Only three people remained in the trial arena.
The other trial participants stared at them in shock.
Were they even normal people, to endure such pain for so long? Had they awakened some kind of special attribute?
Lin Xuan stared at Jiang Ye, his eyelids twitching.
Could this guy be feeling that same pleasure I am? he wondered.
With that thought, Lin Xuan walked over to Li Zhichao, who was standing nearby, and asked in a low voice, "What's your classmate's name?"
"Jiang Ye."
Li Zhichao stared at the platform, feeling somewhat resentful too.
Jiang Ye had outperformed him across the board in all three trials!
Damn it. This guy must've taken some kind of special drug. No wonder he wouldn't tell me!
I'll make sure to press him for answers later! Li Zhichao thought.
Lin Xuan, standing nearby, narrowed his eyes too.
So he's Jiang Ye?
The one with a perfect score in Martial Will is him? Lin Xuan thought as he watched Jiang Ye.
He and Jiang Ye were strangers, and he hadn't known Jiang Ye's name before.
Looks like not everyone in the Ordinary Class is useless after all.
Lin Xuan nodded to himself.
Too bad I'm still a first-year. But if I were already in my second year, Jiang Ye wouldn't be qualified to be my opponent.
In the trial arena, Jiang Ye sat cross-legged.
At that moment, his body felt as if it were being devoured by endless sulfuric acid. Every inch of skin, muscle, and bone was enduring immense pain.
Hold on!
Jiang Ye shut his eyes tight and clenched his teeth.
He wasn't simply trying to claim first place.
More importantly, he had discovered that this pain was immensely beneficial to his body!
Whenever the stabbing pain reached its peak, faint waves of pleasure would well up inside Jiang Ye.
The reason was simple.
After the gas, infused with thunder and fire energy, entered his body, it would frantically temper every cell in him.
The process was agonizing.
But if he could endure it, the benefits would be immense.
[Cultivation Method] Star Martial Cultivation Method: Great Accomplishment (41%→42%)
Tempering my body with Starry Sky Energy really is incredible.
In just half an hour, I've surpassed a whole day's worth of cultivation!
Once a cultivation method reached Great Accomplishment, one could use trace amounts of Star Energy to temper the body.
This could speed up cultivation.
According to his teacher, Star Energy was extremely expensive, and only the super-rich could afford to use it.
But this trial was completely free.
Such an opportunity was hard to come by, so of course Jiang Ye would hold on until the very last moment.
Time passed.
In the blink of an eye, another fifteen minutes went by.
On the platform, Wang Ziang's gaze sharpened. In a low voice, he announced, "Begin the fourth stage!"
Whoosh!
A powerful wave of energy erupted from the trial arena.
Even the students standing around the perimeter paled and stumbled backward.
Though they were outside the arena, they could still feel that familiar agony!
And the three in the very center of the arena had it far worse.
Jiang Ye felt as if the skin all over his body had been sliced open, then his nerves steeped in boiling acid.
It hurt! It hurt so much!
"I give up!"
A loud shout rang out.
Xu Lei pressed the button and withdrew from the trial.
Three minutes later,
Jiang Ye finally reached his limit too and pressed the button.
If he kept going, he feared he'd pass out on the spot!
Now, only the girl in the red robe remained in the arena.
Zeng Xueqing didn't give up immediately just because Jiang Ye had withdrawn.
Instead, she kept going.
It was another ten minutes before she finally slammed the give-up button.
"What a monster!"
Below the platform, Xu Lei glanced at Jiang Ye nearby.
He wasn't surprised that Zeng Xueqing had lasted until the end.
But Jiang Ye? A student from the Ordinary Class had actually held out longer than he had!
Everyone else there stared at Jiang Ye in equal disbelief.
Without a doubt, Jiang Ye had been the biggest dark horse in this trial.
Even Wang Ziang, standing on the platform, looked at Jiang Ye with a thoughtful gaze.
Was the hidden dragon the director mentioned that day him? Or was he talking about me?
For the first time, even Wang Ziang wasn't sure.
But Jiang Ye paid no attention to the others' gazes.
He looked at his panel.
[Cultivation Method] Star Martial Cultivation Method: Great Accomplishment (43%)
Less than an hour, and I've improved by 2%.
