Principal Shen Congyun

The senior student naturally had no idea what Su Mu was thinking.

In her opinion, Su Mu should be worried about not having enough credits, not about the dungeon cooldown.

Because very few students who get into Tsinghua and Peking Universities come from families without resources. To get into Tsinghua and Peking Universities, you need to reach at least level 15 in the college entrance examination in order to keep up with the pace.

Reaching level 15 within seven days of awakening is virtually impossible without using cooldown items seven or eight times. This is especially true for weaker dungeon themes, where the consumption is even greater.

This would cost nearly two million, and that's only if you have the necessary privileges to buy it.

It is extremely difficult for a child from a poor family to achieve greatness.

Su Mu finally made a decision.

First, use points to purchase items and level up to level 20.

Using points instead of money was a dilemma for Su Mu. Firstly, 200,000 Blue Star Coins would be a bit of a blow to his wallet. Secondly, purchasing with Blue Star Coins would require leaving the school, which would take a lot of time, and if he didn't have enough permissions, it would be another problem.

Moreover, Su Mu had previously learned about things like this; even with the necessary permissions, reservations were often required. While the production volume of such items wasn't small, there was still a high demand for them.

So he asked, "Senior, how does the resource exchange system work at school?"

The senior student thought for a moment and then explained it to him in general terms, "Buying directly will get you home delivery. Of course, you can also go to the school's redemption center."

She raised her hand and pointed in a direction. Su Mu looked in the direction she was pointing, and it was indeed not far.

A gray-white three-story building is located a few hundred meters east of Nest Plaza, with a stone sign at the entrance that reads "Resource Exchange Center".

"I'll go take a look," Su Mu said. "Thank you for your help today, senior."

The senior student nodded. "I've also spent some time here; it's time to go back to my post. If you need any dungeon recommendations later, just contact me."

She turned around, took a couple of steps, then suddenly remembered something and turned back.

"By the way, my name is Wen Miaomiao. My contact information is the account number you transferred money to. Contact me if you need anything."

Su Mu nodded. "Thank you, Senior Wen."

Wen Miaomiao waved her hand and walked back the way she came. The short-haired girl and the shoulder-length-haired girl followed behind her. After walking a dozen steps, they turned back to look at Su Mu.

Su Mu, on the other hand, headed towards the resource exchange center.

At the same time.

Deep within the Tsinghua and Peking Universities Academy, in a quiet little building.

The study on the second floor was small and simply furnished. An old wooden chessboard sat in front of the window, next to two cups of tea, the tea already mostly cold.

The two elderly people sat facing each other.

The man on the left wore a dark blue robe, had gray hair, a thin face, and strikingly bright eyes. It was Xiu Buhui. He held a black chess piece in his hand, hovering it above the chessboard, not placing it down for a long time.

The man on the right was wearing a gray jacket with a front opening. He was slightly plump, with a round face and an air of scholarly refinement. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly began to speak.

"I heard you made arrangements this year to get a student to sign an SSS contract?"

Elder Xiu did not look up; his gaze remained fixed on the chessboard.

"Um."

"You rarely think so highly of a student." The old man in the gray jacket put down his teacup, his tone tinged with curiosity. "In all the years since Tsinghua and Peking Universities were established, you can count on one hand the number of students you personally intervened to sign the highest-level contracts with."

Elder Xiu finally made his move, then looked up and glanced at him.

"He's a promising talent. He needs to be nurtured well; he chose your school."

Tsinghua and Peking Universities President Shen Congyun smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

"Many have passed the Dragon Gate in previous years. To earn your recognition, they must really have some talent." He paused, then added, "However, if their performance doesn't meet the requirements, I won't give them any special treatment."

Elder Xiu picked up his teacup, his lips twitched slightly, but he didn't reply.

Just then, a bell rang.

Buzz...

The sound of bells came from afar, deep and long, penetrating the windows of the small building and the trees in the courtyard, clearly reaching the ears of the two people.

