On the lectern, Wu Shangfeng’s holographic projection stood erect, his sharp gaze sweeping over the face of every student below.
The clamor and discussion sparked by Qin Feng’s astonishing grade points quickly died down under his stare, and the Martial Arts Room returned to its proper silence.
"The scores and grade points have been announced. This means the first month of your Martial Arts High School careers is officially over."
Wu Shangfeng’s voice, amplified by the sound system, echoed clearly and powerfully throughout the spacious Martial Arts Room.
"Some of you have improved, some have stagnated, and some have fallen behind. The numbers on the leaderboards are the most truthful and objective feedback on your efforts over the past month. I expect each of you to carefully analyze your report cards, identify your strengths, and recognize your weaknesses."
He paused for a moment, giving the students time to think.
"Starting today, a new self-study month officially begins. The school’s resources will always be skewed toward the hardest-working and most outstanding students. The rules for the next monthly exam will be the same. I hope to see more names from Class Three on the leaderboards, and I hope you can deliver an even more impressive performance."
"Remember, at Qi Yi High School, on the path of the Martial Dao, if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind."
"Dismissed."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Shangfeng’s hologram vanished from the lectern without any delay, his form wavering like a ripple in water before disappearing into thin air.
The homeroom teacher’s clean and decisive exit was like flipping a switch, instantly releasing the tense atmosphere in the Martial Arts Room.
"Phew... It’s finally over."
"Let’s go, let’s go, time to eat. I’m starving."
"How did you guys do? I moved up more than three hundred spots this time and got 3 ’effort points.’ Not bad, not bad."
The students gathered in twos and threes. They packed their things while chatting in low voices, heading for the exit of the Martial Arts Room.
Most of them had faces etched with varying degrees of exhaustion, but a new fire burned in their eyes.
The monthly exam and the distribution of grade points acted like a potent catalyst, deeply branding the cruel and realistic laws of competition at Qi Yi High School into the hearts of these new students.
"Let’s go. To the cafeteria."
Shi Potian shouldered his Battle Saber and looked at Qin Feng and Qian Duoduo.
"Alright! We have to get extra food today! Let’s celebrate our dorm’s landslide victory!"
Qian Duoduo, full of energy, vigorously patted his slightly protruding belly, an undisguised smile on his face.
Qin Feng nodded, and the three of them followed the flow of people out of Teaching Building C-7.
The afternoon sun filtered through the tall, broad-leafed trees on campus, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
The path to the cafeteria was bustling with an endless stream of students.
As the three of them walked, they could clearly hear the irrepressible buzz of discussion coming from all directions.
Without exception, the focus of every conversation was the monthly exam that had just concluded.
"Did you see the overall leaderboard? That top student from Year One, Class One, the one named Sikong Yao, is terrifying! He’s almost twenty points ahead of second place!"
"What’s so strange about that? He was the top scorer on the entrance exam, with a life force index of 8.9. I heard his family is a famous Martial Arts Family from Qiming City, so he has more than enough resources. He got 480 on his martial arts comprehensive assessment. He’s not even human."
"But that Shi Potian is a beast too. This year’s class is full of hidden masters."
"Yeah, the top hundred are basically all those geniuses who were already famous when they enrolled. Their foundations are just too deep."
These discussions reached the ears of the three from Dorm 402. Qian Duoduo and Shi Potian’s expressions remained unchanged; they were long accustomed to being the center of attention.
But soon, the direction of the gossip shifted to a more bizarre and controversial topic.
"You know, we can all understand the ones with high overall scores. But that Qin Feng, the one who got first place in the combat simulation—what’s his deal? Did you see his score?"
"I saw it! How could I not? A perfect score! 500 points! I was stunned. I thought my terminal was malfunctioning!"
"I saw it too, it’s just ridiculous! I made a point to check the second-place score. It was another monster from Class One named Reacher, who majors in *Thunder Sword*. His combat score was only 220 points! Not even half of Qin Feng’s!"
"What? The gap is that big? That’s... he’s in a league of his own!"
"Isn’t it though! I heard that for the school’s virtual duels, you fight against a teacher, and the scoring criteria are extremely strict. The top student in my class lasted less than twenty moves against his sparring instructor and only got 140 points. For that Qin Feng to get a perfect score, it means his performance in the battle against the teacher was flawless! How is that possible?"
"The weirdest part is his martial arts comprehensive score. It’s only 160 points, ranking him below eleven thousandth place. How can someone with such a low life force index have a Slaughter Realm that high? It doesn’t make any sense!"
"I know, I know! I have a classmate in Class Three, and he said Qin Feng’s sparring partner yesterday was Professor Gu Yue! The Grandmaster who teaches spear arts!"
"What?! Professor Gu personally entered the match?"
This piece of news was like a bomb dropped into a calm lake, instantly causing a much larger uproar in the surrounding crowd.
"Holy shit, for real? No wonder he got a perfect score. Turns out he just got super lucky."
"You can’t call that luck, can you? The fact that Professor Gu was willing to personally fight him shows that Qin Feng has already reached a certain level of attainment in his spear arts. He earned that respect with real skill!"
"I asked a classmate from Class Three—that guy, Qin Feng, his spear skills are terrifyingly strong."
"A month for the staff, a year for the saber, a lifetime for the spear. That guy’s comprehension is terrifying."
"’Comprehension...’ That’s such an abstract concept. But if that’s the case, this Qin Feng is definitely the biggest dark horse to emerge from this monthly exam! I just don’t know what he looks like. He’s so mysterious."
The discussions rose and fell, filled with amazement, doubt, and curiosity.
At the center of all the talk, Qin Feng walked calmly through the crowd with Shi Potian and Qian Duoduo.
Because he had been so low-key when he enrolled, and had spent the past month on a simple circuit between classes, his dorm, and the Martial Arts Room, almost no one in the entire first year, aside from his classmates in Class Three, knew what he looked like.
This, in turn, saved him a lot of trouble.
And so, amidst the countless voices of discussion, the three of them walked unscathed into the school’s main cafeteria.
The interior of the cafeteria was vast, large enough to accommodate ten thousand people eating at the same time.
There were no manned service windows. In their place were rows of automated food dispensers gleaming with a metallic luster.
Students only needed to select their desired meal on the light screen in front of a machine and swipe their student terminal. A nutritionally balanced, steaming hot Energy Meal would then be precisely delivered to them on a conveyor belt from the central kitchen behind the machines.
The three of them each collected their meals and found a corner table by the window to sit down.