Results Are Out, the Top Student Emerges

Chapter 34: Results Are Out, the Top Student Emerges

Watching Wang Hai's departing back, Zhang Yu sighed. "What a responsible, good teacher."

Bai Zhenzhen sidled over, suspicious. "What exactly happened just now? You were laughing, shaking hands, and talking."

"Did Wang Hai suddenly discover that you're his long-lost father?"

Zhang Yu shook his head. "There could be many reasons, but when all is said and done... none of them can be separated from my performance in this Monthly Exam."

"A-Zhen, as long as my grades keep getting better and my abilities keep getting stronger, I'll have more and more good friends in this world, won't I?"

Seeing Zhang Yu's smug expression, Bai Zhenzhen secretly thought, How many points did Yu Zi get this time?

Could he have surpassed me? That shouldn't be possible...

That evening, when Zhang Yu returned to the outskirts, he once again began grinding the Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method as before. His next goal was to raise the Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method to Level 10.

In the blink of an eye, the next morning arrived, and Zhang Yu had raised the Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method to Level 8 (37/160).

After a day of Passive Breathing Technique mixed with active Breath Circulation, his Magical Power had risen once more: 11.8→11.9.

And thanks to Wang Hai's sponsorship, after deducting his expenses from the past few days, Zhang Yu's savings had suddenly reached over seventy-two thousand yuan.

The first thing Zhang Yu thought of upon seeing that sum was all sorts of ways to spend it.

But in the end, he first suppressed the various urges in his heart. He planned to see what kind of contract the school would arrange for him after this Monthly Exam, then figure out how to use the money to improve himself.

Four in the morning at Songyang High School.

Inside the teachers' office.

After another ordinary all-nighter, Su Haifeng received the results sheet for this Monthly Exam.

In order to let students understand themselves, learn their scores, and guide their studies as quickly as possible, the teachers had worked overtime to calculate the scores and rankings of every student who took the Monthly Exam on the very night of the test.

What a joy. What a joy.

Su Haifeng looked toward the detailed rankings and scores.

First place: Bai Zhenzhen, total score 651.

Su Haifeng nodded slightly. Bai Zhenzhen is still the undisputed first place. It's a pity she only got 60 points in Dao Arts, otherwise her total score could have been even higher.

Second place: Qian Shen, total score 626.

Su Haifeng thought, Qian Shen has been making steady progress. Dao Arts in particular pulled up quite a few points for him with that 80.

Third place: Zhang Yu, total score 620.

Su Haifeng froze slightly, rubbed his eyes, and looked again carefully.

Third place: Zhang Yu, total score 620.

"How is that possible?"

Su Haifeng sat up straight and hurriedly checked Zhang Yu's detailed scores for each subject.

General Knowledge: 48. Dao Heart: 135. Magical Power: 142. Physical Competition: 145. Martial Dao: 90. Dao Arts: 60.

"This..."

Su Haifeng was stunned. And that was with only 60 points in Dao Arts.

If his Dao Arts score had been just 7 points higher, wouldn't he have reached 627 and surpassed Qian Shen to become second in the grade?

In other words, Zhang Yu had leapt all the way from tenth in the grade last time to third.

No... according to Su Haifeng's estimate, Zhang Yu's grades should have already slipped back to around twentieth three weeks ago. Other than Magical Power, his scores in every subject should have been steadily declining. His total score should have fallen to nearly thirtieth.

"How could he have improved by such a huge margin?"

"Did he win the lottery?"

The more Su Haifeng looked at Zhang Yu's scores in each subject, the more uncertain he became. His Magical Power score was 142, and his Physical Competition score was actually a full 145?

He couldn't resist calling Wang Hai to ask what was going on. Had Zhang Yu's score been marked incorrectly?

At four in the morning, Songyang cultivators were at their most alert.

Wang Hai answered quickly. "What is it, Teacher Su?"

Su Haifeng asked, "I see Zhang Yu's Physical Competition score is 145 here. Has there been some mistake..."

Wang Hai's attitude toward Zhang Yu had been very good today, but that did not mean he had truly become mild-tempered.

He was still the Gold Medal Teacher who hated it when others challenged his authority over his subject.

Hearing Su Haifeng's doubts, he snorted and directly cut him off. "Teacher Su, are you questioning our Physical Competition standards, or are you questioning our professional integrity?"

As Songyang High School's Ace Physical Education Teacher and Gold Medal salesperson, Wang Hai was not the least bit afraid of Su Haifeng.

"If you have objections to the score, then apply for a review."

"But I can tell you that Zhang Yu's score is absolutely correct. It is 145."

"Not only has his Physical Strength reached Level 1.25, putting him among the best in the grade, but the proportions of his entire body structure are exceptionally outstanding."

"With the foundation he has laid, his Physical Strength will only grow higher and higher in the future. He will definitely become one of the leading figures among this year's students. It's not impossible for him to participate in Physical Competitions later on."

Physical Competitions, like Magical Power Competitions, used material far beyond the high school curriculum for competition.

If one achieved sufficiently outstanding results in them, there would not only be substantial prize money, but also an advantage in university interviews, and even bonus points in the Gaokao.