Shen Congyun's hand froze in mid-air; the chess piece did not fall.

"A record has been broken?"

He looked up and glanced out the window. The bells of Tsinghua and Peking Universities only ring when a record is broken. He had been the president of Tsinghua and Peking Universities for more than ten years and had heard them countless times. But every time he heard them, he still felt a little curious.

He pressed the communicator on the table.

"Xiao Zhang, check which nest broke the record just now."

The secretary's voice came through the communicator quickly. "Principal, just a moment... We've found it. Spider Nest Deep Valley, Hell difficulty."

Shen Congyun raised an eyebrow slightly.

Spider Nest Deep Valley, a level 20 medium-sized dungeon. The record for Hell difficulty has always been held by a full team of ten level 25 students. That team consisted of the top students from Tsinghua and Peking Universities back then. After graduation, they went their separate ways, but no one has been able to break the record. This is because level 25 is too awkward a threshold... Lower-year students can't reach level 25, and upper-year students have long since surpassed level 25 and can't enter.

"Who broke it?" he asked.

"The record says, Su Mu, Level 17, Time: 1 hour and 8 minutes, breaking the previous record of 1 hour and 24 minutes. He exceeded it by a full 16 minutes."

Shen Congyun was taken aback.

"One person?"

"Only one name is recorded. Single player completion."

The study fell silent for a moment.

Shen Congyun slowly put down the chess piece, his expression changing from curiosity to surprise, and then from surprise to a complex look.

"Solo completion... Level 17... Record broken, over 16 minutes..."

He repeated these keywords, as if to make sure he hadn't misheard.

But then he suddenly remembered that the name Su Mu sounded so familiar.

Then it suddenly occurred to me.

Isn't this the student Lao Xiu had his eye on?

Thinking about this...

Shen Congyun remained silent for a few seconds.

He remembered what he had just said... "If the other party's grades don't meet the requirements, I won't give them face."

Elder Xiu put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and looked completely calm and composed.

"No need to give him face. If you don't like him, just fire him."

Shen Congyun's face instantly darkened.

Dismissal?

A genius of this caliber broke the record by soloing a level 20 Hell difficulty dungeon, surpassing a full team of ten level 25 players by sixteen minutes.

If he expels this student, the vice principal will probably immediately file a complaint against him and take his place.

Of course, what he just said was just a casual remark.

At his level, he wouldn't actually make things difficult for a genius student just because of a few words of politeness.

But if a genius of this caliber were to be buried in one's own hands, that would be a true dereliction of duty.

Moreover, the other party was someone he had personally chosen to attend Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

Elder Xiu personally made the arrangements and signed the highest-level contract. If he is trained well, this might be his greatest political achievement in the future.

"A miscalculation, a miscalculation." Shen Congyun shook his head, a hint of self-deprecation in his voice.

Elder Xiu didn't continue to argue with him; he simply picked up his teacup and looked out the window.

He was in a very good mood. Extremely good.

When he signed the highest contract with Su Mu, although he had high hopes for the student, he also had a slight worry... He was worried that Su Mu would not be able to keep up with the pace after he went to Tsinghua and Peking Universities, that his core card would expose its shortcomings on a higher stage, and that the growth rate of special themes would not be as fast as those SSS-level core cards.

But now, those worries can be put aside.

A solo run of a level 20 Hell difficulty dungeon in over 16 minutes—a record-breaking achievement that would be unprecedented in the history of Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

It gave him a lot of face.

Elder Xiu's impression of Su Mu improved even further.

Shen Congyun remained silent for a moment, then pressed the communicator button.

"Xiao Zhang, get me a copy of Su Mu's information. Also, notify the academic affairs office to prepare a separate training plan for him; I want to review it personally."

A voice responded from the other end of the communicator.

Shen Congyun turned off the communication, picked up the chess piece again, and glanced at Elder Xiu.

Should we continue playing this game?

Elder Xiu put down his teacup and picked up a white chess piece from the chess box.

"Why isn't it running anymore?"