Disappearance

In the upper stands.

A group of teachers looked at the rankings of this trial, all surprised.

Even the grade director, Zhang Jianwu, shook his head and sighed, "Miss Chen's judgment is indeed extraordinary. It seems I misjudged."

Before.

He thought Jiang Ye had almost no chance of entering the top three.

And the result?

Jiang Ye actually took second place overall.

This was far beyond his expectations.

Beside Zhang Jianwu, the cold and beautiful woman in the white dress shook her head, "Director Zhang is too kind. Actually, I didn't expect Jiang Ye to get second place either."

Even so, the corners of her mouth couldn't be suppressed.

Jiang Ye's performance this time also made her proud.

A teacher nearby chuckled, "Teacher Chen has worked hard. It's not easy to bring a student from an ordinary class to this level."

"Yes, it's all thanks to Teacher Chen."

The teachers present all nodded in agreement, fully recognizing her efforts.

Unexpectedly, Chen Zilu frowned and shook her head, "You all misunderstand. This is not entirely my credit."

"More of it is due to Jiang Ye's own hard work."

She explained earnestly, "Jiang Ye trains very diligently."

"I heard from his parents that he cultivates until one or two in the morning every night. For the two years of high school, there wasn't a single day like this."

"With such effort, how can you say it's all thanks to me?"

In Chen Zilu's eyes, there were traces of seriousness and displeasure.

Jiang Ye was a student she had spent a lot of time teaching, and she felt a sense of satisfaction with his achievements.

However, she did not accept all the credit being attributed to her alone.

Achievements gained through hard work were being attributed to background or the help of others? She found this argument repulsive.

Seeing the young woman's expression, the teacher who spoke earlier knew they had said the wrong thing.

Immediately, the teacher quickly changed their tune, "Teacher Chen is right, effort is also very important."

Zhang Jianwu also said, "This student, with only Primitive innate talent, achieving this result means he put in far more effort than ordinary people. We cannot deny this."

Chen Zilu's expression finally softened slightly.

She looked at Zhang Jianwu and suddenly said, "Director, I heard that the top three students from the first trial..."

"will get a free opportunity for Starry Sky Refinement?"

Zhang Jianwu nodded, "There is an opportunity, but they have to wait until their cultivation method is complete."

Speaking of which.

His eyes also became somewhat profound.

"Jiang Ye looks good for now, but I don't know how he'll perform during the Starry Sky Refinement."

As the grade director, Zhang Jianwu mostly considered things from the school's perspective.

Each Starry Sky Refinement consumed a large amount of funds.

This money was naturally paid by the school.

Of course, not everyone could participate; only the top three students in the trial could get a free opportunity.

Even the top three in the final exam wouldn't qualify.

The trial's value was far higher than ordinary assessments.

The school did this to cultivate true geniuses and improve the enrollment rate of the Twenty-Five School Alliance.

Logically, Jiang Ye, as the second-place finisher in this trial, should have no problem participating in the Starry Sky Refinement for free.

But.

"Primitive innate talent," Zhang Jianwu shook his head slightly.

The efficiency of Primitive innate talent in absorbing Starry Sky Energy might be less than 1%.

Whereas Newborn innate talent reached over 10%.

Dao Bone innate talent was over 50%.

As for Extraordinary innate talent? It might exceed 100%.

Ancheng Third Middle School did not have Dao Bone innate talent, but they had quite a few with Newborn innate talent.

Giving such a precious opportunity as Starry Sky Refinement to someone with Primitive innate talent? It would be too wasteful.

To achieve anything with Primitive talent, effort alone won't suffice, unless there's substantial funding.

For the school, if this funding is spent on Newborn talent, the returns will be far greater than for Primitive talent.

The teacher who spoke earlier said Jiang Ye's grades today were all thanks to Chen Zilu; this wasn't intentional flattery.

"If I'm not mistaken, Miss Chen must have personally sponsored Jiang Ye quite a bit before the trial."

Zhang Jianwu thought to himself.

If not, it would be impossible for Jiang Ye alone to have improved so rapidly.

"Ding-dong!"

Just as Zhang Jianwu was lost in thought, a phone ring suddenly sounded.

Zhang Jianwu took out his phone and his expression immediately turned serious.

"Xiao Chen."

He handed the phone to Chen Zilu and said in a low voice, "Take a look, is this a student from your class?"

Chen Zilu took the phone and her pretty face also quickly sank.

Meanwhile.

Li Zhichao, after a round of 'unscrupulous' interrogation, still couldn't get Jiang Ye to reveal what 'medicine' he had taken.

He looked at Jiang Ye not far away and gritted his teeth, "This guy, I even called him my godfather, and he still won't tell me!"

"Could it be that he really didn't take any medicine?"

Thinking of this, Li Zhichao's pupils suddenly contracted.

If Jiang Ye really hadn't taken any medicine, he would feel even worse!

"Forget it, I won't compare myself to him. I just need to become stronger myself."

Li Zhichao took a deep breath, his gaze becoming resolute.

Not far away, Jiang Ye looked at Li Zhichao and smiled, "Bro, finally figured it out?"

Li Zhichao waved his hand, "Don't worry, I won't compete with you anymore."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ye immediately smiled, "That's great."

Seeing that the other party had let go, he was also very pleased.

The next moment, Li Zhichao clenched his fist and said, "My goal now is to challenge myself to give myself one injection a day!"

His gaze was pure, devoid of the competitiveness between classmates, leaving only a yearning for strength.

"..."

Jiang Ye was speechless for a long while, shaking his head helplessly in his heart, "This guy is truly obsessed!"

"Ding-dong!"

At this moment, his communication watch vibrated.

Jiang Ye opened it and saw, "It's Teacher Chen."

"Teacher Chen wants us to go to the office," he said to Li Zhichao.

Li Zhichao nodded.

The two quickly walked towards the office.

In Chen Zilu's office.

When Jiang Ye and the other arrived, Chen Zilu hadn't gotten there yet.

Ten minutes later.

A cold and beautiful woman with slender legs, wearing a simple white dress, walked into the office.

"Congratulations, you both passed this trial."

Chen Zilu smiled at the two and took out two bags of prize money.

"Thank you, Teacher."

Jiang Ye took one of the bags of prize money, feeling overjoyed.

This was the prize money for passing the trial, a full thirty thousand yuan!

Chen Zilu smiled slightly, but quickly her expression turned solemn, and she said, "After you go back this time, be careful. The city hasn't been very safe recently."

"The city isn't safe?"

Jiang Ye was taken aback. Chen Zilu had already told him about this before.

Bringing it up again now, had something happened?

Chen Zilu said in a low voice, "A student in our class has gone missing. Xia Qing, you both know her, right?"

"Xia Qing?"

Jiang Ye immediately remembered the girl who often brought him water.

"Xia Qing is missing?" Jiang Ye's pupils contracted, finding it hard to believe.