secret dice.

Chapter 750 Cultivators Don't Have Star-Chasing Tribes
The next day was the day of the exam.

Luo Jun arrived at the back mountain of Ningdong Academy, the starting point of the trial steps, early in the morning.

According to the academy's arrangements, Luo Jun was assigned as a security officer for the third round of examinations, mainly responsible for leading a team to guard six-star prisoners.

This year's rules are indeed somewhat different from last year's. The main venue for the third stage of the driving test is still the complex and chaotic peak, but there are only prisoners of one to five stars in the main venue. As for the six-star prisoners, they are kept separately on a small hill outside the main venue. According to the plan, after candidates pass the third stage, they can choose to challenge the six-star area. As long as they successfully capture a six-star prisoner, they can skip the fourth stage and be directly admitted.

Of course, there are thresholds to challenge them. Six-star prisoners are vicious and ruthless even in the Black Prison. Even with many restrictions, they are not something that twenty-something-year-old entrance candidates can contend with. To challenge them, one must at least have a gold wristband, which means one has reached the Concentration Realm.

However, according to the exam schedule, the third part of the test will not begin until the next day. Currently, Black Prison has only sent prisoners of levels one to five, who have been settled in Chaotic Peak with the help of the prison guards and are being watched over by security personnel and rescue teams. The level six prisoners are too dangerous and will not be transferred until the early hours of the next day.

Therefore, Luo Jun had no tasks on the first day and was quite free. He was temporarily assigned to help maintain order at the driving test site.

At this moment, several hundred people were already standing on the open ground at the starting point of the trial steps. Some were chatting with each other, some were standing alone in a corner observing others, and some were simply sitting in meditation to regulate their vital energy and prepare for the upcoming test.

Luo Jun's assigned task was to guide the examinees. After all, only half of those taking the entrance exam understood Yuan Qi, and among them, those above the Pei Yuan realm were even fewer. Most were either ordinary people from outside the Yuan Qi realm or those who had only recently come into contact with it and were at the Gu Ben realm. These people had low cultivation levels and weak Yuan Qi, making them prone to getting lost and encountering danger in the deep forests behind the academy. Therefore, the academy had specially arranged many guides to help lost examinees find the examination location.

Of course, those with a certain level of cultivation or an understanding of the academy are almost never needed, so the people Luo Jun led along the way were either ordinary people or confused rogue cultivators.

"If he can get lost like this, his chances of passing the exams are probably slim..." After escorting a young man wearing glasses, Luo Jun watched him walk into the crowd and shook his head with a sigh.

Just as Luo Jun was about to turn back and enter the woods to continue his work, he suddenly saw two familiar figures, one tall and one short, one big and one small.

"Hey? Luo Jun!" Zheng Xiaoou also saw him and waved to greet him. Zheng Xiaodi, who was standing next to him, also lit up.

"What are you all doing here...?" Luo Jun stepped forward. "Are you here to take the exam?"

"Yes!" Zheng Xiaoou nodded. "You too?"

"I guess so..." Luo Jun replied casually, "What made you decide to apply to the Explorers Academy?"

"Of course it's for Brother Ling Jun!" Zheng Xiaodi said with a smile, her face beaming with anticipation.

"What does this have to do with Ling Jun?" Luo Jun asked, puzzled.

"Sister Sasha told us yesterday that Ling Jun is also taking this exam!" Zheng Xiaoou said excitedly.

"He's here too?" Luo Jun blinked, but then he thought about it again. Ling Jun was indeed not very old, and he had heard that his level was average. Apart from the halo of being a celebrity, he probably wasn't valued much in his family, which was why they let him study at the academy.

The Ling family is reluctant to let go of truly talented people. He remembered that Ling Xin had run away to study in Ningdong because of a conflict with her family. In order to bring her back, Ling Ao even came to the academy in person to ask for her. He had heard about these things from Elder Yuan later.

"So you two came here to chase after celebrities?" Luo Jun asked. "How did you get your exam slots?"

“It’s all thanks to Sister Sasha.” Zheng Xiaoou explained, “We received a call yesterday and met with her to find out about this. We had never even heard of this exam before. There’s actually a school that teaches people how to cultivate… But Sister Sasha said that you can register for the exam the day before the deadline. We already have a foundation in Qi cultivation and have developed some kind of inclination… so we have some talent. As long as our identities are verified and we meet the requirements, we can qualify for the exam.”

