Chapter 6

Principal Sun immediately said, "Yes! Getting into Zhongdu Military Academy earns you a reward of 100,000 yuan. If you get in as a 'Heavenly Chosen' with 90 points, the city will give you an additional 100,000 yuan!"

Li Yang: "..."

Those words were obviously meant for her, and she just loved hearing them.

Chen Xiangrong added, "Our Donghua Province values talent above all else, so the province offers rewards too. If a student's initial Physique Points reach 90 and they pass the practical assessment, the province will award them another 300,000 yuan."

Li Yang: "!"

Of course, Li Yang wasn't blinded by money. She carefully weighed the pros and cons.

From what Principal Sun had said earlier, she could tell that 90 points had flashed on the testing screen before... So her Physique Points had already been exposed. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been in such a hurry.

Now that it was exposed, trying to hide it might only backfire.

Besides, 90 Physique Points was rare in Donghua Province, but there were quite a few people with that score across Huaxia. Surely they wouldn't drag her off for research over it.

As for whether drawing attention to herself would bring jealousy and persecution from others...

There wasn't much difference between 88 and 90 points on that front.

She, Li Yang, was a pauper. Why would she turn her back on money?!

With everyone watching, Li Yang began her second test.

By comparison, Li Yang was actually the least nervous person there. Everyone else wished they could hold their breath for two whole minutes. Chen Xiangrong and Principal Sun in particular clenched their fists tightly, staring at the testing screen without blinking.

"89, 88, 89, 88, 90, 90, 90..."

The steady 90 made the testing teacher's hands tremble. Principal Sun couldn't help wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Very steady."

Chen Xiangrong also breathed a sigh of relief and said with heartfelt emotion, "A humble home can produce an exceptional child!"

Li Yang's case was no exception. Every year, a few people like her who were Heavenly Chosen appeared in the military academy entrance exam.

In previous years, Donghua Province could only look on with envy, but this year, the goddess of luck had smiled upon them!

The results of the second test came out-

"Name: Li Yang. Student number: 20241224001. Physique Points recorded in this test: 90."

90 points!

Every gaze focused on Li Yang. Chen Xiangrong and Principal Sun were beaming, repeatedly saying, "Good! This is wonderful!"

The most dumbfounded person there was probably Yu Hongyuan, who was standing behind Li Yang in line. He opened his mouth, but it took him a long moment to find his voice. "Um..."

This was rather different from what he'd imagined!

How had the protagonist become someone else?!

Chapter 6

Word of Huangcheng No. 1 High School's military academy preliminary test quickly spread.

Posts flooded the internet. Some students had secretly brought their phones and recorded the scene.

Students from other high schools came to see what was happening. "Who's this? She doesn't look like Fang Chuyun."

"Fang Chuyun only got 85 points!"

"Holy crap, has your No. 1 High School gotten so cocky that 85 points is 'only'?"

"What else? This student Li Yang has 90 Physique Points!"

"!!!"

The thread was full of exclamation marks and a never-ending stream of shocked-face reaction memes.

Someone quietly asked, "What about Yu Hongyuan? How many points did he get?"

"Uh... I didn't notice. He probably got over 83, right?"

That comment was quickly buried. Who cared about a paltry score in the eighties? Everyone's eyes were on that earth-shattering score of 90.

"Li Yang? I've never heard that name. How did she get such a high score?"

"I heard she used to be utterly ordinary and unremarkable. But after taking half a year off school, she came back completely reborn!"

"That wasn't time off school. She went for special training!"

"Maybe she had some fortuitous encounter?"

"Ah! I know! She's some grandmaster's long-lost granddaughter. She spent the past six months returning to her ancestral family, and they awakened the potential she was supposed to have. That's how she exploded with 90 Physique Points!"

"Wake up, poster above. That trope's been done to death. A novel with that plot would flop."

While the onlookers' discussion raged, Principal Sun and Chen Xiangrong were questioning Li Yang in the principal's office.

"What gyms have you been to these past six months?"

"I haven't been to any gyms. I've been working the whole time."

"Then where have you been working?"

Li Yang had the original owner's memories, so she casually named a few places.

The original owner had dropped out of high school and was introverted and very poor with words. All the jobs she found involved physical labor, and it was precisely because of that that her already weak body gave out prematurely.

"All physical labor..." Chen Xiangrong murmured.

Principal Sun perked up. "Sure enough, true knowledge comes from practice!"

Chen Xiangrong also said, "It looks like we'll have to increase the students' practical classes in the future. We can't have them doing nothing but training at the gym..."

Li Yang: "..." You're both right.

She wasn't going to say anything more. In a situation like this, the more she said, the more mistakes she'd make. Rather than arouse suspicion by making up explanations, she was better off honestly telling the truth.

Only once the other person imagined an answer for themselves would they believe it without a doubt.

Chen Xiangrong asked her, "Why did you take time off school?"

Li Yang lowered her lashes and said calmly, "My grandmother passed away. I had to support myself."

