Zhou Leng walked to the left side of the awards platform.
Many teachers and school leaders stood there.
Some teachers wore smiles and nodded gently.
Other teachers and school leaders were polite, but the smiles on their faces vanished in a flash.
Zhou Leng's heart skipped a beat, and he quietly asked Teacher Mei and Teacher Sun.
The two teachers both told Zhou Leng not to worry. Nothing was wrong.
Before long, Sun Xiong walked over, looked him up and down, and said with a laugh, "Only a month since we last met, and you've filled out by a whole circle. Good."
"It's all thanks to the martial academy instructors teaching me well."
The surrounding teachers all laughed when they heard that.
Sun Xiong laughed heartily. "You think we didn't know? I thought you'd come today covered in wounds—no, half-dead. Instead, you look this spirited. Very good. Worthy of Freshman Ranking 503. Most of us teachers couldn't have achieved that rank back then."
"You flatter me. How could I compare to all of you teachers?" Zhou Leng said.
Sun Xiong glanced at several school leaders in the distance and smiled. "Cultivate well. Once you reach the Innate Realm, come back to visit us."
"I'll definitely work hard."
Sun Xiong looked into the distance again and lowered his voice. "Principal Lu has been busy for a long time because of you. Once the commendation ceremony is over, remember to thank him personally."
"Alright."
Not long after, the commendation ceremony began.
Principal Lu stepped onto the awards platform. He first thanked the leaders and alumni, then introduced the three Innate experts who had come.
Whenever he mentioned an Innate expert, Principal Lu solemnly invited them to stand, introduced their accomplishments, and then the entire venue erupted into warm applause.
When he introduced Zhu Wanlai, an Innate expert of some renown in Ru City, Zhou Leng clapped until his palms turned red. The applause across the venue grew even more fervent.
That was because Zhu Wanlai was not only an alumnus of No. 8 High School, but had also visited the school two years ago. He had not put on any airs, instead performing a Blood Qi Realm fist art, the Mountain-Punching Fist, for the students.
Zhu Wanlai's Mountain-Punching Fist had helped Zhou Leng quite a bit.
After introducing the important guests, a pretty senior girl took the stage and introduced the history of No. 8 High School.
Zhou Leng had heard it several times, but each time, there was still a small regret.
No. 8 High School had produced quite a few Innate experts throughout its history, but never a Grandmaster, let alone a Martial Saint.
This was the pain of every teacher at No. 8 High School.
That was why many teachers placed their hopes on Zhang Xinglie. They gave him every resource they could, and even secretly gave him some they were not supposed to.
The commendation ceremony continued one item after another. Zhou Leng listened half-heartedly, still thinking about how to accumulate cultivation resources.
A full hour and a half passed before the commendations officially began.
Soon, Zhou Leng saw familiar classmates step onto the awards platform one after another.
This included Mo Hai, the Martial Dao committee member. He had been admitted to West Sea Martial University and was one of the Martial Arts Ten, so he too received a school reward.
The commendations proceeded slowly.
As the last student stepped down, Principal Lu walked to the microphone and smiled. "The student to be commended next is someone everyone can more or less guess. He is the number one student of No. 8 High School, Ru City's second-place college entrance examination scorer, Zhang Xinglie."
Zhou Leng merely listened. He had spoken with Zhang Xinglie before, and Zhang Xinglie had said he had no time to come. He would probably appear through a remote video call, or simply have his homeroom teacher collect the award on his behalf.
The principal's voice echoed across the great field.
"However, everyone also knows that Yunhua Martial University's coursework is demanding. He must compete with freshmen from across the country, even the entire world, for rankings. Strictly speaking, there was no need for him to come. But I repeatedly persuaded him. I said, the younger students of No. 8 High School really want to see the genius whose name has been passed around this school for three years. Don't you?"
"Yes..." A small number of students responded, scattered and sparse. No one believed Zhang Xinglie would come.
