Chapter 9
Looking at the warframe, Yang Jian was quite jealous of those who had one. It also brought back his memories from his defeat at the hands of the young girl who should now be around his own age if he were to meet her now.
The warframe she wore was exquisite. Extremely beautiful and powerful at the same time. While he knew that it boosted her abilities, he didn't know how much it did so by, even without it, Yang Jian knew he would've lost either way once the seal was released on her forehead.
Looking around, he noticed some students staying around in groups. It seemed many of them were familiar with each other, and banded together in an attempt to pa.s.s the test. Just thinking about it, made Yang Jian's blood boil.
Everyone around him had a gene score of at least 1.0 and came from various planets. While not many of them would be as strong as Ouyang Ping, Yang Jian still hoped that a minority of them had enough strength for him to fight a battle against.
When Yang Jian had leveled up to a gene score of 1.0, his warrior gene was elevated to the perfect grade. Now both his inborn genes were perfect grade tier 1 genes, while his elemental and regeneration genes were still tier 0.
Of course, since it was he who awakened them, they all started off at the high grade. Once he improved them, the chances of them improving to mystic or even perfect were high thanks to the mysterious book.
As he thought of the book, he couldn't help but be reminded of the old man. Since he had such a great gold finger, why did he pretend to be weak and pa.s.s it on to Yang Jian? There were certainly many reasons Yang Jian could think of, but the chances of them being the real reason were quite low.
Breaking his train of thought, Yang Jian continued to observe those around him. Shortly afterward, everyone became silent as a man took up the stage behind a large podium to speak.
Looking ahead, a man wearing a military uniform could be seen. He was neither handsome nor ugly, while his beard and facial hair covered most of his face, making it harder to establish his looks. The man was quite tall, being slightly over six feet tall.
One could see the many badges he wore proudly on his uniform. Looking at the badges, one could also tell that the man held a decently high rank within the federation's army. Looking at the highest rank badge, Yang Jian saw the Major rank badge.
Within the federation, anyone who attended a university was automatically given a military ranking. Of course, each rank was commissioned ranked, rather than enlisted ranked.
As one's strength increased, along with their achievements on the battlefield, their rank would increase accordingly. Each increase in military rank granted one more power, whether to command troops or access a larger portion of military knowledge.
With a higher access right to military knowledge, one would be able to explore a larger list of Gene arts. That's right, Gene arts.
They worked exactly the same way that martial arts worked, but were for interstellar cultivators. The federation provided Gene arts to all who attend a university and gain a military rank. In order to earn Gene arts, one must gain contribution points in order to purchase the rights to learn the art.
Of course, this meant that the sharing of the arts was forbidden unless one personally created their own Gene art.
The higher one's privilege level, the greater the Gene arts they are able to purchase from the federation. Of course, even though there were many arts to choose from, it was pointless to choose one that didn't suit one's own genes. This made it easier for interstellar cultivators to choose a technique, wince the list became narrower to suit their own needs.
In order to even use a Gene art, one must have a Gene score of at least 1.0. This meant that rogues who stole Gene arts from the federation cannot freely distribute the art
Anyways, the Major began to speak directly to everyone taking the exam. "Welcome all of you, it is good to see many of you taking part in the exam for Federation University."
"If any of you want to drop out, now is your chance. It will be a tough and possibly gruesome exam in which some of you may die. Even if you don't make it into the college, there are still many other colleges awaiting you."
Seeing that no one wanted to drop out, the major continued to speak. "Since that's the case, I will now explain the rules of the exam."
The major paused for a brief moment, before saying only a single word. "Survive."
While many students were confused by what he meant, Yang Jian prepared himself as he felt a fluctuation of energy surrounding the entire surroundings.
Whoos.h.!.+
A blinding light surfaced in everyone's eyes. A few moments later, the hundred or so examinees found themselves in another place.
Without waiting for anyone, Yang Jian moved. In an instant, he appeared dozens of meters away from the many others as he opened his third eye to check his surroundings.
With his third eye open, he looked far ahead for pathways to take, while searching for any signs of food or life. The surrounding environment he was in resembled a jungle. Large trees over a dozen meters tall, with huge vines that were as thick as a human thigh.
Plants were either purple or red, while the leaves and dirt on the ground were blue. As he scurried around, Yang Jian noticed a living being, just over a kilometer away from him.
