I Trained a Provincial First-Place Winner

I waited for another ten minutes or so.

The exit passage suddenly lit up, and a figure walked out.

He wore a gray coat and black trousers. His pace was unhurried, and his expression was calm, as if he had just returned from an ordinary walk.

Su Mu.

Zhao Jianguo was the first to go forward, his steps were faster than those of a man in his fifties.

"Su Mu!"

All the teachers who were still on the playground surrounded Su Mu at the same time, seven or eight of them completely encircling him.

"Su Mu, did you get first place in the province?"

"Have you entered the Dragon Gate?"

"Ye Qingxue said you've achieved Dragon Gate, is that true?"

"Tell me quickly, what's going on inside?"

A cacophony of voices rose and fell. Surrounded by others, Su Mu smiled helplessly.

"Yes." He nodded. "I got first place in the province and made it into the Dragon Gate."

The air fell silent for a moment.

Then it exploded.

"Really! It's true!"

"First in the province! Leaping over the Dragon Gate! Our school has produced a provincial champion!"

"The first one since the school was founded! The very first one!"

"My God, what's going on this year? Ye Qingxue is sixth in the province, and Su Mu is first and has even jumped over the Dragon Gate!"

Zhao Jianguo stood on the periphery of the crowd, his hands trembling slightly. He took several deep breaths to calm the surge of heat rising from his feet.

The most excited person was Su Mu's homeroom teacher.

"I... I nurtured a god... the top student in the province."

"Ahem, alright, alright." Zhao Jianguo raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. "Su Mu just finished his assessment; he must be exhausted. Everyone, please disperse and let him go back and get some rest."

Although the teachers were excited, they had to suppress their excitement and step back after the principal spoke.

Zhao Jianguo walked up to Su Mu, patted him on the shoulder, and spoke with a restrained seriousness in his voice.

"Su Mu, you've worked hard."

Su Mu shook his head. "Principal, it's nothing."

Zhao Jianguo looked at him, his eyes filled with emotion. He wanted to say so much, to ask him how he had done it, what he had experienced in Dragon Gate, and how that F-grade stone card had become what it was now. But he knew that these were not the questions to ask now.

"Go back and get some rest," Zhao Jianguo said. "Afterwards, people from various universities will definitely come knocking on your door. With your current grades, especially after your Dragon Gate, you'll be highly sought after by top universities. You can choose based on your criteria; there's no need to rush into a decision."

Su Mu nodded. "Thank you, Principal."

"Contact me anytime if you have any questions." Zhao Jianguo took out a business card from his pocket and handed it over. "Also, the school would like to arrange a visit to your home. When would be a convenient time for you?"

Su Mu took the business card and thought for a moment.

He initially wanted to refuse, but then he thought about how he had studied at the school for three years and how much the school had indeed invested in his upbringing.

Moreover, such visits also help the school's reputation.

More importantly, he had seen something similar in his previous life... Top scorers in the college entrance examination receive certain rewards from their schools.

He didn't expect the school to offer anything of real help, but if there was a prize money, he could use it to persuade his aunt to improve her life.

"Tomorrow," Su Mu said.

Zhao Jianguo nodded. "Okay, we'll go tomorrow morning."

Su Mu bid farewell to the principal and teachers, then turned and walked towards the school gate.

He saw Ye Qingxue.

She was walking away from under the tree, heading towards the school gate, her pace neither hurried nor slow.

The playground was almost deserted, with only a few teachers and staff packing up equipment remaining.

Her white light armor shimmered in the setting sun, her ponytail was a little loose, and her back view looked more tired than usual.

Su Mu knew that she was probably waiting for him to come out before leaving.

He quickly caught up with him.

Ye Qingxue.

Ye Qingxue paused for a moment, then turned around. She glanced at Su Mu, then quickly looked away, her expression indifferent.

"Something came up and I was held up," she said. "I didn't expect you to be coming out so late."

Su Mu hummed in agreement, but said nothing.

"Why did it take you so long to come out after you passed through the Dragon Gate?" Ye Qingxue asked.

"I can't say the specifics," Su Mu said, "But consider it a reward I received there."

Ye Qingxue nodded, without asking what the reward was.

For her family, she doesn't lack many things for the time being.

The two walked side by side toward the school gate.

As dusk deepened, the streetlights on campus came on, casting long, orange shadows on the two figures.

After walking for a while, Ye Qingxue suddenly spoke up, "Now that you've won first place in the province, you're probably going to attract a lot of attention from top schools."

Su Mu glanced at her.

"No need to rush to choose."

Ye Qingxue said calmly but earnestly, "You can choose. The school that will give you the most financial aid after enrollment doesn't have to be Tsinghua and Peking Universities. Before, the schools chose us, but now that you've gotten first place in the province, you can choose the school."

Su Mu nodded.

He really didn't understand these intricacies.

However, he didn't really need to worry about this... Elder Xiu had already said that he didn't need to concern himself with this. As a big shot like Elder Xiu who could freely enter and leave the College Entrance Examination Secret Realm, he shouldn't be lying to him.

Of course, he didn't tell Ye Qingxue any of these things.

After all, this sounds a bit like showing off.

Then Ye Qingxue said something else.

Let me know which school you ultimately choose.

Su Mu glanced at her.

How many times has she mentioned her choice of university?

She wouldn't...

As Su Mu was pondering this, Ye Qingxue continued speaking, her tone calm.

"We talked about this when we were leveling up together. We're facing a huge number of test-takers, and our competition will take place in university. Naturally, I'll choose the same university as you; otherwise, how can we compete later on?"

Su Mu thought to himself that he had indeed been overthinking things.

This has become one of the three great illusions in life. "The other person likes me."

The other party just had that indomitable spirit.

He smiled and nodded.

Okay. I'll let you know when it's decided.

Ye Qingxue didn't say anything more.