Chapter 29: Mado Ability University Admissions Office: The Teachers Are Stunned!

Due to Tang Qi, Xu Qingwan also understood quite a bit about the Gaokao.

She knew that in past years, the highest score in Jiangcheng had only been a little over a thousand.

The provincial top scorer of the entire Jiangnan Province had only reached eight or nine thousand.

Therefore, when she heard Xu Jingming say he had scored ten thousand, her aunt Xu Qingwan froze for a moment.

But she quickly recovered, instinctively refusing to believe it, frowning and saying:

“Xiaoming, don’t joke around—tell me your real score.”

“Mom, Jingming isn’t joking—he really scored ten thousand.”

No, not quite—accurately, it’s eleven thousand one hundred twenty-four points.

There’s already a report on Jiangcheng’s official news account.”

Tang Qi smiled and handed over her phone.

On the phone was a recently published report from Jiangcheng’s official account.

The headline read: “Ten Thousand Points! The Absolute Dark Horse from Jiangcheng No.2 High School!”

The article’s accompanying image showed Xu Jingming slaying a Tier-Two Bloodthirsty Bear with a long spear.

“That’s Xiaoming!”

Her aunt also recognized Xu Jingming from the image and immediately scrolled through the article.

Xu Qingwan had a gentle personality and rarely showed strong emotional reactions to ordinary matters.

But as she read the article bit by bit, her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

A flush of excitement slowly rose on her lovely face.

“Ten thousand points! Jiangcheng’s number one! Wonderful! Wonderful!”

Xu Qingwan seemed as if she’d won a multi-million-dollar lottery.

The article on her phone felt like a winning ticket, which she kept checking repeatedly.

She whispered under her breath phrases like “Xiaoming has finally come into his own” and “Now our Xu family has an heir.”

After a while, her emotions gradually calmed.

“Xiaoming, with this score, won’t you be able to directly pick any of the top ten universities nationwide when it’s time to fill out your application?”

Her aunt Xu Qingwan asked, eyes gleaming.

“Yesterday, the principal told me I’ve already qualified for direct recruitment—I don’t need to fill out any applications, just wait for the universities to make offers.”

Xu Jingming smiled in explanation, and Tang Qi added: “Mom, with Jingming’s score, he’s essentially a provincial top scorer candidate.”

Even if he doesn’t become the provincial top scorer, he’s definitely among the top three in Jiangnan Province.”

With that ranking, even the three top universities will fight to recruit him directly—they won’t make him go through the application process.”

“Top three universities? Direct recruitment? Good, good, good! Xiaoming, you’ve given your aunt a huge surprise!”

Xu Qingwan said three “goods” in a row, then asked eagerly: “By the way, when is the Wu Ke ranking being announced?”

“The date isn’t fixed, but it won’t be later than five days from now,” Xu Jingming replied after a moment’s thought.

The national Wu Ke scores would be released simultaneously across the country on the same day.

Before that, each province would rigorously review the video footage from the Wu Ke exam to prevent cheating.

The workload was substantial, but the results would be announced no later than five days from now—by June 13.

“Good! After the results are announced, your aunt will treat you to a big meal!”

Xu Qingwan’s smile was radiant. After a pause, she voiced her biggest question:

“But Xiaoming, you only have an E-rank ability—how did you get such a high score?”

Since ancient times, the rarer the ability, the stronger the combat power—this was universally accepted.

There were indeed individuals who rose to greatness using low-rank abilities.

But such people were exceedingly rare—fewer than phoenix feathers or unicorn horns.

According to the article’s description, thunder surging and wiping out a whole group of Tier-One high-level beasts—this was impossible for an E-rank [Weak Electricity] ability.

After all, Xu Jingming was still only an Awakened One—he wasn’t even an Ability User yet...

Hearing Xu Qingwan’s question, Tang Qi’s beautiful eyes turned expectantly toward him, clearly equally curious.

Xu Jingming had already prepared his answer and smiled:

“The day before yesterday afternoon, while I was training in the living room, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck through the window and knocked me out.”

“When I woke up, I realized my original ability had evolved—it became much stronger.”

“So that’s why you went to Lei Wu Gym afterward to test your ability!”

Tang Qi suddenly understood, and her aunt Xu Qingwan nodded slightly in agreement:

“There was indeed a thunderstorm the afternoon before yesterday. But instead of getting hurt by the lightning, you turned misfortune into fortune—your ability mutated. That’s quite lucky.”

“Later, find a time to go back to the gym for another ability test—see what level your ability has mutated to.”

“Based on the power described in the article, your ability must have evolved to at least B-rank or higher.”

Xu Jingming nodded.

Ability mutation was rare, but not unheard of—using this as an excuse for his ability’s evolution had been his plan all along.

