Chapter 478: Only Fifth Place?

Before the results are announced, no one knows whose paper the Heavenly Class written test belongs to.

The grading team will, based on the scores, divide all papers into the grades A, B, C, and D.

There are twenty‑five people in Grade D, fifteen in Grade C, seven in Grade B, and three in Grade A.

Usually the results are announced from the bottom up.

The Elder who announces the scores first states the score, then lifts the Seal on the name and reveals which examinee earned that score.

"Fiftieth place, 910 points... Wu Xianyu."

The scores are announced by Gu Elder.

When that score is heard, the student named Wu Xianyu shows a look of despondency on his face.

That score and that rank basically indicate that he has no chance with the Heavenly Class!

"Forty‑ninth place, 915 points... Ling Luo."

The scores are called out one by one from Gu Elder.

The crowd on site falls silent, all holding their breath.

Because the scores announced first are those of Grade D, the students who hear their own names cannot feel happy.

One must know they came to take part in the Heavenly Class Selection; such scores basically mean they are out of the Heavenly Class, unless they can achieve an outstanding result in the upcoming martial test.

The scores of the twenty‑five Grade D candidates appear quickly.

"Next, I will read out the scores of the fifteen Grade C examinees."

Seeing that all Grade D scores have been announced yet not hearing Mo Xiaohu's and Ye Xiaochen's scores, Nanguo Buxie frowned displeasedly.

"You actually scored over nine hundred, what a miracle! However, I suppose Grade C will be your final placement, right?"

Nanguo Buxie sneered.

He does not think that Ye Xiaochen and Mo Xiaohu, these country bumpkins, have the strength to challenge Grade B or even Grade A.

"Perhaps the bottom first and second of Grade C are them!"

Nanguo Qingyuan echoed.

"Twenty‑fourth place, 931 points... Li Yang."

Because the paper was very difficult, most people's scores clustered around 923, and only the highest Grade C score finally reached 940.

"See, we are not in Grade C!"

Seeing Nanguo Buxie's rather unappealing expression, Xiao Hu made a funny face at him.

"How could this happen?"

Nanguo Buxie feels a bit uneasy at this moment.

Next comes Grade B.

Since Ye Xiaochen and Mo Xiaohu are not in Grade D or Grade C, that means their scores have entered the top ten!

Didn't they not even take part in the mock exam?

How could they have the strength to reach the top ten?

"Even if they make the top ten, they are still at the bottom!"

Nanguo Buxie silently comforts himself.

"Next, announce the scores of the eight Grade B examinees."

When the announcements reach sixth place, Ye Xiaochen's and Mo Xiaohu's names have still not appeared.

At this moment, among the unnamed examinees, only Nanguo Qingyuan and Nanguo Buxie from Golden City, the brother pair Ye Xiaochen and Mo Xiaohu, and the highly acclaimed child prodigy Gu Xingyan of Zhai Xing Pavilion remain.

"My god, are the brother pair Ye Xiaochen and Mo Xiaohu really that strong? They actually defeated the geniuses of Sun Palace and Jade Autumn Sect!"

"He Xi of Sun Palace is sixth place with 979 points, which means the brothers' scores could easily be above 980! That's a very high score!"

"The brothers' scores are probably not higher than Nanguo Qingyuan's and Nanguo Buxie's, but it's unclear whether Gu Xingyan of Zhai Xing Pavilion is stronger or weaker than them."

For a moment, these five become the focus of everyone.

Their scores also become the subject of speculation.

"How is this possible?!"

Ling Xueyao sees this and looks very displeased.

She thought that the brother pair Ye Xiaochen and Mo Xiaohu, coming from the Central Region, even with an Introduction Letter from the Emperor Sovereign of the Peak of the Hunt, would not have high innate talent.

However, what she did not expect is that they actually achieved such good scores in the first stage of the Second Round written test!

She feels very uncomfortable inside, even a bit nauseous.

What is her child's status? How can these two lowborn, Ye Qingran, have the right to be compared with her child?

"Alright, next is fifth place."

Gu Elder pauses for a moment, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

This batch of examinees has overall strength stronger than previous years, especially since there is even...

Gu Elder exhales a breath of foul air and continues: "Fifth place, 990 points..."

When this score is announced, everyone is startled.

One should know that 990 points, placed among past years, comfortably makes the top three! In some years it could even claim first place!

This year, it can only be fifth place?

How damn intense is this year's competition?

990 points?

When Nanguo Qingyuan hears this score, she lets out a sigh of relief.

Her estimated score was 995, so this score is neither hers nor could it be her brother's.

Thus, it is most likely Ye Xiaochen's or Mo Xiaohu's.

I have to say, they did quite well, but the first and second places are already taken by her and her brother!

Nanguo Qingyuan smiled triumphantly, waiting for Gu Elder to announce who had earned this score.

"Fifth place, Nanguo Qingyuan!"

Nanguo Qingyuan?

Fifth place?

That name came as a surprise to many people.

He and Nanguo Qingyuan thought the same; everyone assumed this score would belong to Ye Xiaochen or Mo Xiaohu.

Who would have thought, it actually belonged to Nanguo Qingyuan.

Didn't she say she scored 995?

How did she end up with only 990?

The most shocked of all was Nanguo Qingyuan herself.

She could hardly believe her own ears.

After being stunned for a while, she suddenly jumped up from her seat, interrupting Gu Elder.

"Wait, how could I possibly have only 990? Did you make a mistake?!"

She shouted loudly, her voice sharp and piercing.

Gu Elder looked at her and explained, "Nanguo Qingyuan, don't get agitated; your paper has been reviewed by at least three Special Grade Instructors and two Elders, so there's no issue. Moreover, the papers of the top ten have all been personally examined by Chancellor Wu, and they're fine as well."

"I don't believe it! If there's no problem, how could I have only 990 points?"

Gu Elder was quite helpless.

The paper couldn't possibly have an error, but Nanguo Qingyuan insisted on pursuing it, and they could do nothing about it.

"I demand to see the paper."

Ling Xueyao walked over to Gu Elder.

"This..." Gu Elder hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Wu Shushan, who gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

"Alright then."

Gu Elder unfolded the paper; a few red penalty marks appeared sporadically. Among nearly a thousand questions, they were almost negligible, yet still quite noticeable.

"Lady Nanguo, look here, here, and here—she got these wrong; it's not that our grading is faulty."

"Why was points deducted for this question?"

"This is a subjective question; the three Special Grade Instructors and two Elders each deducted between two and four points. We took the average, ending with a two-point deduction, which is perfectly reasonable—hardly any examinee avoids losing points on subjective questions."

"Unless those two little deviants!"

He had been wondering who owned those two scores, but now it's clear—no need to guess.

He already knows.

After looking at the paper, Ling Xueyao was speechless.

Nanguo Qingyuan's paper indeed only has 990 points. Even if we returned those two points from the subjective question, she still wouldn't reach 995.

"Mother, how is it?"

Nanguo Qingyuan looked at Ling Xueyao with red eyes.

Ling Xueyao could do nothing either, so she just shook her head at her.

"How could this happen!"

Nanguo Qingyuan indicated she could not accept such a result.

Having learned from Nanguo Qingyuan's experience, Nanguo Buxie began to feel uneasy, suspecting that his own score estimate might also be off.

For a moment, he became extremely anxious and restless.