Chen Xiangrong looked at Principal Sun, who hurriedly said, "In your situation, you can apply for a subsidy. It would be enough to support you until the college entrance exam."

Li Yang continued, "My grades aren't good. Taking the college entrance exam wouldn't do me much good anyway."

Every word she said was true and would stand up to investigation.

Despite her tragic circumstances, Li Yang hadn't deliberately wept and poured out her grievances. She sat straight-backed on the sofa, carrying herself with neither servility nor arrogance. It only made people feel that this child possessed a composure and forthrightness far beyond her peers, and made them care for her all the more.

Children from poor families learned to shoulder responsibility early.

The girl before them was the perfect embodiment of that saying.

A thought stirred in Chen Xiangrong's mind, and he suddenly asked her, "Were you very close to your grandmother?"

The question was a little impolite, but Principal Sun didn't dare interrupt.

Li Yang said, "My parents died when I was young. Grandma raised me all by herself. She was seriously ill, but she refused to get examined because she wanted to scrape together my tuition, so..." Her eyes reddened, and she simply couldn't go on.

Chen Xiangrong immediately said, "I didn't mean to be intrusive. It's just that there have been research reports that found some adolescents can unleash their potential after suffering a major upheaval, awakening Physique Points far beyond their own."

Li Yang: "...?" There's a theory like that?

Sure enough, professional matters had to be left to professionals. As long as she didn't say the wrong thing, someone would explain it for her.

Principal Sun immediately said, "That's right! There was a case like that in Xihuai Province last year. That student's parents were in a car accident, and both of them..."

Chen Xiangrong cut Principal Sun off and looked at Li Yang. "Did your body gradually begin to change after your grandmother passed away?"

Li Yang lowered her lashes. "Yes." Growing weaker and weaker was a kind of change too.

Chen Xiangrong asked, "So that's why you found so much physical labor to do?"

Li Yang answered honestly, "Sir, those were the only odd jobs I could find."

Chen Xiangrong said, "But if your body couldn't handle it, you wouldn't have been able to do the work, would you?"

Li Yang: "..." All right, then. The man before her clearly hadn't known hardship either. In truth, once the original owner had reached that point, how could she afford to pick and choose? Being able to do some work, earn some money, and get a meal was enough.

The more Chen Xiangrong thought about it, the more sense it made. He summed it up: "Looking at it this way, the death of her closest relative awakened Li Yang's potential, causing her body to begin a second growth phase. Afterward, she chose to do a great deal of physical labor, which undoubtedly strengthened her physique..."

Principal Sun's phone rang. He looked down at it, then looked up at Li Yang in surprise. "Did you clear away a mutant four-leaf clover a few days ago?"

Right after Li Yang's test last night, Principal Sun had arranged for someone to investigate her circumstances. The results must have just come back.

Li Yang's furious chopping at the four-leaf clover in her residential complex had caused quite a stir, especially early the next morning, when the residents saw how clear the main road was. One after another, they exclaimed in surprise, "She really did chop it down!"

"Where there's a will, there's a way. That child is bound for great things!"

When the school sent people to ask about it today, the residents eagerly came forward, wishing they could praise Li Yang to the heavens.

It was a good thing!

The mutant four-leaf clover had blocked the road for so long, and Li Yang had finally cleared it away. Everyone was very grateful to her.

They were just too strapped for cash to show their gratitude with gifts, so they could only lavish her with praise.

A story passed from person to person was bound to become distorted, especially with everyone praising her so enthusiastically. By the time it reached Principal Sun, it had become-

"Li Yang, you chopped through that giant four-leaf clover with one swing of an axe?!"

Li Yang: "..." Come on, neighbors, be a little more reasonable!

She hurriedly said, "No, I chopped at it for a long time."

Chen Xiangrong asked her, "What made you think of clearing away a mutant plant?"

Li Yang said, "After my grandmother passed away, the neighbors in the complex helped me a lot. I thought I should do something for them, so I went and chopped down the mutant plant that was occupying the main road."

At those words, Principal Sun and Chen Xiangrong looked at her even more warmly and kindly.

She really was a good, dependable child!

No wonder the goddess of luck had watched over her!

Li Yang paused, then added, "Sir, I don't think I was necessarily the one who cleared away that four-leaf clover."

"How so?"

Li Yang brought up He Song. He was an assistant teacher at the prestigious Zhongdu Military Academy, after all. It would be a waste not to make use of him.

After listening to her, Chen Xiangrong and Principal Sun were both stunned again. They exchanged glances and saw the same message in each other's eyes: this child had a great opportunity!

Chen Xiangrong asked, "That Teacher He Song... how old was he?"

Li Yang said, "Very young."

"In his twenties? Not yet thirty?"

"Mm, he looked under thirty."

Li Yang didn't understand the significance of that information, but Chen Xiangrong and Principal Sun did. To become a teacher at Zhongdu Military Academy, even an assistant, one had to be at least third rank.