Goal: 860 Points

Goal: 860 Points

Li Yuan's heart thumped wildly.

Break into the top ten, and the first-class scholarship was 100,000 Blue Star Coins?

Top five, and the special-class scholarship was 500,000 Blue Star Coins?

Blue Star Coins!

If Li Yuan remembered correctly, his aunt, as a middle school teacher, only took home around 100,000 Blue Star Coins a year.

As for his uncle, unless he chose to be stationed in dangerous areas, his annual take-home pay was only a few hundred thousand Blue Star Coins.

"Teacher, really?" Li Yuan asked instinctively.

It was no wonder he reacted this way.

No matter how mature or steady-tempered he was,

he was still only a seventeen-year-old boy. In his understanding, 100,000 Blue Star Coins was already an enormous fortune.

"Would I lie to you?"

Xu Bo's voice remained cold. "The rewards are real enough, but forget the top five. In the January Adjustment Exam, can your martial arts score even break into the top ten in the grade?"

Li Yuan calmed down as well.

That was right!

No matter how good the reward was, he had to earn it first.

If it were the top twenty in the grade, Li Yuan believed he still had a chance. But the top ten? The odds were indeed slim.

The most important reason was Martial Arts Spirituality... Students who had awakened their spirituality received a 10% score bonus in martial arts. The advantage was simply too great.

If Li Yuan scored 900 points, an Elite Class student only needed a raw score of 820 for their total score to surpass his.

"The top ten is indeed difficult, but you still have some hope."

"Also, I fought for this with the Principal. Even if you can't make the top ten, as long as your raw score reaches second in the grade." Xu Bo looked at Li Yuan. "You'll receive some additional aid. It just definitely won't be as good as the scholarship."

"Second in the grade by raw score?" Hope immediately flared up in Li Yuan's heart again.

In the last final exam, his raw score had already ranked sixth in the grade.

Second by raw score? That gave him better odds than making the top ten by total score.

"Thank you, Teacher." Li Yuan spoke from the bottom of his heart. Xu Bo might appear cold, but he was warm-hearted beneath that icy exterior and treated him extremely well.

"It's late. Go home and rest."

"When you get to school tomorrow, you'll have permission to use an independent Martial Arts Room. You'll receive the specific number tomorrow." Xu Bo waved a hand.

"Yes." Li Yuan nodded and left the office.

He closed the door behind him.

Listening to Li Yuan's faint footsteps fade away, a trace of a smile appeared on Xu Bo's cold face. "Aim high and you attain the middle; aim for the middle and you attain the low; aim low and you attain nothing."

"Kid, don't blame me when you learn the truth later."

Xu Bo had observed Li Yuan for so long that he knew the boy was steady by nature and cultivated diligently.

But Xu Bo understood human nature even better. Only a certain amount of pressure and temptation could stir up greater motivation.

In short—dangling a pie before him!

But the pie could not be hung too high. If it was beyond reach, it would only discourage him. That was why Xu Bo had ultimately set Li Yuan the goal of "second in the grade by raw score."

"Three goals."

"Kid, as long as you reach the middle goal, you'll have actually achieved the highest one." Xu Bo thought to himself. I hope you don't disappoint me.

Among the two thousand students in this cohort, Li Yuan was the second to catch his eye.

Wanhua Platinum Mansion, Building Two.

"Muhua needs to spend 20,000 Blue Star Coins this month?" Li Yuan was in his room.

His heart felt heavy.

Although his aunt, Chen Hui, had avoided him and quietly spoken with his younger brother Li Muhua in the master bedroom, deliberately not wanting him to hear... Li Yuan's hearing was simply too good now.

Standing in the living room, he had still vaguely caught some of it.

I need at least 30,000 a month. Muhua needs nearly 30,000 too, and Qianqian needs almost 20,000. Then there are the daily expenses... Li Yuan had calculated this account in his heart countless times.

The household expenses required at least 90,000 Blue Star Coins every month.

In truth, if the three children were not training in martial arts, his uncle and aunt could fully support them with their circumstances... But with the additional purchase of supplements and medicinal agents to aid martial arts training, the expenses were truly staggering.

"Besides, Qianqian and Muhua aren't like me."

