Chapter 36: Top Twenty in the Grade (Please keep reading)

Tianhai Second High School, Virtual Room

"Lin Qi is the only one left who hasn't come out yet. He's taking way too long."

"Which examiner has he reached? The 5th or the 6th?"

A group of people gathered around a virtual pod, discussing curiously.

*Buzz—*

"It's opening! Lin Qi is coming out."

The virtual pod door opened. Lin Qi opened his eyes to find several pairs of eyes staring at him in amazement.

He stood up calmly. Looking around, he saw that Chen Zichuan, Yang Lei, and the others had already emerged.

"Brother Qi, you were in there for a long time during the first round. Which examiner did you defeat?" Jiang Tao asked impatiently.

"You'll know once the results are out," Lin Qi replied with a smile, declining to answer.

"Brother Qi, you've turned bad, actually playing hard to get," Jiang Tao said, shaking his head.

Lin Qi's mind was still replaying the battle from moments ago. After defeating the 7th examiner with his "Mountain-Crushing Spear Technique," he faced the 8th.

However, the battle lasted less than thirty seconds before he was defeated; even using his ultimate move wasn't enough to win.

The gap was too large. The opponent's spear technique had already broken through to the Second Tier, and they knew how to use lethal moves.

Though he lost, the gains were significant. Witnessing a stronger version of the "Mountain-Crushing Spear Technique" gave him room for improvement.

While he was lost in thought, Chen Zichuan walked over and handed him a drink.

"Thanks for earlier. That was my first time using a virtual pod!" Chen Zichuan said, expressing his gratitude.

"Don't mention it. We all come from ordinary families and we're classmates. I'll help if I can," Lin Qi said, taking the drink and shaking his head.

"Exactly, Chen Zichuan, helping each other is what we should do," Jiang Tao added, patting Chen Zichuan on the shoulder.

Chen Zichuan nodded silently, a smile appearing on his face.

The bond between the three of them had invisibly grown closer.

...

Not far away, Zhang Cheng watched Lin Qi before turning his gaze back to his tablet.

"Lin Qi's assessment is over. Let me see how many examiners he defeated."

Zhang Cheng operated the tablet, logging into the backend of the Tianhai Education Bureau's official website. As an examiner, he had the authority to view assessment progress in advance.

"The 6th examiner should be no problem. The 7th might be difficult; getting around 700 would be quite good," Zhang Cheng thought to himself. As he refreshed the page, strings of data flashed before his eyes.

The next second, his pupils contracted.

"The 8th examiner?"

Zhang Cheng was genuinely shocked. He knew very well that the 8th examiner was already at the Second Tier level.

When Lin Qi had first arrived in the Elite Class, he was only ranked 45th in the grade, and he had even learned the "Mountain-Crushing Spear Technique" from him.

Zhang Cheng knew exactly what Lin Qi's level was back then.

"Good kid, I really didn't misjudge you."

After the shock came a sense of immense gratification. As a martial arts instructor, Zhang Cheng knew Lin Qi's progress better than anyone.

"I'm starting to look forward to his ranking this time," Zhang Cheng said with a smile.

...

Yu Jing exited the virtual room and quickly glanced at the adjacent pod.

When he saw that Li Zhou had not yet emerged, his expression turned heavy. They had entered the pods at the same time; the fact that the other person hadn't come out meant he was still undergoing the martial arts assessment.

By comparison, the fact that Yu Jing had come out early meant he was clearly weaker.

Shortly after, Li Zhou also exited the assessment, shaking his head with dissatisfaction.

"Li Zhou, did you defeat the 8th examiner?" Yu Jing asked.

"Guess!" Li Zhou grinned.

"I'm not a child, why should I guess?" Yu Jing's face darkened.

Li Zhou just grinned and turned to walk away.

"Quiet!"

Zhang Cheng stood up. He checked the time, looked around at everyone, and spoke slowly

"After a day of assessment, all test results are complete."

"Everyone, return to your classrooms and wait for your homeroom teachers to announce the scores and rankings."

Silence!

The crowd fell silent for a moment. Many people's expressions turned nervous, their hearts racing.

Every time the rankings were released, it was a massive test for everyone, and the mental pressure was heavy.

