Time trickled by. After the 'rave' of golden light in the hall, everyone present focused their attention on the student about to be admitted.
The green light ball phase was considered the official start, but for Jiang Lin, it was a piece of cake.
Of course, this was also true for the other students present, so everyone just waited quietly for the subsequent three phases to arrive.
When the green light ball phase ended, Jiang Lin still hadn't been hit by a single ball.
Then the green light balls vanished, replaced by the next phase: the blue light balls.
The number and speed of the light balls rose another level.
This was the start of the true reaction test. For some students in non-melee classes, this speed was already difficult to dodge.
Jiang Lin also turned a bit more serious, and his feet finally began to move.
He had no choice; the angles of some light balls were tricky, and he truly couldn't avoid them without moving.
Since he still hadn't been hit by any light balls during the blue phase, it ended quickly, transitioning into the purple light balls.
At this point, Jiang Lin finally began to feel a hint of pressure.
The speed of these purple light balls suddenly surged.
If the blue light balls were like speeding arrows, then the purple light balls were like bullets fired from a gun.
Even Jiang Lin found it a bit strenuous to dodge. He finally opened his right eye and began using his 【Chronowalker's Evil Eye】 to observe the trajectories of the light balls.
Although the use of magic was prohibited, the 【Chronowalker's Evil Eye】 was one of his innate talents, so it was not suppressed.
His footsteps moved like a ghost within a small radius, his body displaying incredible coordination and explosive power in an extremely confined space.
The benefits of having many skills at a superlative level were becoming apparent.
Jiang Lin's control over his own body was terrifying; he could almost control every individual muscle, allowing his body to perform some truly inconceivable movements.
Although Jiang Lin couldn't see the outside, the people outside could clearly see him.
In their eyes, Jiang Lin's movements grew increasingly complex, like a swift darting through a thunderstorm.
And the hit count on the screen remained at 【0】.
The hall was silent, save for the slight hum of the equipment and the suppressed breathing of the crowd.
Most of them could generally only reach the blue reaction test; for the purple phase, only students in assassin-type classes had the ability to dodge.
The special assessment wouldn't lower its difficulty just because Jiang Lin hadn't broken through to rank-1 yet, so the difficulty of these light balls was set for a 1st-rank adventurer.
The fact that Jiang Lin was participating as a rank-0 and remained at ease under the speed of the purple light balls spoke for itself.
Inside the control room, Edwin's hand unconsciously gripped the armrest of his chair, his knuckles turning slightly white.
He realized that the boy before him, from that mysterious family, was absolutely a once-in-a-century genius.
His profile clearly stated he was a paladin, yet he possessed a reaction speed comparable to an assassin. This meant he either possessed a rare secret technique that could boost nerve reflex speed to a god-like level, or his innate talent was extremely outstanding, with base attributes far exceeding those of his rank.
If it was the former, it meant his family background was powerful; if it was the latter, it meant that if he could grow up, his combat power among those of the same rank would be peerless.
Within the current rank-0 scope, he probably had no human rivals.
Perhaps only lord-grade demonic beasts of the same level, or other foreign races with lord-grade bloodlines, could stand a chance against him.
But then again, how many foreign races possessed a lord-grade bloodline at rank-0?
As everyone held their breath, he actually passed the purple phase with a hit count of 【0】.
Subsequently, the purple light balls transformed into the final golden light balls.
The speed and number of the golden light balls were another step above the previous ones.
Some of these golden light balls would even suddenly change direction upon getting close to the body.
An ordinary person facing these golden light balls could probably only rely on superior dynamic vision and reaction speed to adjust their physical posture.
At this speed, even the current Jiang Lin couldn't dodge purely by his own reactions.
However, he possessed a talent others did not—the 【Chronowalker's Evil Eye】.
Under the torrential assault of the golden light balls, although his dodging was a bit harrowing, he 'luckily' managed to narrowly avoid them every time.
Three minutes felt exceptionally long under the breath-holding gaze of the people in the control room.
Finally, the moment the countdown hit zero, all the golden light balls vanished instantly.
The room returned to its original darkness and silence, with only the blue array in the center emitting a soft glow.
And that hit count had only ticked up 7 times.
【1st-rank Adventurer Reaction Test Evaluation】
【Hit Count: 7】
【Dynamic Vision: S+】
【Nerve Reflex: S+】
【Prediction Accuracy: 99.8%】
【Comprehensive Rating: Gold】
Being hit seven times was mainly because there was truly no other way. Although his 【Chronowalker's Evil Eye】 could see the future one second ahead, it was ultimately just visual precognition; he still had to see it, and there were visual blind spots.
