Chapter 255 – Mental Strength Standard
“This must be the first time you all are taking the test, right? In that case, I have to remind you of two things,” the receptionist at the front desk said after scanning Shi Feng and the others with a device. The receptionist was a woman dressed in black office attire with long hair that cascaded down her back, and her figure and appearance were comparable to Hidden Soul. “Firstly, while you are in the mental space, staying longer inside doesn’t mean you will get a better score. Instead, you are scored based on how quickly you can conquer the obstacles on each floor.
“Secondly, be wary not to push yourselves too far past your limits. Otherwise, you will suffer a mental breakdown, and it is unlikely you’ll be able to make a second attempt within a month.”
Purple Jade and the others nodded when they heard the receptionist member’s words, none of them daring to behave disrespectfully to her. Although they didn’t know how old the other party was, judging by the dangerous aura they sensed from her, they could tell that the other party’s physical fitness was far superior to theirs.
A mental strength grandmaster? Shi Feng couldn’t help but be surprised when he looked at the woman behind the front desk.
Mental strength grandmasters were existences that thoroughly transcended mental strength masters. Even in the Greater World, a one-star mental strength grandmaster would be an executive-level individual in the various corporations, while three-star mental strength grandmasters were existences that even conglomerates would try their best to recruit.
Although the God’s Domain Association was the largest organization in the Greater World, it still wasn’t at the level where it could afford to have mental strength grandmasters work as receptionists. So, Shi Feng couldn’t help but be surprised and confused by this situation.
A moment after the receptionist was done giving her advice, a man who had just completed his test walked out of the test hall. At the same time, his result also appeared on the test scoreboard in the lobby.
“Mental Grade: Two-Star Mental Strength Master; Potential Rating: 71; Mental Strength Rating: C; Mental Control Rating: B; Overall Ranking: 13,452,” the receptionist read the man’s result. Then, when she looked at the man’s somewhat sluggish expression, she sighed and said, “Another stubborn one who refuses to listen.
“Next.”
This scene stunned Purple Jade and the others.
The man who had just walked out of the test hall looked no older than 40. An individual capable of becoming a two-star mental strength master before 40 was an incredibly rare talent even in the various Upper Zones. Yet, in this place, such a mental strength master couldn’t even rank within the top 10,000…
Out of everyone present, only Breeze Wine and Shi Feng weren’t surprised by this situation.
The standard of mental strength development available in their homeworld was vastly inferior to even the Greater World’s towns, let alone cities. This remained true even for the Upper Zones created by the Green God Corporation.
Regardless, Alice was the first in the group to challenge the mental strength test.
After entering the mental space for around ten minutes, Alice walked back into the lobby with a somewhat ugly expression. At the same time, her results appeared on the lobby’s scoreboard.
“Mental Grade: Two-Star Mental Strength Master; Potential Rating: 87; Mental Strength Rating: B; Mental Control Rating: A; Overall Ranking: 856!” When the receptionist saw Alice’s result, she said in praise, “You’ll have a chance of becoming a three-star mental strength grandmaster in the future if you already have such standards as a newcomer to the Greater World.”
“Good! Beautifully done!”
Joy appeared in Breeze Wine’s eyes when he saw Alice’s result. Although he had long since known that Alice could definitely enter the top 1,000 within the selection period, he didn’t think she would accomplish this feat on her first attempt at the selection test.
It should be known that newcomers to the Greater World for the first time would typically see great improvements in their first month in the Greater World. This was also why the God’s Domain Association would offer to cover newcomers’ food and accommodation expenses for the first month.
Alice had scored such a high rank on her first attempt, so it wasn’t out of the question for her to get within the top 300 within the next month. Meanwhile, individuals who joined the city legion would receive significantly different treatment depending on whether they were ranked within the top 100, top 300, or top 1,000.
After the receptionist finished assigning Alice her room, the many experts in the lobby couldn’t help but look at her enviously.
Alice was assigned a room on the Association Building’s 429th floor. Typically, the residences on such high floors were reserved for Star Lake City’s official participants, and these rooms cost 2,000 Star Coins a day to rent. The average God-ranked expert could only dream of staying in such a room. Yet, Alice could stay in this room free of charge for an entire month…
However, Alice’s result was only the beginning of a series of surprises for the people in the lobby. As Purple Jade and the others started attempting their test, the commotion in the lobby grew bigger and bigger.
This was because out of the eight subsequent people who took the test, aside from the two people who were already over 40 years old, everyone else managed to rank within the top 1,000. As for the two who were older than 40, they were ranked within the top 2,000, and they had a high chance of entering the top 1,000 within the next month.
