novelraw Chapter 47 : First Place in the Century Exam
Chapter 47 : First Place in the Century Exam
Volume Two: Lingdu Source Martial Academy
47: First Place in the Century Exam
One hundred and forty-seven points, what did that even mean? For anyone else, it would be cause for celebration with firecrackers, with neighbors giving out red-dyed eggs.
But for him, Yuwen Wenzhi, the top dog of Lingdu Source Martial Academy Affiliated High School, Century Campus, a prodigy among prodigies, a favored son of heaven, it was failure!
One hundred and forty-seven, still a few points short of last year's cutoff line, let alone this year's; he had almost certainly failed…
Yuwen Wenzhi had never imagined not getting into Lingdu Source Martial Academy. For him, the only question was what his national ranking would be, which is why he had declined the academy's guaranteed admission spot to come and take the college entrance exam.
What was it for? First, for the experience. Second, to show the ordinary applicants what a real gap looks like, what a true genius from a key high school really is.
But now… it was a disaster.
"No, this was an accident, an accident…" Yuwen Wenzhi's vision seemed to blur. Trembling, he thought with a vacant expression, "Just now, there was a strange phenomenon in the heavens, all the examinees were severely interfered with. I lost at least 20 damn points, to say nothing of the others. I bet they'd be lucky to break 100. Everyone underperformed, yes! I'll use that as a reason to demand a retest!"
A glimmer returned to Yuwen Wenzhi's eyes. He suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping across the large screen, where an impossibly obvious pillar of light reaching to the heavens caught his eye.
Trembling, Yuwen Wenzhi slowly raised his head, following the pillar of light above Xia Yuyin's name upward.
At the very top of the screen, almost touching the upper edge, were three numbers that should have been impossible in the college entrance exam: 207.
"Wha!???"
Yuwen Wenzhi double-checked the name below, then looked at the tall girl standing before the pillar of light.
"It, it's off the charts…"
In that moment, Yuwen Wenzhi's face froze. He had meant to stand up, but without realizing it, he sat back down.
"Who am I? Where am I? What was I trying to do just now?" Yuwen Wenzhi's gaze was vacant, his thoughts sluggish. In that moment, whether there was a retest, whether he could get into Lingdu Source Martial Academy, none of it seemed to matter anymore.
A person lives for their reputation, especially for a prodigy like him. Today, that reputation was thrown into the very depths of the earth.
Meanwhile, in Xia Yuyin's consciousness, a familiar voice sounded.
"Ding, from Yuwen Wenzhi's soul-crushing, despairing shock. Gained 28 Soul Charm Point."
"For successfully overturning the judgment of Yuwen Wenzhi and the others. Gained 12 Soul Charm Point."
The other examinees were also devastated. Lin Qianyi, sitting demurely with her legs together to one side, knelt on the ground, looking pitiful, and began to sob softly.
"Ding, from Lin Qianyi's extreme dejection and jealousy. Gained 10 Soul Charm Point, and from the shock of the various elite examinees. Gained 12 Soul Charm Point."
The two foreign students wore stupefied expressions.
"Michael McEwen would rather dress in a cheerleader's uniform and dance back home just to take back his earlier words. You have gained 10 Soul Charm Point."
"Unable to guess the Indian examinee's thoughts, but you have gained 5 Soul Charm Point from him."
Long Xiaotian finished looking at the large screen, then turned back to the tall Yuyin beside him. His legs felt weak from the earlier over-exertion of his Primordial Energy.
"Xia Yuyin… you… just what kind of divine being are you?"
"Can I take back what I said earlier… is it too late?" Gazing up at the goddess Yuyin, though Long Xiaotian wasn't quite unable to stand, for some reason, he felt an urge to kneel, as if it would bring him some relief.
"From Long Xiaotian's drastic shift in self-perception. Gained 12 Soul Charm Point…"
The nationwide networked database was not affected by the Night Spirits. At this moment, Yuyin's score had already been transmitted via the internet to all relevant institutions.
On the electronic scoreboard, all the names on the female list scrolled down, and new text refreshed at the very top: "First Place Lingdu No. 21 National Senior High, Xia Yuyin, Primordial Energy Value 207"
At the same time, the assessment for the entire site concluded. Amidst a burst of light and smoke special effects, a line of 3D text appeared on the large horizontal screen above the stadium:
"Century Exam Site First Place Xia Yuyin 207"
The students from No. 21 erupted in cheers!