The living being was quite small, resembling a dog. Though it resembled a wolf more than it did so as a dog. The dog-like creature's entire body was black, only its iris were of an opposite color, being white while having grey pupils.
The small creature seemed to be fighting against another creature. The opposing creature looked similar to the dog, but was bigger and looked nastier. Not only that, it wasn't the only one there, its friends surrounded the small dog and growled as the two creatures prepared to fight.
Yang Jian leaped in the air, and dashed straight for the dog-like creature. While he observed it from afar, he noticed that it seemed to hold a strange power within its body. Even though it was surrounded, he believed that the creature could vanquish its foes on its own.
Even so, he was curious and decided to get closer and see what happened. Making his way at full speed, he leaped through trees and a rapid pace, leaving behind a sonic boom like sound in the air.
Just a few moments later, he arrived not too far from the group of dog-like creatures. When he arrived, a scene that he imagined awaited him.
The small black dog now looked a little different. Its body appeared to be tougher than before while its teeth were longer. It's eyes seemed as though they could pierce through one's soul and devour it whole.
As for its enemies, only corpses could be seen on the ground around it. In just a few moments, the small black dog had killed the others. While it had noticed Yang Jian's arrival, it seemed to have ignored him as it plunged its teeth into the bodies of its dead foes.
Yang Jian then saw a sight that he didn't think would happen. The cold corpses of the dead beasts were being drained away at a rapid pace. All the vitality was being drained and dried up like a twig, while the black dog seemed to be slightly stronger than before based on the energy it was giving off.
In a few instances, all the creatures were devoured as nothing was left behind. After being dried up, they simply shrunk until nothing was left. It was as though they had never been there in the first place.
After devouring its foes and gaining strength, the black dog returned to its other form that Yang Jian had seen before. The little black dog then slept on the spot while Yang Jian continued observing it.
Seeing that the little dog was asleep peacefully even though he knew he had been noticed, Yang Jian stayed in his spot and patiently waited. Since his only mission to pa.s.s the exam was to survive, then it wouldn't be too difficult.
In that case, he had plenty of free time. Sitting down, Yang Jian began to cultivate peacefully for eight hours straight. After eight hours, he noticed movement nearby.
Opening his eyes, Yang Jian saw the little black dog being approached by some examinees. He then closed his eyes and ignored them without giving them a warning. After all, the goal was to survive, if they weren't careful and decided to approach anything they saw, it was their own fault if they suffered.
The next time he opened his eyes, Yang Jian saw the little black dog sleeping on top of human clothing. Yang Jian shook his head as he knew what had occurred during that time frame.
He only wondered why the little black dog didn't try to devour him, but enabled him to observe it. This time, he saw that the little black dog was stronger than before once again. However, this difference wasn't that much from its previous strength.
He did, however, know that if left alone, this little black dog would one day become invincible since it could grow at a rapid pace by devouring its enemies and strengthening itself.
Currently, he felt that the little black dog wasn't any weaker than himself, since its abilities were also unknown, he didn't want to fight the little dog at all. If he provoked it, he may as well lose his life.
A few moments later, the little black dog moved. Its ears twitched in a single direction as it got up and sprinted in a single direction. Yang Jian stood up from his cultivation and picked up the training suits as well as the warframe that was lying on the ground without an owner.
Even though he didn't need it, he could still keep it and sell it for some money. While he could be kind, he didn't consider himself a good man. With free cash lying right in front of him, he knew that he should take this opportunity to support his family.
When he touched the training suit, it suddenly disappeared after a small light appeared from his fingertips. The same happened when he touched the warframe and the rest of the items lying around.
During the few weeks of cultivation at home, he discovered that the mysterious book also had a s.p.a.ce where items could be stored within, he had tested it out and found that there was an endless s.p.a.ce within the book.
He also tried to store an ant in there, and discovered that it had survived after going in and being taken out. Once he knew this, he tried it with more insects and the same results were seen.
His eyes brightened as he found that he could hide others within the s.p.a.ce and prepare an ambush if he ever needed to. He himself tried entering the s.p.a.ce but it didn't work. He was immediately kicked out after a few seconds.
While he was disappointed that he couldn't hide from his enemies that way, it was good that he could store anything and everything besides himself inside the s.p.a.ce.
After picking up the loot, he dashed in the same direction as the little black dog and tailed it.