A Twenty-Sixfold Difference in Points

He spent forty-five years and only ranked thirteenth.

The twelve people ahead of him all lasted longer than him.

He scrolled down in disbelief, then up again, confirming that he wasn't mistaken. Thirteenth place: Zhao Wuji, Provincial Capital No. 1 High School.

What he found even more unacceptable was that Su Mu was still ranked first.

The square was already buzzing with discussion.

"I've never heard of many of those names before... They all seem to be from small cities."

"You guys don't know, do you? Dungeon design used to be an elective course, and many people who were good at practical skills didn't pay much attention to it. But some people are just naturally good at it. They don't show off usually, but they emerge when it comes to this kind of level that specifically tests design skills."

"There are too many dark horses in this round. At least half of the top twenty are people who were previously ranked lower."

"But speaking of which, how is Su Mu so terrifying? It's one thing to be strong in actual combat, but he's also incredibly good at designing dungeons. With so many dark horses emerging, he can still maintain his position at number one."

"First place in the three trials, just what kind of monster is this person?"

Zhao Wuji stood in the crowd, his face ashen.

He originally thought that forty-five years was already quite an achievement.

As it turned out, all of the top twelve students were ahead of him, and he didn't even know most of them.

He was completely helpless.

On the other side of the crowd, Lin Qingyin stood at the edge of the group from the Provincial No. 1 High School, listening to the shocked discussions around her, her expression remaining calm.

She knew all along that Su Mu would come in first place.

In last year's provincial-level copy design assessment, she only ranked fifth.

The first place winner was Su Mu from Rongcheng No. 1 High School.

She had seen Su Mu's design drafts at the time, and the way he deconstructed and recombined the rules of the game was completely beyond the level of a high school student.

So she wasn't surprised at all by today's result.

The only thing she acknowledged was that Su Mu was indeed very capable. This first place was well-deserved.

Then, the overall leaderboard was released.

On the enormous light screen, countless names scrolled rapidly before finally settling on a single image.

[College Entrance Examination Overall Ranking]

First place: Su Mu, Rongcheng No. 1 High School. Total points: Hidden.

Second place: Zhao Wuji. Provincial Capital No. 1 High School. Total points: Hidden.

Third place: Lin Qingyin. Provincial Capital No. 1 High School. Total points: Hidden.

Fourth place: Chen Zixuan. Provincial Capital No. 2 High School. Total points: Hidden.

Fifth place: Wang Muyuan. Provincial Capital No. 1 High School. Total points: Hidden.

Sixth place: Li Qingyao. Provincial Capital No. 2 High School. Total points: Hidden.

7th Place: Zhang Haoran, Jinling Affiliated High School. Total Points: Hidden.

8th Place: Liu Yutong, Huai'an High School. Total Points: Hidden.

Ninth place: Ye Qingxue, Rongcheng No. 1 High School. Total points: Hidden.

10th Place: Zhou Zimo, Yangzhou High School. Total Points: Hidden.

Ye Qingxue looked at her name on the leaderboard, ranked ninth, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Ninth.

This has exceeded her expectations.

As for Su Mu, she also saw the name that was firmly in first place.

She couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart. But one thing she was certain of... Su Mu's first place was well-deserved.

Then, that emotionless voice rang out again from mid-air.

The first three stages of the college entrance examination have concluded.

The top 1,065 candidates will be eligible to participate in the fourth stage, "Leaping the Leaping over the Dragon Gate".

"The remaining candidates shall remain where they are and will be transported away together after the assessment."

"All candidates' points have been fixed. Your current points will be your initial points upon entering university, and you can exchange them for various resources, cards, soul skills, and privileges within the university."

"Candidates who participate in the fourth stage will have their final scores fixed after the fourth stage."

A murmur of discussion immediately arose in the square.

"Only the top 1,065 can enter the fourth stage? What about the remaining hundreds of thousands of people?"

"Wait here? Wait for what? Wait until they've cleared the Dragon Gate before we leave together?"

"This is so unfair! We don't even qualify to participate, and we're just stuck here waiting."

"What's unfair about it? You weren't ranked high enough, whose fault is that? They got into the fourth round based on their own merit."

"I was just saying... This wait is so boring."

"By the way, what exactly is Su Mu's total score? I can't see it because it's censored, but being first in all three rounds must mean his score is ridiculously high."

Su Mu stood in the crowd and glanced at his own panel.

[Total College Entrance Examination Score]

First level: 973459

Second level: 448000

Third level: 1256700

Total points: 2,678,159

Two million six hundred and seventy-eight thousand one hundred and fifty-nine.

He stared at the number for a few seconds.

To be honest, he didn't know what level this score represented. After all, he had no knowledge of this area.

He turned to look at Ye Qingxue and asked in a low voice, "What is your total score?"

Ye Qingxue glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "A little over 100,000."

Su Mu was taken aback.

A little over 100,000.

His total score is 2.67 million, a difference of nearly 26 times.

Su Mu silently calculated in his mind, then fell silent.

He didn't know how many resources these points could be redeemed for in university, or what their purchasing power was.

He was just about to ask Ye Qingxue if she knew when a beam of light descended from the sky and shone on him.

A beam of light also descended upon Ye Qingxue at the same time.

Su Mu subconsciously looked up and saw a line of text appear above Ye Qingxue's head.

Ninth place overall.

He paused for a moment, then a thought popped into his head... Could he actually have "Number One on the Overall Ranking" above his head?

Before he could even look up to confirm, a chorus of exclamations erupted across the square.

Countless beams of light descended from the sky, totaling 1,065 beams, each enveloping one examinee.

The rankings were Shangqing the pillars of light, from first to last, densely packed above the square, as if the entire sky had been turned into a list.

Meanwhile, on the large screen in the center of the square, the information of the top ten people was prominently displayed.

First place: Su Mu, Rongcheng No. 1 High School.

Second place: Zhao Wuji, from the Provincial Capital No. 1 High School.

Third place: Lin Qingyin, Provincial Capital No. 1 High School.

Fourth place: Chen Zixuan, Provincial Capital No. 2 High School.

Fifth place: Wang Muyuan, Provincial Capital No. 1 High School.

Sixth place: Li Qingyao, Provincial Capital No. 2 High School.

Seventh place: Zhang Haoran, Jinling Affiliated High School.

Eighth place: Liu Yutong, Huai'an High School.

Ninth place: Ye Qingxue, Rongcheng No. 1 High School.

10th place: Zhou Zimo, Yangzhou High School.

On the large screen, the names of ten people were listed in order, with their respective facial projections next to them.

Su Mu's face was placed at the top, in the most prominent position, with the hazy sunlight falling from above, making his well-defined face exceptionally clear.

In the square, the eyes of hundreds of thousands of examinees all converged on this spot.

"That's Su Mu? Su Mu from Rongcheng No. 1 High School? The one who got first place in all three rounds?"