The principal paused.
"In this assessment, a miracle was born here at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School!"
"A miracle worthy of going down in Federation history!"
Everyone pricked up their ears at those words.
The principal paused, an immensely proud smile curling his lips. His voice suddenly rose, resounding like a great bell and ringing through the skies.
"Student Lu Fang's number of floors cleared: 15!"
"Rating: SSS!!!!"
"His final completion time was!!!!!"
The principal raised the results sheet in his hand and shouted with almost every ounce of strength he had.
"1 minute and 17 seconds!!!"
Boom!!!
If the SSS rating earlier had been a nuclear bomb, then the announcement of this time was the Big Bang!
The gymnasium, already on the verge of boiling over, erupted completely.
"1 minute and 17 seconds?!!!"
"Holy shit! Did I hear that right? Am I hearing things?"
"Fifteen floors in 1 minute and 17 seconds? An average of five seconds per floor? Was he fighting monsters or running a damn hundred-meter sprint?"
"You couldn't go that fast even if you just ran without fighting! Unless... unless they were all insta-kills! Full-screen insta-kills, at that!"
Cheers, screams, and roars erupted like a tsunami, almost blowing the roof off the gymnasium.
In the rest area.
With a smack.
The mineral water bottle in Jiang Xia's hand fell to the floor again, spilling water everywhere.
His mouth hung even wider than before. He stared woodenly at Lu Fang as though looking at an alien.
"F-Fang..."
Jiang Xia's voice sounded unsteady, as though his soul had flown away.
"1 minute and 17 seconds... Y-you were actually telling the truth earlier?"
Lu Fang bent down to pick up the bottle for him, brushed the dust off it, and spoke with a faint, utterly relaxed smile.
"When have I ever joked with you?"
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The Thunder Sword in Wang Yixing's hand also fell to the floor with a clang.
That crisp sound was particularly piercing amid the noisy cheers.
It was as though his entire backbone had been ripped out in an instant. His eyes were lifeless, his face as white as paper, and his body swayed on the verge of collapse.
1 minute and 17 seconds...
That number was like a sharp knife, mercilessly slicing open all his pride and cutting his dignity to pieces.
The 2 hours and 8 minutes he had been so proud of was nothing but a complete joke before that number.
An unprecedented sense of despair surged into his heart.
So much for being a Thunder Swordsman.
So much for being a peerless genius.
So much for breaking records.
Before that 1 minute and 17 seconds and SSS rating, it was all nothing but a fleeting illusion.
"I... lost..."
Wang Yixing murmured to himself, swayed, and slumped onto the cold floor.
At that moment, something seemed to shatter completely inside him.
It was his pride.
Up on the platform, the principal's face glowed as he solemnly handed the black canister sealed with wax to Lu Fang with both hands.
"Lu Fang, this is your honor, and it also represents the school's hopes for you."
The principal's voice carried throughout the venue through the microphone.
"I hope this exclusive piece of equipment will help you achieve glory once again in the college entrance examination a month from now!"
Lu Fang accepted the mystery canister. It was slightly cool to the touch and fairly heavy.
He nodded politely without saying anything more, then turned and walked off the platform.
When he returned to his class's ranks, Jiang Xia immediately came over, staring fixedly at the canister as he swallowed.
"Fang, hurry up and open it! An exclusive equipment mystery canister! This is the first one I've ever seen in my life."
Lu Fang was also a little curious now.
Unlike others who burned incense, bathed, and prayed before opening mystery boxes, he discreetly hooked his finger under the canister's pull tab while the principal continued honoring other outstanding students onstage and everyone's attention was slightly diverted.
"Click."
There was a soft sound.
The black canister instantly dissolved into countless motes of light. Immediately afterward, a glow that was not blinding but extremely concentrated flashed past.
An antique-looking ring landed quietly in Lu Fang's palm.
The ring was dark gold throughout, with no flashy gemstones on its face, only an engraved circle of patterns resembling copper coins that faintly exuded a weighty aura.
With a thought from Lu Fang, its attribute panel instantly appeared.
[Item: Ring of Money Barrier (Gold)] [Slot: Finger] [Attributes: None] [Active skill: Spend a Thousand Gold] [Effect: Consume 10,000 gold coins to instantly generate an absolute barrier lasting 1 second. The barrier's defense value equals the number of gold coins consumed * 100.] [Cooldown: 24 hours]
The moment he read its attributes, Lu Fang's heart gave a sudden thump.
Consume ten thousand gold coins to generate a shield.
The shield value equals the gold coins multiplied by a hundred.
Ten thousand times a hundred-that was... one million shield points!
Even that level 50 Hell Demon General earlier had only had two million HP.
One million shield points was practically equivalent to the durability of half a boss's HP!
And this barrier formed instantly.
Although it only lasted a single second, it wasn't meant for tanking monsters at all. It was meant to block a lethal blow in that instant between life and death!
"An absolute god-tier lifesaving skill."
Inwardly shaken, Lu Fang curled his fingers slightly and slipped the seemingly unremarkable ring onto his left index finger.
The ring fit perfectly. The moment he put it on, a little of its luster faded, making it look like an ordinary accessory.
The surrounding students had also been secretly watching Lu Fang. Having seen him obtain the ring and put it on, they could not hide the envy in their eyes.
The awards assembly continued, with students going onstage one after another.
But perhaps because Lu Fang's earlier results of "fifteen floors cleared" and an "SSS rating" had been so terrifying, that invisible pressure left everyone present feeling suffocated.
A strangely oppressive atmosphere hung over the venue.
At last, all the awards had been presented onstage.
The principal composed himself again and stood before the microphone to deliver his closing remarks.
"Students, although the awakening ceremony has ended, this is only the beginning of your lives."
"I hope none of you will be discouraged, much less grow arrogant and complacent. Every one of you must settle down and devote yourselves to preparing for the college entrance examination a month from now!"
The principal's impassioned voice echoed through the gymnasium.
"Now, I declare this year's awakening ceremony for the senior class successfully concluded!"
The moment his words fell.
Boom!!!
A violent crash suddenly erupted above the gymnasium.
Everyone looked up in confusion. The transparent protective barrier covering the gymnasium, normally impregnable, was now shuddering violently like glass struck by a sledgehammer, giving off a series of teeth-grating creaks.
The bright sunlight that had been streaming through the dome vanished completely in that instant.
It was as though someone had forcibly dragged a massive black curtain over it, swallowing all the light in an instant.