find his school’s assembly point.

"Yi!!!"
"Over here!!!"

As Lin Yi walked, a familiar, booming voice caught his attention. He turned and saw the tall and sturdy Zhang Shan standing in a crowd in the distance, standing on tiptoe and waving at him. Lin Yi no longer needed to search; he quickly made his way into the main group of Jiangcheng No. 2 High School.

The homeroom teachers began their speeches. As was tradition, they served up a bowl of "chicken soup for the soul" to everyone. More than ten minutes later, the station broadcast crackled to life.

"Attention, candidates for the 3024 National Professional Higher Education Entrance Examination. The special examination trains have arrived. All school units, please organize your candidates and proceed to the platforms in an orderly fashion!"
"The trains will depart in 30 minutes. Please organize your candidates and board!"

On this day, all other train services in Jiangcheng were suspended for the morning. Only teachers with work credentials and the examinees themselves were permitted to enter the station. Despite there being tens of thousands of students taking the exam in Jiangcheng this year, the boarding process proceeded smoothly.

Ten minutes later, Lin Yi and his classmates were all aboard the special train, seated in their assigned places. As he entered the carriage, Lin Yi noticed that their class was sharing the car with a class from the No. 1 High School of Minchang City, another well-known base city in Dongjiang Province. The front of the carriage was occupied by the Minchang candidates, while the back was reserved for the students of Class 8, Jiangcheng No. 2 High School.

Although the two homeroom teachers didn't know each other, they were polite. Since they wouldn't be allowed to accompany the students to Tianhai, they took the opportunity to give their final instructions before departure.

"Students, I won't say much more."
"One last point, and it is very important!"
"Read and memorize the examination rules on the back of your admission tickets!"
"These rules must be followed to the letter. Do not violate them in the slightest. The Great Xia strictly punishes cheating and misconduct. If you break the rules, your qualifications will be revoked on the spot!"
"If the offense is severe, you may even be permanently banned from taking the college entrance exam!"

As the teacher finished speaking, staff members outside the train began shouting through loudspeakers: "All accompanying personnel must disembark immediately. The train will depart in five minutes!"

Eventually, only the fifty or sixty candidates remained in the carriage. The atmosphere was tense, and given the gravity of the moment, no one engaged in idle chatter.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Lin Yi heard a series of chimes. A vibration rippled through the floor of the train. The doors sealed shut, and the train slowly began to accelerate. Once it cleared the Jiangcheng station, a pitch-black tunnel appeared ahead, leading deep underground.

During boarding, everyone had been instructed to fasten their seatbelts. As they entered the tunnel, the train’s movement felt like a freefall—or perhaps like those drop-tower rides Lin Yi had experienced in his previous life. It was both novel and exhilarating.

However, the novelty faded as quickly as it had arrived because the view outside the train window remained stagnant: nothing but the dim, yellowish lights of the tunnel and the dark walls. Lin Yi chose to close his eyes and rest. He had woken up too early that morning and hadn't slept enough.

Meanwhile, his classmates in Class 8 and the students from Minchang No. 1 High School at the front of the carriage began to whisper among themselves.

Zhang Shan looked at Lin Yi, who was resting with his eyes closed, and swallowed hard. "I'm so nervous..."
"Yi, let's talk..."
"Yi, what should I do? My mind is a complete blank. What if I fail the exam?"
"My old man is going to skin me alive!"

Lin Yi was getting annoyed. He opened his eyes and slapped Zhang Shan on the head. "Can you shut up for a second? You’re so loud, aren't you embarrassed?"
"You were nervous when you awakened your class, and now you're nervous about the entrance exam. How on earth did you manage to promote to the Knight class?"

Despite being scolded, Zhang Shan didn't get angry; instead, he grinned like a maniac. He was afraid that Lin Yi would pretend to be asleep and ignore him entirely. Zhang Shan lowered his voice and whispered, "Yi, what level have you reached, anyway?"
"I heard my dad say that the difficulty of the entrance exam is determined by your level when you take it. If you choose a higher difficulty, you naturally get a higher score, which is the only way to stand out in the exam!"

Lin Yi raised his eyes and looked at Zhang Shan helplessly. "You've asked me that a dozen times since we boarded. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid of crushing your self-confidence!"

Zhang Shan: "Hey, are you looking down on me?"
"Say what you want, but I’ve been grinding levels like crazy during your EMO phase. Even if I felt like you’d definitely surpass me if you actually tried, it couldn't be by that much, right!"

As he spoke, Zhang Shan cast a Basic Appraisal skill on Lin Yi, and then let out a strange yelp.
"Holy crap! Appraisal failed?!"

"Yi, don't tell me you’re already Level 20???"

Zhang Shan was currently Level 15. A standard Appraisal skill could usually retrieve information as long as the target was within five levels of the user. However, this time, his skill had failed. This meant that Lin Yi’s level was at least five levels higher than his own!

Although Zhang Shan had lowered his voice, his exclamation drew curious stares from everyone in the carriage. The students of Class 8 looked on with astonishment.

"What? Lin Yi reached Level 20??"
"That's impossible!"
"That’s what that idiot Zhang Shan said!"
"He must be mistaken!"
"No, wait. Zhang Shan is Level 15. If his appraisal failed, it means Lin Yi is at least Level 20!"
"Damn, that’s insane!"
"I’m only Level 14!"
"I’m only 13..."
"Is there no hope for those of us at Level 12?"
"By the way, what level is the school beauty, Jiang Ya?"
"I heard she’s Level 19. When she went back to school to pick up her ticket the other day, the teacher specifically praised her!"
"In that case, it seems she’s been surpassed by Lin Yi again!"
"Ahem, surpassed in what way?"
"She’s had a rough time. On the day of the awakening, everyone thought she had finally beaten Lin Yi for once, but it looks like she lost to him in levels after all..."
"Lin Yi, that Great Demon King, his aura is as fierce as ever..."

Jiang Ya listened to the discussion among her classmates. Her heart was much calmer now. Because the fact that Lin Yi had made it into the Hall of Fame on the Global Dungeon Ranking was something only she knew; the other students present were completely unaware. Compared to such a supreme honor, what did a slightly higher level matter?

However, at that moment, the heated discussion in Class 8 drew mockery from the Minchang No. 1 High School students at the front of the carriage.

"Is this the backward educational standard of a Level 5 base city? Hilarious. Is Level 20 something to brag about?"