Chapter 69 - 69 56 Accidental Encounter

69: Chapter 56: Accidental Encounter 69: Chapter 56: Accidental Encounter When he passed the fifteenth floor, Lu Ping’an’s trial actually ended early. Lu Ping’an wasn’t lying. The most difficult battle for him was actually the fifth floor in his second round of trials, a bitter fight with a Heroic Spirit Knight belonging to the same school. Intelligence is always the top priority in a professional’s fight. The Heroic Spirit Knight with a shield and axe had a deeper understanding of his own school than Lu Ping’an. He actively avoided all effective hits. At the same time, he actively confined Lu Ping’an’s “Resonance” power within his weapons and continuously canceled it out with his own “Resonance” during the fight. When both of their Abnormal Abilities became ineffective, the fight eventually turned into a skill contest. The canned meat on the fifteenth floor only held a rank but was slow and powerful. In fact, if a professional with the standard combat power of the third tier really guarded it, it would be less a test and more like killing the test takers. Although this creature has a humanoid figure and appears to be intelligent, it’s just a template monster like Alex and Wine Lake Bird with a mechanical and inflexible attack mode and a lack of adaptability. The gap between it and a real professional is probably similar to that between Wine Lake Bird and Disaster Fist Xue En, both at the first-tier. For qualified professionals, hunting a Magic Monster of the same tier isn’t particularly difficult. Perhaps some of its hardware conditions reach the standard of the third-tier. But when it relied on its metal body to take Lu Ping’an’s attack, it was destined for failure. Like other participants, many believe that only after passing the second-tier Magic Monster on the tenth floor, one can have excellent combat power in the first tier. In fact, judging from the outcome, this judgment is correct. Those who have passed the tenth floor are at least in the first tier, and those who have passed the fifteenth floor are basically at second-tier. Less than twenty people have managed to pass the twentieth floor. They are either third-tier or of high-quality second-tier. Although the number of people is not small, this time it includes high-quality candidates from several colleges, some of which are experienced practitioners who are no longer students based on their standard. In fact, due to the school’s intervention, they stopped after reaching the 21st floor. If they went a little higher, the standard scores of the rest of the candidates would be too disappointing, which would also affect the screening function of the test. With Lu Ping’an’s ability, he should have returned after beating the 10th floor and improving a bit more. Now that he has passed the 15th floor, retiring at any level would have been a gain. “…At least, I didn’t lose anything.” Having a glance at the Battle Axe Skills (Wave School) that had already reached LV6, Lu Ping’an already felt like he had the biggest gain on this expedition. These are the core skills of a second-tier professional Silver Battle Axe Fighter, core battle tactics that are as high as LV12. Based on the performance so far, even if it hasn’t reached the third-tier baseline, it should have reached the mid-second tier. Even if what Lu Ping’an has left now is only at LV6 and still the shrunk version of a common skill, he is extremely satisfied. The combat power isn’t actually important. What’s key is that it has opened a gate for Lu Ping’an. “…Isn’t an axe just a long handle with a blade attached? I could play it in many ways. The shield and axe combination of that Heroic Spirit knight also taught me a lesson. I actually don’t need to be restrained in the form of a two-handed axe. What’s more suitable for me might be a longer axe handle and more exotic curved blade…” The “treasure” he has now is a huge benefit, whether it’s side-jobbing as a Fighter or integrating it into his current methods. However, the following climbing journey is a bit boring for him. “The difficulty going up and down makes me uncomfortable.” Again with the silver glow, the three Animated Armored on the seventeenth floor crumbled instantly. When Lu Ping’an no longer deliberately restrained himself and delivered full attacks, the Magic Monster in front of him couldn’t stop him at all. He doesn’t need practical tempering anymore. These cans could only delay his time score, so naturally, he went full throttle to kill them. Suddenly, he stood in front of the entrance to the twentieth floor. “Should I give it a try?” This is a third-tier Secret Realm. Generally, the highest level is a quasi-fourth-tier Magic Monster. If it’s not too difficult… “Excuse me, I quit, see you never.” Just after entering the door, Lu Ping’an chose to surrender without any hesitation. Inside, four metal cans identical to the fifteenth floor were waiting for him! From the perspective of the Secret Realm Manager, this is probably what it means when a “quasi-fourth-tier creature” equals “four third-tier creatures”. But for the challenger, this obvious number gap makes it easy for people to give up directly. [The third-tier secret realm ‘Everlasting Abyss’ has been completed, and Lu Ping’an’s overall review is ‘D’.] When Lu Ping’an chose to surrender, the Secret Realm’s feedback came as well. This time there are no words from