Furthermore, there were times when his body simply couldn't move fast enough to dodge, so he was hit seven times.
However, this result was already quite astounding.
Especially for a rank-0 adventurer who hadn't even broken through to rank-1 yet.
The door opened again, and the staff member from outside walked in.
"Jiang... Student Jiang Lin, please follow me. Next is the combat potential assessment."
Seeing the shocked expression on the other man's face, Jiang Lin knew his results must have been decent, so he followed him out.
At the same time, he was marvelling inwardly.
Large cities were indeed different; he had never even heard of such advanced testing equipment before.
He had caught a few glimpses just now; it seemed there were even machines that could measure 'magic power intensity' and 'elemental affinity.'
Next, Jiang Lin followed the man up to the second floor of the "Tower of Trials."
The style here was completely different from the first floor's density of precision instruments.
A spacious central hall connected to over thirty rooms. Quite a few students who didn't have classes were on this floor, holding numbered plates as if waiting in line to enter.
They were students who had come to train their combat abilities.
The "Tower of Trials" in the Saint Brilliance Magic Academy middle campus had a total of three floors.
The first floor was used for students to test their basic physical attributes.
The upper two floors could project magic beast phantoms.
The second floor was for rank-1 students to train their combat abilities.
The third floor was for rank-2 students to train their combat abilities.
As for students who reached rank-3 within their three years at the middle academy, if they wanted to train their combat abilities, they had to go to the "Tower of Trials" at the senior campus.
After all, only one or two students in each grade could reach rank-3 in those three years; it wasn't cost-effective to build an entire floor just for those few people.
Jiang Lin's arrival didn't attract too much attention, though he was slightly conspicuous in the crowd since he wasn't wearing the Saint Brilliance Magic Academy uniform.
Since all thirty rooms were currently in use, the staff member said to Jiang Lin:
"Student Jiang Lin, please wait here for a moment. I'll go speak with the staff in charge of the second floor."
Due to the special nature of Jiang Lin's entrance assessment, he was allowed to jump the queue and become the next student to enter.
Soon, a room door opened.
The crystal on the door flashed the comprehensive combat power rating of the person inside—a blue rating.
A figure stumbled out, his clothes somewhat torn, looking like he had just been through a fierce battle.
Then, the staff member led Jiang Lin inside.
Walking into the room, the interior was a circular arena, even more spacious than the waiting hall outside. It was surrounded by shimmering energy barriers, and the metal floor was inscribed with complex magic patterns.
"Student Jiang Lin, next is the combat potential assessment."
After seeing Jiang Lin's basic attribute rating, the staff member's tone was more than just a level more respectful than before.
"A series of large arrays, including 'peal projection,' have been set up here. You will face a series of magic beast projections in battle.
"The projections possess all the combat instincts and skills of the corresponding magic beast. Although they have no physical bodies, if you are hit by their attacks, your spirit will receive a shock equivalent to actual damage. While the array will automatically detect if you can continue, please be careful and mind your own safety.
"The test starts from level 10 and increases level by level until you can no longer endure or choose to give up. The goal is to hold out until the highest level possible and defeat as many projections as you can."
Jiang Lin nodded, his expression turning a bit more solemn.
He still wasn't sure what level his actual combat power could reach.
Soon, as the staff member left, the light screen at the edge of the field lit up, displaying information about the upcoming magic beast.
【Test Start】
【Level 10 · Transcendent-grade · swift-shadow leopard projection】
A shadow of light instantly condensed into form in front of Jiang Lin's side. A lithe leopard-like magic beast pounced with a low growl, its speed as fast as lightning.
However, this was nothing for Jiang Lin to fear.
He didn't even use a skill; he simply threw a plain and unadorned punch. The wind of his fist howled as it made contact with the magic beast projection.
A serious punch!
Then, a massive, piercing force surged through, directly causing the head of the leopard-like magic beast to explode.
Under the interaction of over forty thousand points of strength and his limit-broken 【Basic Punching】, this leopard-like magic beast had no chance of survival.
Subsequently...
【Level 11 · Transcendent-grade · iron-armored rhino projection】
【Level 12 · Transcendent-grade · two-headed demonic wolf projection】
【Level 13 · Transcendent-grade · venomous flying snake projection】
【...】
As his opponents' strength increased, Jiang Lin gradually became more serious.
However, under his abnormally unreasonable skills, few creatures could last more than four or five rounds of attacks.
Jiang Lin also experimented a bit.
His 【Jetting Aura】 didn't seem to work on these projections.