"I awakened the Mind Divine Palace. The restorative and recuperative effects of the Great Sun Starry Sky Sutra on the body probably equal advanced therapy that costs tens of thousands of Blue Star Coins a month." Li Yuan understood this clearly. "But Qianqian and Muhua, especially Muhua..."

"If they want to achieve great things in martial arts, the resources being invested now are still not enough."

"This scholarship is worth 50,000 Blue Star Coins."

"Over the weekend, I must reach 500 points in Gold Rank and earn another 50,000 Blue Star Coins." Li Yuan silently made up his mind.

As for Xu Bo's three promises?

On the tram ride home, Li Yuan had calmed down and thought it all through.

"500,000 Blue Star Coins!"

"If I can get it, the financial pressure on the family will ease by more than half at once."

"But top five in the grade?" The moment Li Yuan thought about it, his heart sank to the bottom.

On the way home,

Li Yuan used his Smart Ring Watch to look through the rankings from the second-year final exams again.

His total martial arts score was 802 points, ranking sixth in the grade by raw score and twenty-ninth by total score.

The top five students in the grade were all Elite Class students. Every one of them had raw scores exceeding 800, and with the bonus points added... the top-ranked student in the grade had even reached an astonishing 962.5 points in total!

"The top-ranked student is too formidable. I have no chance."

"Without awakening Martial Arts Spirituality, my raw score is my total score."

"To break into the top five in the grade, my raw score needs to reach at least 860 points for there to be even a sliver of hope." Li Yuan thought to himself. "Even for the top ten, my raw score will probably need to exceed 840."

A raw score of 840.

In the second-year final exams, that would already have been second in the grade by raw score.

"Work harder."

"By the January Adjustment Exam, I'll strive for over 410 points in physical fitness, over 375 points in Martial Arts Technique, and over 75 points in cultural subjects." Li Yuan set three targets for himself.

He had to reach every one of them.

Only then would he have even a faint hope of making the top five in the grade.

In the master bedroom, Chen Hui was on a video call with Li Changzhou.

"Wife, you received the money, right?" Li Changzhou's face looked even darker than usual.

"Mm."

"Don't worry. I'll plan things out at home properly." Aunt Chen Hui nodded. "This 500,000, together with what we already had, will be enough to last until February or March next year."

"Mm-hm." Li Changzhou smiled. "Don't worry too much, wife. At the end of the year, the company will have another subsidy, along with my salary... Once Xiao Yuan finishes the college entrance exam, things will become easier."

Chen Hui nodded, then forced a smile, trying to make herself appear more relaxed.

Suddenly,

"Bzzzt—" The other end of the video call violently shook. Li Changzhou, who had been sitting in a chair, abruptly sprang to his feet.

"Bang—" In the video, the half-closed door was slammed open, and faint yet massive explosions could be heard outside.

"Manager Li, quickly! Quickly!" A worker in uniform, covered from head to toe in mud, hurried in and said urgently, "The higher-ups ordered our team to end our break and get up there at once."

"Alright."

Li Changzhou nodded repeatedly, then turned toward Chen Hui on the other end of the call. "Wife, I have to work overtime. I'll call you again later."

Bzzzt—the video call ended.

"Old Li." A trace of worry appeared on Chen Hui's face, but she quickly closed her Smart Ring Watch.

She closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, Chen Hui's face had regained its relaxed expression. She walked out of the master bedroom. "Qianqian, Xiaohua, hurry up and go to sleep."

"Xiao Yuan, don't stay up too late either."

"Okay, Mom!"

"Got it, Auntie."

The next day at noon.

In the school cafeteria, students ate their meals, occasionally looking up at the news on the giant electronic screen.

"...Last night, fierce conflict erupted once more in Luo Bu Sea, the Level 2 Star Realm in Beijiang Province. Our national defense forces and the Alliance support forces fought valiantly and without fear..." The news played continuously.

"They're still fighting."

"It hasn't stopped at all lately. I heard a lot of people have died. Some Star Realm Creatures even broke through the defensive line."

"I hope they can hold it." The students chatted quietly as they ate.

Li Yuan sat beside Zhou Qi without speaking. He only glanced at the news occasionally, a trace of worry passing through his eyes.