Chapter 36: Top 20 in Grade (Request Follows)

Tianhai No. 2 High School, Virtual Room

“Isn’t Lin Qi the only one left still inside? He’s been in there way too long.”

“How many opponents has he fought so far? Number 5 or number 6?”

A group of students gathered around a virtual pod, discussing curiously.

“Hum~”

“It’s open—Lin Qi’s out.”

The virtual pod’s door slid open; Lin Qi opened his eyes to find several pairs of eyes staring at him in astonishment.

He rose calmly, glancing around—he saw Chen Zichuan, Yang Lei, and others had already exited.

“Big Brother Qi, you stayed in the first round way too long. How many opponents did you beat?”

Jiang Tao asked eagerly.

“You’ll know once the scores come out.”

Lin Qi smiled and declined to answer.

“Big Brother Qi, you’re getting sly—now you’re playing hard to get.” Jiang Tao shook his head.

Lin Qi’s mind still replayed his recent battle: after defeating the No. 7 opponent with the Mountain-Cracking Spear Art, he faced the No. 8 opponent.

But the fight lasted less than thirty seconds—he was killed, even after using his killing technique.

The gap was too great; the opponent’s spear art had broken through to second-rank level and could also use killing techniques.

Though he lost, the gains were substantial—he witnessed a stronger version of the Mountain-Cracking Spear Art and saw room for improvement.

As he pondered, Chen Zichuan walked over and handed him a drink.

“Thanks earlier—I’ve never used a virtual pod before!” Chen Zichuan said gratefully.

“No need to thank me—we’re all from ordinary families and classmates; if you need help, I’ll give it.” Lin Qi took the drink and shook his head.

“Exactly, Chen Zichuan—helping each other is only right,” Jiang Tao added, clapping Chen Zichuan on the shoulder.

Chen Zichuan nodded silently, smiling.

The three had grown subtly closer.

…

A short distance away, Zhang Cheng watched Lin Qi, then turned his gaze back to his tablet.

“Lin Qi’s test is over—let me see how many opponents he defeated.”

Zhang Cheng operated his tablet, logging into the Tianhai Education Bureau’s backend system; as an examiner, he had permission to view test results early.

“The No. 6 opponent shouldn’t be a problem. The No. 7 is tougher—scoring around 700 would be impressive.”

Zhang Cheng thought to himself as his tablet screen rapidly refreshed, displaying streams of data.

The next second, his pupils contracted.

“No. 8 opponent?”

Zhang Cheng was genuinely stunned—he knew perfectly well that the No. 8 opponent was already at second-rank level.

When Lin Qi first entered the Elite Class, he was only ranked 45th in the grade, and even the Mountain-Cracking Spear Art he’d learned from Zhang Cheng himself.

Zhang Cheng knew exactly what level Lin Qi had been at back then.

“Good kid—I knew I wasn’t wrong about you.”

After his surprise came deep satisfaction; as Lin Qi’s martial arts teacher, Zhang Cheng understood his progress best.

“Now I’m actually looking forward to his final ranking,” Zhang Cheng smiled.

…

Yu Jing exited the virtual room, his eyes quickly scanning the nearby virtual pod.

Seeing that Li Zhou had not yet emerged, his expression darkened—he had entered the pod at the same time as Li Zhou; if Li Zhou was still inside, he was still undergoing the martial arts test.

By contrast, his own early exit clearly meant he was weaker.

Soon after, Li Zhou exited the test, shaking his head with dissatisfaction.

“Li Zhou, did you defeat the No. 8 opponent?” Yu Jing asked.

“Guess!” Li Zhou grinned.

“I’m not a child—what’s there to guess?” Yu Jing’s face darkened.

Li Zhou grinned again and turned away.

“Quiet!”

Zhang Cheng stood up, glanced at the clock, and surveyed everyone before speaking slowly:

“After a full day of testing, all results are now complete.”

“Everyone return to your classrooms—your homeroom teacher will announce the scores and rankings.”

Silence.

Everyone fell still for an instant; many faces tightened, hearts quickened.

