novelraw Chapter 657: The Reason for Elimination
Chapter 657: The Reason for Elimination
Every word from Teacher Mu Jianling was harsh to the ear, but upon hearing them, students were still joyfully dancing with hands and feet: three days’ time, just keep training hard, get more familiar with the real mechs, overcome the obstacles, and you can definitely pass.
Suddenly, everyone swept away the heaviness in their hearts and hope was rekindled.
And—
What do you mean everyone will fail the test?
Impossible!
The students of the Combat Department, not to mention anything else, their competitive spirit was the strongest of all departments! How could they tolerate such discouragement from their own teacher?
The students were all holding their breath, secretly swearing to severely slap Teacher Mu Jianling in the face when the time came!
Mu Jianling raised an eyebrow but didn’t continue to demoralize the students.
Next.
Another batch of students took the test.
Failed.
The failure of this batch didn’t disillusion the students.
Then, Mu Jianling said, "Next group: Shen Changqing, Zhang Wei, Li Ting..."
The ten students called out stepped forward one by one, Shen Changqing in the lead. As he moved through the crowd and stepped to the door of the examination room, the students all gathered their spirits, watching him intently.
Shen Changqing looked calm, his handsome face did not betray any signs of nervousness.
Below, many whispered secretively:
"In this group, Shen Changqing is the most likely to pass the second stage, do you think he can make it?"
"I think it’s doubtful."
"Quite difficult, right?"
"But, Shen Changqing is one of the only two S-level mental power Talents in our Combat Department. If he can’t pass the second stage, who else could?"
"Still... it’s really hard. It’s not just about having high spiritual power; it also depends on the combination of Physical Strength and spiritual power..."
...
In short, most students didn’t have high expectations for Shen Changqing, figuring he probably wouldn’t make it through.
Shen Changqing heard his classmates’ discussions, yet his expression remained unchanged. Just as he entered the examination room with proper gait, Mu Jianling suddenly asked, "Shen Changqing, are you nervous?"
Shen Changqing paused for a moment, then nodded a second later, "Nervous."
Mu Jianling smiled, "Being nervous is good."
Shen Changqing: "..."
Mu Jianling’s tone softened unusually, "You’re controlling your emotions well; that’s commendable and worth learning from. Everyone should take note." After he said this, Mu Jianling waved his hand and said to Shen Changqing, "Go ahead... anyway, you’ll be out in a minute or two; no need to be nervous."
Shen Changqing: "..."
The students: "..."
Just when it seemed Elder Mu was showing sudden favoritism towards Shen Changqing—
Teacher Mu was still that same Devil who couldn’t say anything nice.
In an instant, the mindset of all students balanced out.
Shen Changqing, with a stern face, entered the examination room without saying a word.
Then—
Everyone brought out their mechs for the exam, and as they turned their attention towards Shen Changqing, he took out an antique mech!
Everyone: "!!!"
"Damn!"
"Oh my God!"
"Antique mech, what’s this strategy?"
"We’re done!"
...
Listening to the clamorous discussions of his classmates, Shen Changqing kept a straight face, but his slightly blushing ears betrayed a hint of embarrassment and shyness inside...
"10, 9, 8, 7..."
As the countdown ended—
The ten students immediately tensed up, tentatively stepping forward—
Shen Changqing’s antique mech, among a group of majestic and imposing mechs, seemed particularly shabby; like a destitute man in tatters, forcibly mingling among the second-generation rich, it was particularly conspicuous and prominent...
As the others started moving, Shen Changqing did not follow suit, but instead observed the surroundings of the starting line. Afterward, he finally connected with the mech.
The moment he connected with the mech, an overwhelming pressure assaulted Shen Changqing’s entire being—
This is the burden brought by the mecha.
Shen Changqing divided his Spiritual Silk into several units, each performing its duty, and then he ignited the thrusters—
Whoosh—
The antique mech shot out like an arrow from the string.
Among the 9 students ahead, 5 had already fallen and could not get up, while the other 4 were still stubbornly piloting their mechas, making sure not to let them crash. Shen Changqing, piloting the antique mech, quickly overtook these 9 students.
meters.
meters.
meters.
...
He was about to cross the second checkpoint.
Hmm?
The students suddenly perked up, watching Shen Changqing intently—
Could there be hope?
As Shen Changqing reached the second checkpoint, he decided to give it his all, leaping up suddenly. The antique mech performed a beautiful flip in mid-air, then gently descended, gliding freely for half a meter...
He smoothly arrived at the obstacle course.
The obstacle group was a simulated asteroid belt, filled with countless meteorites, debris... constantly flashing and flying past... A moment of inattention could lead to a disastrous collision that could destroy the mech and kill its pilot.
At this time, Shen Changqing was still very composed. He didn’t rush to maneuver through the obstacles, instead, he unfolded the Spiritual Network fully, focusing his attention on monitoring his surroundings.
Besides the Spiritual Network, Shen Changqing divided his limited energy into several parts, with the main portion dedicated to the mech’s scanning system. He expanded the mech’s scanning range to the maximum, roughly 500 kilometers.
This consumed energy immensely, but it was necessary because the speed of the meteorites and debris was very fast, and an accident could happen if he wasn’t careful—
...
Shen Changqing arranged everything methodically without panic.
The students were too engrossed in the examination room to engage in discussions.
meter.
meters.
meters.
...
Shen Changqing moved like he was feeling the stones to cross the river. His speed was slow but steady; every time he seemed about to hit an obstacle, he narrowly avoided it. The onlookers clenched their fists in tension on his behalf.
"Shen Changqing looks like he might just pass the second checkpoint."
"Amazing!"
"How long can he hold out?"
...
Whoosh—
Under the watchful eyes of all, a meteorite sped straight toward the antique mech. Everyone’s hearts leaped to their throats, Shen Changqing also realized the urgency and pushed the thrusters to the max, ready to dodge—
However—
Energy was about to be depleted!
Sweat broke out on Shen Changqing’s forehead.
Everyone saw a white light flash, followed by a loud boom. The small meteorite hit the antique mech accurately and without error.
Crack—
Bang bang—
The students touched their foreheads, sighing deeply:
"What a pity..."
"Just a little bit more."
"Such a shame."
"He had already avoided over 95% of the obstacles and still failed."
"That last moment, he could have dodged it, why didn’t he?"
"Cough... It’s because he ran out of energy. I saw it very clearly at that last moment. If it wasn’t for the energy depletion, he could have dodged it."
"..."
"So—this shows that the antique mech is still no good! There was a reason it was eliminated."