"Two top scorers from the same city?" Principal Tan Zhenlong was taken aback.
As the principal, Tan Zhenlong took his duties seriously and knew the situation at his school well. Although Guanshan District's top high school was quite good, when looking at the whole Jiang City, it could only be considered among the first-rate schools, not the top few elite ones. In the past, he had only set the goal for the teachers to maintain their standing as the best in Guanshan District.
"Haha, it seems that Principal Tan is not quite aware of his own school," Director Wang chuckled. "I'll keep you in suspense for now. When the report cards come down, you'll see for yourself."
"Also," he added, "this year's Guanshan District middle school..." Director Wang shifted the topic to other matters.
Tan Zhenlong could only be patient and continue the conversation. Finally, he ended the video call.
"Two top scorers? Who could they be?" Sitting on the sofa, Tan Zhenlong's eyes filled with confusion. "Li Yuan? His martial arts skills should indeed get full marks. Hmm, maybe he tied for first place with Wu Dongdong from the normal school's affiliated high school."
"And the other one?"
"Could it be for academic subjects? That shouldn't be, though. No one scored over thirty in total during the January exam." Tan Zhenlong felt puzzled.
Without seeing the score summaries, he couldn't guess. Could there be a dark horse in the mix?
There were always dark horses each year, but to achieve first place in a subject was quite rare.
Half an hour later, Tan Zhenlong finally received a notification from the assistant intelligence system that the Education Bureau had sent over the score summary. He quickly opened the score sheet.
"What?" His pupils contracted as he read the name at the top of the list: "Physical Constitution, Comprehensive Evaluation 500 points? How is that possible?"
Suddenly, Tan Zhenlong thought of something and immediately said, "Xiao Jiu, I want to see the martial arts score sheet from the school's January test."
"Yes, Master," came the response.
Soon, he received the January exam scores and compared the two reports. For a moment, the shock in his heart was difficult to express: "In just four months, a 2.1 level increase in physical constitution? What kind of genius is this?"
At least, Tan Zhenlong had never encountered such a thing.
Suddenly, the assistant intelligent voice chimed in, "Master, Teacher Xu is calling."
"Xu Bo? That kid must have snuck a peek at the score sheet and wants to come in here to show off how good his judgment is, bragging about how capable the students he chose are." Tan Zhenlong muttered to himself and then said directly, "Xiao Jiu, hang up."
Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the office door.
"Old Tan."
It was Xu Bo's loud voice from outside. "Hurry up and open the door! I brought you a nice bottle of wine. It's a good day, and we need to celebrate."
Fifteen seconds later, with a clang, the door opened.
Tan Zhenlong suspiciously eyed Xu Bo and his empty hands. "Where's the wine?"
"In your office, the bottom shelf of the bookcase," Xu Bo replied cheerfully. "I told you I was getting it!"
Tan Zhenlong glared at him. "You dog nose?"
"My nose is sharper than a dog's! Don't forget, I used to be an Origin Warrior." Xu Bo chuckled.
...
On Monday, April 13, after morning self-study, most of the students in Class 3 (2) were absent-mindedly seated, all knowing that today was the day the April exam results would be announced.
With the results, the city rankings and the proposed thresholds for prestigious universities, provincial schools, and national martial arts schools would also be released. The college entrance exam was approaching, and for most, the April rankings could predict their final exam standings.
"Old Zhou, what’s up? Looking dazed again?" Li Yuan teased. "Worried about going home and being turned into a skin-flint by your mother?"
"Brother Yuan," Zhou Qi glanced over with an expression of defeat. "You’ve already used that joke before, can’t we skip it this time?"
Li Yuan was taken aback, and those nearby laughed.
Soon, the cultural head teacher, Teacher Chen, strode in wearing a leather jacket, carrying the score sheet. Immediately, over a hundred students subconsciously straightened up, even respected top students like Li Yuan could not avoid the atmosphere of pressure.
Three years on, although Li Yuan had the strength of a Ranked Martial Artist, he still felt a bit timid in front of Teacher Chen.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Teacher Chen didn't start with her usual critique. Instead, she broke from tradition: "For the April exam, everyone performed fairly well."
"You can tell that everyone has worked hard from the January exam till now and put in serious effort."
"There are a few students who didn't perform well, but no need to fret about it. Adjust your mindset; after all, it was just a mock exam, and if you perform normally on the college entrance exam, good results can still follow."
Without reprimands or accusations, her words were all encouragement, allowing the classmates to breathe a sigh of relief.
Yet, many students sensed something was off. They instinctively glanced at the countdown to the college entrance exam on the blackboard at the front of the classroom, feeling somewhat dazed.
After the April mock exams, the college entrance exam was really fast approaching.
High school was also coming to an end.
...
"Now, I will announce the results," Teacher Chen's voice softened. "As is customary, let's start with the academic scores."
"Li Shutong, 921 points, first in culture and also first in Guanshan District, 24th in Jiang City." Teacher Chen smiled. "Great job."
"Dongcheng, 901 points."
"Zhou Qi, 898 points, impressive improvement," she smiled. "You've entered the top twenty of the grade."
Many classmates couldn't help but look over at Zhou Qi with envy. The April mock exam was relatively easier, so scores generally rose, but an advance of dozens of ranks into the top twenty was still quite the achievement.
"Well done," Li Yuan said.
"Brother Yuan, it’s because I practiced the advanced cultivation method." Zhou Qi whispered. "My physical constitution is over level 5 now."
