It was still early.

Zhao Chi didn’t waste Physical Strength running to the academy.

Instead, he walked at a brisk pace.

The village roads weren’t crowded, but once he entered the town, the streets became noticeably congested.

It was the morning rush hour.

The streets were filled with pedestrians and vehicles.

A horse-drawn carriage passed by, and the stench of horse manure filled the air.

A mechanical car drove up, kicking up a cloud of dust.

This type of mechanical car was powered by Spiritual Energy. Refilling the Spiritual Energy was expensive, making it a status symbol for the wealthy.

Zhao Chi bought a deep-fried flatbread from a street vendor for 8 Copper Coins.

It was greasy, heavy, and probably not very clean, but it tasted good.

It was only 8 Copper Coins. As long as it filled him up, it was good enough.

"Zhao Chi? Here, get in the car!"

A familiar woman’s voice.

He turned his head and saw it was Chief Instructor Li Ruanyu.

She was driving a Spiritual Energy mechanical car—a small, ladies’ model.

Today was another official day, so she was once again dressed in a full formal suit.

Zhao Chi waved his hand. "No thanks, Instructor Li. I can just walk."

Li Ruanyu had already pulled over to the side of the road.

"What’s with the courtesy? Come on."

Zhao Chi smiled and got into the car.

Mechanical cars were similar to horse-drawn carriages, both being made of steel and wood.

The only difference was that mechanical cars didn’t need horses to pull them, and their interiors were more luxurious.

Li Ruanyu started the car and glanced at Zhao Chi. "Eating something so greasy this early in the morning? Can your stomach handle it?"

Zhao Chi chuckled. "I love this kind of stuff. You don’t?"

Li Ruanyu gave a light laugh. "I used to, but you know how it is for women. We have to maintain our figures, so I have to stay away from this stuff."

Zhao Chi nodded and swallowed the rest in one bite.

"So, Zhao Chi, how has your development been these past few days?"

"Not bad."

"How many rounds do you think you can pass today?"

"I can’t predict that. Is it like the previous written test, split into 5 rounds?"

Li Ruanyu glanced at him again, a helpless look in her eyes.

"What’s with you? Did you not read the notice I posted in the group chat?"

Zhao Chi thought back and realized he hadn’t seen it.

He had been completely focused on his project to create an Improvement for Silk Stockings lately and hadn’t paid any attention to the group chat messages.

Zhao Chi nodded. "I’ve been focused on development these past few days and haven’t checked the group much."

"Alright, no matter. They’ll go over the test rules again at the academy. It’s not much different from before—you still have to kill invading Magical Beasts, but it’s been increased to 10 rounds."

"I think I get it."

This kind of test was very common.

Previously, Zhao Chi and the others had used text-based simulations, similar to a wargame.

Specifically, it involved diverting some of the Magical Beasts invading from outside the walls.

These beasts would be diverted into the territories of the test participants, sorted by difficulty, quantity, and Race.

The students had to defeat those Magical Beasts.

The difficulty would gradually increase with each round.

The final score would be a comprehensive judgment based on the number of rounds passed, the speed at which the Magical Beasts were killed, the extent of one’s own losses, and various other factors.

The first round was, of course, the easiest, and the last was the hardest.

During the test, multiple instructors would proctor each territory.

This was mainly to protect the students.

If a student felt the enemy in a particular round was too strong, they could immediately request rescue from an instructor.

On the other hand, although the system could perfectly record all the test data—such as the number of rounds passed, the time taken to defeat enemies, and so on—the instructors still needed to record the specific performance of each student.

This included things like tactical arrangements, command performance, mental fortitude, the results of Soldier training, and so on.

Although the test scores were mostly based on results, these other aspects were also very important.

In the future, after these students graduated, most would become part of the city’s protective Power.

When the time came to divert Magical Beasts, they would be assigned different ones based on their combat habits, the types of Magical Beasts they excelled at fighting, and so on.

The instructors’ records would be one of the references used for this.

Zhao Chi asked, "Instructor Li, what are the rewards for this test?"

Li Ruanyu slowed the car down.

