Chapter 795 – Three Thousand Mirror Ruins 62

Yan Shuang sparred with Mo Lan every day, so she had naturally observed her progress firsthand.

“I’ve already taught you all the martial techniques I can. You’ve learned them quite well too — hunting a three-star mirror beast shouldn’t be a problem for you. Do you have any thoughts on what three-star beast core skill you want?”

Mo Lan had already given this plenty of thought, and answered immediately: “Teacher, I’ve considered it carefully. Currently, my two skills — Glimmer Phantom for single-target disruption and confusion, and White Light Flash for instant blinding to create openings — give me both single-target and group control effects.

As for martial techniques, after your special training, I’m confident in close-quarters combat against one opponent or a small number of enemies.”

She paused briefly, then continued clearly: “But I believe my current ability set would struggle against multiple enemies or in situations where I’m surrounded. I lack effective means to break through such predicaments. Therefore, I hope my third skill — the three-star skill — can be a powerful group area-of-effect attack ability, to compensate for this weakness and make my tactical repertoire more well-rounded.”

Yan Shuang listened attentively, a look of approval appearing in her eyes. The ability to clearly recognize one’s own strengths and weaknesses and make targeted improvements — that was an essential quality of an outstanding Mirror Explorer.

“Very sound reasoning,” Yan Shuang affirmed. “So, do you have a specific target mirror beast in mind? While there are quite a few three-star mirror beasts with group area-of-effect attacks, finding one whose skill effects are significant and don’t conflict with your existing abilities still requires careful selection.”

“I do, Teacher.” Mo Lan nodded. “The one I have my eye on is a type of three-star mirror beast found in the Gushing Spring Forest Sea — the Thunder Horned Horse.

I plan to hunt several of them and stockpile beast cores in advance. I want both of the Thunder Horned Horse’s skills. The Thunderstorm Trample skill unleashes a wide ring-shaped lightning shockwave in all directions when stomping the ground hard. It’s extremely fast, combining instant damage with a brief paralysis effect, which fits my current needs perfectly. The Lightning Leap skill allows rapid short-to-mid-range displacement while dealing some lightning damage to enemies along the path — combining mobility and damage. I really like both of them.”

After hearing Mo Lan’s analysis, Yan Shuang pondered for a moment. “The Thunder Horned Horse is indeed an excellent target. Thunderstorm Trample pairs very conveniently with martial techniques, and among three-star area-of-effect attack skills, it’s truly outstanding. Lightning Leap is solid too — it would enhance your mobility. However, the Thunder Horned Horse is quite powerful among three-star mirror beasts. It’s extremely alert and incredibly fast, making it no easy hunt. Are you confident?”

“Yes!” Mo Lan said with confidence.

Inside her storage mirror accessory, she already had several Thunder Horned Horse beast cores from hunts she’d personally conducted!

She had long since finished analyzing the skill imprints for both Thunderstorm Trample and Lightning Leap, and had mastered the corresponding spell structures.

One could say that the moment she wanted to, she could use them immediately.

“Good.” Yan Shuang said nothing more. “Since you’ve already selected your target, go hunt in the Gushing Spring Forest Sea after the national Mirror Explorer Academy entrance exam! I’ll be waiting for your good news.”

The next day, the Eastern China Alliance’s national Mirror Explorer Academy entrance exam officially began.

The examination venue was the same as always — the Kaleidoscope Wilderness mirror space.

As per convention, all examinees from the nation’s eighteen major territories would enter the Kaleidoscope Wilderness simultaneously through the teleportation entrances at their respective territories’ key middle schools, organized by their schools, to undergo a seven-day practical combat assessment.

Final scores would be calculated through comprehensive multi-dimensional evaluation based on the number of beast cores obtained through hunting, their star ratings, attribute rarity, and other factors.

Early in the morning, the area outside Deer Cry Middle School’s grand Mirror Clarity Hall was already buzzing with voices.

Every student from Deer Cry Mirror’s fifth-year Mirror Explorer Classes was present. The air was thick with a mixture of tension, excitement, and anxiety.

Students lined up in long queues, undergoing extremely rigorous inspections one by one.

Before entering the examination venue, no personal storage mirror accessories, weapons, armor, or even clothing were permitted. They had to change into standardized gray combat suits issued by the Alliance Department of Education, put on examination-specific storage mirror accessories, and then receive a basic weapons kit containing a regulation longsword, war blade, crossbow, and dagger.

The gray combat suits provided only basic protective capability, but possessed one special function — when an examinee suffered a fatal wound, it would teleport them out of the Kaleidoscope Wilderness.

The storage mirror accessory was a leather wristband inlaid with two mirror lenses, one large and one small.

Inside the larger lens was a basic supply pack sufficient for the first two days of survival. The basic equipment they received and any resources collected during the exam could also be stored here.

The smaller lens was specifically for storing beast cores. It also had monitoring, recording, and appraisal functions — only beast cores from kills the examinee personally participated in could be placed inside. It would accumulate points based on each beast core’s star rating and type, displaying the score on the mirror surface.

Mo Lan stood among the crowd, calmly completing each step.

She changed into the somewhat loose-fitting gray combat suit, fastened the specialized storage mirror accessory around her wrist, received the weapons kit and basic supply pack, and stored them all in the storage mirror accessory, keeping only a long blade in hand.

Beside her were the other students from Mirror Explorer Class One.

From their class, only Wang Jingnan had applied for the team-based exam. Zhou Ming, Bai Wei, Xiang Yufan, Ren Miao, Zhu Rao, and Ding Yan had all joined her team.

Lin Yue, Chen Xingye, Su Yu, and Zhao Wuchen, like Mo Lan, were all taking the individual exam.

After everyone passed inspection, they entered Mirror Clarity Hall.

A stern-faced proctor used an amplifier, his resonant voice reaching every ear clearly.

“Attention, all examinees! Before entering the examination venue, a final reiteration of the exam rules!”

The proctor’s voice carried unquestionable authority:

“First — teams are permitted in this exam! Teams are permitted!

If you have already registered your team information in advance, then beast cores obtained from team cooperative kills of mirror beasts belong jointly to the team and may be distributed among team members!”

At this point, his tone suddenly sharpened, his gaze growing even more piercing:

“However… distribution must be fair and just, based on each person’s actual contribution during the hunt.

Who was the main attacker, who provided support, who handled control, and how much each contributed — you need to have an accurate measure in your hearts.

Don’t think this is purely an internal team matter!

All of our proctors will be closely reviewing each team’s beast core distribution through the recording mirror accessories you’re wearing!

If any unfair distribution is discovered — bullying, coercion, or obvious misappropriation of another’s hunting results — not only will the beast core points involved be voided, but the entire team will receive additional point deductions!

In severe cases, it may even be recorded in your permanent file, affecting future admissions.

Remember — cooperation is one of the most important qualities of a Mirror Explorer!”