Chapter 186: Bewildered, King Wen!

First!

First in the college entrance exam!

The practical exam ended, and Su Yu successfully secured first place.

At the same time, in Jiangnan Province.

Inside the Martial Artists Association.

Wang Long stared unblinking at the screen; when the final scores appeared, he sprang to his feet, face flushed, as if at his peak.

"Hahaha! I never expected Jiangnan Province to produce a college entrance exam top scorer!"

"Hahaha, totally worth it!"

Wang Long exclaimed excitedly.

You know, Jiangnan Province has never had a college entrance exam top scorer since its founding.

Not to mention first place; even making the top fifty has happened only once.

The Holy Spear Marquis back then.

Back when the Holy Spear Marquis took the college entrance exam, he ranked only in the twenties.

He eventually became today's Marquis-level expert, and in this battle of Hope City, the Holy Spear Marquis also made an appearance.

Not to mention the top ten.

It's practically ancestral grave smoke rising.

This time, Su Yu successfully obtained first place in the college entrance exam, thereby setting a record for Jiangnan Province.

Oh no, he even set a record for the southern region.

Don't look at the southern region being one of Daxia's four major regions, but a college entrance exam top scorer has never appeared there before.

Previously, the college entrance exam top scorers were always from Jingdu and Modu, each taking turns.

That is, the northern region had once secured first place.

And that top scorer became the current Northern King.

Thus, to achieve first place requires terrifying talent and effort.

In Hengcheng.

Liu Kuang, Dong Buwei, and the old principal sat in the office of Yizhong, watching the live broadcast.

When Su Yu's scores came out.

The three were first stunned, then exchanged a glance.

After a long silence, Liu Kuang murmured.

"Old Dong, hit me—I feel like I'm dreaming!"

Liu Kuang muttered.

Thud!

Dong Buwei punched Liu Kuang, sending him flying back to slam heavily into the wall; the whole wall trembled slightly, almost unable to withstand it.

Liu Kuang's face swelled with a large red patch.

Yet he still gave a foolish hehe laugh.

"Hehe, I never expected Hengcheng to produce a college entrance exam top scorer; as vice‑president of the Martial Artists Association, I'm content."

Dong Buwei's face still bore a smile.

Only the old principal spoke with an aged air.

"After all, he's still a student of Yizhong; even if he went to the Heavenly Pride Battalion, the education ministry's records still list him as a Yizhong student!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Buwei and Liu Kuang's expressions turned somewhat ferocious.

"Damn, I really want to kill this old geezer."

But the old principal's words were not wrong.

The college entrance exam records still show one's high school; even after entering the various regions' Heavenly Pride Battalions, it's merely the result of collective training.

In the end, it still shows Hengcheng Yizhong.

The old principal slowly rose and walked toward the door.

"Old thing, where are you going?"

Dong Buwei froze, staring blankly at the old principal, unaware what this guy intended to do.

The old principal looked at Dong Buwei with a strange expression, as if looking at a fool.

"Of course I'm going to prepare admissions; Hengcheng Yizhong has finally produced a college entrance exam top scorer, and I expect people from nearby cities are ready to send their children here—I need to oversee it."

Hearing the principal's words, Liu Kuang and Dong Buwei's eyes lit up, and they burst out laughing.

"Look at my memory—I almost forgot this; come on, come on, Old Wu, I'll go with you."

Dong Buwei excitedly walked toward the old principal.

You know, if people from nearby cities prepare to send their children to Hengcheng Yizhong, that would be a good thing for the whole of Hengcheng.

To study here you at least need a residence permit; by then Hengcheng's housing prices and such will surely rise.

The economy can also develop rapidly.

Moreover, many subtle factors are unusually important for Hengcheng's development.

Such as talent resources.

Wait wait wait!!!

This point, as president of the Hengcheng Martial Artists Association, Dong Buwei will naturally not let it slip.

Taking advantage of Su Yu's current buzz, we can help Hengcheng develop quickly.

In a moment, the entire Hengcheng sprang into action.

