At a depth of one hundred meters underground, in the Embers Organization's central arena,
Yun Meng had arrived ahead of the others.
Unlike her casual attire in the training ground above, she now wore a combat suit.
The black, form-fitting suit gleamed with a matte finish under the cold lights, her graceful figure drawing covert glances from several male trainees outside the arena.
Noticing that these youngsters, even now, hadn't yet grasped the pressure of the final assessment, a glint of amusement flashed in Yun Meng's eyes.
"Little ones, are you ready… to face true hell?"
Yun Meng clapped her hands, and massive transparent barriers suddenly rose around the central arena, completely isolating the inside from the outside.
As the barriers sealed shut, a gap opened in the center of the arena floor.
Thud, thud, thud—
Accompanied by heavy, resounding footsteps, a colossal creature, nearly twenty meters in size, slowly emerged from the gap.
"No way! This thing's Stellar Energy fluctuation is nearly three thousand!"
Caroline, staring at the behemoth in the arena, felt her cat ears
instantly puff up like furry balls.
Her usual composure vanished, replaced by unmistakable fear.
If Caroline, ranked fourth among the trainees, reacted this way, the other trainees were faring no better.
Seeing the trainees' terrified expressions, Yun Meng nodded with satisfaction.
This was the attitude one should have facing the final assessment.
"Level 2 Star Beast: Earth Dragon Lizard. That's right—this is the subject of your final assessment today."
"And the task isn't complicated: do whatever it takes to survive against this creature for as long as possible, up to three minutes."
"Of course, considering the vast gap in strength between you and this big guy, and the fact that some of you have non-combat Star Cores, this final assessment isn't a solo challenge but a team-based one. You may form teams of up to three to take on this beast together."
"That's all about the final assessment."
"Now… go find your teammates."
With that, Yun Meng strode to the Earth Dragon Lizard's side, affectionately patting its rock-armored head.
This behemoth, capable of tearing apart large armored vehicles with ease, acted like a tame puppy under her touch, utterly harmless.
But that was only true for Yun Meng, a Level 2 Starborne and its master.
For Cseper and the other Starfall Children, whose Stellar Energy levels were below Level 1, this Level 2 Earth Dragon Lizard would show them what true cruelty meant.
Even Cseper, the strongest among the trainees, was no exception.
However, if the organization dared to unleash this beast as the examiner for the final assessment,
they must have had their reasons.
Thus, after a brief moment of shock, the trainees began gravitating toward Cseper in the crowd.
Since it was a team challenge, there was no better teammate than Cseper, the top-ranked trainee.
Many shared this thought, including Chen Kong, the protagonist.
"C-Cseper-bro…"
Chen Kong looked at Cseper nervously, wanting to ask to team up but too shy to speak up.
Cseper smiled and patted his shoulder. "No can do, Kong. This assessment's a bit tricky. Even I can't guarantee I can handle this guy while looking out for you."
"Besides…" Cseper glanced at Chen Xing nearby. "There's clearly a more suitable partner for you over there, isn't there?"
Seeing Cseper look toward Chen Xing, Chen Kong lowered his head anxiously,
clearly hesitant to ask her to team up.
Despite her frequent harsh words toward Chen Kong, Chen Xing, who genuinely cared for him deep down, took the initiative to approach.
"Trash, don't hold me back later."
"O-Okay, sis…"
As Chen Kong was led away by his sister, Cseper suddenly teased Caroline, who was lost in thought nearby. "Hey, Caroline, don't you think Chen Xing's got some hidden traits or something?"
"I mean, she obviously cares about Kong, but every time they meet, it's like they're sworn enemies, as if she'd love nothing more than for him to vanish from the world right then and there."
Caroline, engrossed in analyzing the Earth Dragon Lizard's data on her tactical tablet, her cat tail curled around it,
had no interest in responding to Cseper's irrelevant, assessment-unrelated question and promptly ignored him.
Seeing Caroline give him the cold shoulder,
Cseper, feeling a bit bored, turned his attention to a specific direction in the crowd.
After all, Yun Meng had said teams could have up to three members,
and his team was still one person short.
But Cseper had already chosen his final teammate.
Ignoring the crowd of classmates eager to latch onto him, he walked straight to a girl lying on the ground, hugging a pillow and sleeping.
As absurd as it sounded, this girl was indeed asleep during the crucial final assessment.
And judging by her appearance, she was sleeping quite soundly.
Looking at Jing Liuli, practically sinking into her pillow, Cseper crouched down and, with a mischievous streak, picked up a strand of her scattered purple hair, using its tip to tickle her chubby, fair cheek. "Hey, Liuli, the assessment's starting. Time to wake up."
Feeling the itch on her cheek, Jing Liuli's brows furrowed in her sleep. She yanked the pillow over the back of her head, revealing bold words written on it:
[In Combat, Do Not Disturb]
Seeing Jing Liuli's "battle sign," Cseper couldn't help but laugh.
Come on, Caroline was always calling him unreliable, but had she looked at the thirty-six Starfall Children? Not a single one was normal—they were all problem kids!
Seeing that normal methods wouldn't wake her,
Cseper unleashed his trump card.
"Liuli, the cafeteria's serving food!"
"Zzz… food… food?!"
Jing Liuli shot up from the ground, the coat draped over her as a blanket sliding off to reveal her bear-themed pajamas underneath.
She looked around excitedly, searching for the "food."
But no matter where she looked, she saw only classmates scrambling for teammates and Cseper, grinning mischievously.
Realizing she'd been tricked, she puffed out her cheeks in anger, pulled a marker from her pocket, and, under Cseper's baffled gaze, scrawled on the back of her pillow: [Cseper the Liar and Dogs Keep Out].
With that, she flopped back down with a thud and went back to sleep.
Seeing his first trump card fail,
Cseper pulled out his final ace.
"Liuli, get up, it's exam time! If you don't, I'll tell Chen Xing that you ate her hidden snacks."
Whoosh!
Jing Liuli's eyes snapped open, and she sprang to her feet with startling speed.
"Cseper, I'm awake! Tell me about the exam. I'm ready to take it seriously!"
Seeing Jing Liuli's hilarious fear of Chen Xing, Cseper couldn't hold back his laughter.
It made sense, though. As the third-ranked Starfall Child, just behind Cseper and Chen Xing,
Jing Liuli didn't have many trainees who gave her trouble.
Cseper was one, and Chen Xing was another.
Of the two, Jing Liuli feared Chen Xing the most.
The reason? Chen Xing's fiercely competitive nature meant that whenever she faced Jing Liuli, she went all out, striking with ruthless precision.
This left Jing Liuli miserable, unable to slack off happily as she could when fighting Cseper.
Over time, Jing Liuli, who hated pain, effort, and hardship, developed a fear of Chen Xing, viewing her as a nightmare.
The mere mention of Chen Xing's name triggered an instant stress response, putting her on high alert,
terrified of Chen Xing coming within five meters of her.
Thus, as long as you knew this trick, waking the chronically sleepy Jing Liuli was no challenge at all.
Now that Jing Liuli was finally awake, Cseper knew his final teammate for the assessment was in place.