"I lost!"
Seeing the two huge red characters "END" before him, Lin Ye suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion and relief wash over him. It wasn't just because he had poured all his focus and strength into his battle with Zhou Lang. It was also because the three months of relentless effort since he had obtained his cheat had finally reached an end.
After climbing out of the Virtual Pod, Lin Ye followed the staff's directions out of the examination hall, then left Linjiang No. 1 High School with the crowd.
The midday sun blazed over the campus, bathing it in a crimson glow, but the atmosphere after the exams still hung in the air. Some laughed with relief, some stayed silent after a poor performance, and others chatted noisily in pairs about the details of their battles.
Lin Ye was doing all right, too. His spirits were fairly steady. It was a little disappointing to have been eliminated in the sixth round of the Ranking Tournament, but when he thought carefully about the effort he had put in over the past three months, he realized he had reached a height the boy he'd been three months ago—at a Blood Qi Value of 138, with Rolling Stone Fist still at Proficient Grade—would never have dared imagine.
At that thought, some of the disappointment in his heart faded.
Just then, as Lin Ye was about to leave the school gate, his Smart Wristwatch gave a soft buzz. A pale-blue call projection appeared on its face.
Caller: Zheng Huai.
Seeing this, he walked beneath a nearby tree, where it was relatively quiet, and answered the call.
"Teacher."
Lin Ye's voice was as calm as ever.
On the other end, Zheng Huai sounded a little tired but excited, though his voice remained steady. "The Ranking Tournament's over? How did you do?"
"Yeah."
Lin Ye nodded, taking a moment to gather his thoughts.
"I think it went all right, though I still feel like it's a bit of a shame."
"How exactly?"
Zheng Huai pressed him. "You don't need to tell me about the Challenge Tournament on the third day. Just tell me how you did in today's Ranking Tournament."
Hearing this, Lin Ye knew his teacher already knew how he had done on the third day.
Zhang Zhen really was about as reliable as Zhou Qian had said.
"Uh, I made it to the sixth round and was eliminated there."
After a brief pause, Lin Ye answered honestly.
Zheng Huai was silent for a couple of seconds, evidently running through the numbers in his head. "Wait... The sixth round should add about 150 points, and your performance score should be at least another 10 or so."
"And you reached the sixth checkpoint on the third day, so that should be around 260 to 270..."
He murmured the figures under his breath, clearly doing the math.
After working through them, he asked, "How do you think you did on the academic subjects?"
"I think it went all right. I answered everything I could, and I did my best to write out the steps for the harder problems. If they're converted based on my usual practice exams... probably around 350."
When Zheng Huai asked about his academic subjects, Lin Ye recalled the exams from the previous two days.
He really hadn't done much revision for the academic subjects during this period. He'd relied on the foundation he'd built before, and the only reason he could score that well was that this year's questions weren't too difficult.
That was, apart from the exceptionally hard problems.
On the other end of the call, Zheng Huai's brows immediately furrowed.
He quickly calculated in his head: Blood Qi Value of 335, which converted to 201 points; 350 for the academic subjects, which converted to 87.5; about 260 for reaching the sixth checkpoint; and 150-plus for the sixth round of the Ranking Tournament, with a performance score of around 10 minus 30. That would put the total at roughly... 710 to 730?
After finishing the calculation, Zheng Huai fell silent for two or three seconds.
That score seemed a little over the top. But it was still about ten points short of the cutoff for the top three Regional Martial Universities. What a pity.
"Teacher, what's wrong?"
Seeing Zheng Huai fall silent, Lin Ye felt a little confused.
"Nothing."
Zheng Huai quickly let out a sigh, then laughed and chided him. "You brat, your progress has far surpassed anything I imagined."
"Have you estimated your total score?"
"Not yet."
Lin Ye smiled wryly. He'd only just finished the Ranking Tournament; how would he have had time to estimate it? But he did have a rough idea. Qingjiang Martial University should be within reach.
"I just worked it out for you. Your total score should be somewhere between 710 and 730. You're a sure thing for most Regional Martial Universities. Have you thought about which one you want to attend?"
"Ah, uh, I haven't thought about it."
"Maybe East Sea Martial University."
Hearing the score, Lin Ye froze. He hadn't expected his converted total to be somewhere between 710 and 730. For a moment, he felt dazed.
Just three months ago, he'd still been wavering over whether to take the academic or martial arts path. In the blink of an eye, he was choosing among the ordinary Regional Martial Universities.
Truly, life was like a game of chess.
"It's just a shame. If your score were a little higher—740 or more—you'd have a shot at choosing one of the top three Regional Martial Universities."
"We just didn't have enough time..."
Seeing Lin Ye frozen in place, Zheng Huai couldn't help but sigh.
He felt Lin Ye simply hadn't had enough time to make an all-out push. If he'd had a few more months—even less than half a year—with the potential Lin Ye had shown, his Blood Qi Value could have climbed further, reaching 380 or even 400. As for his academic subjects—cough... never mind. If he could improve his combat ability further, he'd have no trouble competing for one of the top three Regional Martial Universities... He might even have a chance at a National Martial University.
The potential this kid had unleashed was more than worthy of a better platform.
What a shame.
"Lin Ye, how do you feel about your results?"
Setting aside his regret, Zheng Huai asked.
"I think... they're already really good."
"Teacher, do you know? Three months ago, I was still worrying about whether to take the academic or martial arts path."
Beneath the tree, Lin Ye looked up at the sun blazing ever more fiercely overhead. His voice was calm and frank.
He truly meant it. In three months, he had gone from 138 to 335, from the lower middle of his class to among the top thousand in the province, from Proficient Rolling Stone Fist to Consummation-level Mountain-Suppressing Fist, and to proficient Lost Track Steps... The earth-shaking changes of those three months were something he'd never even dared dream of before.
As far as he was concerned, he was satisfied with the result.
"You brat..."
Hearing how satisfied Lin Ye sounded, Zheng Huai didn't know what to say. Should he tell Lin Ye he didn't know the limits of the sky, or say that he was simply easy to satisfy? After all, there was a huge difference between the top three and bottom four among the Regional Martial Universities. Perhaps he ought to try to get Lin Ye a better option.
A thought flashed through Zheng Huai's mind.
"All right, let's leave it at that for now."
Then Zheng Huai's voice returned to its usual steadiness. "Get some proper rest over the next few days and spend time with your parents. The final results and your school applications won't be out for a while yet. If you have any other thoughts in the meantime, you can call me anytime to talk them over."
"Thank you, Teacher Zheng."
Lin Ye thanked him.
"Mm."
After hanging up, Zheng Huai stood by the office window, watching the campus below gradually empty out. His fingers tapped the windowsill absently.
Lin Ye's words, "They're already really good," still echoed in his ears and struck a tender spot in his heart. He understood what the boy was thinking, but a sense of unwillingness still lingered within him.
"For that kid, these results really are already good... Yes, going from the fringes of the Martial Dao to a Regional Martial University in just three months is an enormous miracle."
Zheng Huai murmured to himself, "But given his potential... perhaps it still isn't enough."
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