Jiang Ye marveled to himself. So this is Starry Sky Energy? It's incredible.
At the same time, he felt a little regretful.
If his cultivation method had already passed 50%, perhaps he could have lasted longer and gained even more.
Zeng Xueqing's cultivation method, for instance, might already have surpassed 90%.
Jiang Ye had lasted this long entirely thanks to his Martial Will.
Just then, the scores for the Thunder Fire Trial appeared on the large screen ahead.
[Zeng Xueqing: 480 points] [Jiang Ye: 430 points] [Xu Lei: 400 points]
Next, the total rankings for all three trials appeared.
[First place: Zeng Xueqing, 970 points] [Second place: Jiang Ye, 915 points] [Third place: Xu Lei, 850 points] [Fourth place: Lin Xuan, 800 points]
Everyone in the hall was astonished.
"First place is only 30 points short of a perfect score!"
"Unbelievable."
"Jiang Ye in second place is surprising too. A student from the Ordinary Class got that many points!"
Amid the uproar,
Lin Xuan glanced toward Jiang Ye and thought, Jiang Ye. I'll remember you.
There's still a month before school starts. I hope you're still ahead of me then.
Lin Xuan made Jiang Ye his short-term goal.
Though he attended Ancheng First Middle School, he could still find out how the students at Ancheng Third Middle School had performed.
When the new school year began, every school would arrange an assessment.
With a whole month, Lin Xuan was confident he could surpass Jiang Ye.
"This trial is over!"
On the platform, Wang Ziang announced loudly, "Fifteen participants passed the trial. Each will receive a bonus of thirty thousand yuan."
"The top three, step forward to claim the advanced martial art—Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist!"
As he spoke,
the gold-threaded jade brocade box rose from the floor in the center of the hall.
Zeng Xueqing, in her red dress, was the first to step onto the platform.
Jiang Ye and Xu Lei quickly followed.
When the box was opened, they saw three metal wristbands inside, with a miniature speaker beside them.
"So the thunder sound really does come from a speaker." Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow.
The Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist was probably stored inside the metal wristbands.
The three of them each took a wristband.
Jiang Ye opened his, and a projection immediately appeared, displaying the cover of the Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist.
"It's a holographic wristband." His heart skipped a beat.
The wristband alone was probably worth quite a lot.
Jiang Ye put it away, planning to practice with it when he got home.
Just then, Zeng Xueqing turned to him and asked, "Jiang Ye, you'll join the Key Class, right?"
Jiang Ye nodded. "Probably."
He was now absolutely certain he could get into the Key Class.
The only question was whether he'd get in sooner or later.
Zeng Xueqing looked at him and said quietly, "You're a worthy opponent. I hope that once you join the Key Class, we'll have a chance to fight fair and square!"
"If the chance comes, I'll give it a try." Jiang Ye smiled.
He didn't consider Zeng Xueqing a goal or an opponent.
Though she ranked above him at the moment,
Jiang Ye knew that surpassing her was only a matter of time.
Lin Xuan, on the other hand, caught his attention more than Zeng Xueqing did.
"Lin Xuan. Fourth place." Jiang Ye studied the rankings.
The other boy was only a first-year, a whole year younger than him, yet his strength wasn't far behind.
"An A-grade physique really is powerful." Jiang Ye felt envious. "If I had an A-grade physique too, I'd definitely have taken first place in this trial."
Most people had no way to change such an innate factor.
Luckily, Jiang Ye had a chance.
While Jiang Ye was musing to himself,
Li Zhichao below the platform clenched his fists.
He had only placed sixth in the trial.
It was actually a pretty good ranking—he'd already caught up with the lowest-ranked student in the Key Class.
But compared with Jiang Ye, he was nowhere close.
By then, Jiang Ye and the other two had all collected their rewards and were heading off the platform one after another.
When Li Zhichao saw this, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
This time, he had to find out what kind of special drug the other guy had taken!
By any means necessary!
With that thought, Li Zhichao immediately walked up to Jiang Ye.
"Is something the matter?" Jiang Ye asked, puzzled.
"Godfather!"
Li Zhichao grabbed his hand and pleaded in a low voice, "What medicine did you take? Could you tell me in private? I want to take it too!"
"..."
Jiang Ye stared at him, speechless.
Had the guy lost his mind?!
Before you continue