Mr. Knight, and the options given are similar as usual. Short-term blessings are no longer significant. The additional “Knight’s Trial”, although tempting, is beyond his limit. There are still other test projects next, he needs to go back and adjust as soon as possible. If he gets injured again, the repayment in the following days will make a terrible scene. After some thought, Lu Ping’an chose option C: taboo items were too good to pass up. “If you’re up for it, give me another bottle of shower gel… Come on, Mr. Knight. Isn’t that too much? Please ignore my request.” With a full white jade bottle in his hands, Lu Ping’an was on the verge of tears. Was this the consequence of young people casually asking for more? However, after examining it in detail, the result was a bit better than expected. [Brunell’s Weapon Maintenance Fluid (Semi-Taboo item)] [Function: Harden Enchantment (Unrated enchantment), use when maintaining metallic weapons to increase their sharpness temporarily.] Even though it had a low rating and lacked any annotations from Mr. Knight, Lu Ping’an was delighted. Searᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He would never tire of such practical consumable items. They could be used in real combat or sold at a good price if he deemed it too precious to use. As he emerged from the Secret Realm, he indeed drew many stares. He smiled and, with his battle axe, headed towards the forming lines of entrance exam candidates from the Ancient City. Wherever he went, people instinctively moved aside, giving space to the man carrying the heavy weapon. This wasn’t fear. It was respect for the strong. Lu Ping’an knew that he’d achieved one of his extra goals. “…So, during the final round of the candidate vs candidate fight, everyone would see me as a close-quarters combat specialist and avoid close combat with me.” By persistently using axe techniques and avoiding his Gardener abilities as much as possible, Lu Ping’an would naturally condition the spectators into making false assumptions. There would undoubtedly be those who’d misjudge the situation. One could only wonder who would be that unlucky. Time marched inexorably onward, and even those candidates hoping to run out the clock in the Secret Realm couldn’t stay very long. With the departure of the last candidate, a chorus of weeping and sighs filled the square as the dust settled. “…There’s no hope for me. I’ve only scored less than 8 points so far…” “I’m in the same boat. It’s too difficult. How can people reach the 20th level? That’s just bullying.” “Enough said, is self-consolation useful? The reduction of everyone’s standard scores is because of insufficient strength. That’s all there is to it.” The candidate who’d criticized others for “self-consolation” ended up crying himself, clearly with a bleak outcome. It was at this point that Lu Ping’an realized that this was a “college entrance examination” that determined many people’s futures. “…My coefficients… my coefficients are 0.82? Is that considered good?” The standard scores for levels and time had been released, along with some slight difficulty adjustments (which were nearly useless.) This was essentially the release of the final scores. Calculating quickly, Lu Ping’an found that his score wasn’t too bad. “3.69? Is that good? If my cultural score is 9.73, that means my total score is 13.42 (out of 15). Isn’t that pretty good?” Looking at the weeping and wailing around him and considering the pitiful admission rate of Ancient City University, Lu Ping’an thought he’d better go back and ask. “Oh yes… ” Lu Ping’an happily composed a text message and sent it. “Freshman, first combat round, scored 3.69, total of 13.42. Is it a pass?” Originally, not far away, Meow was still wagging its tail happily as if it had done well in the exam. The moment it saw the phone, it seethed, its ears standing up. It glared at Lu Ping’an and swiftly began typing a reply. “No! Get lost!” Can he pass? As mentioned before, passing the combat score round was a tough task. It’s not easy to score 3 points. Considering his background in logistics (the passing score was 18 points last year), as long as Lu Ping’an kept his current pace and didn’t drop out, he would be guaranteed a place at the university. Looking at the text message, Lu Ping’an chuckled, considering that it might be time to raise her BUF maintenance fee… She was about to undergo the second round of combat testing, right? Was she still daring to offend him? Nevertheless, even at such a distance, seeing the raging Meow, Lu Ping’an still drew a satisfying breath. “It’s back, it’s all back: my daily life.” Perhaps for him, watching Meow’s antics had already become a part of his daily life to be enjoyed and relaxed by. Having worked hard enough for the day, Lu Ping’an, not in the best of conditions, found a corner on the bus to doze off. As the bus returned the candidates to the city, their parents and family members were already waiting for them. Lu Ping’an slipped away briskly, having no interest in the increased sighs of regret and weeping. The stiff competition and difficult exam ensured that at least half of the candidates attending the next round would be eliminated. He had barely taken a few steps when he suddenly slowed down. Chris contacted him, her words filled with a rare hint of instability. “…Don’t look back, a disciple carrying my ‘relic’ is right behind you.”