Chapter 131

As the new students in the hall whispered among themselves, a girl in a silver-white battle suit entered through the entrance.

The girl's features were alluring and radiant, and her body, hugged tightly by the battle suit, bore a maturity and fullness far beyond her years.

"It's Song Qiuyun! The second-ranked new student of Mo University!"

Song Qiuyun wasn't just exceptional in appearance and figure—her strength was also formidable.

Many among the three universities' new students recognized her.

【6

When she arrived, everyone looked at her expectantly, eager to see her final score and ranking.

As Song Qiuyun stepped into the hall, her beautiful eyes swept the crowd, but she couldn't find the familiar tall figure.

She slightly furrowed her brows, then walked toward the machine at the center of the hall.

She removed the smart bracelet from her wrist and placed it inside.

Hum—

The machine activated, analyzing the video clips of slain monsters recorded in the smart bracelet to detect any cheating.

After a moment, a mechanical electronic voice rang out:

"Song Qiuyun of Metropolis Institute of Psychic Arts, score confirmed. Total: 12, 00! Rank: First!"

The next instant,

on the holographic projection displayed throughout the hall,

Song Qiuyun's name shot to the top, glowing brilliantly with golden light!

"Over twelve thousand points! Amazing!"

"Wow, no surprise—she's the second-best newcomer in Metropolis."

"Compared to her, Li Chengzhi from Metropolis University falls short."

「......

The new students all burst into exclamations of awe.

On the current leaderboard, the top ten newcomers all have scores above ten thousand.

But the highest score before her had been only 11, 00—Song Qiuyun's 12, 00 naturally overshadowed them all.

Yet everyone knew,

that the S-class students from Jingda, Kiran, and from Metropolis, Xu Jingming, had not yet returned.

Song Qiuyun's first-place ranking was only temporary.

"Well done."

Ling Shuang, vice principal of Metropolis University, smiled and offered encouragement.

"Thank you, Principal," Song Qiuyun nodded slightly, then stepped aside to stand quietly.

"Song Qiuyun? Is she the direct descendant of the late Senior Song from Sichuan?"

After Song Qiuyun left, Xu Ping, vice principal of Qingjing Institute of Psychic Arts, asked curiously.

"She's the great-granddaughter of Senior Song," replied Ling Shuang with a slight nod.

Though both were Grand Masters, Song Qiuyun's great-grandfather, Song Daoyuan, was active eighty years ago.

For Grand Masters like them, who rose to prominence only in the past decade, he was truly a senior figure.

"A direct descendant of a Grand Master family with exceptional talent—

it's rare to see such a person sent to school instead of being trained within the family."

Xu Ping of Jingda murmured in amazement.

Generally, powerful martial saint or Grand Master families, upon discovering a gifted descendant,

prefer to train them within the family rather than send them to elite universities.

After all, those ancient families possess resources equal to—or even superior to—those of top universities.

The Song family of Sichuan, to which Song Qiuyun belongs, is precisely such a deeply rooted clan.

"Little Yun, impressive—twelve thousand points!"

On the other side,

Zhou Ying, her aunt who had been waiting inside the hall, sighed in relief as Song Qiuyun returned safely,

then gracefully glided over, her slender waist swaying as she smiled warmly beside her.

But then she frowned slightly:

"Huh? Where's your little boyfriend? Didn't he come back with you?"

"No, a few days after entering the Demon Cave, he split from me and went alone into the central region."

Song Qiuyun shook her head slightly.

She hadn't expected Xu Jingming still hadn't returned.

"Ah, I see," her aunt Zhou Ying nodded in approval, clearly impressed by the decision.

If Xu Jingming had stayed with Song Qiuyun the whole time, she'd have thought far less of him.

"By the way, didn't you two do anything else out in the wilderness?"

After a pause, Zhou Ying leaned closer, asking with a hint of suggestive ambiguity.

"What else?" Song Qiuyun blinked, noticing a faint…romantic glint in her aunt's eyes.

Only then did she realize the implication—her face flushed crimson as she pouted:

"Auntie, how could that even happen…?"

