Volume One: A First Glimpse of Glory Chapter Ninety-Two: The Highest Record

At that moment, two people finished the exam at the same time.

One of them was Wang Jue.

“That guy is finally done.”

Not only the boy in short sleeves and the boy in a vest, but even Zhou Xiaowei, Liu Mao, the teachers from other schools, and the students who had already completed the test all noticed it.

Yet none of them looked toward Wang Jue. Instead, all eyes turned to the luminous screen on the wall of the hall, where the candidates’ rankings and scores would be displayed.

“Wang Jue and Song Haoming finished almost simultaneously. I wonder which one made the top ten.”

Everyone present felt a stir of anticipation.

At this point, only nine people remained unfinished.

That meant whichever of the two had the higher score would enter the top ten and receive a reward.

About ten seconds later, two lines of information appeared on the luminous screen on the wall of the hall, and they were placed at the very top, occupying first and second place.

“Wang Jue, 520 points.”

“Song Haoming, 510 points.”

As soon as the scores were announced, the crowd burst into an uproar.

“Are you kidding? This Wang Jue actually made the top ten.”

“What a pity. Song Haoming was only ten points behind Wang Jue.”

“I didn’t expect the gap to be this small.”

“Yeah. If Song Haoming had held on just a little longer, he would have been the one in the top ten.”

“Come on, did you forget? Song Haoming is at the Spirit-Nourishing Realm, while Wang Jue is only at the Body-Tempering Realm. If Wang Jue were also at the Spirit-Nourishing Realm, then let alone the top ten, he’d unquestionably be first.”

“Uh...”

“That actually makes a lot of sense.”

“...”

After learning that Wang Jue had entered the top ten, many people looked at him with even more complicated expressions.

At that moment, Song Haoming, still unaware of his ranking, rose and took off his helmet, sweeping his gaze across the hall toward the few remaining candidates still in the middle of the assessment.

Seeing that nine people were still unfinished, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. “Good... I made the top ten...”

The next second, when he lifted his head to look at the luminous screen on the wall, he discovered that his name was actually listed behind someone else.

And the name ahead of his, he did not even recognize.

Song Haoming: “???”

A row of question marks instantly surfaced in his mind.

Who is this Wang Jue?

At the same time, Wang Jue had also just taken off his helmet and stood up. Like Song Haoming, he first glanced at the few people in the hall who had not yet finished.

Seeing that nine remained, he too turned his gaze to the luminous screen on the wall.

“Huh? I actually made the top ten.”

Seeing his name at the very top of the display, Wang Jue was somewhat surprised.

Before taking the exam, he had never imagined he would achieve such a ranking.

Surprised, yes, but not overly delighted.

Mainly because he knew that even if he was in the top ten now, that did not mean his current result was enough to get into one of the top hundred martial schools.

After all, this was only the top ten from the first batch. There were still many more candidates to come.

By the time everyone had finished, let alone the top ten, he probably would not even make the top hundred.

As far as he knew, in past years, for admissions to the top hundred martial schools, those with the best chance of being admitted were the ones ranked within the top hundred.

Wang Jue honestly did not have much confidence that he could place in the top hundred among so many examinees.

He knew this world was never short of geniuses.

Though his cultivation had now caught up to the vast majority of his peers, he was still some way behind those who had already broken through to the Spirit-Nourishing Realm.

Even if his strength was more than enough to crush such people effortlessly, the gap in realm remained a chasm that could not be crossed.

Noticing the attention and discussion from those around him, Wang Jue simply chose to ignore it.

He knew that once a person became famous, this was the kind of thing that would happen.

It could not be avoided.

After all, he had been unknown until now.

And now he had suddenly burst into the top ten, which was indeed a considerable shock to everyone.

“Isn’t it just the top ten from the first batch? What’s there to make such a fuss about?”

Wang Jue silently complained to himself, then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, returned to the spot where his class was gathered.

Less than ten minutes later, the remaining nine also finished the exam one after another.

As their scores appeared on the luminous screen, one after another, the discussion around the hall never once ceased, and the same was true even for the leaders seated in the inspection area...

...

After Wang Jue and the others from the first batch finished, the next hundred candidates entered immediately.

Those interested stayed; those not interested left.

Batch after batch.

Among these people, the phrase “widely varying quality” would have been an understatement.

Throughout it all, Wang Jue never left. Not because he had any particular interest in these people, but because he was waiting for Luo Shui.

There was nothing to be done about it. Luo Shui had bad luck and ended up drawn into the tenth batch.

Very quickly, the time reached nine o’clock in the evening.

At last, it was Luo Shui’s batch’s turn.

Although Wang Jue had been in seclusion for more than half a month and had not seen Luo Shui during that time, it did not mean they had lost contact. They had maintained an almost daily phone call routine.

Of course, it was not for romance or sweet nothings, but for matters of cultivation.

Mostly Luo Shui spoke, and Wang Jue listened.

However, whenever Wang Jue asked about Luo Shui’s cultivation, the girl always dodged the question and had no intention of telling him.

