Three hundred twenty-one: Dong Qianqiu lost her composure on the spot

One morning, Xu Rang stood at the lectern and clapped his hands for silence.

"The final exam the day after tomorrow won't take place in the real world. You'll be entering Simulation Pods."

All thirty-one children below looked up at once. A few pairs of eyes instantly lit up, a few faces looked bewildered, and several children had already started whispering to one another.

"Simulation Pods? What are those?"

"Those things that... feel just like the real thing?"

"I heard you have to be at least ten to use them!"

"I'm only seven. Can I use one?"

"I heard mecha pilots all train in Simulation Pods..."

Xu Rang raised a hand to quiet everyone, then continued, "Normally, you have to be at least ten to use a Simulation Pod, because it requires a certain amount of self-control. But our school has brought in a batch of new children's Simulation Pods from headquarters. They're suitable for children aged six to eight, so this final exam will take place in a simulated environment."

He paused, then added, "The Simulation Pods will project your spiritual power into a virtual space. Inside, your martial souls, soul power, and soul skills will all work just as they do in reality. The combat environment will also be simulated. You won't get hurt, but it will feel very real."

"Before you enter the Simulation Pods, we need to test your spiritual power and soul power to make sure your data matches. You'll come up one at a time when I call your name. Soul power first, spiritual power second."

A rustle of discussion rose from below, and several children had already begun rubbing their hands nervously.

Ye Zhiqiu barely reacted. He leaned against the back of his chair, twirling a pen in his hand.

He had tested his spiritual power at home just a few days ago. The reading had been 318 points, nearly double what it had been when he enrolled, leaving his parents speechless with shock.

Today's school test probably wouldn't be much different.

The soul power test came first.

Holding the class roster, Xu Rang called their names one by one. The students stepped up to the lectern in turn and placed their hands on the soul power tester.

As the testing went on, most readings fell between levels nine and fifteen. Occasionally, someone reached level sixteen, prompting the teacher to take another look and make a note on his clipboard.

When Dong Qianqiu's name was called, she walked up and placed her hand on the device. The column of light stopped steadily at level eighteen.

Xu Rang's eyebrows rose slightly. "Level eighteen. Not bad."

A few quiet gasps came from below, though no one was particularly surprised. Everyone had seen Dong Qianqiu's strength for themselves.

Dong Qianqiu withdrew her hand and returned to her seat without expression.

She could feel that she would soon break through to level nineteen and catch up to that guy. She had to hurry, or he would break through to level twenty again.

Several more names were called before it was finally Ye Zhiqiu's turn.

"Ye Zhiqiu."

Ye Zhiqiu put down his pen, strolled up to the lectern, and rested his hand on the tester.

The column of light rose faster than it had for anyone else, shooting upward with a whoosh before stopping firmly at level nineteen.

Xu Rang stared at the number for two seconds, then nodded. "Level nineteen. Next."

Level nineteen—just one step away from level twenty.

In less than a year since enrolling, he had risen from level eleven to level nineteen. That pace would have broken records at any Junior Academy.

But by now, Xu Rang was used to Ye Zhiqiu's monstrous talent, so he could still maintain a calm exterior.

Once the soul power testing was finished, it was time to test their spiritual power.

Xu Rang took a silver-gray helmet from a drawer. It looked much like the one Ye Zhiqiu had used at home.

"The spiritual power test works like the soul power test. Come up one at a time and put on the helmet."

He paused, then added, "Your spiritual power results won't count toward your final grades. This is mainly to match your data to the Simulation Pods, so there's no need to be too nervous."

The children below visibly breathed easier. Even several who had been sitting with tense faces relaxed a little at those words.

Then they went up to be tested, one after another.

Most had spiritual power readings between thirty and fifty. Occasionally, someone scored a little higher, reaching sixty or seventy, and the teacher would ask a few extra questions.

After all, spiritual power had a great deal to do with martial soul quality and innate attributes. For a six-year-old, scoring above fifty was already quite impressive.

When Dong Qianqiu's turn came, she walked up, picked up the helmet, put it on, and adjusted its position.

Xu Rang activated the device, and the numbers on the screen began to climb.

Sixty, eighty, one hundred, one hundred thirteen.

They stopped.

Xu Rang glanced down at the reading, surprise and shock flashing through his eyes. "One hundred thirteen points. The middle stage of the Spirit Connection Realm. Excellent."

Dong Qianqiu wasn't even seven yet, but her spiritual power had already reached this level. Even across the Federation, a spiritual power reading like that would mark her as an exceptional genius.

Several children below gave quiet cries of surprise as well.

