leonardwarren Chapter 75 Su Chen, a student from another class! An astonishing ranking in the grade!
Chapter 75 Su Chen, a student from another class! An astonishing ranking in the grade!
Chapter 76 Su Chen, a student from another class! An astonishing ranking in the grade!
Inside the classroom.
Su Chen did not get up to join the commotion at the bulletin board.
There were so many people that they surrounded the wall in layers, making it impossible to pass through.
Su Chen continued to flip through the textbook on the theory of the Spirit Pearl.
The homeroom teacher, Zhou Qingguo, stood next to the podium, holding a thermos in his hand. He glanced at him over the rim of the thermos.
Su Chen felt the gaze and lowered his head, pretending to be looking at the small print annotations in his textbook.
After a while, the human wall in front of the bulletin board finally began to loosen.
Wang Yichuan and Lin Xiyue then went upstairs.
A moment later, the two returned.
Judging from their expressions alone, they seem to be doing alright!
Su Chen watched them walk back to their seats one after the other, then immediately turned around to look at Wang Yichuan and asked in a low voice, "How was it?"
He asked Wang Yichuan to help him check the grades.
When Su Chen asked, Wang Yichuan finally couldn't keep up the smile on his face.
"Brother Chen, you did very well on this test! Very well, extremely well!"
Su Chen then grinned.
He leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath, but his heart was still beating quite fast.
"Then... let's talk about academic subjects first!"
"Hmm. The total score for academic subjects is... 183!"
Su Chen's heart skipped a beat.
He only scored 176 in the joint exam for ten schools, but this time he improved by a full seven points!
Beautiful! Nice!
He wasn't bragging; after graduating from university in his previous life, he suffered in society for two years and even considered going back to take the entrance exams for Tsinghua and Peking Universities.
If the company hadn't been crying and begging to stop him, he would probably be riding a shared bike, spending time in the library, and comfortably attending classes on the Tsinghua and Peking University campuses right now.
Sigh~ It's all the company's fault!
What about the Spirit Pearl theory?
'
"81".
He scored 83 in this subject in the ten-school joint exam, but this time he lost 2 points.
He felt a slight disappointment, then nodded: "It's alright!"
He rubbed his hands together, looking expectant. "As for the six martial arts events... let's start with speed, and then there's the grade ranking!"
"His score is 37, and his grade ranking is 167!"
Su Chen paused for a second, then sighed softly.
"Sigh~"
To be honest, his speed has improved tremendously! It's a pity the test was for 5 kilometers.
He didn't have any endurance-related skills like the Invincible Body Technique loaded at the time, so his performance was mediocre.
"Not bad." He swallowed his anger, waved his hand, and said, "Next... spiritual affinity, I guess."
"33".
Su Chen's eyes lit up. He scored one point higher than the ten-school joint exam!
His foundation in this subject was not bad to begin with. His family was well-off, and he ate well before high school, so his nutrition was adequate. His physical fitness was always above average among his peers.
Spiritual affinity is also linked to the quality of diet during early childhood.
His spiritually affinity and class ranking had been hovering around 300th.
The one point increase is probably due to the acupoints on the head activated in the early morning!
Zhang Yan's grades were similar to his, but she was ranked around 50th in the grade, while he was ranked around 300th in this subject, which was seriously dragging down the overall grade!
If she were a little stronger in this subject, her total score could have gone up significantly!
"Hmm. And how about using firearms?"
"43.
""
"It's... alright, I guess."
Su Chen's lips twitched; he scored one point higher than the ten-school joint exam.
Using firearms relies half on the feel of target practice and half on rote memorization of equipment knowledge and hands-on experience with the equipment.
He did well in the target practice this time, but he wasn't quite sure about a few questions in the theoretical knowledge section.
43 points, that's average!
"What about strength? We can discuss the grade rankings in detail."
Wang Yichuan glanced down at the grade sheet he had written down, his eyebrows twitching slightly, his voice clearly brimming with excitement: "This is amazing! 36 points, 354th in the grade. Brother Chen, I see your highest ranking before was 498 during the rock climbing trip."
"Name? That's a huge improvement!"
Su Chen paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. His laughter was bright and undisguised.
He only scored 23 points in the joint entrance exam for ten schools!
Wednesday's climbing score was only 28 points!
This time they scored a whopping 36 points! Their ranking jumped from 498th on Wednesday to 354th!
