Monday, March 28, year 1099 of the Federation calendar.
Qingshan No. 1 High School held its first monthly exam since the hundred-day pledge rally.
Many students arrived at school early, taking the exam very seriously.
Everyone sat at their desks, getting into the right frame of mind.
With the college entrance exam approaching, their strength was largely set. The results of this monthly exam would give them a rough idea of how they would perform on the real thing.
The monthly exam had two parts.
Academic subjects and martial arts.
Like the college entrance exam, the academic exam covered six subjects: mathematics, martial arts theory, biology, chemistry, physics, and a combined literature and history paper, for a total of 300 points. The martial arts portion of the college entrance exam changed every year, but Qingshan No. 1 High School's monthly exam had always been held as arena battles.
At seven in the morning, the exam began.
In the classroom.
Ning Chuan composed himself, studied the exam on his computer screen, and carefully worked through the questions.
The original owner of his body had always done well in academic subjects.
Ning Chuan hadn't neglected them these past few days, either.
In fact, because he didn't need to practice martial arts, he had plenty of free time.
He could devote more energy to his academic subjects.
Still, there were some difficult questions he couldn't solve. Ning Chuan didn't dwell on them; once he was certain a question was beyond him, he skipped it immediately.
Time ticked by.
Ring!
The bell echoed across campus, announcing the end of the exam.
Ning Chuan had just stepped out of the classroom when his phone received a text from the school with his results.
The Federation's technology was advanced, and artificial intelligence graded all the papers. Results came out in seconds, making the process extremely fast.
"259 points, ranked 31st."
Ning Chuan looked at his phone and nodded in satisfaction.
Hard work really did pay off.
The original owner's academic results had previously ranked outside the top hundred.
A link to the rankings was attached to the end of the text. Ning Chuan clicked on it and saw that first place belonged to Tang Xiaowan, the class beauty in his class.
299 points!
Clearly, Tang Xiaowan knew how to solve every question.
Ning Chuan figured the one point she'd lost was because she'd forgotten to write "Solution" somewhere!
A top student like Tang Xiaowan is a shoo-in for one of the Federation's top ten universities.
Ning Chuan thought to himself.
Tang Xiaowan was at Awakening Stage Four. If her total score included the martial arts exam, she would struggle to get into even a key university, let alone one of the top ten.
But students with outstanding academic results could gain admission to prestigious universities through special recruitment and pursue pure science afterward.
The Federal Government placed great importance on science.
Its annual funding was measured in hundreds of millions.
Still, martial arts has the most promising future. If Tang Xiaowan pursues science, the best she can hope for is to become the chief researcher at some big company. Her annual salary and stock dividends combined would amount to a hundred million at most... Huh?!
Ning Chuan blinked twice.
That didn't seem low!
Of course, Ning Chuan knew very well that was only compared to ordinary people.
Top martial arts experts had a far more frightening ability to rake in money.
In the Federation, any supercorporation spanning multiple administrative regions needed a Divine General backing it, or its competitors would swallow it whole without leaving a scrap.
Those Divine Generals often didn't have to do anything all year, yet received hundreds of millions, or even billions, in dividends.
And that was only part of a Divine General's income.
The martial arts exam was being held at the training ground.
The arenas had already been set up.
It was just past one in the afternoon, and there was still some time before the exam began, but the training ground was already bustling.
People were everywhere, milling about in a crowd.
There were students taking the martial arts exam, members of the public waiting to watch, students' parents, and television reporters there to cover the event.
Compared to an exam paper where all you could do was answer questions, battles that set the blood racing were obviously more appealing.
"Who do you think will take the top spot in this monthly exam? President Lu, who came first last time, isn't here because of her injury."
"I think Ning Chuan has a shot!"
"Heh, you're behind the times, aren't you? Do you really think he's as strong as the news says? An executive from the Wei Financial Group spoke out online under his real name. That Heavenly Martial spy was badly injured and didn't even have the strength of Awakening Stage Seven left. Ning Chuan killing him was just landing the finishing blow at best!"
"True, I heard about that too. His classmate Zhang Wensi discussed it in their class chat, and Ning Chuan didn't even dare speak up!"
"His luck is just too good! First he had a sudden enlightenment in Flash Thunder Slash, then he ran into a badly injured spy!"
"He doesn't live up to his reputation. Someone will come along and slap him in the face for it!"
Many people were talking excitedly.
Because of the recent reports, Ning Chuan had become the main subject of discussion.
But with certain people steering the conversation, most of it was negative.
Ning Chuan stood beneath a tree at the edge of the field and heard everything clearly.
He didn't speak up to refute them. Just as when he'd watched the discussion in the class chat, he regarded it with indifference.
The martial arts exam was about to begin.
Actions spoke louder than words.
Suddenly, a deliberately raised voice rang out, drawing the attention of quite a few people.
"Ning Chuan, I heard Lu Mengyue severely injured Zhao Weiping, and then you got to take advantage of it for nothing. At first, I didn't believe it. I thought someone was slandering you, but judging by your attitude now, it's true!"
Wei Bohu strode over, laughing.
Ning Chuan glanced at him and said coolly, "You dare speak up now? I thought Uncle Lu had scared you witless!"
The smile froze on Wei Bohu's face. A moment later, he sneered. "Don't get cocky. I'll cripple you in the arena today, and Lu Zhan... the hall master won't stop me!"
Lu Zhan wasn't there, but after a moment's hesitation, Wei Bohu still didn't dare call him by name.
A tree cast a shadow; a man carried a name.
The title of Peak Knight carried far too much weight.
Ning Chuan thought for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure you'll be matched against me?"
A flash of viciousness crossed Wei Bohu's eyes. He lowered his voice and said sinisterly, "Just wait. No one can save you today!
"I'll break your bones one by one!
"I'll make sure those twenty million aren't even enough to treat your injuries!"
Hearing that, Ning Chuan's lips curled up slightly, and he said nothing more.
Wei Bohu underestimating him was exactly what he wanted to see.
He'd been worried that Wei Bohu would learn how strong he was and be too frightened to enter the arena.
After all, he would be leaving for the Mountain and Sea Genius Training Camp in a few days and had no time to keep wasting on Wei Bohu.
Their grudge would be settled today!
"Keep putting on an act. Once we're in the arena, let's see how you keep it up!"
After throwing out a few more threats and getting no response from Ning Chuan, Wei Bohu found it rather dull. He snorted coldly and strode away.
The nearby crowd didn't disperse at the sight. Instead, their discussion grew even more heated.
"Ning Chuan didn't deny it. Looks like what Wei Bohu just said was true. He really did kill that Heavenly Martial spy through sheer luck!"
"Think about it. How strong could someone at the Awakening Middle Stage be?"
"And he even dared provoke Wei Bohu. Looks like he's read too many news reports and started believing them himself. If he meets Wei Bohu in the arena, he'll be crushed!"
One mocking remark after another kept coming.
Ning Chuan lowered his eyes and remained silent.
On the one hand, the countless voices mocking and questioning him were being stirred up behind the scenes by Wei Bohu, Zhang Wensi, and the others.
On the other hand, he had risen too quickly!
In less than a month, he had gone from an obscure Awakening Stage Four cultivator to a young genius in the limelight for killing a Heavenly Martial spy.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
Too many people found it hard to believe and thought there had to be something underhanded behind it.
So when they heard Wei Bohu, Zhang Wensi, and the others stirring things up, they naturally thought they had uncovered the truth and began criticizing him at every turn.
But the tide would eventually recede!
And it would be plain to see who was swimming naked!