Buff Effect Upgrade

"I wonder how I did this time... I'm so nervous."

"I don't know either... This math exam was so hard. I don't even know if I can get 90 points. Passing might be a problem."

"Yeah. By the time I finished the fill-in-the-blank questions, there were only forty minutes left. When I finished the first long-answer question, I heard the thirty-minute bell. I was scared stiff."

"I was okay. I took one look at the hardest multiple-choice question and the hardest fill-in-the-blank question and didn't write anything. Then I did three and a half long-answer questions, half of the second-to-last one, and didn't touch the last one at all."

"Damn, this math exam wasn't made for humans."

"Exactly."

Voices rose throughout the classroom, mostly discussing how brutally difficult the math exam had been. There was no helping it—this paper had practically crushed every student in the grade who was even slightly weak at math. Even the students who were somewhat better at it had suffered just as much. Complaints were everywhere; the exam setter had probably been cursed countless times already.

"Xiang Dong, how many points do you think you'll get in math this time?"

Someone suddenly asked.

Xiang Dong had long held first place in Class 3 of Science Stream and had also spent years in Exam Room 1. Although his overall ranking usually fluctuated between twentieth and thirtieth place and had never entered the top twenty, that consistency was all the more valuable. A stable ranking in the twenties was already around the middle level of Class 1 of Science Stream, the elite class. He would definitely get into a top-tier Project 985 university on the college entrance exam.

At the same time, Xiang Dong had always ranked first in math in their class.

But at that moment, Xiang Dong spread his hands and said, "Don't ask me. There were a lot of questions I couldn't do."

Hearing that, the other students immediately started teasing him.

"Brother Dong is being modest again. Won't you easily get over 140?"

"With Brother Dong's math skills, it'll definitely be a piece of cake."

"Brother Dong, don't say that. If you put it that way, aren't we completely doomed?"

Xiang Dong said helplessly, "Why would I lie to you guys? This math exam was genuinely hard. I nearly didn't finish it myself."

Hearing him say that, the students started jeering again. "'Nearly didn't finish it.'"

Xiang Dong rolled his eyes. "I guessed on all three hardest questions, so I can't guarantee any of them were right. The second-to-last long-answer question was especially difficult too, and I can't guarantee that one either. There's no way I'm getting 140."

As he spoke, he pointed toward the other side of the room. "If you don't believe me, ask Old Xiao."

At his words, the surrounding students all turned to look at the person he had pointed to.

It was Xiao Yi.

Perhaps Xiao Yi's math scores were not the best in the entire grade, but in their class, his math was absolutely among the best. For example, he had scored 135 on last semester's final exam, which ranked second in their class, behind only Xiang Dong.

That was why Xiang Dong had said that. In a sense, he was probably just passing the buck.

However, someone suddenly said, "I remember Xiao Yi... didn't he hand in his math paper half an hour early?"

As soon as those words were spoken, every student present widened their eyes.

Huh?

Someone actually handed in this math exam early?

Wasn't that basically cheating?

More people began speaking up.

"Yeah, I saw Xiao Yi hand in his paper half an hour early too."

Quite a few students from Class 3 of Science Stream had been in Exam Room 4. Every one of them had seen Xiao Yi stand up and hand in his paper as soon as the thirty-minute bell rang.

"And not just that. It seems like... Brother Xiao handed in every single exam half an hour early."

For a moment, all the students present stared wide-eyed.

Wang Defa?

Handing in the math paper half an hour early was one thing. After all, in their eyes, Xiao Yi really was very good at math. Maybe he had simply performed exceptionally well this time.

But handing in every exam half an hour early was a bit too outrageous, wasn't it?

However, Xiao Yi, who had become the center of attention, did not respond. Instead, he had his eyes closed, as though he were taking a nap.

In reality, he had immersed his consciousness in his mind.

At that moment, a voice rang out.

Ruthless Continuous Study has been active for 30 days. It has now been upgraded to Lv. 2.

Skill effect changed as follows: For every hour of continuous studying, learning efficiency increases by 1.2 times, up to a maximum of 12 times.

Ruthless Continuous Study could actually upgrade its effect level!

For Xiao Yi, this was undoubtedly a wonderful surprise.

Before the upgrade, the maximum learning-efficiency bonus had only been tenfold, and that alone had already made him this formidable. Now, it had increased by another twofold!

That was equivalent to a 20% increase over before. Even if it only improved intelligence, it would be enough to turn an ordinary person into a genius, let alone him.

The moment the buff leveled up, he felt as if his brain had changed. In an instant, his understanding of every piece of knowledge he had learned in the past deepened.

To put it another way, if he had lived before 1666, the field of mathematics probably would have had no place for Newton or Euler. The future founding father of mathematics would have been Old Master Xiao himself.

Back then, without Newton, perhaps he could even have derived calculus on his own.

And now... he suddenly felt that everything he had learned so far was simply too easy. None of it was worth looking at.

He needed more difficult knowledge now to satisfy his desire to learn.

He opened his eyes again and began thinking.

So... where could he find more difficult knowledge?

"Quiet!"

A sharp shout snapped Xiao Yi back to his senses.

He looked up and saw that their homeroom teacher, Luo Penghua, had arrived.

The classroom, which had been full of chatter just moments ago, immediately fell silent.

With the homeroom teacher here, it was obvious that the monthly exam results were about to be announced.

All the students looked at Luo Penghua, growing increasingly nervous.

Luo Penghua walked onto the podium and first swept his gaze around the classroom. Finally, his eyes settled on Xiao Yi, and a hint of amazement appeared in them.

This kid...

He really had given people quite a shock.

No, he had given the entire grade quite a shock.

Shaking his head, Luo Penghua took a deep breath. Better get to business first.

He withdrew his gaze and said, "I'm very dissatisfied with this exam!"

"Other than a few students who improved, the vast majority of you are still standing still without making any progress. Some of you have even regressed severely. Once you see your scores later, I hope those students who regressed badly will understand it themselves."

"The only thing worth being happy about is that a dark horse has emerged in our class this time."

"No, dark horse probably isn't the right term. How should I put it..."

Luo Penghua suddenly found himself at a loss for words.