"My physical condition has improved, and now when I do practice papers, my mind feels so much clearer." Li Yuan nodded in agreement.
The body was the foundation of everything.
If the body was unfit, nothing else mattered.
Zhou Qi's previous average physical condition, despite his excellent academic performance, showed that he had good intellect. His physical state improved after practicing the advanced cultivation method, leading to a significant rise in academic results; this was to be expected.
This was also why, even in academic colleges, martial arts scores accounted for 30% of the total.
As far as Li Yuan knew, many remarkable scientists in human civilization were martial artists or even Origin Warriors.
"Li Yuan, 841 points," Teacher Chen read his name and paused, smiling. "Li Yuan, your academic score is almost enough to reach the C9 threshold."
Wow!
The classroom erupted in an uproar, and all the students turned to look at Li Yuan.
841 points?
This academic score alone wasn't extraordinary, but in the context of a martial arts student, it was quite exceptional.
Many students vaguely recalled that during his second year, Li Yuan's academic scores were merely in the six hundreds.
"Brother Yuan, did you increase your score by more than a hundred?" Zhou Qi looked at Li Yuan as if he were a monster. "How did you study?"
"I didn’t increase by a hundred," Li Yuan shook his head lightly.
After a two-second pause, he added, "Zhou Qi, I got 742 points last time, and now 841. So that's just a 99-point increase." Li Yuan said earnestly, "I suspect the grading AI didn't want me to show off, so it docked a point."
"Alas!" Li Yuan sighed deeply, as if full of regret.
Zhou Qi and the surrounding classmates couldn't help but think, "Let's just end this guy's tendency to show off."
...
After announcing the academic results, Teacher Chen took out another score sheet and examined it closely.
In one moment, all the students' hearts leapt to their throats—had they avoided another round of scolding today?
"Martial arts scores." Teacher Chen finally began, enunciating carefully, "Li Yuan, first place."
Another round of silence ensued.
Everyone was stunned. While they expected Li Yuan to be first, could it be that his score wasn't as high as anticipated?
"Could there be a mistake?" Li Yuan began to doubt himself.
He had personally measured his martial arts score and thought it should be accurate.
"900 points!" Teacher Chen suddenly broke into a smile and announced loudly.
The classroom remained silent for three seconds.
Then—chaos erupted.
"I must've misheard."
"900 points? Full marks in martial arts!"
"No way."
"Li Yuan, 900 points?" The students in the class went completely wild.
900 points meant Li Yuan received full marks in both physical constitution and martial arts techniques.
Even Li Yuan felt a bit bewildered. Full marks?
He couldn't help but glance at his Divine Palace Panel, which showed his life level clearly marked at: 9.9 level!
"Could it be because my skills burst forth, resulting in strength and speed beyond what are normally expected at my life level, leading to a comprehensive assessment of full marks?" Li Yuan thought to himself.
"900 points?"
Zhou Qi next to him was also stunned before suddenly realizing, "Brother Yuan, didn't your martial arts total score get up to 984 points?"
His academic score of 841 points converted to 84 points.
Adding his martial arts score of 900 points indeed got him to 984 points!
"Naked score, 984 points?"
"984?"
"It seems to be true! This!" The class was in disbelief.
This wasn't just an ordinary score; even if it were spirit-enhanced points achieving such scores, it was already immensely powerful.
"Ahem~"
"Ahem~" Teacher Chen coughed twice at the podium.
Only then did the students in the classroom manage to quiet down.
"You’re right; Li Yuan's martial arts naked score is indeed 984 points but that isn't the total score," Teacher Chen smiled. "Don’t forget, despite Li Yuan not having awakened his martial spirit, he received the title of Young Hero, giving him an additional 20 points."
"So!"
"This time, Li Yuan's total martial arts score is 1004 points! First in the grade, first in Guanshan District!"
"28th in Jiang City."
"Additionally," she continued, "Li Yuan is also one of the only two students from Jiang City's April mock exam to achieve full marks in martial arts."
"If we disregard all the extra points for spirit, and only look at the naked score, he even surpassed Wu Dongdong from the normal school's affiliated high school."
"In a sense, during this April mock exam, Li Yuan is the true number one martial artist in the city!" Teacher Chen spoke in one breath, her face filled with smiles.
It was clear to see how genuinely happy and excited she was for Li Yuan's achievements.
...
The announcement of the April mock exam results marked the official end of the exam season.
However, Li Yuan's score detonated like a bomb in the Guanshan District's top high school, causing the entire senior year and even the whole school to erupt in excitement.
Almost all the teachers across various classes began to use Li Yuan as an example to motivate their students.
No spirit enhancement points? No prominent family background? None of these were obstacles!
Li Yuan, who had progressed from mid-tier in his first year to the top hundred in his second year, and then moving into the top ten and claiming first in his third year! He had even achieved the terrifying full marks in martial arts in the April exam.
Such accomplishments could undoubtedly be considered the first legendary tale since the establishment of Guanshan District's top high school.
...
At ten o'clock that morning at the Starfire Guanshan Branch Hall, Wan Qinghe was in communication with Xu Bo when he learned of Li Yuan's exam results. Initially even he didn't grasp the full significance of what it really meant.
But soon, he understood.
"Full marks in martial arts!"
"Physical constitution of at least level 10.0?" Wan Qinghe was shocked beyond words: "In less than a month, Li Yuan raised his physical condition by 1.1 levels?"
"A monster!"
(End of Chapter)