Level Seventeen Su Mu

"There's hope for Tsinghua and Peking Universities." The old tutor's hand trembled slightly. "Level 16. As long as he performs consistently, he should be able to reach the admission scores for Tsinghua and Peking Universities. Our Rongcheng hasn't produced a Tsinghua and Peking Universities assistant master in three years."

"Three years," the head of student affairs sighed, "I never expected to produce one this year."

The atmosphere on the podium suddenly became enthusiastic.

Several teachers huddled together, discussing in hushed tones what Ye Qingxue's ranking meant.

Some people have started calculating the enrollment quotas for Tsinghua and Peking Universities, while others are already planning how to secure more resources for Ye Qingxue.

Just then, an untimely voice rang out.

"By the way, how is Su Mu?"

The speaker was a young teacher who had recently transferred to Rongcheng No. 1 High School. He didn't know much about Su Mu's situation, only about the F-level stone card at the awakening ceremony.

There was a moment of silence on the podium.

Everyone turned to look at him, their expressions subtle.

The young teacher felt a little uneasy under his gaze and shrank back. "I... I was just asking. Didn't he compete with Wang Hao before? I think he even won? I remember he used to have really good grades, first in the whole school in Soul Power, and first in the city in dungeon design..."

"Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about?" the female teacher next to me muttered under her breath.

"Su Mu..." the bespectacled teacher sighed, "His core card is an F-grade stone, a special theme, with no prior experience to refer to. I've seen his dungeon; it's just a few mountains and a stone, without even a decent means of output. Although he beat Wang Hao in the Trial Nest before, that was a trial dungeon, completely different from the college entrance examination."

"Based on his past performance, if his core skills were better, he would at least have the ability to get into a top university." The young teacher persisted.

"If," the head of the teaching department interjected, his tone flat, "Unfortunately, there are no ifs. On the path of a dungeon master, talent and intelligence alone won't get you far. Luck during awakening, the quality of your core cards, and the resource investment from your family are all indispensable."

As you all know, Su Mu's family situation is dire; both his parents are deceased, and he lives with his aunt. Even if he awakens a good core card, without a significant investment of resources, it's impossible for him to level up quickly in the early stages.

He paused, then continued, "Take the simplest example: cooldown removal items. A scroll that reduces cooldown by one hour costs at least 100,000 on the market. If you want to continuously grind dungeons to level up, you'll need to use at least two or three a day. Over a week, this expense alone will amount to two or three million. Although the government provides subsidies, it's a drop in the bucket for ordinary families."

"And then there are bio cards, equipment cards, material packs, soul skill books..." the female teacher added, "Which one doesn't cost money? Su Mu's aunt's salary is barely enough to support the whole family, where would she get extra money to buy him these things?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, their regret gradually fading and replaced by a sense of natural understanding.

"Alright," Zhao Jianguo said calmly. "Everyone's path is different. Su Mu's situation is special. Let's wait until he finishes his exams and see his final results."

That being said, the principal's nonchalant tone already revealed his attitude.

Ye Qingxue is from the class of 16, Wang Hao is from the class of 15. This year, Rongcheng No. 1 High School only needs these two people.

As time went on, more and more students appeared on the playground.

The data from the testing device popped up one by one, some people were pleasantly surprised, some were calm, and some were disappointed.

Overall, apart from Ye Qingxue and Wang Hao, the levels of the others were basically within the teachers' expectations, without too many surprises.

"Level 12... Level 13... Level 11... Level 12..."

"The overall level is below average this year." The bespectacled teacher looked at the statistics panel and shook his head. "Excluding Ye Qingxue and Wang Hao, the average grade is 0.3 points lower than last year. Although the number of students has increased, there are fewer top students."

"That's normal," the senior professor said. "The quality of students fluctuates every year. We're already lucky to have Ye Qingxue this year."

"Hmm. It's about time. We should prepare to teleport." The head of the teaching department glanced at the time.

Just then, a figure appeared in the crowd.

The man was dressed in the most ordinary outdoor gear: a gray jacket, black trousers, and a slightly worn backpack. He walked at a leisurely pace along the edge of the playground toward the teleportation array.

His face was calm, and his eyes were clear.

The moment the testing device swept over him, the numbers that popped up on the screen stunned the teacher holding the instrument.

"Seventeen... seventeenth grade?"

He thought he was seeing things, rubbed his eyes, and scanned the screen again.

Still level 17.

His hand trembled, and his voice became unnatural. "This... how is this possible?"

The teacher next to him noticed his unusual behavior and came over to take a look.

Then he froze.

"Level 17? Who?"

"Su... Su Mu."

On the platform, several teachers heard this name at the same time.

"What, level seventeen?"

Who's at level 17?

"Su Mu? You mean Su Mu is level 17?"

"Impossible, right? Isn't he an F-rank core card?"

Scan it again!

The testing instrument scanned it again. Level 17.

Clearly and distinctly.

The podium fell completely silent.

Zhao Jianguo suddenly turned his head, his gaze passing over the crowd and landing precisely on the unhurried figure at the edge of the playground.

His pupils contracted sharply, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Then, the shock in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by an almost scorching, barely suppressed glint of light.

"Level seventeen." Zhao Jianguo spoke slowly, his voice deep, yet each word seemed carved into stone. "Seventh day of awakening, level seventeen."

He paused, as if processing the information, then continued, "The core card is an F-grade stone, a special theme, with no precedent to follow and no family resources to support it. How did he manage that?"

No one can answer that.

But Zhao Jianguo doesn't need answers.

He only knew one thing... This student, using a stone that everyone looked down upon, achieved a score that no one could understand.

"I was thinking before," Zhao Jianguo's voice carried a hint of amusement, "How could a student with Soul Power of 210 and the best dungeon design in the city be so easily defeated by a single stone? I know he beat Wang Hao in the Trial Nest and made it to the tenth wave in the Nightmare dungeon. But I thought that was his limit."

He shook his head, a glint of light in his eyes. "Now it seems that was just his starting point."