Besides, the lightning had struck outside his window during the mutation, and most people had already heard about it.

“Alright, no matter what, you two siblings—one ranked twelfth in Jiangcheng, the other first—are both outstanding!”

“Come on! Let’s go buy some groceries—I’ll cook you a great lunch!”

Xu Qingwan’s face beamed with uncontainable joy.

Seeing this, Xu Jingming couldn’t help but smile slightly, walking shoulder to shoulder with his cousin Tang Qi beside their aunt...

June 11, 9:00 p.m.

Mado Ability University, Admissions Office.

Here, Tier-Three and Tier-Four Ability Users—rare sights elsewhere—filled the entire office.

They sat around a large round table, numbering at least thirty or forty.

These Ability Users looked anxious, as if waiting for something.

Soon, a slightly overweight middle-aged man hurried in.

He raised a mechanical disk in his hand: “The national Wu Ke rankings are out—everyone prepare.”

Before the official release, the national Wu Ke rankings were strictly confidential.

But this only applied to ordinary people—top universities like theirs could obtain the rankings a day early without difficulty.

“Finally, the rankings are out!”

“This year’s rankings seem a bit late.”

“Not really—last year was only one day earlier.”

“...”

For Mado Ability University’s admissions office, these few days were the busiest of the year.

They needed to devise different direct recruitment strategies based on the strength of the top three students from each province.

Students with high strength and great potential required more resources to recruit.

Those with relatively weaker strength and lower potential could be recruited with fewer resources.

Not just Mado Ability University—Qingjing Ability University and Jincheng Ability University also did the same.

“As usual, let’s first review the provincial top scorers.”

The middle-aged man in front inserted the mechanical disk into a prepped projector.

With a hum, a list displaying the scores and rankings of all students from over thirty provincial administrative regions instantly projected onto the wall.

“First provincial administrative region: Qingjing City.”

The man’s deep voice sounded, and the projection, as if intelligent, immediately displayed Qingjing City’s student rankings.

Everyone stared directly at the top of the list:

“Number One, Zhou Yi (Qingjing High School), 9343 points.”

“Iva, display Zhou Yi’s information.”

No sooner had the man spoken than a clear electronic voice replied: “Understood, Director.”

Then, a holographic image appeared in the center of the table.

It showed Zhou Yi’s combat footage from the Wu Ke exam.

“Zhou Yi, eighteen, Awakened with a Tier-A Strength Ability: Bronze Body, Rank One Upper.”

“Father is a Tier-Four Ability User...”

Every top university possessed extraordinary information-gathering capabilities—Mado Ability University was no exception.

As the central hologram played Zhou Yi’s battle footage, his details echoed in every admissions teacher’s ears.

“Bronze Body? That’s quite good even among Tier-A abilities.”

“Indeed, his combat footage shows decent ability application.”

“...”

The teachers chattered among themselves. Soon, the holographic video ended, and the man in front said solemnly:

“Zhou Yi—designated A+ direct recruitment slot. Teacher Wang Jian, you’ll handle this one.”

“Understood.”

One teacher stood and nodded.

After the meeting, he would immediately depart for Qingjing City.

"The second provincial administrative region: Hunan Province."

"......"

Time passed swiftly, as provincial top scorers were assigned special admission ranks by the admissions office director and various teachers.

There were decent A+ ranks, ordinary A ranks, and weaker A- ranks.

Of course, even the weakest provincial top scorer would not be truly weak.

Soon, it was Jiangnan Province’s turn.

"The thirteenth provincial administrative region: Jiangnan Province."

As the middle-aged man’s deep voice spoke, the projection swiftly switched to Jiangnan Province’s ranking.

"Last year, Jiangnan Province produced an A+ special admission slot. I wonder how this year will be."

"It should be another A+."

"......"

Jiangnan Province was one of Dayangzhou’s most populous provinces, and its past provincial top scorers had always been exceptionally strong.

Thus, including the admissions office director, all teachers turned their gaze to the top-ranked name.

"Number one: Xu Jingming (Jiangcheng No. 2 High School), score."

"Over ten thousand points! Jiangnan Province really pushed hard this year!"

"Jiangcheng? Isn’t that not the provincial capital?"

"......"

The teachers had initially been stunned by Xu Jingming’s score, but upon learning he was from Jiangcheng No. 2 High School, they all grew confused.

Jiangcheng?

Isn’t the capital of Jiangnan Province Ning’an City?

What the hell is Jiangcheng? Why have we never heard of this city?

"Xu Jingming, eighteen years old, awakened a Nature-type E-rank ability: Weak Electricity, Level Awakened."

"His parents seven years ago......"

As Xu Jingming’s profile was read aloud, the teachers—who were already confused—grew even more bewildered.

"What the hell? E-rank ability? Awakened? How can these two things be linked to a provincial top scorer??"