Not only in Hengcheng, but in every city of Jiangnan Province, even the provincial capital, parents hoping their children will become outstanding brought their kids and headed toward Hengcheng.

"Quick, quick, let my son go to Hengcheng Yizhong; don't think that place is remote, but it can produce a top scorer in the college entrance exam, maybe there is some secret opportunity; by then our son could get in, maybe he'll become a top scorer in the future!"

"Exactly, exactly, also call over the seventh aunt, eighth aunt and such, send their children too; then our family will become even more prosperous."

Voices like these kept sounding in various places throughout Jiangnan Province.

Even in the whole southern region, some people began preparing to go to Hengcheng.

This is the influence of a top scorer in the college entrance exam.

The saying "when one person attains the Dao, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven" is not without reason.

As Su Yu of Hengcheng Yizhong, many people have already set their sights on Hengcheng Yizhong.

Regardless of whether there are any opportunities here, obviously Hengcheng has now become the center of public opinion.

Some businessmen with keen noses even smelled business opportunities, and variously directed their enterprises toward Hengcheng.

In the coming years, Hengcheng will surely develop rapidly, with countless opportunities; for these businessmen, it is practically a great fortune.

And these, as the master of the center of public opinion, Su Yu simply didn't know.

At this moment, he was still in Hope City, waiting for the Martial King's final words.

After a long while, every surviving examinee successfully knew their score; some people, looking at their scores, were extremely excited.

While some people, looking at their scores, showed worried expressions.

Even though they survived the practical exam, the points they could obtain were not very ideal.

At least compared to previous years' results, they were lacking by quite a bit.

After all, speaking frankly, this practical exam was really somewhat difficult.

Killing a Golden Body Realm cultivator yields only a hundred points, which converts to just one point.

This shows how difficult it is.

However, the Martial King's following words made their eyes light up.

"In view of the difficulty of this practical exam, I decide..."

The Martial King's voice sounded, and all the examinees turned to look at him, their eyes full of expectation.

Seeing this, the Martial King's mouth corner twitched into a slight smile.

"All examinees who participated in the practical exam can be admitted to the Martial Arts Academy!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Hope City was shaken by waves of earth-shaking cheers.

Some examinees with lower scores were so happy they cried.

Isn't their taking the college entrance exam just to join the Martial Arts Academy and thus turn their fortunes around?

And now, a single sentence from the Martial King gave them countless hopes.

But actually, the Martial King's saying this also considered many factors.

This practical exam really was somewhat abnormal; for some geniuses it was still okay, but for ordinary people the difficulty was practically doubled.

Moreover, the number of examinees who fell on the battlefield was truly quite large.

Of the hundreds of thousands of examinees, after this battle the number of survivors was only about seven-tenths of the original.

Not counting those who gave up the exam.

When the Martial King thought of this, he inevitably felt somewhat annoyed, and he lightly said to the several officials of the Martial Arts Academy behind him.

"Those examinees who did not participate in the practical exam cannot be admitted by the Martial Arts Academy, understood?"

The several officials of the Martial Arts Academy were slightly surprised, but due to the Martial King's words they ultimately nodded.

The Martial King's face was calm.

In his view, those who lack even the heart to contribute to Daxia, no matter how monstrous, have no qualification to cultivate in the Martial Arts Academy.

They are completely a waste of resources.

Such people are practically the termites of Daxia!

Rather than wasting resources on such people, it's better to put those resources on the children willing to contribute to Daxia.

The cheers in Hope City gradually weakened, and everyone sobered up from the cheering.

Seeing this, the Martial King coughed once to clear his throat, then spoke.

"According to convention, the top ten in each year's college entrance exam can receive rewards; this year is no exception."

Upon hearing this, Su Yu in the crowd instantly had his eyes light up.

Although while cleaning the battlefield Su Yu obtained quite a few inner pellets, as for resources, Su Yu never feels they are few.

Especially after forming the Arhat Golden Body, this idea of Su Yu's became even more obvious.