One hundred thirteen points—nearly twice the class's second-highest score of sixty-something.

Sitting in the back row, Ye Zhiqiu watched Dong Qianqiu take off the helmet and walk down from the platform. He wasn't particularly surprised.

She had the foundation of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast that had undergone soul beast transformation. Even with her memories lost, her spiritual power foundation was far above an ordinary person's.

Dong Qianqiu returned to her seat. As she passed Ye Zhiqiu's desk, she tilted her head toward him and whispered, "Hmph. Your turn."

There was a smug edge to her voice. With this young lady's spiritual power so high, there's no way I could still score lower than you, right? I should finally be able to win a round, shouldn't I?!

Seeing the smugness she couldn't hide, Ye Zhiqiu couldn't help smiling. My spiritual power was already at 169 before first grade even started. And now?

"Ye Zhiqiu."

At his name, Ye Zhiqiu rose from his seat and ambled up to the lectern.

Xu Rang handed him the helmet. He took it and put it on, the sensor pads pressing against his temples and forehead.

The device gave a crisp beep, and the numbers began to climb.

Standing beside the device, Xu Rang had been looking down and writing something on his clipboard. At the beep, he glanced up at the screen.

Then he froze.

The numbers were still rising. They weren't changing particularly fast, but every jump landed somewhere that made the heart pound.

Fifty, eighty, one hundred ten, one hundred fifty, two hundred, two hundred thirty, two hundred seventy...

Xu Rang's mouth slowly fell open, his face filled with disbelief.

Beside him, assistant homeroom teacher Liu You had been checking the roster. When she caught the numbers on the screen out of the corner of her eye, her pen fell onto the desk with a clack.

Two hundred eighty, two hundred ninety, three hundred...

At last, the number slowly settled at three hundred twenty-one.

The classroom went so quiet it was as though someone had pressed pause.

Xu Rang looked down at the screen, then up at Ye Zhiqiu in the helmet, then down at the screen again.

His mouth opened, but something seemed to block his voice.

"Th-three hundred twenty-one?"

Beside him, Liu You covered her mouth, her eyes wide and round. She stood stunned for several seconds before managing to speak in bewilderment. "The middle stage of the Spirit Connection Realm... no, this is already the late stage."

Ye Zhiqiu removed the helmet and rubbed the temples where the sensor pads had pressed with the back of his hand. He didn't think much of it.

Three hundred twenty-one points was about the same as the three hundred eighteen he had measured at home last week. A few points higher. Pretty good.

He set the helmet on the desk, turned, and stepped down from the platform toward his seat.

But after two steps, he realized everyone's eyes were fixed on him, as though captivated by his good looks.

Some of his classmates were already whispering, and the whole room had boiled over.

"Three hundred twenty-one??? How much is that?"

"Oh my god, my spiritual power's only forty-something..."

"Is that display broken?"

"What does three hundred even mean? Dong Qianqiu only got a hundred-something!"

Dong Qianqiu sat in her seat, utterly dumbfounded.

Only moments earlier, she had been pleased with her one hundred thirteen points of spiritual power, thinking she could finally hold her head high in front of this guy. Then he had turned around and hit her with three hundred twenty-one???

Three hundred twenty-one—nearly three times her score! Not a little higher, but a full two hundred-plus points higher.

Dong Qianqiu's mouth hung slightly open, and she couldn't close it for a long while.

She had suffered a grievous blow inside. What kind of monster is this... friend I've met? Are we sure he isn't a soul beast transformed into a human?

When Ye Zhiqiu passed her seat, she still wore the same expression, like a penguin struck by lightning.

"What's wrong?" Ye Zhiqiu asked, tilting his head to glance at her.

Dong Qianqiu snapped out of her daze and shot to her feet, the chair legs scraping the floor with a piercing screech.

Her deep-blue eyes went perfectly round as she asked in shock, "Three hundred twenty-one? Your spiritual power is three hundred twenty-one?!"

"Yeah. What's wrong?" Ye Zhiqiu nodded calmly.

"What do you mean, what's wrong? You never told me your spiritual power was that high! Damn." Dong Qianqiu had taken a devastating blow. Even when Ye Zhiqiu had repeatedly defeated her before, she had never felt this crushed.

Ye Zhiqiu found it rather funny. When the girl had scored one hundred thirteen points, her smugness had practically been spilling out of the top of her head. Yet before she could enjoy it for even a minute, he had mercilessly steamrolled her.

It was understandable that she was angry.

Still, the way she showed it looked for all the world like a child throwing a tantrum.

"But you never asked."