And as Songyang High School, which had produced the city's top Physical Competition student, had always held a certain advantage in Physical Competitions. Hearing Wang Hai praise Zhang Yu so highly, Su Haifeng was even more astonished. Too rushed to take issue with the hostility in Wang Hai's tone, he pursued the matter. "Didn't he fail to properly attend Physical Competition classes for the past three weeks? How did his score improve so much?"

Hearing this, Wang Hai's old face reddened. After pausing, he explained, "Zhang Yu is different from ordinary students. He has his own path of development and knows how he should cultivate."

Thinking that Zhang Yu was a Golden Core Disciple and hardly needed his guidance, Wang Hai continued, "It was precisely because I saw this that I let him handle Physical Competition class as he pleased."

"Forget managing himself during class—even if he skips class in the future, that's fine."

"This is teaching according to aptitude."

After ending the call with Wang Hai, Su Haifeng still found it unbelievable. The Zhang Yu Wang Hai was talking about—was that really that poor bastard?

After frowning in thought for a while, Su Haifeng made another call.

"Hello? The Monthly Exam results are out. Zhang Yu is third in the grade, and his score is..."

After reporting the scores, Su Haifeng sighed and said awkwardly, "I have to admit, my judgment of Zhang Yu was completely wrong."

"With this performance, it would be perfectly normal for the school to give him a Grade B contract, or even a Grade A contract."

"That's no longer my responsibility. The Student Union will probably come talk to him in a couple of days."

A man's voice came from the other end of the line. "I understand."

"Try to delay the Student Union for me. I'll try another method."

Su Haifeng said, "You know what the Student Union people are like. I can't delay them for long. Whatever you're planning to do, do it quickly."

Six-thirty in the morning.

The entrance of Songyang High School was already bustling with students arriving for class.

The moment Zhang Yu entered the school gates, he saw that the huge screen at the entrance had updated with the Monthly Exam results.

Student privacy, psychological pressure... naturally, such things did not exist at Songyang High School.

The scores were not only displayed prominently on the giant screen at the school gate, but new Monthly Exam results for every class were posted on each classroom door. Even the cafeteria's electronic screens kept flashing the rankings.

Zhang Yu could even hear broadcasts discussing the Monthly Exam when he went to the bathroom, praising students with high total scores and great improvement while insulting those who had declined sharply or scored poorly.

Songyang High School truly left no blind spots, no privacy, and psychological pressure cranked to the max.

"...Students, today we must also offer special congratulations to Zhang Yu of the first-year Demonstration Class."

"Student Zhang Yu has leapt from tenth in the grade all the way to third in this Monthly Exam. With a total score of 620, he improved by a full 70 points—an improvement that can only be called a soaring leap..."

After using the bathroom, Zhang Yu washed his hands while listening to the broadcast, unable to stop himself from nodding inwardly. The school's widespread publication of scores does have a positive side. There are indeed worthwhile aspects to it.

And when Zhang Yu entered the classroom afterward, he drew the attention of many people. Every so often, someone's gaze swept over him, their eyes carrying all sorts of different emotions.

Qian Shen looked at Zhang Yu, then at Bai Zhenzhen. Their scores—620 and 651—floated back and forth in his eyes, leaving the other students around them dull and colorless by comparison.

Sure enough, aside from Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu will also be my opponent throughout these three years of high school.

Qian Shen felt as if he could already see the next three years: the three of them clashing head-on, competing fiercely, their victories and defeats impossible to distinguish, before ultimately entering top universities together.

He was fired up!

Unable to wait any longer, he took out his Talisman Book and began studying Talisman Arts again.

"Talisman Arts is my strong subject, yet I only got 80 points this time. I need more practice!"

On the other side, He Dayou looked at his scores in each subject with a gloomy expression.

"Total score: 603."

"Martial Dao: 50..."

The 50 points in Martial Dao were so glaring that his blood churned, and he wanted nothing more than to smash the desk before him into powder with one punch.

Clearly, it was because he had repeatedly lost to Zhang Yu, coupled with his clumsy performances of being instantly defeated in both matches, that He Dayou's Martial Dao score had sunk so low.

This made a thread of killing intent rise uncontrollably in his eyes when he looked at Zhang Yu.

But as the son of a school board member, he ultimately suppressed that impulse very quickly.

"Every poor bastard is a precious resource of the school. How could I lay a hand on him?"

"Don't get angry. Zhang Yu should be under the Student Union's eye already, right?"

"He and I aren't even in the same lane. I can't let him disrupt my state of mind. I still need to focus on improving myself."

He Dayou circulated his cultivation method, and his emotions gradually calmed.

He had also thought it through. He and Zhang Yu were not people competing along the same path at all. He should not let Zhang Yu affect his condition or his grades, just as with his 50 points in Martial Dao this time.

"Improving my own strength and assets is, in the end, the Righteous Path."

"I got 90 points in Dao Arts this time. Though it is already my strong subject, there is still room for improvement."

With that thought, He Dayou took out his Talisman Book, ignored the changes around him, and focused on studying.

On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen tilted her head at Zhang Yu and thought, Could Yu Zi have been lying low for so long, pretending for four months before finally astounding everyone with a single brilliant feat?

No, he shouldn't have that ability.

Could it be that Yu Zi, like me, has also awakened?

(End of Chapter)