Space Ring

Linjiang City.

Warrior Building.

Ma Shan shut off the livestream and sprang from his leather chair without a moment's delay.

"Quick, prepare a few bottles of Spirit Gathering Liquid for me. I'm going to the examination site personally to welcome Linjiang City's first-ever Top Scholar!"

Linjiang City Government.

"Draft a notice. All city laborers get three days off, and primary and secondary school students suspend classes for a week."

"Xiao Liu, bring the things we prepared and come with me."

The exam had only just ended, yet Linjiang City's bigshots were already preparing to throw Jiang Yan a welcoming celebration.

Reporters from all over had been waiting for ages. The moment Jiang Yan stepped out of the examination site, they would swarm him for exclusive interviews.

Southeast Province, provincial capital, Changchuan City.

"Old Shen, you have some goodwill with that young man. This time, you'll represent Southeast Province in welcoming Jiang Yan. Make sure to show him our attitude."

"Hahaha, now you know just how sharp my eye, Shen Donglin's, is, right?"

"Get the hell out of here. Stop showing off. If it had been me back then, I'd have brought Jiang Yan back to Changchuan long ago. He might've already broken through to the fourth rank by now."

"Bullshit! He wouldn't even go when my old man invited him to the training camp. Looking at it now, Jiang Yan's choice was truly wise. Could those little nobodies at the training camp teach him anything worthwhile?"

"Hahahaha, I'm done talking to you."

"Get lost."

Shen Donglin walked out of the conference room.

High in the heavens, a streak of light sped toward Linjiang City.

Jiang Yan was teleported out of the Alternate Space.

The venue was practically empty. Most of Linjiang City's examinees had been ruthlessly eliminated before they could survive into the final circle, and had been teleported out days ago.

Jiang Yan sensed that the outside was already surrounded by a sea of people. He looked around, trying to find some sort of back entrance.

"Are you Jiang Yan?"

A voice suddenly came from behind him.

Jiang Yan turned around and found a potbellied middle-aged man.

"You are?"

"My name is Lin Yuanshan. Just call me Uncle Lin."

Lin Yuanshan revealed a genial smile.

Lin Yuanshan, the mayor of Linjiang City. As a born-and-bred Linjiang native, Jiang Yan naturally knew him.

He smiled. "Hello, Uncle Lin."

Using titles at work seemed serious, while using forms of address in daily life felt more intimate.

Clearly, Lin Yuanshan was very pleased by Jiang Yan's affectionate "Uncle Lin." Smiling, he walked up to him.

"The examination site is completely blocked off outside. There's a back entrance here, so follow me out first."

Jiang Yan followed Lin Yuanshan out of the examination site.

"Hehe, Lin, I knew you'd come this way."

Ma Shan stood at the entrance, cheerfully teasing Mayor Lin Yuanshan.

Then he stopped paying attention to Lin Yuanshan and sidled up to Jiang Yan with a fawning smile.

"Brother Jiang, do you remember me? I'm Little Ma."

Beside them, Lin Yuanshan shot Ma Shan a look of disgust but said nothing.

Not far away, a black sedan was parked there. The three of them got into it together.

"Brother Jiang, how about coming to my place for a chat? I happen to have a daughter one year below you. Maybe the two of you will have some common topics to talk about."

"No, I haven't been home in a long time. I'll go back and take a look first."

"By the way, Brother Jiang, my daughter is really beautiful. Take your time—"

Ma Shan chatted idly with Jiang Yan, slipping in a few words about his daughter every now and then. Anyone could hear what he was getting at.

"She's still underage, right?"

Jiang Yan ended the match with a single sentence.

Knock knock—

Jiang Yan knocked on the door a few times.

A few seconds later, the doorknob turned.

Wang Zhong appeared before him, looking perfectly composed.

"Oh, kid, how did the exam go? I've been busy these past few days, so I haven't had time to watch the livestream."

Wang Zhong was very calm, as though he did not care about Jiang Yan's exam results in the slightest. Of course, it would have been more convincing if not for the heavy dark circles around his eyes.

Ma Shan was a shrewd man and cooperatively stated the fact everyone already knew.

"Hahahaha, your Jiang Yan has made something of himself. He got the Top Scholar title in this College Entrance Exam."

"Really? Then that's quite a surprise. Come, come in and sit." Wang Zhong tried his best to make his tone sound casual, but the corners of his mouth were nearly curling up to the sky, leaving all three of them speechless.

Jiang Yan patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder. "Uncle, if you want to laugh, just laugh."

"Damn it, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Jiang Yan walked into the living room and ran his hand over the tablet on the coffee table.

"Uncle Wang, the computer's really hot~"

"Get lost, brat! Don't think getting Top Scholar makes you so damn impressive. No matter how impressive you are, you still have to call me Uncle!" Wang Zhong said, unable to keep his face straight.

Ma Shan and Lin Yuanshan did not disturb Jiang Yan for long. They left behind the gifts they had brought, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and departed.

Sometimes, one could not overdo the ingratiating. Those two old hands of the world naturally understood that.

After the two of them left.

Only then could Wang Zhong truly no longer suppress the corners of his mouth. Sometimes, he would suddenly laugh out loud for no reason, leaving Jiang Yan completely baffled.

Jiang Yan said earnestly, "Old Wang, stay calm. A title like Top Scholar in the College Entrance Exam is nothing more than commonplace to me."

Wang Zhong retorted indignantly, "Hehe, I raised you with one hand scooping shit and the other scooping piss. What's wrong with being happy for a while?"

At lunchtime, another bigshot personally arrived at Jiang Yan's residence.

Shen Donglin sat on the living room sofa, chatting and laughing with Jiang Yan. Wang Zhong, on the other hand, seemed somewhat restrained beside them, not even knowing where to put his hands and feet.

Wang Zhong had only been a retired soldier and high school teacher. The greatest official he normally saw was someone like Lin Yuanshan, and he had never met a figure as important as Shen Donglin.

"Young man, you're famous now. Within a day, those universities will be sending you admission invitations. When that time comes, make sure to hold steady and fight for better terms."

"Don't worry, Uncle Shen. I know what I'm doing."

Shen Donglin smiled in satisfaction and took a ring from inside his clothes, handing it to Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan said, "This... wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"

As he spoke, he took the ring.

One should not accept a reward without merit. I won the Top Scholar title and brought glory to the province—that was a heaven-sized merit.

This reward should be accepted!

"Good kid, nice and straightforward."

Shen Donglin praised him.

Sure enough, anything a genius did was reasonable and worthy of praise.

"The Space Ring has a capacity of one cubic meter. It was made by a powerful space-element user."

"Inside this Space Ring is a Martial Artist Privilege Upgrade Card. Take that card to the Warrior Building and activate it, and your martial artist account will unlock more privileges. Some things unavailable on the market can also be purchased through it."

"Besides the privilege card, there are also ten bottles of Spirit Gathering Liquid inside. After taking Spirit Gathering Liquid, your speed of absorbing qi will increase by roughly half. These bottles should be enough to last you until school starts."

"And also..."

"These things are all rewards that Southeast Province prepared for you for becoming the Top Scholar."

"If any universities come looking for you tomorrow, don't let your blood rush to your head and sign anything. Not a single one of those old foxes is simple."