Principal Lu smiled. "So today, he came."
Zhou Leng abruptly turned his head and saw Zhang Xinglie actually walk out from behind the awards platform.
Zhou Leng was both shocked and delighted.
The sophomores, seniors, and newly graduated students were all familiar with Zhang Xinglie. They stared at the awards platform in surprise.
"Let us welcome Zhang Xinglie!"
Whoosh...
Thunderous applause rang out, its momentum no weaker than it had been for the Innate experts.
Zhang Xinglie strode briskly to Principal Lu's side.
He was tall and powerfully built, with thick hair, like a majestic lion.
Principal Lu then listed Zhang Xinglie's achievements and honors one by one. He even played photos and videos of Zhang Xinglie receiving awards in the past on the large screen behind them.
Finally, Principal Lu presented Zhang Xinglie with his award.
Amid the enthusiastic applause, Zhang Xinglie took the pill voucher and trophy, bowed to Principal Lu, and thanked him.
Zhang Xinglie did not leave. He remained standing beside Principal Lu.
Principal Lu's smile faded as he swept his gaze across the audience.
Several school leaders frowned slightly, helplessness written across their faces.
Principal Lu slowly opened his mouth.
"Next, Zhang Xinglie and I will jointly present an award to a special student."
"First, let me speak about this student's story."
"His name is Zhou Leng. He is not as dazzling as Zhang Xinglie. Like most students, he is ordinary."
"His father, Zhou Xiaomin, was ordinary too. An ordinary warrior who died on the West Sea Demon City defense line."
"His mother, Ma Xia, was also an ordinary person. She was killed by demons."
"From childhood, he lived alone, grew up alone, and made his way to No. 8 High School alone."
"Half a year before the college entrance examination, demons attacked Ru City. He was severely injured and lay in a hospital bed for a month."
"But he did not give up. From his hospital bed, he studied hard, diligently read Zhao Dongjun's Collected Works, and earnestly cultivated his true qi."
"Would things get better? No. For more than half a year, his true qi made no progress at all."
"Because of his injuries, he failed the academic examination and failed the physical examination, ranking over seventy thousandth in the city."
"He still did not lose heart or bow his head. He continued cultivating diligently."
"He was still preparing for the final Martial Examination."
"We do not know whether his perseverance moved the heavens or whether reading the Martial Saint's Notes opened his mind. In any case, his persistence and hard work finally saw flowers bloom."
"At the Martial Examination venue, he scored an astonishing 99 points in true qi control. How high is that score? Zhang Xinglie, you tell them."
Zhang Xinglie leaned toward the microphone. "I scored 91. Yunhua Martial University admitted three thousand students this year. Only five scored 99."
Many listeners' eyes widened.
Principal Lu continued, "His Martial Examination score was 276. Let alone at an ordinary Martial University, even at West Sea Martial University, ranked tenth in the nation, that score would place him near the top."
"His final ranking rose by a full sixty thousand places. I estimate many people have no real sense of what that number means."
"I do not know how else to make you understand how extraordinary that number is. I can only say that since the rise of Martial Civilization, Zhou Leng is the only person to rise sixty thousand places in a Martial Dao examination. The only one."
"A score of 276 on the Martial Examination completely met the supplementary admission standards of the Martial Arts Ten."
"Because the supplementary admission examination mandated by the nation exists precisely to ensure that students with lopsided strengths but Martial Dao talent are not overlooked."
"So when it came time to submit applications, I staked everything I had to guarantee Zhou Leng."
"I said, Zhou Leng, apply to the Martial Arts Ten. Apply to West Sea Martial University. I will guarantee it with my life: every Martial University will fight to take a talent like you."
"I said, even the biggest fool could see that you, Zhou Leng, were uncut jade. The Martial Examination merely ground away one corner of stone, revealing a warm, lustrous He Shi Bi."
Everyone drew a sharp breath. The comparison to He Shi Bi was truly too weighty.
