Chapter Thirty-Two: Final Exams

Feng Xue had advanced in rank. As a lower-tier Transcendent, he now possessed the strength to single-handedly take on a small military unit armed only with individual weapons.

However, this did not mean he could immediately move up to the Transcendent class. In fact, he still needed to undergo an exam.

The Central Academy for Travelers, the most prestigious institution of the Eastern Human race, maintained rigorous assessment standards. The annual final examination was not only a means to filter and eliminate students but also set the criteria for each Traveler’s promotion.

The final exam, aside from the basic and least-weighted written test, centered on a practical evaluation: a competitive traversal into a minor plane. Results were categorized into three grades—Pass, Good, and Excellent.

For Travelers who had not advanced in level but wanted to maintain their status (as Xia Mi had previously, remaining in her class without being promoted or expelled), they needed to achieve at least passing marks in both the written and practical components.

Those who had successfully advanced and wished to move up a grade only needed to secure a Good or higher rating in the practical exam.

Then there were the prodigies—students who, without leveling up, managed to earn an Excellent in the practical exam. These individuals could skip the usual requirements and advance directly to the next grade (for instance, if a student of the Uncommon rank achieved an Excellent, they could attend classes in the Transcendent division regardless of their actual level, though they could also choose to remain in their current class).

Conversely, those who had clearly advanced but failed to achieve a Good or higher in the practical component had to compensate with a Good or better in the written exam to remain in their class. Otherwise, they would be reassigned to a branch campus on another continent. Even with a Good in the written test, if their overall ranking fell within the bottom ten, they would still be dispatched to a satellite school.

As for those who couldn’t even manage a passing grade, the academy would simply advise them to withdraw—effectively, expulsion.

Feng Xue belonged to the group that had successfully advanced, leaping from Uncommon to Transcendent. He needed at least a Good in the practical to proceed to the Transcendent division. Though he wanted to probe for inside information about the finals, among those he knew, only Wang Dazhu and Xia Mi might have such knowledge.

Unfortunately, as a teacher, Wang Dazhu would never leak exam content, and Xia Mi, the seasoned veteran, had just traveled away. Feng Xue could only return home to consult Xiao He.

...

"The finals? There are still about two months to go, aren’t there?" Xiao He, in a rather flirtatious pose, tapped her chin. "Master, since you’ve only just reached the Transcendent rank, perhaps you should focus on maintaining your position."

"Can’t you have a little faith in your master?" Feng Xue replied with a helpless frown, sensing her skepticism about his prospects for promotion.

"It’s not that," Xiao He said, putting on an innocent look, "but the success rate for students aiming to promote in the same year they reach Transcendent is less than one in ten! Traditionally, a passing grade means defeating an opponent of the same Uncommon rank. But since plane levels vary, this can be quite unpredictable. You might face someone who appears Uncommon, but once their plot kicks in, they transform into a Transcendent or even Heroic-level protagonist. In such cases, the Traveler’s breadth of plot knowledge makes all the difference."

"A Good grade requires defeating a Transcendent-level opponent. Though, for the finals, this opponent is usually a newly minted Transcendent. Still, for a Traveler who has just broken through, story characters enjoy the world’s favor—newly advanced Transcendents can often rival veterans."

"As for Excellent, well, let’s not even talk about that. It typically means achieving the highest victory in that story’s scenario. It’s a trap, really. Finals in many competitive storylines are several times harder than the semifinals, and sometimes, due to plot restrictions, there is no final at all. In those cases, you might have to complete a mission of equivalent level to earn an Excellent—something even Heroic-level students find troublesome. Best not to think about it, Master."

Feng Xue rubbed his nose and decided to heed her advice. As a student on internship from the Central Maid Academy, Xiao He theoretically shouldn’t know so much. The only explanation was that this information came directly from the Central Academy for Travelers, passed on through the maids as a discreet way to inform the students.

Even so, Feng Xue didn’t feel any thrill from learning the exam content. After all, he had no idea which plane his own assessment would take place in. Tradition dictated that the exam world was usually one rank above the student’s current level—meaning the Uncommon graduation exam would be held in a Transcendent plane, and the Transcendent exam in a Heroic one.

And for Transcendents, the number of competitive story planes was beyond counting. From the Hunter Exam, the Duel City Tournament, to the World Martial Arts Championship (specifically the year Wutian won the championship, as the Ten Shinhan arc was already Heroic-level, Piccolo’s arc was nearly Epic, and the later Z-series with its alien powerhouses was Legendary; if you counted the movies or GT, even Mythic-levels would be included)—these iconic settings were just the beginning. The endless sect tournaments in countless fantasy novels made preparation all but impossible. The only thing he could do was deepen his own foundation.

...

To prepare for the upcoming finals, Feng Xue took an elective in National Martial Arts.

Compared to skills like magic or inner force, martial arts—which focused on unlocking bodily potential and improving self-control—was a popular choice among Travelers who favored close combat.

Besides enhancing physical control and boosting most melee abilities, martial arts was renowned for its versatility. Since it relied solely on the body, it required the least from the world itself. This meant martial arts wouldn’t be weakened or rendered unusable like magic might when entering a different world—making it the safest choice for Travelers who ventured into the unknown.

When choosing skills, Travelers had to consider not only their upper limits but also their lower boundaries. Martial arts, by raising the baseline of one’s strength, ensured that a Traveler would never be left completely helpless.

For example, in the world of Duel Monsters, the rules dictated that any supernatural power had to be staked as a wager. Thus, inner force and magic could only be used as rewards for winning a duel. Martial arts, being purely physical, allowed direct action against opponents. (Just as Mo Liang, if he wanted to win Pegasus’s Millennium Eye, would have to duel for it, betting his own wits under the rules of the Shadow Game—but if he simply used a knife, he could ignore those rules altogether.)

Or in The Mummy Returns, during the Scorpion King’s challenge, all supernatural powers were forbidden. Yet, martial arts honed to perfection could still defeat the giant scorpion with ease...