Everyone's shock surged like a tsunami, each wave higher than the last.
As they stared at those three purple-gold letters, an indescribable awe rose in their hearts.
Some were even trembling slightly from sheer excitement.
But what they still did not know was that what they had seen was only the tip of the iceberg.
No one knew that, in that incredibly short time, Lu Fang had not only steamrolled fifteen normal stages, but had also slaughtered three thousand Abyssal Demon Wolves along the way and reduced a level 50 Hell Demon General with two million HP to ashes!
Had they learned the truth, the gymnasium would probably have been filled with more than shock. People would have collapsed from fright.
Lu Fang stood in the middle of the arena, feeling the nearly tangible gazes around him, mingled with terror and awe, without much change in his emotions.
He slowly raised his head, turning his gaze toward the enormous screen suspended in midair.
At the very top of the screen, his name shone wreathed in golden light, reigning supreme across the ages.
Below his name, the gap yawned like an unbridgeable chasm.
Lu Fang scanned the rankings and soon found that familiar name: Wang Yixing.
At that moment, Wang Yixing's name ranked second.
[Second place: Wang Yixing] [Current progress: Stage 2]
Looking at that pitiful Stage 2, Lu Fang's lips lifted slightly into a meaningful smile.
A few minutes later.
The teleportation array in the center of the gymnasium lit up again.
This time, the light was somewhat chaotic. Then the first batch of eliminated students began appearing one after another.
Most had fallen at the second or third stage. They were all bedraggled, some still bearing injuries, their faces filled with dejection and unwillingness to accept defeat.
"It was too hard... Those wolves in the second stage were so fast I couldn't react at all."
"I only lasted a minute in the third stage. I nearly got bitten to death."
They looked at the settlement panels in their hands, and the words on them were like a bucket of cold water dumped over their heads.
[Clear rating: F] [Clear rewards: Copper coins ×50]
One student clutched a bottle of murky, low-grade red potion, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
I fought for my life and nearly died, and this was all I got?
Just as the group hung their heads in dejection, someone sharp-eyed spotted Lu Fang standing calmly at the edge of the arena nearby, both hands in his pockets.
"Huh? Is that Lu Fang?"
"He's out too?"
Several of them exchanged looks, a trace of confusion flashing through their eyes.
Logically, although no one knew what class Lu Fang had awakened, he should not have been eliminated this quickly, right?
From the look of things, he had even come out before they had.
A boy curled his lip, an inexplicable secret satisfaction actually rising in his heart.
"He probably died in the first or second stage too. Look, he doesn't have a speck of dust on him. Maybe a boar rammed him right back out the moment he went in."
That was human nature.
When you failed, seeing someone who stood above you fall too-even if they fell just as badly-made you feel much better about yourself.
See? Even Young Master Lu, even with those astonishing phenomena during his awakening, was still F-rated trash just like us in an actual combat dungeon, wasn't he?
With that thought, the boy composed his expression and walked over with a show of concern, intending to pat Lu Fang on the shoulder and offer a few words of comfort, restoring a little of his own sense of balance along the way.
"Young Master Lu, it's fine. This was your first dungeon, after all..."
Before the boy's hand could touch Lu Fang's shoulder.
The homeroom teacher of Class Two, who had remained silent beside them, could no longer bear to watch.
He looked at the boy as though he were an idiot, his gaze even carrying a hint of pity, then pointed at the enormous screen above the gymnasium.
"Stop making a fool of yourself. Look up."
The boy froze for a moment.
"Look up? At what?"
He instinctively raised his head. Not just him-the other eliminated students nearby, who had likewise assumed Lu Fang had made an early exit, all looked up too.
At that sight, everyone's expression instantly froze.
At the very top of the screen, a name enlarged countless times radiated dazzling golden light and purple radiance, hanging above everyone's heads like a god-king looking down upon all living beings.
[First place: Lu Fang] [Floors cleared: 15 (Complete)] [Final rating: SSS]
"Holy... holy shit..."
The boy who had been about to pat Lu Fang's shoulder nearly dropped to his knees on the spot as his legs went weak.
That string of blinding purple-gold words struck the crown of his head like a heavy hammer, smashing his pathetic little sense of superiority to pieces.
Fifteen floors?
A full clear?
And that... SSS rating that only existed in legends?!
He looked down at the bottle of low-grade red potion in his hand, then back at the godlike record on the giant screen.
An enormous, suffocating sense of disparity instantly engulfed him.
A second ago, he had thought they were fellow sufferers in the same boat.
A second later, he realized he was gazing up at an unreachable deity.
This batch of eliminated students fell utterly speechless, their mouths hanging open like fish out of water, even forgetting to breathe.
Time ticked by.
An hour and a half later.
Hum!
The teleportation array blazed with light again.
A somewhat bedraggled figure appeared.
It was Jiang Xia.
His once-neat school uniform now had several slashes in it, his hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and his face was covered in sweat and dust. He had clearly been through a grueling battle.
Yet he showed no dejection at all. Instead, his eyes shone with startling brightness, and his face brimmed with unconcealed excitement.
"Huff... huff..."
Jiang Xia braced his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He glanced at his settlement panel.
[Floors cleared: 8] [Clear rating: B] [Clear rewards: Silver-grade Windwalking Bracers, skill book "Rapid-Fire Arrows"]
"Awesome!"
Jiang Xia pumped his fist hard.
Fighting his way to the eighth stage and earning a B rating was already a very respectable result.
Not to mention that a piece of silver equipment and a skill book had dropped!
"I wonder how Fang did."
Jiang Xia straightened, wiped the sweat from his face, and eagerly looked around for Lu Fang.
He soon spotted Lu Fang in the rest area.
Lu Fang was sitting leisurely in a chair, holding a bottle of mineral water.
Without another word, Jiang Xia jogged over to him.
"Fang! You were way too fast!"
Panting heavily, Jiang Xia plopped down beside Lu Fang, took the bottle of water Lu Fang handed him, and gulped down more than half of it.
"Ha! I'm alive again."