Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Terrifying Perception Abilities, Is He Using Some Kind of Clairvoyance?
"Superhumans face challenges that are far greater than they are!"
Cain's voice was stern, devoid of its usual lightheartedness, and his words left the entire room in silence. The expressions of all the evaluators were grave, as they seemed to be recalling some unpleasant memories.
After a few seconds of quiet, Zhong Jing spoke again, "They're still just kids, after all. They haven't undergone formal training, haven't learned how to enhance their powers, and certainly haven't developed combat skills or psychological resilience..."
"You make valid points, Zhong Jing," Cain replied slowly, turning to face Zhong Jing. "But you must also remember that the deities we simulate are not real. Their strength has been reduced to a fraction of what it would be!"
"I warned them to take this seriously. If they get hurt due to carelessness, it will be a valuable lesson for them!"
"A lesson they need to learn—better now than on the battlefield!"
At that moment, Cain no longer resembled the kind, grandfatherly figure. His entire demeanor had shifted to one of severe authority, his eyes cold as he watched the footage of the three students' dire situation, showing no trace of sympathy.
Then, he turned back to Zhong Jing and asked, "How old are you this year?"
"Uh?" Zhong Jing was caught off guard, not expecting such a question and unsure of Cain's intention.
"Thirty-seven? Thirty-eight? You're not even forty yet."
"After just a few decades of life, you think of others as kids and yourself as an 'adult'?"
"When compared to those entities that have been floating in the cosmos for tens of thousands of years, we are all children—there's no difference."
Cain's tone was almost like a reprimand as he finished speaking to Zhong Jing, then he turned his back to the group, leaving them with his parting words.
"Here, they won't die. If they're injured, I can heal them."
"But in the future... they'll have to rely on their own luck."
The atmosphere among the evaluators grew tense, and no one else spoke, leaving a somber mood in the air.
Sophia, being younger and new to her role as an evaluator, hadn't witnessed scenes like this before, but she sighed, understanding that Cain was right.
She had witnessed the power of a successful divine descent and experienced the helplessness that came with it. So she knew that being strict with the students now was ultimately for their own good.
"Alright, let's not be so serious. Let's see how the others are doing. Someone else has found a target."
"But this Liam seems to be having some bad luck. He still hasn't found a target, and... his strategy seems off, doesn't it?" Another vice principal spoke up, trying to lighten the mood.
In the simulation, some students had begun to locate targets and were planning their attacks, but Liam still hadn't made any progress. He was racing across the vast desert, the sky growing darker with each passing moment, as if it might turn pitch black soon.
Liam was sprinting towards a specific direction, occasionally changing course as if he had a destination in mind. However, this wasn't an effective strategy for searching within a simulation. The correct approach would have been to mark out a large area and systematically search within that space.
The simulation wasn't a fixed landscape but more like a moving entity, constantly shifting like sand, with the entire world within it in motion.
It's as if the whole map was being continuously reshuffled, a tactic to increase the challenge and unpredictability of the test. Apart from the entrance's absolute position, nothing in the map stayed the same for long, making it nearly impossible for anyone to fully understand the terrain within the allotted thirty-six hours.
Liam, however, seemed to have a specific goal, charging in one direction, with two sudden course corrections along the way.
Dong Wushuang and the others, observing Liam's movement patterns, were puzzled by his actions.
"Is he... training his running speed?" Zhong Jing, closely watching Liam due to the bet, speculated.
"That's such a waste of time. He's running in one direction and then suddenly changing course?"
"No, wait!" Dong Wushuang's eyes were locked on Liam, closely analyzing his movements. "It looks like he has a specific destination in mind!"
"And every time he changes direction... it might be due to the map's layout shifting!"
After realizing this, he quickly called out to one of the bald men maintaining the simulation, "Old Xu! How often does the map randomly shift its layout, and when's the next one?"
Without turning around, Old Xu responded, "Every twenty minutes, and the next one is in five minutes."
"Pull up a macro view of the entire map!"
"That takes a lot of mental effort."
"I'll give you three mid-level divine cores after the test!"
"Deal."
Old Xu then projected a large, tactical-looking display screen for everyone to see. It was like a satellite map, showing various terrain areas, with the only distinction being the presence of numerous red and blue dots. The blue dots represented the students, while the red ones indicated the targets they were supposed to hunt.
The map revealed that some blue dots had already overlapped with red ones, indicating students who were currently engaged in combat with the simulated deities.
Dong Wushuang then zoomed in on one specific blue dot, representing Liam's movements.
The other evaluators, catching on to Dong Wushuang's reasoning, listened as Zhong Jing voiced his disbelief.
"Are you saying he's heading directly towards a target? You can't be serious. What, do you think he's some kind of clairvoyant?"
"Only psychics with massive sensory abilities could even come close to doing something like this."
Dong Wushuang didn't argue. He simply pointed to the map. At that moment, the blue dot representing Liam was heading straight for a glowing red dot.
Zhong Jing frowned, still skeptical. "That... could just be luck, right? Does ice affinity even help with psychic sensing? I've never heard of that."
He glanced at Sophia for confirmation, but she remained silent.
Dong Wushuang replied, "We'll see if it's luck in a few minutes. If you want to bet on it, I'm game."
Zhong Jing didn't respond, simply watching the red dot on the map, circling Liam and his potential target.
As the dozens of evaluators held their breath in anticipation, five minutes quickly passed.
Suddenly, the entire map was scrambled, with all the terrain and positions of the dots rearranged.
Curiously, the students within the simulation didn't notice anything, but the evaluators were fully aware of the shift.
On the screen, the blue dot representing Liam froze for a moment after the map reset. Then, after a brief pause, it shifted direction—heading straight for another red dot!
"Damn!" Zhong Jing slammed his fists on the table and shot to his feet. "How is that possible? Is this for real?!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone