Unfortunately, before the College Entrance Exam, Lu Chong never had a chance to promote himself and build up his following.
The personal promotions put out by countless independent media accounts all came at a price, and not a small one.
Lu Chong didn't want his modest savings to go to waste.
Besides, he wasn't trying to become an internet celebrity. Why rush to build a public persona?
Fortunately, the official media in Guanyun City were fairly impartial. They released videos and student scores from the previous Mock Exam, indirectly giving Lu Chong a boost in popularity.
But people had short memories, especially on virtual platforms.
So even with the title of Mock Exam champion, Lu Chong's popularity still fell far short of that of the students who were promoting themselves heavily.
For example, Xiang Yueya, who was known as the heir to the Xiang family legacy, was now far more popular than Lu Chong.
She was a Second-Stage Martial Artist, a stunning school belle, and had put out several eye-catching showcase videos. Who wouldn't pay attention to someone like her?
Xiang Yueya's promotion had spread beyond Guanyun City, with its population of two million, and reached the entire province. In just two days, she had drawn a huge number of followers.
Most of them were men.
By the night before the College Entrance Exam, Xiang Yueya had more than two million followers. She was the most talked-about student in Guanyun City, and the favorite to win the provincial title.
Zhao Longfei, Huang Junyan, Xue Cheng, and others Lu Chong knew fairly well had also used the media to build followings of hundreds of thousands.
Even Chen Yufei had managed to rack up over a hundred thousand followers in just two days.
He hadn't posted videos of himself demonstrating Martial Skills or fighting other people. Instead, he'd shared some of his best clips from virtual war games.
The guy had attracted quite a following.
Chen Yufei also took the opportunity to promote Lu Chong on his account, urging his own fans to follow the student poised to become the Provincial Top Scholar.
As a result, Lu Chong's popularity had climbed a little. By the night before the College Entrance Exam, he had just barely passed a hundred thousand followers.
It wasn't much, but it wasn't pitiful, either.
The key was that most of the young people who had followed Lu Chong through Chen Yufei were leaving all sorts of skeptical comments beneath the one Martial Skill tutorial video on Lu Chong's account.
"He looks pretty ordinary. Why is he so confident he can become Provincial Top Scholar?"
"Is he really a top contender? Other than being handsome, he seems pretty average."
"Don't you dare say that about him! I just love his handsome, masculine face—and he's got such a great figure. I'm in love..."
Lu Chong couldn't be bothered with the doubts. Once the College Entrance Exam began, he'd have a chance to prove himself.
On June 7, the nationwide College Entrance Exam officially began. The eight-day-long exam would draw the attention of people across the country.
Even powerful figures at the highest levels would follow the exam on the virtual platform.
Why would students who already had plenty of money spend a fortune on promotion to attract followers?
Unlike Lu Chong, they weren't trying to earn resources for cultivation.
Their main goal was to catch the attention of certain influential figures.
If one of those powerful people remembered them and took them on as a disciple, it would be a true leap to the top.
This wasn't just wishful thinking. It happened every year.
After all, even the powerful wanted disciples to pass down their teachings.
And the annual nationwide exam was a perfect opportunity to find promising young talents.
The written exams on the 7th and 8th went by peacefully, and they didn't draw much attention.
On the night of the 8th, Lu Chong's written exam score and ranking were released. He'd missed a perfect score by just thirty-five points.
He ranked first in the province and fifth nationwide.
The result was posted directly to his personal account, earning him another wave of attention.
Some official accounts for top universities in science, engineering, and the liberal arts even began recruiting in the comments, offering extremely generous terms.
Lu Chong certainly didn't look down on those schools, but that wasn't the path he wanted to take, so he didn't give them much thought.
As for the mixed reactions from his followers, Lu Chong ignored them completely.
All he cared about now was the live-streamed combat exams beginning the next day. That was where he would truly show what he could do.
Starting the next day, though, all the examinees would be confined to the exam grounds. They wouldn't be able to access their personal accounts for six days.
Hopefully, there'll be a surprise waiting for me when I get back from the exam. Lu Chong took a deep breath, composed himself, and prepared for the real test beginning on the 9th.
He wouldn't underestimate any opponent. The information revealed over the past few days showed that there were already at least twenty Martial Artists among the province's examinees.
There were bound to be other Martial Artist examinees who didn't want to reveal themselves, and they were all Lu Chong's competitors.
Of course, Lu Chong wouldn't sell himself short, either. He had only one goal: to become Provincial Top Scholar.
On the morning of June 9, all the examinees began the Martial Arts Foundation assessment.
From that point on, people across the country started flooding onto the platform to follow the examinees' performances.
The national, provincial, and municipal official accounts, along with countless independent media accounts, began broadcasting updates from the exam, showing viewers different perspectives.
Before long, examinees' parents, powerful figures from every level, and curious onlookers were all streaming in.
According to estimates, from that day onward, more than six hundred million people in Huaxia would visit the various levels of College Entrance Exam livestreams—and those numbers would stay high.
Some watched the official broadcasts, others followed individual examinees' personal streams, and many watched several screens at once.
When that morning's Martial Arts Foundation results came out, the platform traffic shifted on a massive scale, surging toward the personal accounts of students with outstanding scores.
Lu Chong had no idea that after his perfect scores in all four basic categories were announced, his account had gained a million followers in just one hour—and the number was still climbing.
Everyone knew what perfect scores in all four categories meant.
They were proof of one's status as a Martial Artist.
The maximum score for the Foundation Assessment was 400, with full marks in all four categories.
Even a Third-Stage Martial Artist wouldn't earn any extra points in the basic categories.
This was actually meant to protect examinees' privacy and keep their basic statistics from being exposed.
That day, the official Hedong Province livestream announced that fifty-one students had earned perfect scores.
At one in the afternoon, the official host was still making an impassioned announcement—
"They are this year's leading contenders for Provincial Top Scholar. Of course, there may also be dark horses who break through during the Practical Combat Exam."
"Who will take the title? Let's wait and see."
After that official announcement, another huge wave of followers poured into Lu Chong's account, bringing the total to more than three million.
At that point, his personal livestream went live, letting people clearly see his every move during the upcoming Combat Assessment.
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