All-out: Starting with the Awakening Special Operations Unit, search, attack, and withdrawal.

"Jiao'er, are you sure you don't want to come with us? Although we're not from the same school, the assessment doesn't restrict teams to newcomers from the same school and base city. Our team just happens to be one person short."

Black Iron Castle, on the 64th floor rest area.

Song Jiao'er sat on the sofa, and opposite her were four young men and women whose clothes clearly indicated that they came from wealthy families.

The girl who spoke had long, fiery red curly hair and a face full of collagen, exuding youthful enthusiasm.

I'm extending an invitation now.

Song Jiao'er gently shook her head.

"I won't. Although we haven't been a team for long, everything was agreed upon, and our teamwork has been pretty good."

A young man with a gold nose ring and a rather flamboyant style snorted coldly upon hearing this.

"Ha, he just sleeps soundly in his room while you, a girl, are busy gathering intelligence... Is this something a man would do? What does Uncle Song see in him? I..."

"At least it's true that Uncle Song doesn't like your outfit!" a companion muttered quietly.

One sentence nearly made the young man's lungs explode.

"Holy crap! Is this how I wanted to dress up? Who knows why this awakened skill, which's like something out of a dog's head, requires me to wear a bull's nose ring? Do I even want to wear it? Huh? I..."

The red-haired girl looked embarrassed and quickly pulled Song Jiao'er aside.

She looked around and spoke softly.

"Jiao'er, I've heard that the standards for the Dragon Roar Sacred Academy's assessment this year seem to have been adjusted compared to previous years... I only learned about this by chance from someone close to Gu Chen in the Bozhou base city."

"It is said that this year's Dragon Roar Academy assessment not only requires bringing out value, but also requires the number of enemies killed in a single game."

"Even if the value brought out in a single game is very high, if the number of enemies killed in a single game does not meet the standard, it will still not be counted in the assessment score."

Song Jiao'er's pretty face changed slightly.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"How could this happen?"

The girl shook her head: "I only heard it secondhand. Right now, in this assessment castle, there's so much truth and falsehood that no one can tell. Take the information I gave you about the [Primitive Valley No. 1] secret realm... none of us can really guarantee anything."

Song Jiao'er nodded.

After saying a few words of thanks, he walked towards his temporary residence, his mind preoccupied.

Wang Suming was still diligently practicing his shield bash and his claw-like weapon, working up a sweat so hard that he didn't even notice Song Jiao'er passing by his door.

As for Chu Hong...

Song Jiao'er looked at the closed door, a look of worry flashing in her eyes.

Although she felt that Chu Hong was not the kind of person who would be overwhelmed by pressure, this was, after all, the Source Energy University assessment, which was a matter of life and death.

Once you enter a university, especially a prestigious energy university, the resources and secret realms you come into contact with are incomparable to those of ordinary free explorers.

Some people, however, cannot sleep when under too much pressure.

But Song Jiao'er had also heard of some people who, when under too much pressure, would almost faint, able to sleep for a long time without eating or drinking...

"Why......"

With a soft sigh, Song Jiao'er returned to her room.

Turn on the table lamp.

The assessment will officially begin at midnight tonight.

Two hours before the assessment, the authorities will conduct an equipment inspection, which means that the equipment of the participants will not be allowed to be brought in.

It's 7 PM now.

With a furrowed brow, Song Jiao'er was sifting through and organizing the pile of intelligence she had collected on the table in front of her.

"The [Primitive Valley No. 1] secret realm likely contains a river that runs through the entire map, and some extraction points may even be located right by the river, just like in the [Thunderhorn Lizardman Tribe] secret realm..."

Song Jiao'er picked up her pen and began organizing on a piece of paper.

The neat, elegant handwriting read: "We need a means to cross the river, waterproof gear, underwater breathing equipment, or a temporary bridge..."

She paused, then put a checkmark next to each of the messages.

The ice magic she currently possesses can temporarily freeze a section of the river; hopefully, the river won't be too wide.

She secretly plotted in her mind what items could restore her magic power.

"【Primitive Valley No. 1】Classified, likely with a technological background, and no monsters with supernatural abilities."

Song Jiao'er frowned, realizing that her plan to replenish her energy within the secret realm was likely to fail.

Her delicate fingers gripped the pen tip and made heavy dots on the paper.

The supplies for the assessment are limited; each person cannot carry too much... The lamplight shone on her eyes, gleaming with a faint, cold light.

She wasn't an indecisive person; if that was the case, then she had no choice but to take it!

In any case, the assessment of the Dragon Roar Holy Academy also requires killing people in the secret realm.

Killing monsters in the secret realm is killing, and killing newcomers participating in the assessment is the same...

The team has three people in total.

Chu Hong, as the captain, was always mysterious and basically only responsible for fighting. As for Wang Suming, he was even more so; he would fight wherever Chu Hong pointed.

All the other tasks for the team suddenly fell on Song Jiao'er's shoulders.

10 PM.

The tablets distributed for the performance evaluation arrived via email.

"The review process for equipment and supplies required for entry into the assessment phase has begun."

Song Jiao'er rubbed her temples and opened an app on her tablet.

Then, a 3D light curtain area immediately appeared on the tablet.

"Examinee: Song Jiao'er"

"Source Energy Level: Stage 4 of the Origin Realm"

Initial Awakening Skill: [Invisibility]

"Career Path: Magic"

"University applied to: Longming Sacred Academy"

"Please place the equipment or items you choose to bring into the assessment dungeon within the scanning area. Items that have not been certified or have failed certification will not be allowed to enter the dungeon. Forcibly bringing such items will be considered cheating and will be dealt with seriously."

Song Jiao'er silently took out her equipment: a gold-quality magic wand.

She managed to find a collector to make it using some materials Chu Hong had given her before, and through connections with the Rubik's Cube Chamber of Commerce.

"Gold quality, magic-based weapon, [Mithril Star Wand]... Matches the class, permitted to be used."

"Purple quality, magic-related armor, [Windproof Animal Hide Robe]... Matches your class, permitted to be brought in."

"Purple quality, magic-based consumable, [Kali Fruit]... Matches your class, permitted to use, limited to 5 per game."

Meanwhile, in another room, Wang Suming began his own emotional process.

"Candidate: Wang Suming"

"Source Energy Level: Stage 3 of the Origin Realm"

Initial Awakening Skill: [Stacking]

"Career Path: Magic + Technology"

"University applied to: Longming Sacred Academy"

"Gold quality, magic-based weapon, [Ghoul Iron Wall]..."

Seeing that the light screen gave no feedback whatsoever, Wang Suming became anxious.

"I legitimately redeemed this from the Pioneers' Guild's treasury!"

"...The source is correct, permission is granted."

"Purple quality, tech-based weapon, [Hunting Lock Gun]..."

"I'm someone whose initial skills involve memorizing things, so can't I even have a weapon?"

"...The career path aligns, so it may be incorporated."

"Gold quality, magic-themed side armor, [Mountain Dwarf Masterpiece]... Matches your class, permitted to be used."

"Gold quality, magic-grade side armor, [Papal Apprentice Knight Helmet]...exceeds the allowed quantity of gold quality equipment."

"Holy crap! There's a quantity limit?! Are you kidding me? I exchanged all of these in the Pioneers Guild's secret vault..." Wang Suming shouted in dissatisfaction.

And at this moment, almost everyone in the temporary rooms of the Black Iron Castle was experiencing something similar.

At the same time.

Inside the room where Chu Hong was.

Without anyone noticing, the clone had been quietly replaced with Chu Hong himself.

The snoring stopped, and Chu Hong's eyes snapped open...