...

At around nine in the evening, the lights were bright in all the major middle schools across Tianhai City. Countless geniuses were immersed in a state of tension.

Simultaneously, the backend of the Martial Arts Education Bureau was frantically calculating scores to produce the comprehensive rankings.

In the Elite Class classroom

Everyone sat in their seats chatting, trying to mask their inner nervousness.

"I'm doomed. I might get kicked out of the Elite Class."

"I worked hard for a month; my ranking absolutely has to go up this time."

"In the Second High, I was 11th. In Tianhai City, I should at least make the top thirty."

"Top thirty? You're dreaming. Just pray you make the top fifty."

Amidst the waves of discussion, the homeroom teacher, Yan Hong, arrived late. Her expression was calm, showing no emotion.

She organized her thoughts and spoke

"Students, this Tianhai Monthly Exam has lasted a full day, and all results are now out."

"The Tianhai Monthly Exam is crucial every year. It helps you determine your position and see the goals you need to strive for in the future."

"Teacher, let's just see the results already," Yu Jing suddenly interrupted.

"That guy Yu Jing..." Jiang Tao muttered with dissatisfaction.

Lin Qi frowned; Yu Jing's behavior was excessive.

Yan Hong's expression shifted slightly, a flash of annoyance rising in her heart, but she suppressed her irritation when facing Yu Jing.

"Then I won't waste any more words. Let's look at the results directly."

With that, she turned on the projector, and a massive screen was projected in front of everyone.

It was a huge table filled with vast amounts of data. Behind 50 profile pictures were various subject scores and rankings...

Everyone's eyes rushed toward the score sheet, desperately searching for their own names.

Lin Qi was no different. With his incredible vision, he locked onto his profile picture in a single second and saw his results for this monthly exam.

[Name: Lin Qi] [Academic: 922 (1st)] [Blood Vitality: 820 (23rd)] [Martial Arts: 800 (16th)] [Total Score: 804.4] [Grade Ranking: 18] [City Ranking: 288]

...

After seeing the results, the corners of Lin Qi's mouth curled up slightly.

He was first in the grade for academics, 23rd in blood vitality, and 16th in martial arts.

In just one month, his blood vitality had jumped from 6.2 during the small test to 8.2—a massive increase of 2.0.

Aside from that was his spear technique. He had defeated the 7th examiner but was instantly killed by the 8th.

Ultimately, the AI evaluated his spear technique level at 800 points, which was near the Second Tier level.

The reason he could score 800 was purely because Lin Qi's combat ability exceeded his technical spear proficiency.

As expected, his grade ranking had surged significantly, jumping from the bottom of the Elite Class at 45th place straight into the top 20 of the grade.

Beside him, Jiang Tao burst into loud laughter, looking triumphant.

"Haha, I knew it!"

"7th in the grade! I made the top ten! I can finally have my own cool nickname!"

Jiang Tao was so excited he couldn't control himself, throwing his arms around Lin Qi.

"Congratulations, Taozi!" Lin Qi said with a smile.

"By the way, Brother Qi, how were your results?"

After recovering from his joy, Jiang Tao became concerned about Lin Qi's scores.

He looked up at the score sheet, searching downward from his own rank, and immediately spotted Lin Qi's name. He had a premonition.

When he saw the rank, his pupils shrank, and he let out a strange cry

"18th in the grade?"

"Brother Qi, are you trying to defy heaven?!"

His words acted like a fuse. Many people in the class noticed.

"Am I seeing this right? I was actually surpassed by Lin Qi? I was 19th!" someone said in disbelief.

"Is this for real? Lin Qi is that fierce? He shot up from 45th to 18th!" someone exclaimed.

More and more people in the class turned their attention toward them.

"How did Lin Qi become so powerful?"

Not far away, Zhu Yuqi was also exceptionally surprised, looking at Lin Qi with intense curiosity.

In the corner, Yang Lei's face was pale. His rank this time was 48th; he had almost been eliminated.

Meanwhile, Lin Qi had soared into the sky, entering the top 20 of the class.

One was in the heavens, the other was in the dirt.

"And I actually mocked him... I'm so stupid, truly!"

...

(End of Chapter)