“This is insane! Where are these newcomers from?!”
“I think they all come from the same world.”
“What?! They’re all from the same world?! Are they the geniuses nurtured by an Intermediate God’s Domain?”
The many God-ranked experts in the lobby began making all sorts of conjectures as they looked at Alice and the others.
Due to the nature of Star Lake City’s selection this time, individuals capable of ranking within the top 3,000 would already be considered geniuses among geniuses, let alone the top 1,000. Yet, seven out of nine newcomers from the same world had managed to enter the top 1,000. Even Intermediate God’s Domains could not produce so many geniuses in the same generation.
Not to mention, out of these nine newcomers, three had managed to rank within the top 500, their ranks hovering in the 400s. These three people were Magic-Eye Hunter Fithalia, Silver Ghost Prosciutto, and Thousand Scars Xue Qianhen. All three had received a Potential Rating of around 90 and double-A ratings for their Mental Strength and Mental Control. In addition, there was also Purple Jade, who ranked 514th. These four individuals had a high chance of entering the top 100 within the next month and competing against the peerless geniuses of the various Higher God’s Domains.
Breeze Wine grew ecstatic when he saw this outcome.
With such results, he could easily complete the task the Green God Corporation assigned to him. After all, the corporation’s task was for him, an official participant of Star Lake City, to produce three other official participants.
When Prosciutto saw Shi Feng entering the mental space, he turned to Breeze Wine and said indifferently, “We’ve completed our tests already, Commander Wine. Shouldn’t we start familiarizing ourselves with the training facilities here?”
“Guild Leader Shi Feng still hasn’t completed his test, Prosciutto. Isn’t it too early for us to leave now?” Purple Jade said, frowning.
“Is his test result even important?” Prosciutto glanced at Purple Jade. Then, in a contemptuous tone, he said, “He’s merely a Tier 3 instructor of a God’s Domain Academy. He’s not even an ant in God’s Domain. It is only by luck that he managed to come to the Greater World. We have come to the Greater World with an important task. The last thing we should do is waste our time on an ant.”
“I agree with Commander Prosciutto. Commander Wine has also previously said that we are free to move independently once we finish our tests. Now that that person has entered the mental space, he no longer has anything to do with us,” Thousand Scars said, nodding in agreement with Prosciutto. “If you wish to wait for him, you can wait by yourself, Commander Jade. Do not waste everyone’s time.”
After saying so, Thousand Scars promptly turned around and left. She had no interest in Shi Feng’s test result whatsoever. She only had one goal in her mind: to enter the top 100 as soon as possible.
After seeing Thousand Scars leaving, Prosciutto and the others also left for their respective residences, leaving only Breeze Wine and Purple Jade in front of the test hall. The crowd in the lobby grew confused at this sight, and they couldn’t help but wonder if Shi Feng wasn’t actually from the same world as Thousand Scars and the others.
“You should head upstairs with them, Commander Jade. You all will be comrade-in-arms when you enter the Star Lake Legion in the future. You will meet each other regularly at that time, and you might even have to work together to complete tasks. So, it’s best not to strain your relationship with them,” Breeze Wine advised Purple Jade when he saw Prosciutto and the others leaving. “It’s enough for me to wait here by myself.”
Zero Wing might have some interactions with the Secret Pavilion, but Shi Feng and Purple Jade were destined to live in completely different worlds. In Breeze Wine’s opinion, it would be very unwise for Purple Jade to sour her relationship with Prosciutto and the others for Shi Feng. After all, the Greater World wasn’t an easy place to live in. Take himself, for example. It had taken him several years of struggling in the Greater World before he managed to join the Star Lake Legion. Even then, he was only an ordinary official participant.
Of course, his slow progress was mainly because he had no companions. If he had reliable companions, he might have reached greater heights.
“Thank you for your concern, Commander Wine.” Shaking her head, Purple Jade said with determination in her eyes, “You may be right, but I still want to wait.”
Since learning about Shi Feng’s existence until now, Purple Jade had never managed to see through the man. Even though Shi Feng was clearly only a Refinement Realm expert, he had earned such high praise from Wu Lingling that the girl refused to become her apprentice.
Now that the opportunity to see Shi Feng’s strength had appeared, Purple Jade naturally had to take a look.
Breeze Wine could only sigh in regards to Purple Jade’s decision. He simply couldn’t understand why Purple Jade was willing to sacrifice her future for the sake of a Tier 3 instructor.
Sometime after Breeze Wine and Purple Jade concluded their conversation, a new result appeared on the lobby’s test scoreboard.