The superconducting train sped across the wilderness for several hours.
Lin Yuan leaned against the window, staring blankly at the scenery outside.
The train passed through a hilly region where the mountains weren't high, covered in dense vegetation.
Further in the distance, the silhouette of a city was faintly visible.
“Attention passengers, we are approaching our next stop—Hangzhou. Please prepare to disembark.”
A flight attendant’s soft voice came over the intercom.
Lin Yuan sat up straight and took his spear down from the luggage rack.
The train slowed down.
As the train entered the urban area of Hangzhou, Lin Yuan’s face was almost pressed against the window glass.
It wasn't that he was unsophisticated.
Although Donghai City was small, it had buildings and streets just like any other city.
However, the architecture in Hangzhou was on a completely different level than that of Donghai City.
Most of the buildings in Donghai City were five- or six-story brick-and-concrete structures. The tallest was the five-story gray building of the Ability User Association, which stood in the city center and could be seen from afar, serving as Donghai’s landmark.
“Compared to this place, Donghai City is practically a backwater county,” Lin Yuan couldn't help but mutter.
The key point was that Hangzhou didn't even rank as a first-tier city in the Dragon Nation.
In the nation’s city hierarchy, Kyoto and Magic City were super-first-tier; National Martial Arts and Shencity were quasi-first-tier; while cities like Hangzhou, Ningcity, and Sucity were considered strong second-tier cities.
A strong second-tier city had already left Donghai City galaxies behind.
What would Magic City be like?
Lin Yuan suddenly understood why the great families of Donghai City fought tooth and nail to send their children to first-tier cities.
It wasn't just a matter of resources and opportunities; in terms of horizons alone, someone staying in Donghai City for a lifetime could never catch up.
The train slowly pulled up to the platform at Hangzhou Station.
Lin Yuan shouldered his spear and stepped off the carriage, standing amidst the flow of people.
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
“Hey! Fellow student!”
Lin Yuan turned his head.
Three people were standing behind him—two boys and one girl. They looked about his age, around eighteen.
The one who had tapped his shoulder was the boy in the middle, who wasn't very tall—just over 170 centimeters—with a round face.
To his left stood a tall, thin boy wearing black-rimmed glasses, carrying a standard-issue longsword, looking somewhat reserved.
On the right was a girl with a ponytail, a heart-shaped face, and thick eyebrows that gave her a somewhat heroic air.
All three were carrying weapons. The round-faced boy had a short blade hanging at his waist, while the girl had a longbow and a quiver on her back.
“You’re here for the National Ability User College Entrance Exam, right?” the round-faced boy asked enthusiastically, continuing before Lin Yuan could answer.
“We are too! Seeing you carrying a spear and traveling alone, you must be a candidate. I’m Jiang Ran. This guy with the glasses is Chen Mo, a classmate of mine. She’s Song Zhiyi, from the class next door.”
The boy named Chen Mo pushed up his glasses and nodded toward Lin Yuan.
The girl named Song Zhiyi looked Lin Yuan up and down, her gaze lingering for a moment on the battle-scarred spear on his shoulder, before she also nodded as a greeting.
Lin Yuan opened his mouth, wanting to say “I’m not here for the college entrance exam,” but the words died in his throat.
He certainly knew about the National Ability User College Entrance Exam.
Every high school student in the Dragon Nation who awakened an ability had to take it. It was like a combination of the college entrance exam and a martial arts exam from his past life.
If you did well, you entered the Four Great Academies.
If you did average, you went to a regular ability user college.
If you failed, you could only become a social ability user.
But he had already been admitted early to Magic City Academy, so theoretically, he didn't need to take the exam.
However, with a four-hour transfer time, he had nothing else to do.
Moreover, he was indeed curious about this world’s “college entrance exam.” Back in Donghai City, he hadn't even attended high school for more than a few days, so the exam was a distant concept to him.
“Right,” Lin Yuan nodded. “I’m also here for the exam. I’m Lin Yuan.”
He didn't mention Donghai City or Magic City Academy. The smile on Jiang Ran’s face grew even brighter.
“What a coincidence! We just arrived too and were about to head to the testing site to report. Want to come along?
The Hangzhou testing site is at the West City Combat Base, which is a bit far from the station. We called a car, and there’s exactly one seat left.”
Lin Yuan thought about it and nodded.
Since he had four hours to kill anyway, going to see what the exam was like would be a good way to broaden his horizons.
“Sure.”
The four of them walked out of the waiting hall.
The car Jiang Ran had called was silver-gray. Lin Yuan leaned his spear diagonally next to his seat, bracing the tip in the gap between the roof and the door, so he finally didn't have to worry about accidentally poking someone.
“Driver, to the West City Combat Base,” Jiang Ran said to the man in the front.
The driver was a man in his forties with a buzz cut, wearing a gray jacket. He glanced at the four youngsters in the rearview mirror and chuckled.
“Examinees, huh? Everyone heads there this time of year. Sit tight.”
The maglev car rose silently, hovering half a meter off the ground before gliding forward smoothly.
“Impressive, right?” Jiang Ran noticed Lin Yuan’s gaze and smiled.
“I was stunned the first time I came to Hangzhou too. Do you know how I reacted the first time I saw a holographic billboard? I thought someone was actually performing fire-breathing on the street.”
Song Zhiyi leaned against the car window and added dryly, “He still freezes up when he sees them now.”
“Hey!”
Lin Yuan let out a small laugh.
Song Zhiyi didn't say much, but her interjections were quite sharp. Chen Mo didn't say anything the whole way, just sitting quietly in his seat, occasionally pushing up his glasses as his gaze flickered between the window and Lin Yuan’s spear.
He looked at the spear several times, his lips moving as if he wanted to ask something, but he never spoke.
“By the way, Lin Yuan, what’s your realm?” Jiang Ran was naturally outgoing and didn't mind Lin Yuan’s lack of words, managing to keep the conversation going by himself.
“I’m lightning ability, Tier 1, Level 3. Song Zhiyi is wind ability, Tier 1, Level 4; she’s the highest among us. Chen Mo is earth ability, Tier 1, Level 2.”
He patted Chen Mo’s shoulder, making the boy lurch forward. Chen Mo adjusted his glasses and gave a muffled “Mhm.”
Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, “Lightning ability, Tier 1, Level 4.”
He didn't report his true realm.
Tier 1, Level 7 was too eye-catching. Back at the station, he had used his system panel to scan Jiang Ran and the others.
Their realms were exactly as they said: Jiang Ran was Tier 1, Level 3, Chen Mo was Tier 1, Level 2, and Song Zhiyi was Tier 1, Level 4.
This level was already quite good for their age.
Most of the students at Donghai City’s First High School were still hovering between Unranked and Tier 1, Level 1 ten days after awakening.
As for Su Qingyue, an S-rank Ice Phoenix with Six Rounds of Bone Tempering and three years of Su family resources poured into her, she had only been Tier 1, Level 3 after ten days.
Of course, that was a few days ago.
She had broken through again recently—during a brief phone call yesterday, Su Qingyue said she was already Tier 1, Level 5.
Lin Yuan himself hadn't been idle over these three days either.
With the recovery power of Nine Rounds of Bone Tempering, the wound on his right shoulder had healed quickly. By the third day, it no longer hindered his movements at all.
Rate on N.U.