He Shi Bi was not only tied to countless historical tales; it had also been made into the imperial jade seal of the Great Qin Empire.
By the mandate of Heaven, may it enjoy eternal prosperity and longevity.
"At the time, I was extraordinarily happy. I believed Zhou Leng was the third student in No. 8 High School's history with the potential to become a Grandmaster."
"But what I never expected was for West Sea Martial University to inexplicably cancel Zhou Leng's eligibility for the supplementary admission examination."
"They used mud to cover that corner of warm, lustrous jade."
"I have wronged Zhou Leng. If I had let him apply to any other Martial University, even Wuke University, ranked third, this accident would never have happened."
"Zhou Leng lost his chance at the Martial Arts Ten and entered the Affiliated Martial Academy of Ru City Martial University. That is the responsibility of me, the principal."
Principal Lu slowly swept his gaze over the audience and spoke slowly.
"After this happened, I blamed myself deeply. I could never understand why West Sea University would reject such an outstanding student as Zhou Leng."
"Could it be that Zhou Leng was only good at the Martial Examination, while his other abilities were lacking? Everyone, look at the large screen."
The crowd turned in unison toward the large screen behind the awards platform, where a long list of scores was displayed.
Principal Lu said, "The scores above are Zhou Leng's results from the opening-semester martial test at Ru City Martial Academy. Since he could not afford pills growing up, he did not receive a perfect score in any of the Five Pill Subjects, ranking only 503rd on the Ru City Youth Ranking."
Everyone's eyes were filled with confusion. Five hundred and third was only?
"After seeing that number, I thought perhaps such a rank was low at West Sea University, so I looked up West Sea University's admission quota this year."
"Three thousand five hundred students. If Zhou Leng were placed at West Sea Martial University, what rank would he hold?"
"Three hundred and thirty-fifth. In other words, Zhou Leng's opening-semester martial test results would still place him in the top ten percent even at West Sea Martial University."
"Look carefully at the scores. Every single one of Zhou Leng's subjects was above 90 points. This is the All-Nine Scores result pursued by every Martial University."
"So how many people at West Sea University achieved All-Nine Scores? Nineteen. You heard correctly, only nineteen."
"I did something else interesting. Since the Five Pill Subjects can all receive full marks as long as one takes enough pills, then if Zhou Leng had full marks in the Five Pill Subjects, what would his ranking at West Sea Martial University be?"
Principal Lu spoke slowly and forcefully. "Thirty-second."
Many people below the stage showed surprise.
That rank would certainly place him within the top fifty of the Ru City Freshman Ranking.
"Everyone now has a clear understanding of Zhou Leng's strength at West Sea University."
"But West Sea University would not even give him a chance to take the supplementary admission examination."
"These days, I have kept wondering whether West Sea University was afraid that he would fail the examination, or afraid that he would pass it."
"Or was it that Zhou Leng was unworthy of noble West Sea Martial University?"
The moment those words fell, the entire venue fell silent.
The expressions of many adults changed slightly. Some people in the education industry looked around, their legs shifting uneasily.
The people seated in the very front row of the audience remained expressionless from beginning to end.
Principal Lu took a deep breath and said, "I do not know the answer. So I invited Zhang Xinglie, a student who grew up with Zhou Leng, a genius admitted to Yunhua Martial University as the city's second-place scorer. I want to know how he sees this matter."
Principal Lu turned and nodded at Zhang Xinglie.
Zhang Xinglie turned to look at Zhou Leng beside the awards platform.
The two met each other's eyes and nodded lightly.
Zhang Xinglie stepped forward to the microphone, revealing his trademark smile and snow-white teeth.
"I, Zhang Xinglie, am a genius."
The crowd smiled.
"From middle school onward, I began to stand out. Once I reached high school, I soared into the sky in one bound."
"However, very few people have asked how my elementary school grades were."
The crowd showed interested expressions.
"In elementary school, I was a genius too."
Many people did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Before you continue