Brother Ye, are you cheating?

The table was arranged by total score from highest to lowest.

All eyes immediately focused on the top of the list:

1. Li Weiwei: Total score 966

2. Zhang Zhen: Total score 898

3. Zhao Lin: Total score 824

4. Zhao Qiang: Total score 762

5. Zhou Qian: Total score 745

6. Wang Hao: Total score 733

7. Lin Ye: Total score 725

725 points, Seventh place!

Lin Ye stared at his score, his breathing slightly rapid.

He had thought his score would be decent, but he hadn't expected to reach Seventh place.

He quickly scanned his individual subject scores: 345 points for academic subjects, 15 points lower than the January Grand Exam. This was mainly due to a 5-point drop in History of the Star Alliance—Lin Ye guessed he lost points on the essay questions—along with Basic Physics and Star Alliance Common Language, the former being 7 points lower than before and the latter 3 points lower.

This academic score could only be considered low-to-mid tier in the class. He took a side glance at the academic scores of Zhang Hao and Wang Tao; the former had reached a terrifying 380 points, while the latter had 351.

There was no need to mention Zhang Hao, that liberal arts genius, but even Wang Tao, who kept saying he had bombed his academic subjects, ended up with a score significantly higher than his own. It seemed he was another person who had been working hard in secret.

However, Lin Ye was quite satisfied with this result. After all, he had spent most of his energy during this period on Martial Dao training and had rarely spent time on academics, relying on his previous foundation and occasionally squeezing in time to review key points. He was quite content to maintain this score.

Furthermore, even though he was down 15 points, academic scores only counted for one-seventh of the total Martial Arts Stream score. Overall, it only amounted to a drop of about 2 points, so the investment of time and energy was completely worth it.

Next was the Blood Qi Value. According to the scoring rules: Blood Qi Value below 100 points earned 0 points; above 100 points, each point was worth 0.6 points. After rounding, he was awarded 131 points. This was a huge gap compared to Li Weiwei, Zhang Zhen, and the others, and it remained his biggest weakness.

His Virtual Combat score was 219, which exceeded his expectations. Seeing that he had been awarded 39 performance points for the fourth stage—only 1 point away from the maximum—it seemed the teachers who graded him were truly quite generous.

Lin Ye felt quite grateful toward those Martial Dao teachers who had evaluated him.

Then there was the +30 points from the Ranking Tournament on the third day, which brought his total score to 725, ranking him Seventh in the class.

Just as he was feeling quite satisfied with his results, the classroom erupted in a chorus of discussions and gasps.

"Holy crap, the monitor got 966!"

"Holy crap, Lin Ye... 7th?"

"Wait, wasn't his total score 24th in the class during the last grand exam?"

"Yeah, how did he go from 24th to 7th in just a few months?"

"Isn't this rate of improvement too terrifying?"

Wang Tao looked at the scores, turned his head to look at Lin Ye beside him, and his eyes widened: "Brother Ye, are you hacking?"

Lin Ye: "..."

"If you aren't hacking, how could you progress so fast?"

Wang Tao muttered, "You were only 24th in the January Grand Exam, and now I can't even see your taillights."

"It's fine, we aren't on the same track."

Lin Ye comforted him, inwardly marveling at how accurate Wang Tao's guess actually was.

"You saying that makes me feel even worse."

Wang Tao continued to mutter under his breath, "It's too monstrous, how can you improve so fast? I want to practice Martial Dao too."

Seeing Lin Ye's score, Li Weiwei, who was sitting in the front row, turned her head in surprise. She had expected Lin Ye to show significant improvement this time, but seeing the final result, she couldn't help but be astonished.

Zhang Zhen felt the same way.

As for Zhao Qiang, who sat by the window on the right, his expression shifted. Although he had considered that Lin Ye might improve significantly, seeing that he was only stronger than his opponent in the Blood Qi Value category while falling behind in every other aspect, his sense of crisis climbed once again.

Quiet!

Hearing the classroom, which was as noisy as a wet market, Chen Guo'an tapped the podium, and the room fell silent once more.

"I want to specifically commend student Lin Ye." His gaze landed on Lin Ye, "In 3 months, he went from 24th in the class to 7th. His rate of improvement is the highest in the class and ranks in the top three of the entire school. This proves one thing—"

He paused, his voice rising slightly: "On the path to the High School Entrance Exam, talent is important, and resources are important, but the most important thing is persistence—the day-after-day sweat."

Applause broke out; it wasn't thunderous, but it was sincere enough.

Lin Ye sat in his seat with no expression on his face, but his heart was already captivated by the homeroom teacher's mention of "ranking in the top three of the entire school."

If the teacher is right, then I should be set this time.

Lin Ye thought silently.

"Additionally,"

Chen Guo'an added, "After research and deliberation, the school has decided to select five students based on the comprehensive evaluation of this grand exam to enter the school's key cultivation list. The final list will be announced on the school's official website tomorrow morning. Students who may be selected, please pay attention to relevant text notifications today."

As Chen Guo'an finished speaking, his words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, and the classroom erupted in discussion once again.

"A priority cultivation list, five people?"

"It seems there was one the year before last, too. I heard the resources provided were quite substantial..."

"Five spots... Do you think anyone in our class will make it?"

"I think Lin Ye from our class has a pretty good chance. His progress has been massive."

"Indeed, Old Ye should be able to take one."

After the homeroom teacher Chen Guo'an announced the news, many people in the class looked toward Lin Ye, but there was no change in expression on Lin Ye's face, which disappointed quite a few.

"Alright, that's all for today's class."

Chen Guo'an turned off the projector, "The report cards have been sent to the group chat. Tomorrow is the weekend, so everyone go home and analyze them carefully to identify and fill in any gaps. There are only two months left until the High School Entrance Exam. Whether you continue to forge ahead or stop here is entirely your own choice."

"Also, Lin Ye, remember to go to the office of Zheng Huai during the lunch break. He has something to discuss with you."

"Yes."

"Class dismissed!"

A moment later, the bell rang, and the homeroom teacher Chen Guo'an left.

At the same time, a crowd of people stood up from their seats and surrounded Lin Ye, offering their congratulations one after another.

Wang Tao also crowded over and threw an arm around his shoulder, "Brother Ye, treat us! You have to treat us this time!" Zhang Zhen walked over and said with a smile, "Not bad, Lin Ye. Your Virtual Combat bonus points are very high. It seems your performance in the fourth stage caught the eye of the Reviewer Teacher."

Li Weiwei also walked over and said simply, "Congratulations."

Zhou Qian blinked her eyes, "Congratulations, Lin Ye. You are seventh in the Martial Arts Stream, and I am fifth... It looks like I'm about to be surpassed by you."

"Shouldn't I be the one who gets surpassed first?"

Wang Hao, who had never been particularly close to Lin Ye, also walked over and offered his congratulations.

Zhao Qiang stood not far away, watching Lin Ye surrounded by the crowd, his mouth opening slightly. He didn't actually have any real grudge against Lin Ye, and deep down, he had accepted the fact that Lin Ye would surpass him in the future. Yet, for some reason, he still didn't take a step forward to congratulate Lin Ye, choosing instead to turn and walk out of the classroom to breathe some fresh air.

Facing the enthusiastic congratulations from everyone, Lin Ye responded politely to each one. His tone seemed quite calm, but his heart had already drifted toward the priority cultivation list the teacher had mentioned, longing for his name to be on it.