Even the students from No. 39 and the International Academy joined in with heartfelt applause.
When the scores are close, perhaps there is jealousy, but when the gap is this vast, there is none.
Only the group from Lingdu Source Martial Academy Affiliated High School fell into a collective silence.
Let them dominate the rankings as they might, the name "Xia Yuyin from Lingdu No. 21" was now pressing down from above with a colossal, heaven-and-earth difference, making the rest of the list seem momentarily meaningless. As for Yuwen Wenzhi, though he was still on the list, he was ranked after tenth place.
Amidst the cheers, the female will sounded once more, "From the admiration and awe of the examinees. Gained 23 Soul Charm Point, from the dejection of the Lingdu Source Martial Academy Affiliated High School examinees. Gained 11 Soul Charm Point…"
In just these few dozen seconds, Yuyin had gained over a hundred Soul Charm Point.
"Yuyin, I love you!" Led by Xiao Huohuo, many male students shouted from the heart.
"She is truly worthy of being our Student Council President!"
"Sister Yuyin, we love you!" many female students also shouted, with no shortage of genuine feeling.
The lead invigilator and the other teachers gradually calmed down, their gazes fixed solemnly on this result. They were aware of the circumstances, and if they remembered correctly, this would be the first score in history to break 200 since Huaxia Nation established the unified Source Martial College Entrance Exam with its standardized equipment and format.
Unless something unexpected happened, this would also be the highest Primordial Energy score of this year's exam.
Right now, Yuyin had no idea that the exam administration office, all major relevant institutions, and the offices of the various academies monitoring the exam were already in an uproar.
"Um, excuse me, teacher… just now there was a sudden… an abnormal weather phenomenon, it suddenly went dark, it affected our performance, can we retake the test?" Amid the cheers and clamor, Lin Qianyi raised her hand pitifully and asked in a small voice, but her voice was almost drowned out by the crowd below.
The lead invigilator had already considered this question.
"Yes, we demand a retest! It suddenly went dark, it seriously affected our performance and our right to an equal exam!" The foreign examinee also jumped up, raising his hand.
Only Yuwen Wenzhi did not raise his hand. He wanted to preserve what little dignity he had left as a prodigy. Besides, Lin Qianyi had already raised her hand, so it was the same.
"Huh? Affected your performance? Then how did Xia Yuyin get the best score?"
"Yeah, wasn't Xia Yuyin from No. 21 taking the exam under the same conditions?"
"The Source Martial College Entrance Exam is supposed to test your mental fortitude too, isn't it? To be scared witless just because it gets dark, and with that kind of mental quality, you call yourself a prodigy?"
Aside from a few elites on the stage and a handful of teachers, the other students could not see the Night Spirits. In their view, although the sudden change in weather couldn't be said to have had no effect, to be so terrified as to underperform so severely was their own problem. It wasn't the first time Magic City had experienced a sudden squall with dark skies and a downpour.
The lead invigilator conferred with a few other teachers, then announced, "Everyone, after our discussion and consultation with our superiors, we have determined that the change in lighting did not substantially affect the examination conditions, nor does it meet the criteria for a retest as stipulated in the relevant regulations. The results of this assessment are valid, and we will not be accepting requests for a retest."
That the Night Spirits had roamed freely was a great secret known only to the upper echelons of Huaxia and other nations, and to the truly powerful.
It was absolutely impossible to admit to the public. An issue affecting the exam scores of a few students was, compared to causing widespread social panic, less than nothing. Furthermore, allowing a retest just because of a change in weather would not be convincing to the public. If you could get a retest for dark skies, could others request one for it being too hot?
Moreover, there had been no precedent of demonic spirits appearing in broad daylight at an exam site, and Yuyin's outstanding score also proved that this situation did not necessarily affect one's performance.
The lead invigilator walked to the center of the stage and stood beside Yuyin, announcing, "Everyone, let us congratulate Student Xia Yuyin on becoming the first-place winner of the Century Exam Site!"
The crowd below burst into cheers and applause.
"Let us wish Student Xia Yuyin even greater success on the path ahead, and also wish every examinee present here the best! You have all worked hard. This Source Martial Assessment is now concluded. Please follow the instructions of the invigilators and exit in an orderly manner."