What does this mean? In the context of the college entrance examination, it's equivalent to surpassing 100,000 people out of thin air in this subject!
And this is just the beginning!!!
He's now loaded with Zhang Yan, and things will definitely get even more outrageous later on!
"Haha~ Not bad! Not bad! But to be honest, I feel like the school set the standard for strength subject a bit too low to get this score. If it were based on the college entrance exam standards, I definitely wouldn't have gotten this score!"
"In terms of ranking improvement alone, Brother Chen is definitely not to be outdone! What's more—" Wang Yichuan paused, a smirk playing on his lips, "there's still the endurance test to go."
Su Chen sat up abruptly, even more eagerly asking, "Yes, yes, yes! What was your score on the endurance test?"
"35 points, 313th in the grade. That's a jump of 300 places!"
Holy crap!!!
Su Chen couldn't hold back his words and blurted them out.
He clocked 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 45 seconds in the morning.
Although I correctly estimated the ranking—around 300 or 400—it was still very exciting when the scores were actually released.
The key point is... in the ten-school joint exam, he only scored 25 points in endurance, ranking outside the top 600 in his grade.
And this time? 35 points! That's another full ten points raised!
The combined power of the previous elements looks really satisfying.
And his true strength, which he has greatly improved, didn't get any extra points!
Now... there's only one subject left!
And the most important subject... the practical assessment!
But he didn't rush to ask his own question.
He first looked at Wang Yichuan, then at Lin Xiyue, who had been watching closely, a lingering smile on his lips: "How did you two do in your practical assessment? Judging from your expressions when you came down, you must have done well!"
Wang Yichuan smiled happily.
His voice held a hint of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and regret): "Our team members must all be very tall!"
Lin Xiyue, sitting at the desk in front of Su Chen, rested her elbows on Su Chen's textbook, her fingers interlaced.
Hearing Wang Yichuan's words, she nodded gently, her voice still soft and gentle: "I am 174 cm tall."
He scored 177 points, ranking 16th in his grade. Yichuan scored 177 points, ranking 12th in his grade.
"Good heavens!!! It's that tall?"
He knew that Wang Yichuan's practical assessment was never his strongest point. He ranked eighth in the grade in the ten-school joint exam, but he usually ranked outside the top twentieth in practical assessment.
This time, they jumped straight to twelfth in the grade! Lin Xiyue also surged to sixteenth!
Their team really unleashed their full potential this time!
Su Chen said excitedly, "It seems that our team has gained a lot from this practical assessment! The school didn't include Guo Hao's disgusting and stupid behavior in the calculations after all."
Lin Xiyue nodded gently, a few strands of hair slipping down from behind her ears and falling to the side of her face.
"Yes. After all, it is an elite-level peak golem that has fused with the power of mythology. The difficulty is slightly higher than the warrior-level ant queen that Jiang Wei encountered in the ten-school joint examination, so the score is naturally high."
Su Chen took a deep breath, shifted his gaze from Lin Xiyue's face, and focused it back on the grade sheet in Wang Yichuan's hand.
Her tone carried an barely suppressed anticipation: "And what about me?"
Lin Xiyue glanced at Wang Yichuan.
Wang Yichuan smiled and handed the report card to Lin Xiyue: "You tell me."
Lin Xiyue took the grade sheet, glanced at it, and then raised her light brown eyes, her gaze falling on Su Chen's face.
A slight smile curved his lips: "155 points in the practical assessment, ranking 99th in the grade for this subject."
Su Chen was stunned.
So tall?
"Holy crap! Good grief! What about the overall rankings?"
Lin Xiyue chuckled softly, amused by his expression.
"Total score: 596, Rank: 136th in the grade."
"Haha~ Awesome!!! I'm fucking invincible!"
"I've done it! I've done it!"
His laughter was so loud that it drew everyone's attention.
The classroom, which had been buzzing just moments before, suddenly became much quieter.
Su Chen sensed the silence, and the smile on his face froze for a moment.
He coughed lightly, suppressing his laughter, and picked up his textbook to cover half his face.
On the podium, Zhou Qingguo held a thermos cup and looked at Su Chen with a big smile.
He placed the cup on the lectern, the bottom of the cup making a soft sound as it touched the table.
Then he clapped his hands, drawing the class's attention back to himself.
"Haha~ It's time to be happy if you do well on the test! There's no need to suppress your emotions."
