Chapter 119: Ji Huai's Another Sparring Session (April 1550 Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter)

After hearing Fan Gang's words, Qin Chuan's brow twitched imperceptibly.

Is this the rating Hua Qing gave himself? If not for Yan Da's excellence beforehand, he probably wouldn't have any objection to this rating, but now Yan Da, at the same level as Hua Qing, gave an "A+" while Hua Qing gave only an "A-", making the superiority clear.

Moreover, carefully chewing over Fan Gang's earlier words, he faintly sensed something off.

Fan Gang mentioned neither that Hua Qing's cultivation method was inferior to Yan Da's nor Yan Da's advantages; in just a few sentences he spoke only of Hua Qing's strengths.

Indeed, this is the duty of an admissions office teacher, beyond reproach, but still that saying: with Zhou Xiaoyu's conversation from yesterday as a benchmark, the relative standings of the two sides are clear.

In comparison, Qin Chuan, who already leaned toward Yan Da because of Ji Huai, now had even less thought for Hua Qing.

After a moment's thought, he intended to deal with this Hua Qing teacher with the same words he had used earlier when facing other colleges' admissions officers.

However, before Qin Chuan could speak, Fan Gang spoke first.

"Qin Chuan, do you have any other questions about our Hua Qing?" Fan Gang smiled, took out an agreement from his bag, and said, "If not, here is a letter of intent; you can take a look."

Qin Chuan casually took it, opened it, glanced a few times, and his brow furrowed again.

According to the agreement, if he signs it now, his rating for the next practical assessment will be guaranteed at least an "A" instead of an "A-".

The price is that he cannot choose any other college.

The agreement itself is unproblematic, but among the nine colleges he has contacted these past two days, Hua Qing is the only one trying to get him to commit now.

He silently set down the agreement, looked at Fan Gang's confident smile, and felt he could answer directly.

"Sorry, Professor Fan, I can't sign this agreement." He looked at Fan Gang, whose smile had stiffened slightly, and said, "Actually, Professor Zhou from Yan Da already approached me yesterday; Yan Da gave me a provisional rating of 'A+'."

"You say... 'A+'?" Fan Gang's smile vanished; for the first time he felt things slipping out of his control, and asked, "Was that given by Zhou Xiaoyu?"

"Yes." Qin Chuan nodded.

"How could she..." Fan Gang almost blurted out, but seeing Qin Chuan still present he swallowed his words, only his face looking quite unpleasant.

The ratings given by observers aren't something they can just hand out however they like.

They don't have that much authority.

Colleges of different levels have different standards for provisional ratings; observers merely apply that standard to score and rate the candidates.

Hua Qing and Yan Da, being colleges of the same level, have identical rating standards.

This point, Fan Gang is quite certain about.

The score he gave Qin Chuan is completely fair.

Is an "A-" low?

Compared to the ratings other colleges gave Qin Chuan, it is indeed somewhat lower.

But he has Hua Qing behind him! As one of the two best colleges in Yan Huang State, Hua Qing's standards are inherently stricter; according to Hua Qing's standards, Qin Chuan's practical performance yesterday would be an "A-".

If Qin Chuan hadn't finally slain that Black Demon Cat, this rating would have been lowered another tier, to a B.

An A rating and a B rating result in completely different final guaranteed ratings.

Fan Gang is quite confident that the provisional rating he gave poses no problem.

Then the problem lies with Yan Da.

Zhou Xiaoyu actually gave a provisional rating two tiers higher than his; it's hard to say whether non-objective factors are at play.

Fan Gang gritted his teeth. As an observer, giving a nonconforming provisional rating incurs punishment; if the rating crosses tiers—for example, rating something that should be B as A, thereby changing the final guaranteed rating—one faces direct disciplinary action, possibly even dismissal.

Only a moment later, Fan Gang understood Zhou Xiaoyu's intention.

Both ratings are in the A tier; even if Zhou Xiaoyu's rating were nonconforming, she'd only receive a light penalty, but giving a rating two tiers higher than his dealt a heavy blow to Hua Qing! Moreover, Zhou Xiaoyu contacted Qin Chuan yesterday!

Yesterday Qin Chuan, as the top official-level candidate, was directly taken away by Lan Cheng, leaving him no chance to make contact; how did Zhou Xiaoyu manage it?

Had he known beforehand that Zhou Xiaoyu had contacted Qin Chuan, his policy and strategy today would necessarily have undergone some adjustment!

That woman!

"In that case, Qin Chuan, please think it over again." Fan Gang forced a smile, took back the agreement, turned, and left the meeting room.

After leaving the meeting room, he immediately dialed Zhou Xiaoyu's number; upon hearing the voice on the other end, his expression darkened as he said, "Professor Zhou, your methods are formidable."

"You would rather accept punishment, yet also want to deal a blow to our Hua Qing?"

"Hehe." Zhou Xiaoyu's light voice came from the other end: "You've met Qin Chuan? Professor Fan, you sound like you've been taken down a peg!"

Fan Gang fell silent for a moment, then asked, "How did you manage to find Qin Chuan yesterday?"

"Professor Fan probably forgot—I'm a local of Changxing City." Zhou Xiaoyu laughed, "Having a few relatives who are doing well locally is quite normal."

"Fine, fine, fine." Fan Gang gritted his teeth, "Artificially raising the provisional rating by two tiers to wage vicious recruitment competition—I will report this to the superiors."

"Suit yourself." Zhou Xiaoyu hung up.

"He actually thinks I falsely raised the provisional rating?" Looking at the phone showing "call ended," Zhou Xiaoyu shook her head with a light laugh and dialed another number.

"Zixiu, thanks for yesterday; let me treat you to a meal when you're free." — Qin Chuan felt no great psychological burden about refusing Hua Qing.

If he had to choose between Hua Qing and Yan Da, Yan Da would clearly be the better fit for him.

After Fan Gang, no other college admissions officers came knocking; most, lacking sufficient strength, upon hearing the news already felt deterred and withdrew.

Time passed, and it was evening's supernatural class.

In the supernatural theory lecture, Zhou Zixiu had finished the ice-element content and was now lecturing on the earth element.

Regarding the attribute he himself mastered, Xiao Pang was unprecedentedly earnest; when he didn't understand something, he even proactively asked Qin Chuan beside him.

Qin Chuan earnestly answered Xiao Pang's questions, utterly unaware that today Zhou Zixiu had glanced at him far more often than usual during class.

After the theory lesson came the practical session.

As Qin Chuan's strength reached the official-level player tier, few students in the supernatural combat class could still spar with him.

Fortunately, thanks to his cultivation efforts, the recommended daily repetitions of the Basic Fist Technique have increased from two to four.

Others spend half an hour practicing fists and half an hour sparring, whereas he spends a full hour practicing fists.

"Clang—"

With a metallic clang echoing across the field, Ji Huai's private stove session began again.

Maybe the boost in extraordinary value strengthened his body a bit, or maybe yesterday's practical combat assessment gave him some insight into swordsmanship; after the one‑hour extra session ended, Qin Chuan managed to block Ji Huai for eight rounds for the first time.

Before he could feel pleased, Ji Huai tossed him a stamina‑recovery fruit and spoke in a low voice.

"It's been a few days since we last sparred; come, give it a try!"

(End of chapter)