His 【Heart Strengthening Technique】 worked, however, and since these projected creatures didn't have a high degree of control over their own bodies, he could basically achieve instant kills with it as well.
Soon, the projection level reached level 20.
【Level 20 · Transcendent-grade · blazing mad lion projection】
Upon reaching level 20, the projection's strength surged instantly.
Jiang Lin first released a holy light sword qi carrying the 【Heart Strengthening Technique】 to test his opponent's strength.
In response, the opponent simply swiped a claw, shattering Jiang Lin's holy light sword qi.
Jiang Lin's hidden 【Heart Strengthening Technique】 failed to take effect, having been resisted by the opponent's powerful physical constitution.
Based on his previous experience, if the 【Heart Strengthening Technique】 didn't work the first time, it wouldn't work later either.
Seeing that the projection possessed this level of strength, Jiang Lin finally felt a spark of interest.
For many of the previous magic beast projections, he had only released this testing move before the opponent's heart exploded from being unable to handle the strengthening.
He instantly released two layers of shields. At that moment, the blazing mad lion roared at Jiang Lin, breathing out extremely high-temperature flames.
Jiang Lin stomped hard, his body shooting forward like a meteor.
【Light-speed Dash】!
In just a few blinks of an eye, Jiang Lin had charged from his original position to the front of the blazing mad lion.
The temperature of the opponent's flames was extremely high. During his charge, the outermost 【Iron Wall Barrier】 on Jiang Lin's body quickly emitted an overburdened hum before shattering.
However, the 【Shield of Divine Grace】 inside still provided Jiang Lin with protection.
And Jiang Lin also almost instantly condensed another layer of 【Iron Wall Barrier】 on the outside.
At the same time, the holy light longsword in Jiang Lin's hand fell heavily.
【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】!
His mental power and stamina were consumed frantically as Jiang Lin pushed the skill's output to its maximum.
Simultaneously, he cast the 【Strengthening Technique · Normal Version】 on himself.
"Roar!"
The lion's shadow let out a roar, and its paw, carrying the whistling wind of its strike, collided with Jiang Lin's blade.
"Bang!"
Jiang Lin was sent flying back by the massive force.
His basic attributes were only at about level 14. Being able to fight these magic beasts that were nearly level 20 was purely due to his heaven-defying skill proficiency and some special skill mechanisms.
Thus, in terms of raw strength, he truly wasn't a match for these magic beasts in a direct clash.
Although Jiang Lin was sent flying, the lion shadow also let out a roar of pain.
Its paw had actually been hacked off by Jiang Lin during the contact just now.
As a combat technique, the 【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】 wasn't limited to just its sword qi.
When used for close-range attacks, the 【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】 could similarly enhance the power of the strike, and its power was even more formidable than the accompanying sword qi.
It was just that few previous opponents had been able to reach Jiang Lin before being defeated by the accompanying sword qi.
Jiang Lin felt his arm go numb, marvelling that high-level magic beasts were indeed different.
He then casually cast 【High-level Healing】 on himself, restoring the injuries his body had sustained during the clash.
Of course, the blazing mad lion wasn't going to just let Jiang Lin recover.
It roared and charged at Jiang Lin, but halfway through its charge, a complex magic pattern suddenly appeared beneath its feet.
【Chains of Holy Judgment】!
Several thick chains of holy light burst from the ground array, lashing out to bind the lion shadow.
Jiang Lin also pulled a longbow from his spatial ring. With an extremely skilled and standard posture, he instantly finished stringing, nocking, aiming, and firing.
Since keeping a bow strung constantly would damage its tension, many archers only strung their bows before they expected a battle.
Because Jiang Lin hadn't expected this battle would require him to use a bow, he had previously kept it stored normally in his spatial ring.
Of course, if the quality of the bow was good enough, such worries were unnecessary; weapons that reached a certain level were capable of self-repair.
Arrows condensed with a massive amount of light elements were fired by Jiang Lin, hitting the restrained blazing mad lion.
【Arrow of Aurora】!!
The blazing mad lion let out a roar, struggling with all its might.
Its intuition told it that something bad was about to happen.
And reality told it that its intuition was correct.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The countdown on the fired 【Arrow of Aurora】 ended, and the light elements contained within exploded. Since some arrows had gone deep into the blazing mad lion's body, they caused massive damage to its form.
The lion shadow gradually dissipated, leaving the arena restored to its original state.
Jiang Lin panted slightly, marvelling that this blazing mad lion had been a bit tricky.
At that moment, the information on the light screen refreshed again:
【Level 20 · Elite-grade · thunder giant ape projection】
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