His voice carried a rare relaxed chuckle: "After all, I'm not a monster. I'm happy when my classmates do well on the exam!"
Then Zhou Qingguo coughed.
After that cough, the smile on his face disappeared, and his brows furrowed slightly.
The atmosphere in the classroom seemed to be suddenly jolted, instantly becoming tense again.
"However..." He paused, tapping his fingers lightly on the edge of the lectern twice, "This time, we're conducting a practical assessment in the Wutoushan area, along with three other schools: No. 4 Middle School and No. 7 Middle School."
"There are some things that, even if I don't say them, my classmates have probably already spread them among themselves."
"Yes! Wu Junchao from No. 4 Middle School performed exceptionally well. His Heavenly Mountain Demon Flame Tiger, with its mid-level Warrior General strength, far surpassed the top students from No. 1 Middle School, including Jiang Wei from our class, as well as Wu Chen and Qian Youliang from other classes."
He paused for a moment, letting his words sink into the classroom.
"That's why the scores for this practical assessment were so low. There wasn't a single person in the 191-200 point range. Only four people scored between 181 and 190!"
He picked up his thermos and took a sip, his gaze sweeping over the rim of the cup and across every young face in the classroom.
"Everyone must be wondering... what is Wu Junchao's family background? His family is very wealthy, with a strong background. His parents can provide resources, and he also caught the good time of the new college entrance examination regulations that allow beast taming to enter the examination."
He put down his cup, his tone calm and unhurried, as if reciting the unspoken lines for each student: "You'll all have all sorts of reasons why you feel you've been cheated, that it's unfair. You might think... others were just lucky to be born into the right family!"
Zhou Qingguo did not continue speaking.
He rested his hands on either side of the lectern, leaned slightly forward, and scanned his eyes from left to right and then from right to left.
It's incredibly oppressive!
"I know what you're thinking, so let's discuss this in detail!"
He stepped down from the podium, walked a few steps to the middle of the classroom, and stopped next to an empty seat.
"You feel it's unfair. Wu Junchao's family is rich. He's had the best elixirs, the best cultivation techniques, and the best teachers since he was a child. Now, with the new rules for beast taming, his Heavenly Mountain Demon Flame Tiger just stands on the field, and all your efforts are overshadowed. Don't you feel particularly frustrated?"
No one answered.
But many people's eyes seem to say: Yes!
Zhou Qingguo nodded, as if he had heard these silent replies.
"But have you considered this question? Even without this new regulation on beast taming, even if pets weren't allowed in the college entrance exam, do you think the gap between students wouldn't widen by the time they get to university?"
"Which of the nine top universities isn't a place where resources are highly concentrated? The children of wealthy families, once they go to university, are provided with a lord-level bloodline beast by their parents, and they spend all their spare time in the cultivation tower, eating pills like food. And you? When you get to university, what can you do with the meager basic resources the school provides?"
"You can only fight in the wilderness, struggle, and seize!"
He took a step forward, his voice suddenly rising a half-octave: "This isn't about fairness! This is reality!"
This is the reality you'll have to face sooner or later!
"The new college entrance examination regulations simply present this reality to you ahead of time, letting you see clearly sooner that the rules of this world have never been about who works harder wins!"
"Resources, information, background, connections... these things have always been part of strength! This was true before the apocalypse, and it will be even more true after the apocalypse!"
"In the wilderness, do you think demons will treat you fairly? No! Might makes right, I don't need to teach you that, do I?"
His voice echoed in the classroom, each word sounding as if it had been tempered by fire.
Then he suddenly fell silent for a few seconds.
He raised his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over the entire class again. "Listen carefully to what I'm about to say!"
He walked to the front of the blackboard, picked up the chalk, and wrote several large characters on the blackboard: Top scorers in the college entrance examination in Jiangling City over the past ten years.
After he finished writing, he turned around and continued, "In the past ten years, Jiangling City has produced ten top scorers in the college entrance examination."
"Nine out of these ten people come from poor families!!!"
"You're probably thinking: 'Teacher, they're geniuses, they're born with incredibly high talent, how can we compare to them?'"
He shrugged, giving a "I knew it" look: "Fine! Talent, I admit it. Some people's talent is indeed innate, and no matter how hard you try, you can't catch up."
He abruptly changed the subject.
"Then I'll tell you about someone who has no talent."