After asking several times to no avail, Wang Jue gave up.

Leaning against the wall and yawning, Wang Jue caught sight of Luo Shui, and his whole spirit immediately lifted.

What shocked him even more was that he sensed the aura radiating from her had already risen beyond the Body-Tempering Realm and reached the Spirit-Nourishing Realm, leaving him close to questioning life itself.

This was going too far.

With the help of his own cheat-like advantage, he had only managed to raise his cultivation to the tenth level of Body-Tempering in more than half a month.

Yet Luo Shui, without any cheat at all, had advanced at a pace scarcely slower than his.

At that moment, Wang Jue could not help but wonder whether Luo Shui, like him, also possessed some kind of hidden advantage.

Before he could do anything, he saw the girl smile and wink at him.

Regaining his senses, Wang Jue parted his lips and silently mouthed two words: Go for it.

Seeing him cheer her on, Luo Shui’s smile grew even brighter, and she shot him a look that said, Don’t worry.

After that, under the arrangement of the staff, Luo Shui and Wang Jue could only end their silent exchange.

The hundred candidates put on their helmets and began the exam.

Compared with the previous rounds, Wang Jue was clearly much more interested this time.

From the moment Luo Shui began, his gaze remained fixed on her, occasionally lifting to glance at the luminous screen on the wall.

Although the rankings had not yet appeared, Wang Jue knew clearly that with Luo Shui’s talent, she would surely have a place in the top ten.

Half an hour later.

Seeing that there were still around forty people in the arena taking the test, Wang Jue’s gaze sharpened, and he muttered inwardly, “I’ve watched almost ten batches. I thought the first batch had the most experts, but it turns out the tenth batch has the most.”

One of the candidates who had just been eliminated had even scored thirty points higher than him, reaching 550 points, yet still failed to place within the top forty.

Seeing this, Wang Jue’s expression grew solemn.

Not only him, but everyone who had finished and remained behind wore the same look.

No, “solemn” was not quite the right word. “Ugly” would have been more accurate.

Wang Jue had been worried whether Luo Shui might be the next to finish.

Unexpectedly, from more than forty people, twenty-odd were eliminated in succession, leaving exactly twenty.

And Luo Shui was still among them.

Phew...

Seeing that Luo Shui was still in the exam, Wang Jue finally relaxed. “Looks like this girl’s strength has improved really fast during this period. She might actually make the top ten.”

After that, one person after another finished the test.

Luo Shui continued to hold firm among the remaining candidates, seemingly not yet at her limit.

Five minutes later, two more people were eliminated.

By then, only eleven people remained.

Wang Jue was tense all over, his eyes fixed on Luo Shui as he kept muttering, “Mother Dragon, please keep holding on. Just one more person...”

As long as one more person finished, Luo Shui would be guaranteed a place in the top ten.

Perhaps the heavens had opened their eyes.

The next second, just as Wang Jue hoped, it was not just one person who finished, but within a single minute, three finished in rapid succession.

That meant Luo Shui had not only made the top ten, but had risen all the way to eighth place.

At this rate, that ranking might still climb one or two more spots.

As for why Luo Shui had managed to last this long, Wang Jue was somewhat puzzled.

After all, when he had finished the exam, it was because he had been taken out by a level-three star beast.

If a Body-Tempering Realm cultivator could kill a Spirit-Nourishing Realm one, Wang Jue would believe it, because he could do it easily himself.

But if someone claimed a Spirit-Nourishing Realm cultivator could kill a Crimson Star Realm one, Wang Jue would regard it with suspicion.

He did not think he alone was capable of defeating stronger opponents across realms, but neither did he believe such geniuses were everywhere.

“Forget it. No point thinking about it. I’ll just ask Mother Dragon later, won’t I?”

After pondering for a long while without reaching any conclusion, Wang Jue decisively gave up.

In his view, there had to be some detail he had missed. Since he could not figure it out, he would simply ask Luo Shui later.

Whether by some chain reaction or not, within the next minute, two people finished, then three more, and finally the last three were done as well.

Their finishes were separated by only a few seconds.

Only when the final three completed the exam did this batch finally come to an end.

When the teachers and leaders saw that the last eight remaining candidates all had scores above 700, their faces lit up with delighted smiles.

If no one in the days to come could surpass 700, then it meant Luo Shui and the other seven had a very solid chance of entering one of the top hundred martial schools.

Moreover, the ninth-place score was also very close to 700, so there was still hope there as well.

Not to mention, this score was not the final result. The scores from the earlier written and theory exams still had to be added to determine the true outcome.

As long as the written and theory scores were not too poor, and with the bonus from realm added in, it could be said that almost everyone who had reached the Spirit-Nourishing Realm had a real chance of getting in.

As for which of the top hundred they would be admitted to, that was another matter.

After all, the better the score, the more likely one was to be favored by the more prestigious schools.

Last year, even though many from their Peaceful Town got into the top hundred martial schools, the best record was only a school ranked around seventieth.

This year, perhaps someone might break that record.