As for their inclination towards the Insightful School... well, it's true. To enhance hearing and even gain emotional perception at just the first level of the Foundation Establishment Realm—such a clear inclination suggests they'll almost certainly reach the Mind Condensation Realm with continued cultivation. Their cultivation talent is indeed quite impressive. However, neither of them has any practical combat experience and is completely unfamiliar with the world of cultivators; they'll probably be eliminated very quickly.

But their goal wasn't to pass the exam; just seeing their idol would make the trip worthwhile...

"Where's Sister Sasha, the one who provided you with the information? Didn't she come along?"

“Sister Sasha was just with us, but she just got a phone call and said she had to leave for a bit and asked us to come over first,” Zheng Xiaoou said. “Without her to lead the way, we really wouldn’t have been able to find this place in these deep mountains and forests.”

As they spoke, their gazes passed over Luo Jun and fell upon the crowd gathered before the trial steps. Zheng Xiaoou exclaimed excitedly, "Is that the exam site? Has Ling Jun arrived yet?"

"Probably not." Luo Jun shook his head: "At least I didn't see any."

“Definitely not!” Zheng Xiaodi said, “If my brother came, it would have caused a commotion, with a bunch of people rushing up to ask for autographs!”

“The other candidates aren’t like you star-struck fans!” Luo Jun smiled helplessly. “They’re either Qi cultivators or elites among ordinary people. Even the biggest stars are just names in their eyes, and they might not even give them a second glance.”

"That's because you don't understand our brother's charm!" Zheng Xiaodi retorted, "Brother Jun is the most eye-catching wherever he goes. He's always surrounded by people who scream and ask for photos and autographs!"

"Alright, alright..." Luo Jun didn't bother arguing with the middle school students: "I'll lead you over first."

As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the examination venue. The two girls stood on the periphery of the crowd and searched carefully, but they couldn't find Ling Jun anywhere.

Just then, two people suddenly appeared from another direction.

One of them was tall and thin, dressed simply yet stylishly, wearing a baseball cap with a few strands of slightly curled black hair peeking out from under the brim. Although his eyes were covered by sunglasses, his high nose bridge, slightly smiling lips, fair skin, delicate face shape, and sharp jawline made it clear that he was definitely a handsome man.

Behind this person was a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a strong build and a cold demeanor. He looked at the other candidates around him with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Yes...yes...yes..." Zheng Xiaodi was so excited that she couldn't speak the moment she saw the man in sunglasses. Her cousin, who was standing next to her, added the second half of the sentence for her: "It's Ling Jun! The one behind him is his bodyguard. We saw him in the Reuters photos."

The two girls screamed and rushed toward the tall, thin boy wearing sunglasses, completely ignoring the astonished looks of the other examinees.

"It's Brother Jun!" Despite her short stature, Zheng Xiaodi ran incredibly fast, instantly reaching Ling Jun before being stopped by the stern-faced young man behind him.

"I...I'm his fan, a fan!" Zheng Xiaodi explained excitedly, taking out a poster from her bag and tilting her head to look at the person standing behind the bodyguard: "Brother Jun, I've liked you for a long time, can you give me an autograph?"

"Me too! Me too!" Zheng Xiaoou ran over as well: "We're all your fans." "I didn't expect to see fans here..." Ling Jun took off his glasses with a hint of helplessness, revealing his charming eyes: "Brother Jian, let my lovely fans come over."

The bodyguard frowned: "But the head of the family ordered that your safety be guaranteed..."

“This is Ningdong, not another world. Everyone here is a test taker. What could be unsafe?” Ling Jun was speechless at his somewhat stubborn cousin.

The two girls, having received permission, excitedly approached Ling Jun, handing him the poster and pen. Ling Jun skillfully signed his name.

"Ahhh, I'm going to keep this poster at home as a family heirloom!" Zheng Xiaodi exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes as she hugged the poster. Zheng Xiaoou, standing beside her, bit her lip and mustered up the courage to make a request that she felt was a bit presumptuous: "Um, can we take a picture together?"

Ling Jun chuckled: "Of course, it's fate that we met... Brother Jian, can you take a picture of us?"

The bodyguard sighed, somewhat speechless, and walked to the other side. He took a group photo of the three of them, and then took individual photos of the two of them with Ling Jun.