He turned around and wrote three words on the blackboard: Li Yongjian.
"Li Yongjian. A graduate from five years ago. Has anyone heard of him?"
A few hands were raised sparsely in the classroom.
Not many, but not none at all.
Zhou Qingguo nodded and put down the chalk: "When he entered our No. 1 High School, he was ranked over 1,100th in his grade. What does 1,100th place mean? There were only 1285 students in that graduating class!"
"In his first spiritual affinity test in his first year of high school, he only scored four points, ranking eighth from the bottom in the grade!"
Spiritual affinity is the most talent-dependent of the six martial arts disciplines!
In many people's eyes, finishing last in this subject is tantamount to a death sentence, meaning that this person has basically no chance of reaching the Spirit Martial Realm and that the path of martial arts has come to an end.
"You should all know what spiritual affinity means!"
Zhou Qingguo's voice deepened: "At the time, a teacher told me privately that this student was not suitable for the path of martial arts."
"But Li Yongjian himself didn't say it couldn't be done. How did he do it? He practiced from morning till night."
"After a full day of training, the rest time is no more than four hours!!!"
"Step by step, in just one year, I rose from over 1,100th in the grade to the top 400 and got into the honors class."
"Our school has always had a reward system for students who make significant progress. The school recognizes the hard work and dedication of its students."
"The school approved a special grant for Li Yongjian, not because he was talented, but because he worked hard! It was because while everyone else was making excuses, he was punching the sandbag on the training field."
His voice grew louder and faster: "In the end, Li Yongjian ranked 27th in his grade at No. 1 High School, with a total score of 668, and was admitted to Southeast Martial Arts Academy—a top-tier, first-class institution!"
He lowered his hands and rested them on the edge of the lectern, his chest rising and falling slightly.
Then... he suddenly laughed!
It wasn't a gentle laugh, but a laugh tinged with sarcasm, one that seemed to have anticipated everything.
He looked up, the sunlight sweeping across each young face: "Alright! I've said so much, let me guess what you're thinking."
"When I talked about Wu Junchao, you all thought, 'His family is rich and he comes from a good background, what do I have to compare with?'"
"When I said that in the past ten years, nine out of ten top scorers came from poor families, you all thought, 'They're geniuses, they have talent, how could I have that kind of luck?'"
"When I mentioned Li Yongjian, you all thought it was just an isolated case, maybe he has a special constitution, and although he appears to have low spiritual affinity, he actually has some hidden talent."
"Look at you! You always have all sorts of excuses!"
His voice suddenly exploded, as if something that had been suppressed for a long time had finally found an outlet.
"Your focus..." He pointed a finger and slammed it on the lectern, making a dull thud, "is never on yourselves!!"
"Take this Tuesday for example. I went to the track to check on the training, and I saw some students running so slowly they could barely move their legs, it was like they were just taking a walk! They were just running without any proper form!"
"Why do some people consistently perform worse in practice than during actual exams? Are you all incredibly resilient, able to withstand the pressure and perform exceptionally well under exam pressure???"
"No!! It's because you never used your full strength during practice! You didn't give it your all!"
"You just drag your feet day after day. You've run, you've trained, you've spent time and sweat, but it's all for nothing!"
"Are you practicing martial arts for me?" Teacher Zhou Qingguo's voice suddenly became very soft, so soft that everyone had to strain their ears to hear him. "You'll get into good universities and make something of yourselves in the future. Do you think you'll come back to give me gifts?"
"If you can recognize your shortcomings and accept that..."
He paused, a hint of helplessness in his voice: "If that's really the case, then so be it."
"But every time I talk to you, what are you all thinking about? Complaining about this and that, complaining about insufficient school resources, complaining about poor teaching, complaining about your family's financial situation, complaining about the unfairness of the college entrance examination, complaining about everything and everyone, but never complaining about yourselves!"
"You won't listen to a single word I say!"
He suddenly stretched out a finger and pointed to the back row of the classroom.
Everyone's eyes followed the direction of that finger.
Su Chen rested his chin on his right hand, a smile on his lips that he himself was unaware of.
Well said! Well said!
Anyway, I did so well on the test this time, so I definitely can't take it personally.
But now that everyone has seen it, his smile... froze.
"Look at... Su Chen from our class!"