"Good, good—thank goodness," Zhou Ying finally relaxed completely.

After Song Qiuyun's arrival, more new students returned one after another, confirming their scores and rankings.

Among them, Kiran, the S-class foreign exchange student from India at Qingjing Institute of Psychic Arts,

entered the hall just after eight o'clock.

"It's Kiran from Jingda! He's back!"

"He must be the new number one."

"I wonder what his score is—probably at least fifty or sixty thousand."

"That's about right—he's a third-rank S-class Awakened."

At just after eight, he entered the hall.

Hearing the murmurs around him,

Kiran's dark-yellow Indian face beamed with satisfaction.

He strode quickly to the central machine and inserted his smart bracelet.

Not long after, the electronic voice chimed:

「......

Boom!

On the holographic ranking display in the center of the hall, Kiran Rao's name rocketed to the top!

His score—100, 00 points higher than Song Qiuyun's—left everyone in stunned silence.

"One hundred and ten thousand?! That's insane!"

"Man, my score doesn't even reach his tenth."

"The gap is too huge—Song Qiuyun only had twelve thousand."

On the holographic ranking board in the center of the hall, Kiran Rao's name shot straight to number one!

Although everyone knew Kiran was an external recruit from Jingda,

the staggering score gap still left students from Metropolis and Jincheng feeling dejected.

This is cheating—there's no way to compete…

"One hundred and ten thousand? I should congratulate Principal Xu on securing first place already."

「......

"Oh, it's nothing—I just got lucky," Xu Ping replied modestly, though his smile was radiant.

Whoever secured first place would gain priority rights to distribute the event's resources.

Even if Metropolis's Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun took second and third, it wouldn't matter.

Priority rights alone were enough!

Nearby, Vice Principal Ling Shuang narrowed her eyes, saying nothing.

Though the odds were slim, given Xu Jingming's confidence during the last meeting,

perhaps he still had a surprise in store for her…

With Kiran's arrival, nearly all the major figures of this year's new student competition had returned—except Xu Jingming.

Notably, shortly after Kiran,

Dong Sheng, a second-rank middle-tier male student from Jincheng University,

scored a total of 13, 00, surpassing Song Qiuyun's 12, 00 to claim second place.

Though the odds were slim, given Xu Jingming's confidence during his last meeting,

he might still surprise her…

With Kiran's arrival, nearly all the key figures in this year's new student competition, aside from Xu Jingming, had now arrived.

Notably, after Kiran,

a second-year male student from Jincheng University named Dong Sheng,

scored a total of 13, 00 points, surpassing Song Qiuyun's 12, 00 points to claim second place.

But before Kilan's terrifying 110, 00.

Aside from a slight surprise at his Second-Stage Mid-Level rank, the new students felt no great stir.

Time swiftly passed, and it was soon 8: 2.

Only eight minutes remained until the 9: 0 cutoff for score submission.

At this point, most new students had already submitted their smart bands and received their rankings.

Yet,

Xu Jingming's figure still had not appeared in the hall.

"Has Xu Jingming from Devil's University not returned? Could something have happened to him?"

"It's possible—after all, the Devil's Cavern is extremely dangerous."

"No way—Brother Ming used to go into the Wild Zones all the time at school; he wouldn't be that careless."

"......"

The new students whispered among themselves.

Those unfamiliar with Xu Jingming, who had only heard his name, were merely puzzled by his absence.

But those like Liu Wentao, who knew Xu Jingming well from Devil's University, couldn't help but grow worried.

Song Qiuyun also furrowed her delicate brows.

Kilan from Jing University, though feigning confusion on the surface, secretly hoped Xu Jingming would not return.

After all, there was competition among nations on Blue Star; if Great Xia lost one S-Class,

his own India might one day face one fewer powerful enemy.

"Xu Jingming's back!"

Yet at that moment,

a delighted voice rang out from the hall's entrance, causing everyone to turn instinctively.

There, indeed, strode in a tall, slender young man with steady steps.

It was none other than Devil's University's long-awaited S-Class: Xu Jingming!