The moment they got their phones back, the two girls couldn't help but scream, drawing the attention of the other test takers.

"Hey, can you two be quiet for a bit..." Finally, one of the bald test-takers couldn't take it anymore: "You've been chattering away since the beginning, and the exam is about to start, it's so annoying!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Zheng Xiaoou realized that she had lost her composure and hurriedly apologized, but the examinee was still unforgiving: "Besides, what's so admirable about a lousy actor? He's surrounded by such good resources from the Ling family, and I heard that he only recently broke through to the Qi Cultivation Realm. With that kind of talent, he has the nerve to bear the surname Ling!"

"Hey! What are you saying!" Zheng Xiaodi was furious. Although he didn't understand anything about the Ling family, the Foundation Establishment Realm, resources, or talent, he could tell that someone was slandering his idol!

"Our Jun-gege is a top idol now! He made his name in the entertainment industry through his own hard work!" Zheng Xiaodi retorted angrily. "What right do you bunch of worthless nobodys have to compare yourselves to my Jun-gege!"

Zheng Xiaodi's words startled the bald examinee, who then burst into laughter: "Are you all so obsessed with celebrities? This is the examination site of Ningdong Academy. Everyone here is here to become explorers. What does an actor, no matter how famous, matter to you!"

As he spoke, he spat...

Meanwhile, the other candidates around him, while not joining him in jeers and slander against Ling Jun, were mostly watching and gossiping, their faces showing mockery, as if they didn't take this big star seriously at all.

“How could this be…” Zheng Xiaodi was stunned. Zheng Xiaoou, who was standing next to her, was still trying to defend her idol: “It’s wrong of us to make a lot of noise, but Ling Jun became a top idol because of his strength and hard work. Why do you look down on him!”

"Strength?" At this moment, a female examinee with bangs who looked very well-behaved sneered from not far away: "Here, there is only one kind of strength!"

As she spoke, she condensed a ball of qi at her fingertips and flicked it in the direction of the two people. The qi swept over their heads and hit a tree not far away, cutting the trunk, which was as thick as a thigh, in half with a perfectly clean cut!

This move stunned the two girls. They didn't know much about the world of cultivators, only that it was a method to strengthen the body. They never imagined that the powerful abilities in the movies could actually be seen in reality.

The two women wanted to argue, but Ling Jun stepped in to stop them: "Forget it, they're right. Maybe you're new to this world... Here, strength is the only true measure of success."

"At least you have some self-awareness," the bald man chuckled. The female examinee with bangs scoffed, "Little sister, remember, there are no star-struck fans in the world of cultivators!"

Faced with the contemptuous looks from the crowd, the two girls were overwhelmed by a deep sense of defeat, feeling as if their worldview had collapsed.

"Alright, alright! Everyone has idols when they're young, it's not that serious..." At this moment, Luo Jun walked up: "Stop crowding around, the exam is about to start, let's save our energy for climbing the stairs..."

He didn't just want to help the two girls out of a predicament; after all, he was now a staff member of the academy, and maintaining order was his duty.

"Luo Jun, thank you, but..." Zheng Xiaoou's eyes were a little red. She was genuinely touched that Luo Jun had stood up for her. However, with so many people watching them make a fool of themselves, how could Luo Jun possibly make them disperse with just a few words...?

However, Zheng Xiaoou soon realized something was wrong...

She noticed that everyone watching, including Ling Jun and the bodyguard, were staring wide-eyed at their old classmate who had come to her rescue, and were whispering amongst themselves...

"Luo Jun?!"

"Yes, it's me!"

"Exactly the same as in the live stream!"

"The champion of the Tianyuan Tournament? The only person to perfectly clear the Endless Maze?"

"I remember now, he really is at Ningdong Academy..."

…………

Now, even Luo Jun sensed that something was wrong: "I told you to disperse, but you didn't listen..."

Before he could finish speaking, the girl with bangs who had previously made sarcastic remarks rushed forward, excitedly shouting, "Brother Jun! Can I get your autograph?"

With her taking the lead, everyone else started buzzing and crowded around!
"Champion, let me touch you and receive some good luck!"

Seeing these test-takers who were putting on airs just a moment ago but were now acting incredibly crazy, Zheng Xiaoou and Zheng Xiaodi were completely dumbfounded...

"Didn't you guys not follow celebrities?!"

(End of this chapter)