Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Assessment Conclusion 2

Captain Vael stood at the front of the bay on a raised platform. She waited for the last few candidates to finish teleporting in, then activated a sound amplification formation that carried her voice to every corner.

“Acceptable performance.”

That was it. Two words. No elaboration.

She let the silence hang for a moment, then continued.

“Final rankings have been calculated. Class assignments will be announced upon arrival at Prime Origin Academy. Medical teams are treating candidates who sustained injuries. Nobody died. That’s better than last year.”

Someone in the crowd laughed nervously. Vael ignored them.

“The barrier sealing the Kaelen System will remain active until Federation Marines arrive to process prisoners. The pirates you fought are now contained. They will be dealt with appropriately.” She paused. “The pirates trapped in the battlefield are currently frozen under suppression formations. They’ll remain that way until transfer.”

Her gaze swept across the assembled candidates, lingering briefly on the clone and Celestia.

“Top two performers exceeded all expectations. Seven seconds to maximum points. New academy record.”

That got reactions. Whispers spread through the crowd. Seven seconds. Not seven minutes. Seven seconds.

“You have five days until we reach Earth-Prime. Use that time to rest, recover, and prepare. The academy will be harder than this assessment. Dismissed.”

The formation deactivated. Candidates began moving, clustering into groups, talking quietly among themselves. Several started approaching the clone and Celestia.

Marcus Sunfire reached them first.

He looked exhausted but exhilarated. His combat suit was intact—no visible injuries—but he moved like every muscle hurt. Bloodline activation always came with a price. Burning genetic power for temporary strength left you drained afterward.

“Seven seconds,” Marcus said without preamble. His voice was hoarse but energetic. “You maxed out points in seven seconds.”

The clone shrugged. “We fought efficiently.”

“Efficiently.” Marcus laughed. “I just had a life-and-death battle with a Star Fusion cultivator, burned my bloodline so hard I won’t be able to cultivate properly for a week, pushed my Fire Law from 29% to 42% and Solar Law from 24% to 50%, and I fused them and fought to a draw. Meanwhile you killed fifteen thousand pirates and nine Star Fusion cultivators in seven seconds. There’s efficient, and then there’s whatever you two are.”

“You improved your Law comprehension during combat though,” Celestia said. “That’s impressive.”

“Twenty percent across both Laws in one fight.” Marcus grinned despite his obvious exhaustion. “Life and death situations really do force breakthrough. I’ve been stuck at those comprehension levels for six months. One desperate fight and I jump forty percent total. Completely worth almost dying.”

He said it like getting nearly killed was the best thing that happened to him all week.

More candidates were approaching now. Khan Storm walked up, his expression complicated. Not hostile exactly, but not friendly either.

“Top five with five hundred thousand points,” Khan said. “I’m in fifth place. You two are in first with ten million each. There’s a gap there.”

“You made top five,” the clone said. “That’s good.”

“Is it though? When the gap between first and fifth is twenty times the points?” Khan shook his head. “I’m not complaining. Just… acknowledging reality. You two are on a different level.”

He said it matter-of-factly, without bitterness. Like he’d processed the shock and accepted it.

Khan turned and walked away without saying anything else.

Yuki Frostwhisper appeared next. She was shorter than Celestia, with white hair and ice-blue eyes that marked her as a pure Ice Law specialist. Her energy signature radiated cold.

“You use Ice Law too,” Yuki said to Celestia.

“Among others.”

“I felt it during the battle. Your techniques had ice properties mixed with void and space manipulation. Perfect fusion.” Yuki smiled genuinely. “I’d love to train together sometime. Learn from someone who’s mastered multiple Law integration.”

Celestia’s expression softened slightly. “Maybe.”

That was about as enthusiastic as she got with strangers. The clone counted it as progress.

Lyra Moon didn’t approach. She stood about fifteen meters away, watching with those calculating eyes. When the clone glanced in her direction, she nodded once—acknowledgment without commitment. Smart. Gathering information, staying neutral.

The clone respected that approach.

“We should go,” Celestia said quietly.

“Yeah.”

They excused themselves from the growing crowd and headed toward the exit. More candidates tried approaching as they walked, but Celestia’s spatial awareness created a subtle boundary that made people instinctively give them space without feeling pushed away.

They reached Suite 4701 without incident.

—

The suite felt quieter after the combat chaos.

The clone collapsed onto the couch while Celestia went straight for the meditation chamber. She didn’t need to meditate—her qi reserves were barely touched after seven seconds of fighting—but she liked the controlled environment.

The clone pulled up his system notifications.

**ASSESSMENT COMPLETE**

**Final Statistics:**

– Pirates Eliminated: 15,247

– Star Fusion Killed: 9

– Time in Combat: 7 seconds

– Points Earned: 10,000,000 (maximum)

– Ranking: 1st place (tied with Celestia Stormwind)

– **NEW ACADEMY RECORD: Fastest Maximum Points Achievement**

**Rewards Available:**

– Class Assignment: APEX CLASS (highest tier)

– Special Academy Resources (details upon arrival)

– Contribution Points: 500,000 (starting bonus)

Five hundred thousand contribution points. Massive starting advantage.

The clone checked the soul connection to his original body. Still active, still stable. The original was deep in the Comprehension Space, had been for the entire twenty-minute assessment. From the original’s perspective, he’d experienced maybe three hours of subjective cultivation time.

*Everything good?* the clone thought through the connection.

A faint acknowledgment came back. The original was focused. Soul tempering progressing slowly.

*Found any treasures yet?* the original’s thought drifted back.

*Not yet. Just finished combat assessment. Five days until Earth-Prime. I’ll start hunting once we’re at the academy.*

*Good. Need more Primordial-grade soul items. Chaos-grade if possible.*

*Working on it.*

The connection faded as the original returned to cultivation.

Celestia emerged from the meditation chamber twenty minutes later. She’d changed into comfortable casual clothes—simple pants and a shirt.

“I checked the ship’s directory,” she said, settling onto the couch beside him. “There’s an official trading post on Deck Seven. Sells cultivation resources, techniques, equipment. Open to all passengers.”

The clone sat up. “Worth checking out?”

“Maybe. Most items will be Divine or Supreme grade at best. Ships don’t carry Primordial resources openly. But we might find soul treasures if we’re lucky.”

“Better than sitting here.”

“Tomorrow though. Let everyone settle down first. Right now we’d attract too much attention walking through the ship.”

She had a point. Better to wait until the initial shock wore off.

“Five days to Earth-Prime,” the clone said. “Think we’ll find what we need?”

“On this ship? Unlikely. The real treasures will be at the academy.” Celestia leaned her head against his shoulder. “Prime Origin Academy has been accumulating resources for ten thousand years. If there’s Primordial or Chaos-grade soul items anywhere, they’re in that vault.”

“And we’ll have five hundred thousand contribution points to spend.”

“Exactly.”

They sat quietly for a while.

“We showed too much,” Celestia said eventually.

“Seven seconds to maximum points. Yeah, we showed too much.”

“Everyone knows we’re strong now.”

“Can’t really hide it after killing fifteen thousand pirates in seven seconds while everyone else needed twenty minutes.” The clone shrugged. “Showing strength early has advantages. People know not to challenge us. We can operate freely.”

“I suppose.”

They lapsed into comfortable silence again.

Outside the suite’s illusory windows, the Absolute Infinity continued its journey through space. Five days until Earth-Prime. Five days until Prime Origin Academy.

Five days to prepare for whatever came next.

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