When advancing from late fourth transformation to fifth transformation, he actually consumed a drop of king's seal blood just to barely break through.

Who knows how many resources will be needed for future breakthroughs.

So, resources are still the more the better.

"Su Yu!"

The Martial King's voice sounded; Su Yu's body paused slightly, then he stepped forward and walked to beneath the Martial King.

The Martial King looked at Su Yu, took a deep breath, and the appreciative color in his eyes grew richer.

Finally that appreciative hue turned into helplessness.

"Such a fine seedling, actually let the Slay Dragon King ruin it."

He sighed.

Beside him, the Heaven Sword King cast his gaze elsewhere and whistled.

"Mm, I definitely won't tell my teacher."

"Mm, definitely..."

The Martial King heard the whistle of the Heavenly Sword King and his mouth twitched slightly.

He slowly looked at Su Yu, a smile appearing on his face.

"As the top scorer of the imperial exam, the reward is one low‑grade Star Stone, a sixth‑level technique, and a sixth‑level piece of armor!"

When those words were spoken, many surrounding Grand Masters and strong cultivators inhaled sharply.

"Huh, this year's top‑exam reward is so generous, damn, I even want to take part now."

"Yeah, even without the sixth‑level technique and armor, a single Star Stone would let me cultivate for half a month—truly enviable!"

Each Grand Master and strong cultivator felt a sour pang in their hearts, as if their teeth were about to fall out.

The sixth‑level technique and sixth‑level armor are items that even a Star Ancestor Master or a Bright Moon Grand Master might not possess, yet Su Yu, who is only at the Golden Body Realm, already has such treasures.

It is simply beyond envy.

Su Yu's eyes lit up; he had already obtained a low‑grade Star Stone, and if he fused it, wouldn't he be able to create a mid‑grade Star Stone?

One should know that a mid‑grade Star Stone is enough resources for a Great Sun Grand Master to cultivate for a month.

Su Yu hurriedly gave thanks.

"Thank you, Martial King!"

The Martial King smiled faintly and handed a Space Ring to Su Yu.

"Everything is inside."

Su Yu took the Space Ring, thanked again, then stepped back and eagerly began to explore the ring.

"Zhang Xiaobai!"

The Martial King's voice rang out again.

The plump Zhang Xiaobai's eyes lit up instantly, licking his face and smiling as he stepped forward.

"Uncle Martial King, my reward should be decent too, right?"

Although he didn't take first place, Zhang Xiaobai was at peace; Su Yu was simply too extraordinary to be judged by ordinary talent.

The Martial King looked at Zhang Xiaobai helplessly and then said,

"Second place receives a low‑grade Star Stone and a sixth‑level technique!"

It's still good, but missing a sixth‑level armor; defensive spiritual artifacts are the most expensive among artifacts of the same level.

Nevertheless, Zhang Xiaobai didn't mind, happily took his reward and returned to the crowd.

"Beicheng!"

Afterwards, the top ten exam takers each received their own rewards.

It is worth noting that this time every one of the top ten obtained a low‑grade Star Stone.

After the rewards were handed out, the Martial King looked at the candidates and smiled faintly.

"This journey to Hope City is your first step onto the Heavenly Path, arriving at the Ten Thousand Tribes Battlefield; in the future, you will keep delving deeper here."

"I hope that among you, someone will reach the end, become the Great Tree of Daxia, protecting Daxia. Everyone, can you do it?"

"Can!"

A deafening roar echoed throughout Hope City.

Night fell.

In the capital of Jiangnan Sheng, lights shone brightly.

All because of one thing.

Su Yu has returned!

After the practical assessment ended, everyone was instantly teleported back to their original examination hall.

Su Yu sat in the hall, his gaze a little dazed.

Feeling his feet firmly on the ground, Su Yu finally came to himself and slowly exhaled a puff of turbid breath.

Everything experienced in Hope City felt like an illusion, rather fantastical.

From infiltrating Wolf City to the final Ten Thousand Tribes invasion, Su Yu lost count of how many times he rose from the brink of death.

