Chapter 332: Preliminary Exam

Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh

When the news of others taking the initiative to challenge Fang Zhao and then Fang Zhao accepting that challenge spread, the previously quiet SilverLight internal chat burst to life.

"Ahahahaha! We can't only be the ones getting oppressed! Well done, Captain!"

"Captain, can we go spectate?!"

"Now that we are severely doubting our own standards, only spectating this match can remove our doubts."

"Let's make it clear first. I'm not delighting in others' misfortune. There's an old saying: 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.' 1 I just want to observe how others fight when faced with Zhao god... and how they respond."

"If it was me, I would rather die than actively challenge Zhao god."

Seeing this bunch start to get excited, Jinro also felt that they should take some notes. There was no need to compare themselves with Fang Zhao's individual god-like combat ability, but they could compare with their normal old rivals, see where the disparity was, and observe how long the opponents could survive in Fang Zhao's hands. Perhaps they could even learn a few moves.

But seeing the delighted attitudes the members within the chat had, Jinro felt that as the captain, he still needed to say some things. "Your attitudes aren't right. As professional e-sports athletes, we ought to have a more positive outlook. We should be thinking about how to improve ourselves. Going up against experts is necessary, and we cannot cower just because the opponent is too powerful..." Jinro droned on an on, but he never mentioned that he himself had used an excuse to avoid taking part in this match.

There wasn't a choice. Originally, Jinro had really wanted to form a team with the other eight to challenge Fang Zhao, but when he'd learned that Fang Zhao had gotten all stimulated from doing questions, Jinro had become terrified.

However, observing would probably be out of the question. The other eight weren't fools either. For the first challenge, the outcome wasn't certain and neither side knew how big disparity between them was. They wouldn't let others spectate.

The eight people who were preparing for the match were also discussing.

"Why do I feel that Jinro has dug a pit for us?"

"Whether it is a pit or not, it is too late to back out now."

The matter had been brought up by themselves, and the declaration of war had already been written. So many people inside the elite group knew about this. Most people who were at a certain level in the gaming circles had also heard about this. If the eight wanted to back out now, how would they have the face to show themselves in the gaming circles in the future?

"I never thought of backing out; I just feel a little restless. Why is Jinro letting the eight of us face off against Fang Zhao alone? Is Fang Zhao really that strong?"

"From watching past videos, Fang Zhao's individual point-sweeping ability was indeed impressive, but I don't know about the rest. A video is, after all, just a video. We have never fought against him in the game before, so we won't know anything till we experience it."

"An eight-man team against one person. It feels like we are bullies. Even if we win, I won't feel good letting others know."

"Let's not think about this first. Since Jinro has arranged it this way and Fang Zhao has also agreed, let's fight first. Don't get careless either. If we eight lose to one, we won't have any face left.

"Right. Fight first, talk later."

The eight of them privately discussed battle strategies and their equipment. Although they were from different continents and different teams, they were professionals, after all. They had taken part in many similar competitions and knew how to coordinate.

"Any other questions?"

"No more."

"Okay, move out!"

And they were oppressed so tyrannically.

...

Inside the global elite e-sports chat group, there were also people paying attention to this.

"Has it started?"

"Will they be challenging in succession or will it be a team battle? If it is a team battle, how will they be split? If it's the eight plus Fang Zhao, doesn't that add up to nine? A 5v5 can't even be held unless somebody new participates, and we don't know about it?"

"Hey, Jinro, you don't have to say anything else, but you can at least divulge the coordinates and practice venue, right?"

Jinro replied, "No can do. I can't even spectate myself. The match just started. As for the rest, you will know in a bit."

These words made many people perk up. The two phrases "just started" and "know in a bit" combined together made the others feel restless. How fast was a bit? 10 minutes?

Jinro looked at the time. If Fang Zhao went with his old method, he would let the other side have a minute and a half of preparation time. He had no idea how long these eight would last after that minute and a half were up; the only thing he was certain of was that it wouldn't take too long.

Not being able to spectate the game, Jinro could only watch the match's duration timer, which was displayed up top.

According to the time, it wasn't even two and a half minutes from the start of the match when the display indicated that the match had ended.

Jinro's eyebrows trembled. He decided that he wouldn't stick out in the global elite chat for the time being.

Inside the chat group, the eight people from the finished match bombarded the chat with messages.

"Come out, Jinro!"

"You cheap person! How treacherous! You chose to run away first!"

"Pisses me off!"

"Our friendship is over! All f*cking over!"

"It was just like returning to our noob days."

"Why did it feel like my signature technique became so weak?"

Those in the group who did not know the truth were all very curious. Why were these eight scolding Jinro when it was Fang Zhao that they had challenged?"

Reading further, they felt that these messages contained quite a lot.

Put together, it probably said that Jinro had tricked the rest and that Fang Zhao was very strong.

As for the challenge result? That went without saying. From their tone, they had surely lost.

Those eight wouldn't reveal too much in the chat group, so those that were closer would have to inquire in private.

Many people threw questions toward Jinro, but Jinro played dead.

These eight weren't stupid either. Now that they had finished the match, they realized that Jinro had previously found an excuse to back out, leaving the eight of them to face the stimulated Fang Zhao. Thus, for the time being, Jinro didn't want to appear and be the target of their hatred.

However, given Jinro's understanding of Fang Zhao's ability, two and a half minutes might have been Fang Zhao going easy. Otherwise, the match would probably have ended in two minutes.