Zhou Qingguo's voice underwent a subtle change, his sternness now tinged with admiration: "I'm going to use him as an example now. Aren't you all already thinking: Teacher, his family is well-off! He has a beast tamer! He only got such a high score this time because of his beast tamer!"
"Heh~ What!?"
He tilted his head, his tone carrying an undisguised sarcasm: "Did his beast help him run that huge improvement in endurance? Did his beast carry him through that 20-kilometer cross-country race with a weight on his back?"
A few suppressed murmurs rose in the classroom, as if someone was trying to hold back laughter.
"In the strength subject, was it also the beast tamer who helped him lift the iron? Was it the beast tamer who carried him up the slope???"
"You've been calling him a loser behind his back for two years." Well, now he's jumped from 371st in the grade to 136th in just one week, from being called a loser in your eyes to being in the top 20 of his class! Are you still making excuses?
'
He took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over the entire class: "Su Chen's parents are respectable people. I've met them; they're very nice! Su Chen, from the bottom of his heart, doesn't want to disappoint his parents, so he works extremely hard!"
"I've always seen his hard work. I know better than any of you how much sweat he's shed on the training field!"
"I've praised him plenty of times in the past, haven't I? No one will say, 'Teacher, you're just being wise after the event! You're only bringing it up now because he did well on the test.'"
"When he didn't do well on tests in the past, I brought him up in the comments! I wasn't praising his grades, but his attitude!"
He was about to continue...
"Bang!"
A muffled thud came from next door.
It was clearly the sound of a hand slamming down on the lectern.
Immediately afterwards, a loud voice pierced through the wall and clearly entered the classroom of Class 6.
"Look at this!! Look at your test scores! I can't even bear to look!"
"You guys are definitely the worst class I've ever taught!"
This is the voice of Zhang Zhenshan, the homeroom teacher of Class 7.
He was known throughout the school for his loud voice!
Several students in Class 6 subconsciously turned their heads and glanced in the direction of the door.
Zhang Zhenshan's voice continued, each word sharp and cutting: "Look at Su Chen from Class Six next door! Just two weeks ago, he was ranked only 528th in the grade! I was on the playground then, and I heard some of you say things like 'bottom of the class' and 'holdout'!"
"I won't name names today, you all know who said it!"
Zhou Qingguo's gesture, which was about to continue speaking, froze in mid-air.
His hand hovered there for about two seconds, then he silently lowered it, quickly walked to the classroom door, reached out and grasped the doorknob, and gently closed the door.
"Ahem~"
He coughed lightly.
But what just happened was too coincidental...
Several boys in the back row of the classroom couldn't hold back their laughter anymore; their shoulders were shaking as they buried their faces in their textbooks.
Looking at the reactions of the people below, Zhou Qingguo couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
Then he stopped laughing, and taking advantage of the momentum, his voice became deeper and more forceful than before: "You should have heard it too. Su Chen, your total score on this week's test was 596. Your grade ranking... is 136th!"
"Two weeks ago, I was ranked 528th in the grade! Two weeks later, I'm 136th. I've improved by nearly 400 places!!!"
"The 'bottom of the class' you used to call them. The 'holdouts' you used to call them... they've been completely transformed!"
"You lot were all ahead of him before! Now how many of you have been left behind? Think about it carefully."
"You must understand that in the world of martial arts, talent and diligence are far more important than money!"
"Besides, is Su Chen's family really that wealthy? It can't be that exaggerated! Just look at this year's graduating class, there are about ten students with similar family backgrounds to him, right? And one of them is still hovering around the thousandth rank in the grade!!"
"And you guys managed to get into the top class, doesn't that mean you don't have talent? On the contrary, the worse off your families are, the more it proves you're gifted! Otherwise, how would you have gotten into this high school, how would you have gotten into the top class!"
"Once you overcome the hurdle of the Acupoint Opening Realm and gain sufficient strength, you will be fully capable of earning resources on your own! Hone your skills in actual combat!"
Professor Zhou Qingguo then spoke passionately for another half hour.
Su Chen, who was praised, felt very little psychological pressure.
To be precise, it's wonderful!
After chatting for quite a while, we finally left the topic of grades behind.
"Next..."
His voice regained some of its composure: "Besides the results, there are two other things I want to tell you. One is the specific plan for the Beast Taming Special Fund. The other is the notification for the large-scale joint examination."
He picked up the thermos, unscrewed the lid, took a sip, and moistened his throat.
The air in the classroom still carried the tension from before.