’Individual strength, teamwork, physical potential, mental fortitude, and comprehension...’
Qin Feng silently mulled over the words Xiong Yanfu had just spoken.
He knew this assessment for the Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University would be anything but easy.
It wasn’t just a contest of strength, but a comprehensive and brutal screening of one’s overall abilities.
A single shortcoming in any of these areas could lead to ultimate failure.
He continued to chat idly with the gregarious, portly fellow beside him.
From Xiong Yanfu, Qin Feng learned more about the local customs and people of other Educational Planets, as well as anecdotes about their geniuses, which greatly broadened his horizons.
Time flew by as the two conversed.
After passing through a brilliant belt of light composed of countless meteorites and stardust, the massive transport shuttle began to slowly decelerate.
Finally, after a slight tremor, the shuttle landed smoothly at its destination.
"Destination reached: Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University - Admissions Assessment Office - Outer Docking Port. All passengers, please disembark in an orderly manner."
Accompanied by a pleasant chime, the cabin doors slowly opened.
Together, Qin Feng and Xiong Yanfu followed the crowd off the shuttle.
Beneath their feet was solid ground paved with an unknown metal.
Before them lay a cluster of buildings so magnificent it inspired awe.
Grand buildings of peculiar design, brimming with a futuristic and artistic aesthetic, rose from the ground to pierce the clouds.
Countless shuttles of varying sizes zipped back and forth between these buildings, forming a busy yet orderly three-dimensional traffic network.
At key locations throughout the docking port, numerous volunteer Martial Artists in Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University uniforms were maintaining order.
Some were verifying identities, others were guiding the flow of people, and still others were directing shuttles. Everything was perfectly organized.
Qin Feng noticed that the Advanced Martial Artists from the shuttle, whose auras he had found unfathomably deep, had now all joined the ranks of these volunteers and begun their work with practiced ease.
Only then did it dawn on Qin Feng.
It turned out that the Advanced Martial Artists on the shuttle who looked like "passengers" were actually current students of the Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University, using their spare time to volunteer at the admissions office!
Following the clear directions, Qin Feng and Xiong Yanfu crossed the massive docking port and arrived before a magnificent gate.
In front of the gate, a long line already snaked out of sight.
A rough glance suggested the line consisted of at least tens of thousands of people.
Moreover, a continuous stream of shuttles was still landing, bringing more and more geniuses from different planets.
"My God... so many people!"
Xiong Yanfu clicked his tongue as he stared at the endless line. "And this is supposed to be the off-season. I heard that if several university districts have their breaks at the same time, the line here can reach hundreds of thousands!"
Qin Feng was also secretly alarmed.
The Canaan Star System had over a trillion Educational Planets.
Even by the most conservative estimate, if each planet produced only one "General Star" to participate in the assessment each Imperial Year, the number would still be astronomical.
And now, these chosen ones, who had once shone so brilliantly on their respective planets, were all gathered here, becoming just another unremarkable face in the long line.
"Brother Qin."
While they waited in line, Xiong Yanfu lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "I heard that inside the Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University, there’s no ’contract mechanism’ of any kind. It’s not like other Martial Arts Universities that give you a fixed amount of resources based on your rating."
"Here, if a student wants any cultivation resources, they have to fight for them on their own, earn them by completing missions."
"But the university is still pretty considerate."
Xiong Yanfu pointed at the busy upperclassmen working as volunteers. "Take this volunteer mission, for example. Helping out at the admissions office for a month gets you 5 Imperial Contribution Points. The chance to accept this mission only refreshes once every ten years. See those upperclassmen? They’re all scrambling to do this job for that very reason."
"Imperial Contribution Points?"
Qin Feng’s heart jolted at his words. He looked at Xiong Yanfu in disbelief. "Are you sure? Imperial Contribution Points? And not... some kind of internal university GPA or credits?"
"Yes, I’m absolutely certain!"
Xiong Yanfu nodded emphatically.
"Otherwise, do you think these upperclassmen, who are all busy with their cultivation and whose time is more precious than life itself, would come all the way over here to do this kind of odd job? They’re here for those 5 Imperial Contribution Points!"
Receiving this confirmation, a storm more violent than the one he felt upon seeing the Heaven-Reaching Tower raged within Qin Feng’s heart!
Five Imperial Contribution Points!
That was by no means a small sum!
He clearly remembered the conclusion his Intelligent Assistant, Hammer, had reached after its precise calculations. A veteran Second Level Martial Artist who fought in high-intensity wars on the Empire’s borders for forty long years would, for all their sacrifices and achievements, only earn a total of 500 Imperial Contribution Points!
Putting that into perspective, it meant that for a veteran soldier like Kro to earn a mere 5 Imperial Contribution Points, he would have to fight tooth and nail on a high-intensity battlefield where death was a constant threat for 146 full Imperial Days!
And one had to remember, on the Empire’s most brutal front-line meat grinders, the average survival time for an ordinary Second Level Martial Artist of the Star Realm Army didn’t even exceed ten minutes!