Chapter 31: College Entrance Examination

Liu Jian had a prestigious background, though the specifics were unclear to most.

Qian Bing, the school bully, was unstoppable within the school walls, but even he had to behave modestly in front of Liu Jian.

From this fact alone, it was clear that Liu Jian's family background was more formidable than Qian Bing's.

Hearing Liu Jian say this, Chen Hai fell silent.

After all, when the contest came down to parental clout, what did he have to compete with? He had to rely solely on himself.

He entered the campus half an hour early, and then fifteen minutes ahead, he proceeded to the exam room.

Time flew, and before they knew it, it was 8:45 am. Chen Hai and Liu Jian entered the exam room one after the other.

"That girl, shaking like a leaf on her way to the exam, just like heading into battle. Judging from that, her academic performance must be pretty poor!"

"That Little Four Eyes looks completely composed, as if brimming with confidence. Wouldn't surprise me if he's one of those top students!"

"And there's this classmate next to me..."

Seated at his own desk, Chen Hai's gaze swept over the examinees nearby.

Unfortunately, he was only versed in Geomancy and Divination, not in Face Reading.

Otherwise, he could have taken a closer look to see which of his nearby classmates might be the reincarnation of Wenquxing!

Then he could also bask in their reflected glory, perhaps even mooch some points off of them.

Liu Jian's seat was one away from his.

The guy seemed supremely confident, his pen twirling skillfully between his fingers.

How others dealt with the exam was their business. As long as Chen Hai wasn't involved, he didn't care nor had any interest to meddle.

Soon, 9:00 am arrived, and the college entrance examination for the Chinese subject officially began.

As a student at the bottom of the academic heap, Chen Hai's scores in Chinese were, actually, not too bad compared to his other subjects.

Having studied classical Chinese for a while and after last month's intensive practice sessions, the moment he got the exam paper, he picked up his pen and started writing frantically.

Of course, he only attempted the questions he was confident about.

He put off the rest that he didn't know how to answer.

Out of the total 150 points, he estimated that at least 30 were within his grasp.

For the others, he was sorry to say, Chen Hai truly couldn't manage them.

He was a poor student, not a top scholar.

After finishing the questions he knew, he moved on to writing the essay. The topic was "The River of My Hometown."

This would surely not be a challenge for him.

After all, he had a deep impression of the little river by his home, where he used to catch fish and shrimp as a child.

Even though the river had long since turned black and foul, with no fish or shrimp remaining, for the sake of keeping up appearances, it was best not to mention that.

By the time Chen Hai completed the essay, more than an hour had already passed.

"Now it's time to see my real skills," he muttered to himself, catching a glimpse of the invigilating teachers and taking a deep breath.

"Soul separation..." His palm rested on the desk, supporting his head, as Chen Hai's Soul Body leaped out from within.

Having entered the Sun-swallowing Realm for over a month now, daytime soul departure was second nature to him.

Although he could still hardly bear the intense sunlight at noon, the evening sun no longer affected him come dusk.

What he feared most were thunderstorms.

The thunderous roars made him shudder from the depths of his soul.

Attempting soul departure in such weather was tantamount to asking for trouble, indistinguishable from a death wish.

Fortunately, today the weather was fair and pleasant.

Inside the exam hall, direct sunlight was unable to penetrate.

When Chen Hai's Soul Body leaped out, it felt an invisible pressure bearing down on him.

It was as if he was carrying a mountain on his back, allowing him to only glance around within a few meters.

He could move around the exam hall, but it would certainly be exhausting.

"The college entrance examination is about selecting talents for the nation, there's a hint of the country's destiny placed upon it!"

"Moreover, each session carries the hopes and aspirations of thousands of students and their parents. The reason my soul feels suppressed must be due to this."

"Thankfully, with exam rooms spread across the entire Yanhuang Empire, and countless of them at that, this suppressing force is evenly distributed."

"Otherwise, even though I've stepped into the Day Tour Realm, I would find it hard to let my soul depart in such a situation!"

...

An epiphany dawned on him, and Chen Hai silently pondered.

With the suppressing force present, though he couldn't roam freely, merely peering at the exam papers of a few students nearby was still feasible.

Among the nearby students, who had the best scores?

Chen Hai wasn't sure, he could only guess.

The boy with glasses sitting in front of him looked confident, but his exam sheets had large empty gaps.

He dismissed that guy after only a few glances at his paper.

By contrast, the girl whose legs quivered as she walked to the exam, once she started answering, seemed completely transformed.

Her handwriting was immaculate, so much so that it looked printed on the paper.

"She's the one..."

He scanned the exam papers of several students around him.

After looking them over, he still felt that the girl's paper seemed the most reliable.

In the state of soul separation, no one could see his actions.

Using such an Exotic Skill to cheat on an exam, Chen Hai reckoned he would be the only one in the entire Yanhuang Empire.

After memorizing parts of the girl's answers, Chen Hai returned to his body and resumed writing frantically on his paper.

The girl began writing her essay after finishing the other questions, but Chen Hai had already completed his paper ahead of her.

In his spare time, he departed from his body again to check on Liu Jian, who was seated one position away, to see how he was faring in the exam.

Liu Jian's answers were tidy: for all the single-choice questions, he chose 'A' and for multiple-choice questions, 'ABCD' without exception.

For the rest, Liu Jian left them blank.

"This guy, boasting about connecting with the cosmic forces, certain of entering university!"

"Like this? He must be joking..."

Scoffing internally, Chen Hai curled his lip disdainfully.

He had come over to satisfy his curiosity about Liu Jian's paper.

Now that his curiosity was satiated, he returned to his seat and merged back into his own body.