Director Wan Xueping

He was first in Class 1. In the last school-wide rankings, he had placed tenth, and the nine ahead of him were all Elite Class students.

"You've worked so hard lately. You'll definitely improve."

Qin Yan encouraged him. He was telling the truth; he had seen Lin Yang's efforts firsthand.

"You think I'm you? That hard work always pays off?

Besides, when it comes to working hard, I'm still far behind you."

Lin Yang gave a wry smile and joked, "Maybe in this Monthly Exam, your score will surpass mine."

Qin Yan smiled but said nothing.

After last night's frenzied push, surpassing Lin Yang?

It wasn't impossible.

Before long, all the Senior Three students on the field had lined up neatly by class.

A silent tension hung in the air.

Everyone attached immense importance to this Monthly Exam, which concerned both rewards and their future paths.

At that moment, on the podium.

Principal Wu Ming was cautiously standing beside a middle-aged man.

The man wore a crisp, dark administrative jacket. His expression was stern, and his gaze sharp.

He carried an imposing aura without needing to show anger. He was Wan Xueping, Director of the Linhai City Education Bureau.

"Director Wan, rest assured, there are still several promising students in this graduating class."

Wu Ming wore a flattering smile as he introduced them. "Especially Zhao Bin, Liang Musheng, and Jiang Nan from the Elite Class. They're all excellent prospects.

With a normal performance, getting into Jianghai Martial University should be more than manageable."

Wan Xueping merely nodded calmly, his gaze sweeping over the mass of students below the stage.

He directly asked the question he cared about most. "Do any of those three students have even the slightest chance of getting into either of those two Top Martial Universities?"

The smile on Wu Ming's face instantly froze, and his expression turned awkward. "Well... Director Wan, Top Martial Universities... the possibility is still very small at the moment."

Those two institutions stood at the pinnacle of the nation, and their admission standards were brutally demanding.

High scores alone were not enough. They also had extremely high requirements for talent and potential.

They were no longer something a school at Linhai No.1 High School's level could casually hope for.

The moment Director Wan saw Wu Ming's reaction, he understood everything. His expression darkened.

Suppressing his anger, he said in a low voice, "The Education Bureau has given your First High School quite a lot of preferential resources over the years! And what have you done with them?

Every year, you can only train fewer than ten students capable of entering Jianghai Martial University!

Wu Ming, shouldn't you give me an explanation?"

Wu Ming was left completely bewildered by the sudden rebuke, and he felt terribly wronged.

He had not dared pocket even a fraction of the educational resources!

But he could also tell that Director Wan was in an exceptionally bad mood today and clearly had anger with nowhere to vent.

He could only hurriedly bow and apologize. "Yes, yes, Director Wan is right to criticize us. We will definitely work twice as hard and strive to surpass ten this year..."

These leaders are harder to please than the last...

Wan Xueping saw Wu Ming's submissive manner, and the anger in his heart eased slightly.

He also knew that this matter could not entirely be blamed on the other man.

Linhai City's student quality and teaching conditions were what they were. The fact that First High School could consistently send several students to Jianghai Martial University each year was already a decent achievement.

He had simply been under too much pressure lately.

Some time ago, an important position at the Jianghai Province Education Bureau had opened up, and he had had a chance at promotion.

However, the Director of the Hushan City Education Bureau was also on the promotion list, and the other man's record was clearly far better than Linhai City's.

His chances of promotion were far lower than the other man's.

If he simply failed to get promoted, he would not have lost his composure like this.

The key was that he and the Director of Hushan City had harbored old grudges since their early years, and their conflict ran deep.

Once the other man successfully rose to the position and became his direct superior, he would certainly use his authority to obstruct him at every turn.

When that time came, forget about his career prospects—he might not even be able to keep his current position as Director of the Education Bureau.

If things got serious, they might even find some pretext to completely "dispose" of him and force him into early retirement.

He had been so troubled by this matter lately that he could barely eat or sleep.

The promotion assessment results would likely come out in four months, shortly after the Gaokao results were released.

After thinking it over and over, he realized that the only achievement capable of creating a miracle and turning the situation around in the short term was the Gaokao!

If Linhai City could produce a student admitted to a Top Martial University, even just one!

It would be an incredibly dazzling accomplishment, enough to shatter the balance!

With that achievement, he could defeat his opponent in one stroke and gain a chance at promotion!

He had come to First High School full of anticipation, hoping to see whether there was such a hidden prodigy.

Yet the answer he received was still that the possibility was very small.

Unable to hold himself back for a moment, he had vented his anger on Wu Ming.

"Director Wan, our First High School's Senior Three students are about to begin their Monthly Exam tests. The first item is the Blood Qi Test."

Seeing that the other man's anger seemed to have subsided somewhat, Wu Ming quickly seized the chance to change the subject. "If you have time, you can stay and observe.

Perhaps this group of students will produce some unexpected dark horses or promising talents?"

Wan Xueping took a deep breath, suppressed the irritation in his heart, and nodded.

At this point, his political future was largely pinned on this year's Martial Arts College Entrance Exam.

And Linhai No.1 Senior High School was the best high school in the city, as well as his greatest hope.

Deep down, he too hoped that a miracle might happen.

In front of the Senior Three Class One formation.

Gu Feng gathered the students from the Elite Class and Ordinary Class 1 for their final instructions.

His voice was steady and forceful, carrying clearly to every student's ears.

"The tests will follow the school's arrangements.

The Elite Class will test first, then it will be our Class 1's turn."

"The testing order will follow your student numbers!

Remember that. Maintain order, don't lose your heads, and don't embarrass our class!"

"After testing, immediately return to the designated class area and wait in place for the results.

No wandering around or whispering among yourselves!

After that, I'll lead you through the Martial Arts Skill test together! Understood?"

"Understood!"

The students answered in unison, their voices filled with barely contained nervousness and excitement.

Gu Feng nodded in satisfaction and said no more, walking to the very front of the class formation.

With his arms crossed, he stood there silently like a boulder, waiting for the tests to begin.

After a while, a clear announcement sounded from the loudspeakers around the field.

"Attention, students. The Blood Qi Test for Linhai No.1 High School's April Monthly Exam will now begin!"

"Students of Elite Class 1, please prepare!"

"Zhao Bin, Liang Musheng, Zhou Nan, ... Zhao Shaowei."

The broadcast read out ten names in succession.

"Please enter in an orderly manner!"