Su Yu leaned against his chair, looking out the window.

Outside, countless stars glittered, and bright moonlight bathed the earth.

"In the end, my strength is still insufficient!"

Su Yu let out a slight sigh.

Originally, after entering the Golden Body Realm, one could already be considered strong, since in Hengcheng, Martial Artists of the Organ Tempering Realm are already top‑tier.

But after the battle of Hope City,

Su Yu realized that even Grand Masters face the risk of falling before a grinder like the Ten Thousand Tribes Battlefield.

"We must still seize the time to advance; at least before the next entry into the Ten Thousand Tribes Battlefield, we need to reach the Flying Heaven Realm to have some self‑preservation ability."

Su Yu took a deep breath, and for some reason a thought arose: perhaps soon he would enter the Ten Thousand Tribes Battlefield again.

After briefly sorting his thoughts, Su Yu walked out of the hall.

Jiang Shang and others were already waiting; when they saw Su Yu emerge, Jiang Shang's face broke into a smile, and with a gentle wave of his hand,

people ran out from behind Jiang Shang and lifted Su Yu high into the air.

"Come, give a warm welcome to our top exam graduate!"

"Wuhu!!"

Cheering cries rang through the hall, surrounded by crowds from Jiangnan Sheng, all eager to catch a glimpse of Su Yu, the top graduate.

Amid the cheers, Su Yu's mouth curved into a slight smile.

Later, Su Yu received a roaring cheer from the Heavenly Pride Battalion.

As night deepened, Su Yu gradually withdrew from the excited fervor.

Walking alone on the path of the Heavenly Pride Battalion, Su Yu looked up at the sky.

At this moment, there was complete tranquility.

But everything that happened in Hope City was deeply etched in Su Yu's mind, lingering for a long time.

Previously Su Yu's goal was the college entrance exam, but after the exam Su Yu was stunned to find that he had no goal.

Su Yu wanted to explore, but instead found only a vast emptiness.

Su Yu sat on the grass, casually plucked a foxtail grass, held it in his mouth, rested his hands behind his head, and lay down.

He gazed at the star‑filled sky, his thoughts completely calm.

He recalled the many events he had experienced since acquiring the system.

From becoming a Martial Artist, to the Li Family's intervention, to entering the Heavenly Pride Battalion, Myriad Races Sect, the Wang Family, the Yun Family, Wanzu Tongdao, the mock exam, forging the Arhat Golden Body, and finally the college entrance exam.

That period was incredibly rushed, yet unusually fulfilling.

After the college entrance exam, Su Yu felt a great relaxation, but that relaxation brought endless emptiness.

That feeling left Su Yu extremely bewildered.

At that moment, the space around Su Yu subtly warped, and a figure slowly materialized.

The newcomer wore a pristine white robe, spotless as if stepped out from a fairyland.

Su Yu's gaze suddenly hardened, instantly watching the newcomer warily.

"Who are you?"

Dangerous glints flashed in Su Yu's eyes, and his hair stood on end.

He had no reaction to this person's appearance.

As if it had materialized out of thin air.

Combined with the earlier spatial distortion, Su Yu felt a heavy weight in his chest.

At least they were beings above the Marquis realm.

For a moment, Su Yu's complexion turned sour.

The newcomer gave Su Yu a faint smile.

"Not bad, you are somewhat cautious, but your caution is far insufficient before absolute power."

Boom—!!!

In an instant, an unparalleled force erupted from the void, like a massive mountain, suddenly crushing Su Yu entirely.

Su Yu's face twisted wildly as his Arhat Golden Body surged, yet before the absolute force, even the Arhat Golden Body was useless.

The newcomer smiled faintly, waved a hand, and withdrew that terrifying force. jj. br>

Su Yu gulped air repeatedly, trying to create distance, but found himself locked in place, unable to move at all.

Then this person slowly approached Su Yu, a gentle smile appearing on the newcomer's face.

"Let me introduce myself, I am Wen Wang!"