The traffic ahead was getting heavier, and they were caught in a bit of a jam.

"The dean will announce the specific rewards later, but since this is your first test after becoming Lords, the rewards will be a bit more generous as encouragement."

Zhao Chi nodded. "Will there be Learning Points rewarded for passing each round?"

"Mm, yes."

"Are you allowed to tell me?"

"Well... hmm... I can tell you this. The Learning Points are tied to the rounds; you get some for each one. Passing round 1 gets you 1 Learning Point, passing round 2 gets you 2 Learning Points, and passing the final 10th round gets you 10 Learning Points."

"That high? So, you’re saying the maximum we can get this time is 55 Learning Points?"

"That’s right. So, how many points are you confident you can get?"

Zhao Chi chuckled. "It’s all been theory lessons until now, and I’ve never had any real combat experience. I can’t say for sure, but I’m definitely hoping for as many as possible."

Learning Points had nothing to do with academic promotion.

They were simply used to exchange for rewards at the academy.

Although the Eighth Academy was just a weak, commoner academy, the rewards available for exchange were not insignificant.

At least, for New Lords like Zhao Chi, they were more than enough.

Zhao Chi had been studying here since he was 17.

It had been over three years now.

In the beginning, he had only studied theory courses—all sorts of theories, common knowledge, and research topics.

There were also various practical classes.

For example: Sewing, Forging, Alchemy, and Enchantment.

Students like Zhao Chi were far from professional and couldn’t compare to a true Craftsman.

But they were Lords. Their skill level in these things could be low, but they couldn’t be ignorant of how they were done.

After passing the final exams for these courses, students could earn anywhere from 1 to 10 Learning Points, depending on the course’s importance.

There were also tasks assigned by instructors, which would grant additional Learning Points upon completion.

So far, Zhao Chi had accumulated 82 Learning Points.

This was an average amount.

This was mainly because he had been a poor student before. After Zhao Chi transmigrated, he was completely in the dark, failing several courses and missing out on their Learning Points.

It was only after catching up on the fundamentals this year that he gradually began to earn more Learning Points. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

But now that he was a Lord, there would be more ways to acquire Learning Points, so there was no need to worry about the ones he had lost before.

Once he became an official Lord, he would be able to use these Learning Points.

While he was lost in thought, the mechanical car had already turned onto the road in front of the academy.

Both sides were congested with mechanical cars and horse-drawn carriages.

There were also many pedestrians.

Li Ruanyu stopped the car. "Zhao Chi, you should get out here. It’s too congested up ahead. I’m going to find a place to park."

"Alright. Thank you, Instructor Li."

"Don’t mention it. Do your best today."

Zhao Chi got out of the car, and Li Ruanyu drove away.

Nearby, four male students stood watching Li Ruanyu leave as well.

Then, one of them asked, "What class are you in?"

Zhao Chi pointed to himself. "Me?"

"Yeah, who else would I be talking to?"

"...Who are you? What do you want?"

A very tall student said, "I’m from the Middle Level Lord Class. I’m just a little curious about that female instructor. That’s Li Ruanyu, right? How come you were riding in a car with her?"

"That’s none of your business, is it?"

"Hmm, it’s not. But we just want to ask, did she come from the Rich District or the Noble District this morning?"

Zhao Chi shook his head. "I don’t know."

"Oh, you don’t know... You’re from a Basic Level Class, right? According to the rules, we’re your superiors."

Zhao Chi turned and said, "The rules refer to a post-graduation ranking, not a Level that’s already Effective now. Our Identities are currently equal."

"The hell? Do you know who I am?"

"I do. Zuo Shizhang."

"You know who I am, and you still dare to talk to me like that?"

"Keep it up, Zuo Shizhang. A year ago, you were the pride of the commoners. I hope you continue to be."

Zhao Chi turned and walked away.

"...Dammit, kid. Give me your name."

Zhao Chi smiled. "...Basic Level Class Four, Cao Feng."

"Cao Feng? You’re that fucking Cao Feng? Fine. I’ll remember you."

"Plenty of people remember me. A few more like you won’t make a difference."