Of course, Jinro also felt rather pleased inwardly. Previously, when Fang Zhao had announced that he would no longer be participating in formal competitions, many people had doubted Fang Zhao's ability. Some had said that the "Zhao god" term was overexaggerated and it was the adulation of fans and the company's manipulations. This had also resulted in many people growing used to shooting their mouths off and issuing public challenged online.

After this, there would surely still be challengers, but the number of people shooting their mouths off would drop by a substantial margin.

That was fine. At least this bunch would think carefully in the future before saying anything foolish.

Regardless of how this seemingly ordinary match was discussed by everyone, Fang Zhao's god-like status was cemented.

On the other end, when Fang Zhao saw that the other side was done after that match, he didn't say much. He logged off to let Curly Hair use the console and returned to his study to continue doing practice questions.

In the period after that, Fang Zhao rarely ever went out, instead staying cooped up at home doing practice questions or having video conferences with Xue Jing and Ming Cang to understand more about the examinations process and issues he needed to take note of.

Of the entertainment circles, only in the e-sports circles did people frequently mention Fang Zhao. Elsewhere, news of Fang Zhao was rarely seen.

Following the broadcast of "Founding Era" season 10, the discussion topics were continuously changing. There were still people that mentioned Fang Zhao, but Fang Zhao's online popularity was a far cry from what it had been in season nine.

Finally, the day of the first preliminary examination came.

Worldwide, more than 100,000 people applied to take the entrance exams for the top-notch HuangArt's Twelve Tones advanced course. HuangArt had designated exam venues in every continent, generally at reputed universities. As this concert touched upon artistic aspects, art institutions were avoided as the designated exam venues.

Only after the preliminaries would aspiring students be able to visit Huangzhou to take part in the second round of examinations. However, there was a limit to the number of people that would be able to visit HuangArt. The three preliminary examinations alone would be able to shave off at least 99% of entrants.

Fang Zhao had been allocated to an examination venue at a reputable university in Qi'an City. On the day of the examination, he kept a low profile and headed to the examination venue.

Zuo Yu and Yan Biao, who had returned from their vacations, resumed their duties as drivers.

There was a mandatory security check at the entrance to the examination venue to prevent any cheating devices from passing through and to perform identity checks. Following that, there would be another round of checks by the exam supervisors.

The majority of people who applied to take the examinations were 40 years or older, but a small portion of the entrants were in their twenties and thirties. Fang Zhao looked much younger than the other entrants in the area, so the supervisor at the security entranced noticed him and proceeded to take a look at his face.

Whoa! Fang Zhao!

Take a look at his examination admission proof. Indeed, it is Fang Zhao!

Although there had been very little online news of Fang Zhao recently, he had been too popular in the period before that. With the hype from "Founding Era" and the advertising blitz from Fiery Bird, even people who did not pay attention to the entertainment circles would find Fang Zhao somewhat familiar. Furthermore, there were some supervisors here that were fans of Fang Zhao.

After the security check and identity verification, Fang Zhao followed the directions on his examination admission proof and found his own examination room.

Each examination room was a small room on its own. Every room would only have one student inside. The exam script was an electronic one displayed on a screen. After writing, it would be input into the database.

Windows in the examination rooms were one way. The entrants inside could not look outside, but the exam supervisors outside could observe everything inside.

During the examination, outside Fang Zhao's examination room, four to five exam supervisors gathered outside and observed him.

"Right, no doubt about it. That's Fang Zhao!"

"Who is Fang Zhao? He sounds kinda familiar."

"The one who played the role of Fang Zhao in 'Founding Era'."

"Oh, it's him. I didn't expect him to be so young! He actually wants to take the entrance exams for HuangArt Twelve Tones? This is a globally renowned top-notch advanced course that cannot be entered by just throwing cash around! Isn't it a little early for Fang Zhao to take the examinations for this course?"

"It doesn't matter if he fails to make it. He is still young and will have many more opportunities in the future. Right now, he can just treat it as a learning experience and familiarize himself with the process."

"Makes sense."

Due to regulations, exam supervisors were not able to loiter outside a certain examination room for too long, but every time they passed Fang Zhao's room, the exam supervisors stopped for a slightly longer time. Sometimes there would even be a few of them gathered around watching.

Exam supervisors could not take photographs during the examination, and anything that was sent out needed to go through an audit. However this wasn't an unspeakable secret, so there was no need to be secretive.

Thus, the exam supervisors at these examination rooms shared the news with their colleagues, and soon, more teachers in the school knew that Fang Zhao was taking an examination here.

Following that, the news spread even more.

This resulted in Yan Biao informing Fang Zhao after he was done with the examinations that there were entertainment reporters lying in wait outside the school.

Zuo Yu looked up a more covert road and had Fang Zhao leave through it.

Entertainment reporters weren't able to snap any photographs of Fang Zhao, but they were able to learn from a few of the exam teachers that Fang Zhao had indeed applied to take the entrance examinations for HuangArt's Twelve Tones and had just gone through a preliminary examination here.

HuangArt's Twelve Tones entrance examinations would not cause much of a ripple in the huge entertainment examinations, because most of the people that passed the examinations and enrolled were more academically inclined artists with different styles and than the entertainment circles. Nobody really understood it well and they never really paid attention to it. Many people had never even heard of the name HuangArt Twelve Tones before.

However, Fang Zhao's matter didn't just cause a ripple but a huge wave. Furthermore, there were others blowing up the matter. Silver Wing was unable to suppress it and could only direct public opinion and ensure it didn't blow up into a storm.