Ding Meng came out of the Sensor Pod and noticed that Mr. Cuttle was different from his usual self. First of all, he was no longer wearing his odd, tattered work clothes. Instead, he was wearing a black formal suit. Next, he replaced his iron shoes with a pair of fine leather shoes. He even shaved his beard and sideburns, and wore a small top hat on his bald head. He looked very energetic.
"Kid, you've been lying in bed for a month. If you didn't come out soon, I would've had to wake you up myself." Cuttle walked over. "Hurry up and go downstairs. Xiao Yu will send you to school."
Ding Meng hesitated. "Mr. Cuttle, aren't you going to Starlight University?"
Cuttle smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be there in a moment. I might even be there before you."
Starlight University's annual exam wasn't held in the real world. Instead, it was held in a virtual space within Starlight's server. The virtual space was the exclusive testing area for the Battlecraft League. Only the candidates could enter through their virtual cabins.
As for the viewing area inside the university, it was currently packed with people. Everyone was looking forward to the emergence of this year's Starlight University's young experts.
The spectator area wasn't completely open to the public. There were three types of people who could directly enter and leave. The first was the people from Starlight University and the Starlight Group, who could enter and leave without restriction. The second was the immediate family members of the participants, and the third was the spectators allowed by Starlight University.
In fact, the third group was the most numerous. The media, reporters, and talent scouts made up half of the audience. Starlight University's exam was a grand event that everyone paid attention to. After that, there were politicians, academies, families, corporations, and so on. In short, these people were all from the more prestigious classes. Everyone was here for no other purpose. Once someone passed the exam and performed well, all the major powers would fight over that talent.
Starlight University's passing rate was always 100%. In other words, the talents that everyone wanted to find today were none other than the most dazzling few on the leaderboard.
The viewing area looked like a large football field that could hold a hundred thousand spectators. There were stands in all directions, and the stands were filled with people.
Dai Yi, Eirinn, and Xu Qianqian were sitting in the first row of the south grandstand. It was a good place to watch the match.
The "football field" in front of them was certainly not a real football field, but a crystal projector of the latest generation. It would display the data, pictures, and third-person view of the participating students clearly in front of the tens of thousands of people in the stadium through the director.
At this moment, there were only 43 virtual names on the empty space. They were the 43 top students that Starlight had nurtured this year. Every name was written in illusory characters.
In the first stage of the evaluation, the font would increase according to each student's score. The student's score would be measured using a thermometer, and there would be a meter on both sides of each name. The meter on the left represented the overall score, which included the various indicators of the Superpower Affairs Center. It would only show the score, and it would not reveal any personal information such as cultivation techniques, martial arts, secret manuals, or grimoires.
On the other hand, the meter on the right represented the popularity score. This popularity score was generated through the votes of the live audience. This was also very easy to understand, because this was the commercial value. The talent scouts of the Interstellar Battle League had been eyeing this for a long time. The talents they chose might not be the strongest, but they would definitely be the most popular students.
Now, the 43 illusory characters were displayed one by one on the empty space. However, Dai Yi was a little unhappy because according to the order of admission, Ding Meng's name was at the bottom. Furthermore, his name was dull and colorless: Overall score: 0, Popularity score: 4.
It was normal for the overall score to be 0. After all, the exam had not started yet. However, a popularity score of 4 was a little pitiful because there were not many students in Starlight University who had heard of Ding Meng.
Currently, some of the names had already risen half a meter high. For example, "Liang Yiran" was the number one campus belle of Starlight University. Needless to say, half of the male students in the stadium had voted for her. Her current popularity score was "20,882 points".
Next, Sun Shiling and Jiang Haiyi's votes were also high. Their popularity scores were "19,989 points" and "18,565 points" respectively.
Although Sun Shiling's beauty was not as good as Liang Yiran's, her popularity was not low either. Meanwhile, Jiang Haiyi, with his own strength and handsome appearance, was naturally the image of a male god in the hearts of many girls.
Next was Du Mo's "17,666 points" popularity score. After all, the Du family was very famous and could be considered a wealthy family in Blue Pole Star City. Most importantly, Du Mo had always been single, so every girl had a chance.
After Du Mo were Mu Hua, Yong Bang, and Dongfang Liyan. Each of them had about 13,000 popularity points. This was what annoyed Dai Yi. Among the 43 students, "Zhang Jiarui", who was ranked 42nd, had a popularity score of 5,400 points. However, Ding Meng only had "4 points".
Out of these 4 points, three of the votes were cast by Dai Yi and the other two. It was unknown who had contributed the other vote. It was really shabby. Regarding this, the stadium was filled with discussions.
"Who is this guy?
He only has 4 points. "
"Ding Meng?
I've never heard of this person. "
"Yeah, I've never heard of him either. 4 points of popularity is too weak, right?