Every ranking announcement was a major trial for everyone, carrying heavy psychological pressure.

…

At nine p.m., lights blazed across all secondary schools in Tianhai City, countless prodigies steeped in tension.

Meanwhile, the Martial Arts Education Bureau’s backend frantically compiled scores and calculated overall rankings.

Elite Class Classroom

All students sat in their seats, chatting casually to mask their inner anxiety.

“I’m doomed—I’ll probably get kicked out of the Elite Class.” “I’ve worked hard for a month—this ranking must rise.”

“At No. 11 in this school, I should at least make top thirty in Tianhai City.”

“Top thirty? Dream on—just making top fifty would be a miracle.”

Amid the chatter, their homeroom teacher, Yan Hong, arrived late, her expression calm, unreadable.

She gathered her thoughts and spoke:

“Class, the Tianhai Monthly Exam has concluded after one full day—all scores are now finalized.”

“The Tianhai Monthly Exam is crucial each year—it helps you determine your position and identify goals for future advancement.”

“Teacher, just show us the scores already!”

Yu Jing suddenly interrupted Yan Hong.

“That guy Yu Jing…” Jiang Tao frowned.

Lin Qi frowned—Yu Jing’s behavior was excessive.

!

Yan Hong’s expression flickered with irritation, but she suppressed her annoyance toward Yu Jing.

“Fine, no more talk—let’s see the scores.”

She activated the projector; a massive screen instantly projected before everyone.

It was a huge table filled with data—fifty portraits, each followed by scores in every subject and their rankings…

All eyes turned to the score sheet, urgently searching for their own names.

Lin Qi did the same; his sharp vision locked onto his portrait in one second, revealing his monthly exam results.

【Name: Lin Qi】

【Academic: 922 (1st)】

【Qi Value: 820 (23rd)】

【Martial Arts: 800 (16th)】

【Total Score: 804.4】

【Grade Rank: 18th】

【City Rank: 288th】

…

Seeing his scores, Lin Qi’s lips curled slightly upward.

Academic score: top in grade. Qi Value: 23rd in grade. Martial Arts: 16th in grade.

In one month, his Qi Value had surged from 6.2 to 8.2—an increase of 2.0, a massive leap.

As for spear art, he defeated the No. 7 opponent but was instantly killed by the No. 8.

The AI ultimately rated his spear art at 800 points—just below second-rank level.

He earned 800 points purely because his combat skill surpassed his formal spear art rank.

His grade ranking, unsurprisingly, soared dramatically—from last place in the Elite Class at 45th, straight into the top 20.

Beside him, Jiang Tao burst into loud laughter, beaming with pride:

“Hah! I knew it!”

“7th in grade—I’m in the top ten! Now I can finally have my own cool nickname.”

Jiang Tao, overjoyed, hugged Lin Qi tightly.

“Congratulations, Taozi!”

Lin Qi laughed and offered his congratulations.

“Hey, Big Brother Qi, what’s your score?”

Regaining his composure, Jiang Tao turned to ask about Lin Qi’s results.

He looked up at the score sheet, scanning downward from his own rank—and instantly spotted Lin Qi’s name; he already had a hunch.

When he saw the ranking, his pupils shrank and he let out a startled cry:

“Eighteenth in the grade?”

“Brother Qi, are you trying to defy heaven?!”

His words acted like a fuse—many in the class had also seen it.

“Did I misread? I was ranked nineteenth, and now I’ve been surpassed by Lin Qi?” someone exclaimed in disbelief.

“Is this real? Lin Qi just shot up from forty-fifth to eighteenth?” someone gasped.

More and more people in the class began to notice this side.

“How did Lin Qi get so strong?”

Zhu Yuqi, not far away, was also deeply astonished, staring at Lin Qi with intense curiosity.

In the corner, Yang Lei turned pale—he ranked forty-eighth, barely avoiding elimination.

Yet Lin Qi soared straight to the top twenty of the class.

One was in the heavens, the other in the mud.

“I mocked him—I’m such an idiot, truly!”

…

(End of Chapter)