Chapter 66: Hardcore Dungeon Grinding

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Hardcore Dungeon Grinding

Soul Energy Herbs:

Common Soul Energy Herbs: one point per stalk.

Tier One Soul Energy Herbs: ten points per stalk.

Tier Two Soul Energy Herbs: fifty points per stalk.

Specific Bonus-Point Herbs, with point values as follows:

Jade Flower Lingzhi: 36 points.

...

(Hundreds of rows omitted)

Note: Examinees are not forbidden from bringing Soul Energy Herbs into the exam. However, examinees who do so must remain for the full seven-day exam period, or their score will be voided.

————

Soul Beasts Category:

No points are awarded for killing regular soul beasts.

Specific Bonus-Point Soul Beasts, with point values as follows:

Iron-backed Arrow Boar: 41 points.

...

(Thousands of rows omitted)

Note: Only specific soul beasts carry special Soul Energy Cards. Points are redeemed using these cards.

Special Note: Scores are calculated on an individual basis. Team-based scores are not permitted. Appeals may be made in special circumstances.

This was the content of the first page.

The second page was the print view for Li Heng’s admission ticket. Besides Li Heng’s basic information and test center location, there was a QR code and a signature line to confirm adherence to exam integrity.

’So this is the secret realm college entrance exam and how the final score is calculated. In other words... there’s no upper limit to the score, and the lowest possible score is zero.’

Li Heng quickly scanned the contents and format of the secret realm college entrance exam and felt a bit of pressure.

The soul beast part was easy to understand. As long as he killed a soul beast carrying a Soul Energy Card, he would get points. Killing other soul beasts didn’t count.

But for the Soul Energy Herbs, you basically got points for anything you had!

Some students might bring Soul Energy Herbs with them to get a head start on points. However, they would have to stay for the full week, or their score wouldn’t count.

This meant that if you were skilled enough to last until the final day, it didn’t matter how many points’ worth of herbs you brought into the exam, as long as you were rich.

But if you lacked the skill, bringing in any amount of points would be a waste.

’But doesn’t this let those rich and powerful examinees cheat openly?’

But then Li Heng thought, ’Isn’t it only natural for people with both money and power to get into a Soul Energy University?’

Money is just a worldly possession; strength is what truly belongs to you. Li Heng often comforted himself with this thought.

’I’d better forget about bringing Soul Energy Herbs in. After all, I can’t predict what I’ll encounter in the secret realm. What if some accident happens midway through, and I’d brought herbs in?’

’If my score got voided, I’d be kicking myself!’

’If that’s the case, then I really need to save up more Soul Energy points.’

Although he complained about the wealthy examinees, Li Heng didn’t feel too bitter. After all, he might not have money, but he had a cheat.

He could upgrade Soul Energy Herbs. Once he was inside, as long as he found a single herb and had enough Soul Energy points, he could upgrade even a common herb into a Tier One or Tier Two herb!

That was a leap from one point to fifty!

’Definitely worth it!’

As for the points from soul beasts, Li Heng figured he would just play it by ear.

’If I run into something I’m confident I can handle, I’ll go for it!’

’If it seems a little risky, I’ll just have to make a quick getaway.’

So, after summarizing the first page, Li Heng decided his focus should be on the herbs. As for the soul beasts, he would just have to see how things went.

As for memorizing all these "scoring opportunities," Li Heng looked at the hundreds, even thousands of lines of text and felt his head spin. It had been years since he’d had to memorize anything. ’Forget it,’ he thought.

’I’ll just grab whatever I see when the time comes.’

His gaze shifted to the second page.

Li Heng’s test center was Maple City Seventh Middle School—the same school Zheng Zhuoran and the others attended.

The entry time for the test center was from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM. The time to receive the Teleportation Talisman and enter the secret realm was from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

His home wasn’t too far from Seventh Middle School, but traffic might be bad that day. If he walked, Li Heng estimated it would take a little over an hour.

’So I’ll just have to get up around 6:00 AM. No problem!’

After browsing the two pages of information, Li Heng had a much better grasp of the upcoming secret realm college entrance exam.

Li Heng, who had already been grinding Dungeons for five days straight, had planned to take a break, save his hair, and give his liver a rest.

But now that the exam rules were out, Li Heng realized he desperately needed Soul Energy points—more than ever before.

’There are still two days left. I can’t spend any more Soul Energy points for now. I need to save them up!’

As for his hair, Li Heng felt that Teacher Saitama was right.

And so, he dove headfirst back into a Dungeon!

——

It just goes to show, if players in a game aren’t grinding hard enough, it’s not because they’re bad or can’t handle the grind anymore. It’s because the rewards offered by the (damn) game designers aren’t good enough.

After grinding for those five days, Li Heng had really felt like he couldn’t grind anymore. His hair was more important.

But once the exam rules were released, what was hair?

Li Heng stuck to his usual routine. He put the Ice Jiao Lake Dungeon aside for now and used every available moment to kill wolves in Wolf King Mountain.

Logically speaking, after upgrading all his gear and skills, his wolf-killing speed should have skyrocketed. No matter how many sturdy wild wolves there were, they were just cannon fodder the moment he saw them.

But Li Heng’s Dungeon-clearing time had actually increased instead.

Because after he upgraded to the Blood Soul Wolf Fang Bracelet, the sturdy wild wolves would immediately flee the moment they saw him, and chasing them down took some time.

As for the Blood Wolves, if there were fewer than three of them, they would run even faster than the sturdy wild wolves when they saw Li Heng!

At one point, because the Blood Wolves were respawning too slowly, Li Heng thought for a few seconds before heading to the summit of Wolf King Mountain for a "fair and just" battle with the Blood Wolf King.

Li Heng made great progress that time. He managed to kill half the Blood Wolves on the summit of Wolf King Mountain all by himself before being overwhelmed by the pack.

The Blood Wolf King hadn’t changed its style one bit. Li Heng made another mark against the Blood Wolf King in his mental grudge book, used up one of his Talisman charges, and then went back to focusing on grinding the Dungeon, not returning to the summit.

For two days and one night straight, Li Heng farmed over 12,000 Soul Energy points!

This was an unprecedented amount!

After emerging from the Dungeon for the last time, Li Heng tossed his Empty Cicada Longsword to the floor. Completely exhausted, he flopped onto his bed, spread-eagled.

"No more grinding! No more! If I grind any more, I think I’ll just die! Whoever wants to grind can go ahead!"

Right now, Li Heng just wanted to laze around like a salted fish. It wouldn’t matter who called for him; he was determined to get some proper rest.

The secret realm college entrance exam was tomorrow. Tonight, he had to adjust his mindset and physical condition to be in peak form for the test!

’Huh? What if this year... there are a lot of rich kids, and they’re also a little bit skilled? What if a lot of people bring herbs in, my rank ends up low, and I can’t get into a good Soul Energy University?’

No!

Li Heng had just lain down when another thought struck him. The competition in this world was much fiercer than he had imagined. If he didn’t work hard, his final ranking would be in jeopardy.

’My goal is a 211 or 985 among the Soul Energy Universities. At this rate, my ranking might not hold up.’

’Forget it, forget it! I’ll worry about my hair later. Just one more run, then I’ll sleep!’

And so, with a "salted fish flip," Li Heng dove back into the Wolf King Mountain Dungeon.