He's probably just there to make up the numbers. "
"Brother, you're a bit pitiful …"
…
However, at this moment, in the induction cabin in the virtual hall, Ding Meng had already received a notification from the system. "Students, the certification exam will begin in 5 minutes. Please make your final preparations. Those who are not ready will be tested in 10 minutes. The first test is origin ability index. The test time is 10 minutes. Please make your preparations …"
Five minutes passed very quickly. The tens of thousands of people in the audience area immediately burst into cheers. This was because most of the names had begun to glow. This meant that the participating students had already activated their basic origin points and began to increase their origin ability.
Without even thinking about it, each name had an overall score of 100,000 points. 100,000 points were equivalent to 100,000 points of origin ability index. This was a necessary quality for a beginner level war elder.
After 100,000 points, each name had a different increase in score. Some were fast, some were slow, some were explosive, and some were steadily increasing …
Everyone stared at the field without blinking. Among them, "Jiang Haiyi" was undoubtedly the most eye-catching. His origin ability index showed an explosive increase: 100,000 points, 200,000 points, 300,000 points, 400,000 points …
This increase was no less than 923002 points before it stopped. It was without a doubt the highest in the field.
First place: Jiang Haiyi, 923002 points;
Second place: Sun Shiling, 806733 points;
Third place: Liang Yiran, 799929 points;
Fourth place: Song Jiahui, 545645 points;
Fifth place: Du Mo, 239699 points;
Sixth place: Mu Hua, 204500 points;
Seventh place: Yong Bang, 198,848 points;
Eighth place: Dongfang Liyan, 152,884 points;
Ninth place: Dai Ningsheng, 100,283 points;
…
Looking at this ranking, the Transit String in the VIP area of the North Viewing Platform was very satisfied. This year's Starlight exam was indeed fierce. There were three advanced War Reverends and one intermediate War Reverend. This had already surpassed the previous three exams.
Horse Gallop also smiled and nodded, "I already said that Hai Yi is first place. Oh right, where is that Ding Meng brat who is infatuated with love?"
Ding Meng's ranking was still 43rd because his overall score did not change at all. It was still an eye-catching 0 points.
"What's going on?
What is Ding Meng doing? "Dai Yi was anxious.
"Don't panic. Little Mengmeng definitely hasn't used her origin ability yet." Eirinn comforted her.
Xu Qianqian agreed, "That's right. Little Mengmeng's ability must be very powerful. It will increase by a lot in a while."
Although the three of them had seen how powerful Ding Meng was, the surrounding people began to mock him again.
"I already said that this guy was just there to make up the numbers. Sure enough, it's still 0 points."
"The exam lasts for 10 minutes. It's already been 5 minutes. Is he not going to increase his ability?"
"Is he a backdoor entrant?
He doesn't even have the basic strength of a War Venerable. Is he embarrassed to use his origin ability? "
"Brother, you're a bit pitiful …"
…
Actually, Ding Meng was asking Little Rascal for advice. "If I use my origin ability now, it will be recorded by the Kejia server. Will the basic ability be exposed?"
Little Rascal said, "No, we've already checked the data. The Federation and the Empire do not have the Diamond Star Technique. Even if they do, it will be encrypted. The outside world will never know."
Ding Meng said, "Then can I use it without worry?"
Xiao Ai said, "You don't have to use your full strength. The eighth point is not yet mastered. It will take time and energy to strengthen. However, the first few points can be used at full strength."
Ding Meng said, "Okay!"
As soon as he said that, someone in the audience began to exclaim, "It's rising, it's rising! That Ding Meng is finally rising!"
Dai Yi and the others immediately looked over and saw that Ding Meng's name was finally changing color. It became a dazzling red, the symbol of the School of Thermodynamics.
Whoosh — — —
Most people in the audience suspected that their eyes were playing tricks on them. Ding Meng's score was: 367844.
His origin ability index had risen by more than 300,000 points. Just by looking at the increase, one could tell that Ding Meng's foundation was quite solid. However, before anyone could be surprised, his name changed again with a whoosh, and his score changed again: 500000 points.
Even Tengma was a bit surprised. This score wasn't high, but it was accurately controlled at 500,000 points. There was a lot to be said for this score.
Then, a scene that shocked the audience finally appeared.
Ding Meng: 600000 points, 700000 points, 800000 points, 900000 points, 1000000 points …
When the score exceeded one million points, the audience erupted into earth-shattering cheers. In the history of Starlight University, Ding Meng was the only one who had broken through one million points in the first test. Ding Meng had directly broken the record. This meant that Ding Meng had the basic strength of a beginner combat master.
"Didn't you say that this guy just went up to make up the numbers?"
"F * ck, my mouth is asking for a beating. I misjudged him."
"Hammer's connections. He's a real expert."
"Brother, you're not miserable. It's me who's a bit miserable …"
…
Ding Meng's score didn't stop. Instead, it continued to increase steadily. Ever since he broke through 1.5 million points, the audience became abnormally quiet. Everyone stared at the name "Ding Meng". Everyone was curious as to where this guy's limit was.